HAINT BLUE 

The Legend

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  Haint Blue is a mesmerizing and fascinating color -- a color seen on doors, shutters, entire buildings and most commonly on porch ceilings all over the world. The picture below was taken on a trip to Indonesia. Learning that this color and its mystic qualities were so far-reaching, I decided to explore in depth the legend of Haint Blue.
  

  

  
  I discovered that Haint Blue is a spiritual and cultural based color especially in the southern United States. Milk paint formulas were mixed in pits dug right on the properties where the painters were working. One ingredient in the milk paint formula is lime. A common trait associated with Haint Blue is that it keeps bugs from landing, lingering, living on outdoor porch ceilings. With a little further investigating, I found it likely the lime in the blue paint mixtures is what deterred the insects, not the color itself. Modern paint formulas do not contain lime, so I'm not so sure that painting your porch ceiling blue is going to help shoo the bugs, but it certainly can be an attractive treatment for a porch ceiling.
  
  Wanting to see an example of Haint Blue in person, I started searching the world wide web. Amazingly, my research lead me to an 1856 Italianate in Dresden, OH called Prospect Place. I had no idea that it was one of the most haunted mansions in Ohio until I got there. Yes, it was an adventure!
  
  The point of my visit to Prospect Place was to see walls painted Haint Blue. I was not disappointed. Prospect Place was a station on the Underground Railroad. George W. Adams, the builder of Prospect Place, was a staunch abolitionist and his servants of African origin, who likely migrated from the South, were employees not slaves. They had their own quarters in the house and they had painted many of the rooms they lived in a color they brought with them stemming from their culture, the aforementioned Haint Blue and the purpose of my trek to Prospect Place.
  
  The significance of Haint Blue is that it was, and still is, believed to ward off and deter spirits, particularly evil spirits. Especially interesting is that several rooms at Prospect Place have the original Haint Blue milk paint which was probably applied circa 1856 when the house was built. Now, if you will recall, I mentioned that Prospect Place is considered one of the most haunted mansion in Ohio. Put two and two together, and one has to wonder why the servants painted their private rooms Haint Blue!
  
  I managed to get a sample right from the walls thanks to George J. Adams, great-great grandson of George W. Adams. See the picture at left courtesy of www.graveaddiction.com
  
  
  I have also obtained custom formulas of two Haint Blues that the Savannah Historical Society reproduced and authorized for use in 1980. See virtual color samples of Haint Blue Light and Haint Blue Dark below:
  
  Haint Blue Light
  
  Haint Blue Dark
  
  Haint Blue Light is almost a mint green. Haint Blue Dark is a mid tone teal. I've come to believe that Haint Blue is more of a culturally iconic hue that falls in the light blue to blue-green range rather than an actual, specific color. I imagine the variance in color had a lot had to do with the pigments and ingredients that were available region to region and site to site.
  
  ©2006 Lori Sawaya
  All Rights Reserved

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