1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Hey, you welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh. There's 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: Chuck Jerry's kind of hanging around us like an unwanted spirit. 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: But we doused here in blue paint as if she 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: were wearing for in New York and nineteen five and 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: she's taken off. Wow. Mm hmm. That sounded almost scripted. 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: It was not, man, it was it. It was right 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: off of the the cerebral cortex, the executive function a 8 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: k a. The old cuff. Yes, the problem is I 9 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: just diverted so much brainpower to the cerebral cortex that 10 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: my brain stem made me pee my pants. Have you 11 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: ever heard of this uh haint blue tradition? Sure, Okay, 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: I didn't know how much people knew about this. This 13 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: is something I was familiar with because, um, well for 14 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,319 Speaker 1: many reasons. But one of my good friends, Meta has 15 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: is from Charleston and has a haint blue porch ceiling, 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: and I sort of like the tradition in now I 17 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: know a little bit more about it. Yeah, I mean 18 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: Atlanta is not exactly like in the low country, like 19 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: along the Georgia coast or South Carolina coast, but it's 20 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: close enough that you could see it kind of trickling in, 21 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: and I think it does, agreed. So what you're talking 22 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: about is a specific kind of paint color that you 23 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: very frequently see in those areas in the southeastern Southeast. 24 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: Doesn't get much more southeast than that, you end up 25 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: in the Atlantic if you keep going um that you 26 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,320 Speaker 1: will see on people's ceilings of their porches like this, 27 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,119 Speaker 1: very pretty like light blue, one of my favorite shades 28 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: of blue. Not necessarily Hain't blue. I'm not like I 29 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: hain't blue is my favorite color, nothing like that, but 30 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: any kind of like light blue, pale blue, Robin's egg blue, 31 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: all those are very very pretty colors. There's a purpose 32 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: to this this though, Like this paint color on the 33 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: ceiling though, right. Yeah, So the word hain't they think 34 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: it may have come from the word haunt. But a 35 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: haint in the this low country culture, which we'll get 36 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: into more in a sec is a is a restless ghost. 37 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: And it's a ghost like I thought all ghosts were 38 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 1: sort of like this that has not moved on to 39 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: whatever world lies beyond and is still here to haunt 40 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: the living. Yeah, And it's this is haints are specific 41 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: to a culture of um slaves. Imported from western Central Africa, 42 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: whose ancestors has kind of formed this community along those 43 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: the Low Country and who still have this this very 44 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: robust culture that believes in haints. Um. The thing. The 45 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: difference to me is um between like ghosts as we 46 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: understand them and hainte is haint seemed to be much 47 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: more like all up in your business kind of thing, 48 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: and they like to mess with you a lot more 49 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: than like a ghost who's tied to a house and 50 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: is replaying their murder over and over every night at midnight. Yeah. 51 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: I've spent a little bit of time, uh this one 52 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: weekend with some gechy folks and they are really awesome 53 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: and rich with tradition and have this really really really 54 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: cool accent. Dude, I'll bet their food is amazing too. 55 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:16,079 Speaker 1: And the food was terrible. I'm kidding. I was genuinely surprised. 56 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: Now it's like some of the best food I've ever 57 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: had in my life, I would guess. So, I mean 58 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: low country boil. You just have me right there. Yeah, 59 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: So who do There's you know, a specific type of 60 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: voodoo that goes on the Low Country called hoo do 61 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: or root work or conjure, and that's a practice where 62 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: they use a lot of herbs uh in this case 63 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: haint blue to protect people from these evil haints coming 64 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: into h I mean sometimes it's a little lighter, sometimes 65 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: it gets pretty heavy and scary. Yeah. So there's a 66 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: boo Hag, which is one of the best names for 67 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: a haint. Ever, booh haggs are um. They seem to 68 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: be like, uh, what is that that? Um sleep paralysis 69 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: tradition from Ireland or Scotland or somewhere over there. Um, 70 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: I can't remember. There's like a tradition of a old 71 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: witchy woman standing on your chest while you're sleeping and 72 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: we I don't think so, but related maybe the wife 73 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: of the bob a duck. But the we talked about 74 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,359 Speaker 1: in the sleep paralysis episode that that's probably where that 75 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: came from, was that was having sleep paralysis. And this 76 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: sounds very familiar because the boo Hag will stand on 77 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,040 Speaker 1: your chest while you're sleeping too and try to suffocate you. Yeah, 78 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: and also steal your skin and where your skin during 79 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: the day so they can blend in. And why there 80 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: hasn't been a modern horror movie called the Boo Hag 81 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: yet is beyond me. I don't know either right or 82 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 1: even just haint. Yeah, so that's one kind of hainte. 83 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: And uh, there's things you can do like using hoo 84 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: do or root work or whatever. People won't wander around 85 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: like carrying little bags of roots and talisman to ward 86 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: off haints. But if you actually have a haint that 87 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: you're having to deal with in your everyday life, that 88 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: you've attracted somehow, um, one of the things you would 89 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: do specifically with the boot hag is they have like 90 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 1: an obsessive compulsive disorder according to the Goliguchi, and they 91 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: um have to count. So if you do things like 92 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 1: throw rice on your bedroom floor or whatever, the boot 93 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: Hag might come to set on your chest and suffocate you. 94 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: But instead she's gonna end up sitting there counting rice 95 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: all night and then the sun's gonna come up and 96 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: she's gonna be toast. Where have we talked about this before? 