#haint

HAINT

When gentrifiers mysteriously begin to die, a Gullah Geechee handywoman who recently lost her home must decide whether to help them or leave the newcomers to their fate.

Can watch below:

A haint is a spirit or ghost deeply rooted in Southern folklore, often described as a restless entity that lingers to haunt the living. The term “haint” is believed to have originated from the word “haunt,” evolving through African and Gullah-Geechee cultural influences in the American South.

These spirits are often associated with mischief, fear, or revenge, with tales of haints told to explain mysterious occurrences or instill caution...

Haints: Ghosts Rooted in Gullah Tradition 📚🕯️

The concept likely originated with the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved Africans who lived in the coastal low country and barrier islands of the Carolinas. In their belief system, haints are dangerous entities, often associated with fear, illness, and punishment. Stories about haints were sometimes used to scare children into behaving, describing spirits that would steal away those who misbehaved.

Haints are typically understood as malevolent spirits with the power to harm the living. While they don’t differ drastically from other ghostly figures in folklore, what sets them apart is the cultural context in which they appear. These spirits reflect a blend of African religious beliefs, American experience, and the development of Hoodoo, an African American spiritual practice, that was often misrepresented or dismissed. As with many traditions passed down orally, the details and interpretations of haints can vary widely from one community or storyteller to another.

Despite their threatening nature, not all encounters with spirits are seen as harmful. Scholar Kinitra D. Brooks has written about her own experience of being protected by the ghost of her grandmother, challenging the idea that all haints are evil. This reflects a more nuanced view of the spirit world within Southern Black traditions, where the dead can also offer guidance, protection, or warning.

One of the most well-known folk practices associated with haints is the use of “Haint Blue” paint. This pale blue-green color, often seen on porch ceilings, doors, and window frames throughout the South, was believed to repel spirits. According to the tradition, haints fear water and would mistake the blue paint for a river or the sky, thus avoiding the home. This custom is especially associated with the Gullah people and has become a lasting visual marker of Southern folk belief.

From: Journeys through the Radiant Citadel (The Nightsea's Succor)

Medium Undead, typically Neutral

AC 12

HP 75 (10d8 + 30)

Speed 30 ft., Fly 30 ft. (hover)

Str 7 -2 Dex 15 +2 Con 17 +3 Int 10 +0 Wis 13 +1 Cha 17 +3

Skills Deception +6, Stealth +8

Resistances Acid, Fire, Thunder; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical attacks

Immunities Cold, Necrotic, Poison

Cannot Be Charmed, Exhausted, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained

Senses Darkvision 60 ft.

Languages Any languages it knew in life

CR 7

Traits

Incorporeal Movement. The haint can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Unusual Nature. The haint doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Actions

Multiattack. The haint makes two Sorrowful Touch attacks.

Sorrowful Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 21 (4d8 + 3) psychic damage.

Change Shape. The haint magically assumes the appearance of the Humanoid it was in life, while retaining its game statistics. The assumed appearance ends if the haint is reduced to 0 hit points or uses an action to end it.

Bonus Actions

Shared Sorrow. The haint targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of itself that is missing any hit points, sharing its own torment with this pained soul. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be incapacitated.

A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the haint's Shared Sorrow for the next 24 hours.