Haint Blue--Supernatural protection in one coat latex or oil enamel!

Sometimes even Mr. Macabre can be taught a thing or two.  While taking my morning walk with Sausage Von Trapp, I casually asked about the color of her porch ceiling, which was a kind of sky/powder blue and that I had noticed a couple of homes with the porch painted the same way.  I was informed it was "Haint Blue".  Coming from the South, I of course, knew what a haint was; a restless spirit, usually a bit on the nasty side.  And I knew the color blue.

Photos courtesy of Curb Appeal For Dummies

So what makes this color so special?   Legend has it that spirits cannot travel over bodies of water and this color mimicked the color of water thereby tricking haints from crossing into the house.  Not only porches were painted for protection, but shutters, doors, window trims as well as whole houses too for the particularly supernaturally paranoid.  Haint Blue comes in many different hues and shades from greenish to deeper blues depending on the area of the country. 

Some believe that it can deter insects and birds by mimicking open sky.  I wouldn't bet too much on that theory personally, my money's on a can of OFF and a citronella candle. 

So there you are, if you're looking for a color to paint your porch roof and are in a particularly spooky mood, give Haint Blue a consideration, if nothing else for the conversation it could strike up.

Sadly enough, I don't like the color blue very much.  Why couldn't it have been Haint Purple or Haint Orange or Haint Ochre?