We spend a lot of time relaxing and chatting on our front porch. My front porch ceiling is painted white, and I’ve never really thought about it. If you’re from the South, you may have considered porch ceilings previously, as many of them are painted blue! Although some argue that painting a porch ceiling blue is solely for aesthetic reasons, there is a long history in the South of why people paint porch ceilings this color.

For generations (about 200 years), many homeowners in the Deep South have painted their porch ceilings a pale to medium blue. This originated with the Gullah Geechee, a group of enslaved people that lived in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

According to Gullah legend, spirits, known as “haints,” are unable to cross water. Because of the horrific history of slavery and brutality in the South, it was believed that spirits would become trapped on plantations, haunting current and future residents of the homes and lands. The front porch ceiling was painted blue to simulate water and keep these spirits out of the homes. Some residents even extended the blue paint theme to window shutters and doors.

While this appears to be the long-standing tradition of blue porch ceilings, others paint their ceiling porches blue to deter wasps from constructing nests there, to preserve the sense of daylight around for longer, or just because it is more fascinating than a plain wood or white ceiling. In addition to the fascinating yet grim history of blue porch ceilings, people in the South appear to value the nostalgic memories they generate, as they are found in so many Southern homes.

So, the next time you’re in the Deep South and see a blue porch ceiling, you’ll know why!