Look closely under the roof of this double-height porch and you’ll notice the distinctive hue of Haint Blue, a staple of Southern homes for centuries. Like many traditions of the American South, this one originated with the enslaved Black community. “Haint,” a riff on “haunt,” nods to an African-American vernacular term for ghost, or spirit, and was believed by the Gullah people of the Lowcountry to ward off bad spirits. Its application on the porch, specifically, was meant to mimic the sky beyond, tricking a ghost from entering the house.