97 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: Because I have a very very distinct memory about something 98 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,679 Speaker 1: being distracted because they had to count whatever you threw. 99 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: It was the Eastern and Central European vampires that had that, say, 100 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: wasn't I believe? So? Yeah, I knew it sounded familiar. 101 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: Should we take a break Yeah, was that sudden? That 102 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: was like a left hook. All right, go gather yourself 103 00:05:52,600 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: and we'll be right back. Okay, yea, all right, we're back. 104 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: Let's talk about more haints. There's another haint called a 105 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: platt i, which also sounds very scary. They are shape 106 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: shifters and they can be anything, um it says here 107 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: in the House Stuff Works article, anything from a beautiful 108 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: woman to a two headed hog. And the scary thing 109 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: about a plaid i is that there aren't a lot 110 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: of defenses against the platt i save maybe leaving some 111 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: whiskey out and or pouring it on the ground or something, 112 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: and the plat i may stop to lick that upright, 113 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: But otherwise you're out of luck with the platt i. Yeah. 114 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: They say that once the platt i is attached to itself, 115 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: to your there's not a lot you can do. You 116 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: can maybe search yourself and see what kind of um, 117 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: as this one expert put it, what kind of grave 118 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: spiritual offense you've committed? What have I done? And try 119 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: to make it right? You know? Yeah? Um, But the 120 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: the I also saw that you might end up with 121 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: the plaid i attached to you if you go looking 122 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: for buried Confederate treasure, because they say that plaid eyes 123 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: are frequently ghosts of people who were murdered and improperly 124 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: buried by a Confederate treasure in order to protect it. 125 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: Indefinitely interesting. Yeah, so be careful if you're gonna go 126 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: looking for Confederate treasure buried in the Low Country, take 127 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: a little whiskey with you and pour them out for 128 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: the plaid eyes. That's right. So that sort of brings 129 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: us to this paint blue. Uh. And I'm sure you're 130 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: wondering when you guys going to talk about the title 131 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: of this podcast, and it's now and we we did 132 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: a great show on indigo, uh and so we don't 133 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: need to go over all of that again. But indigo, 134 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: just very briefly, was a plant that thrived in the 135 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: Low Country and slaves were used to to cultivate the 136 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: end Togo and it was a big, big cash crop 137 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: for the South. It's the reason Georgia legalized slavery. Remember, Yeah, 138 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: that's right. So this blue was available to the Gulligichi people, 139 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: even though the color and the spiritual power of this 140 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: blue is sort of all over the world, but they 141 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: would have this blue and it sort of became the 142 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: color that they would use because it reminded them of 143 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: the sky and of the ocean, and the idea was 144 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: that you paint this on your porch or on a 145 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,319 Speaker 1: door maybe, and it tricks these spirits into thinking that 146 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: they're in water, or they can't cross, or they're in 147 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: the sky or something like that. Yeah, because there's one 148 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: thing you can say about haints, and that is that 149 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: they're kind of gullible. It sounds like, at the very least, 150 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:50,599 Speaker 1: they have a lot of um uh faults and flaws 151 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: that can be manipulated by people who know what to 152 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: look for. Yeah, they're dumb. The problem is is if 153 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: you're visiting somebody on their porch and they have a 154 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: haint blue see laying on their porch, there might be 155 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: a haint hanging out in there. So they didn't make 156 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: it into the house, they could still be on the porch. 157 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: So f y, I never visit your neighbor. And uh, 158 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: you know, we should point out that this is has 159 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: got a rich tradition in this low country culture, but 160 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: it has very much become part of the mainstream and 161 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: a very kind of h color for front porch ceilings 162 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: and stuff. Like that, and there's nothing wrong with that, 163 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: but I think you know, educate yourself, know where it 164 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: comes from, know a little bit about the tradition. If 165 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,200 Speaker 1: you're going to do something like that, I think yeah, totally. 166 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:36,839 Speaker 1: I mean, at the very at least be able to 167 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: say what what that is instead of like that pretty 168 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: blue who knows where it comes from? Who cares? I 169 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: had a Volkswagen Beetle that was Robin's egg blue. Such 170 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:47,599 Speaker 1: a great color, man, it was gorgeous. It's tough to 171 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: beat a good Robin's egg blue. Agreed, So way to go, 172 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: Goligichi people. That's pretty awesome as far as traditions go. 173 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:59,440 Speaker 1: And keep up the good work. Battling haints you anything else? 174 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: Nothing else? All right? Well, if you want to hear 175 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: more about this, start this episode over because short Stuff 176 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,679 Speaker 1: is out. H Stuff you Should Know is a production 177 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,559 Speaker 1: of I Heeart Radios How Stuff Works. For more podcasts 178 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,680 Speaker 1: for my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 179 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H