Appalachian Word of the Week -- HAINTS

If you grew up in the mountains, you've heard a lot about HAINTS. I remember stories my parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents told about the HAINTS they swore they had seen.

They had me so scared of HAINTS (ghosts), I didn't want to go anywhere by myself after dark. Heck, I didn't want to be alone during the day either. That included the bathroom and definitely included the outhouse at Granny's house. Of course, it didn't help that Mom loved watching scary movies on TV.

My mom told me about a HAINTED house she lived in with her aunt Mamie when she got her first job. What scared me most about her tales was when we went to visit Great Aunt Mamie and I was left to wander around that old house. The main floor wasn't too bad, but I couldn't bring myself to climb the winding staircase to the upper floors. Even when my cousins were with me. Mom's stories would come back to me about what my relatives had seen and experienced on the stairs. I would take a couple of those steps and start to tremble with fear. I just knew there was a HAINT waiting for me on the next step. Each step I took made my heart race more. I felt cold all over and just knew the HAINT had its hand on me making me cold. I'd finally take all I could stand and fly down those stairs and back into the kitchen where the adults gathered.

Stories of HAINTS weren't limited to family, though. When we first moved to Loyall, Kentucky, my dad met a lady on his Greyhound bus (he worked as operator) who told him about a HAINTED house in Loyall. She told him all kinds of scary stories. When the bus rolled past our house, she pointed to it and said, "That's it. That's the one that's so HAINTED!" Dad laughed it off, but I think he wondered about those stories.

Our HAINTED house in Loyall, Kentucky

I think sometimes that our parents told us those scary stories to get us to behave at night and not run around making mischief. Worked for me.

Appalachian folk love their scary stories. Almost everybody you ask can come up with a few that will make you spend the next few days looking over your shoulder, expecting a HAINT to be right there to get you.

Old Lynch Hospital in Harlan County

A few years ago, I spent a couple of weeks in Lynch, Kentucky at the old hospital. I came there to do some research for my book (which will be published in late 2018). I rented a room from the missionaries who use the building now for volunteers who come into Harlan County to do service projects. Because of the time of year, I was the only person in the building most of the time. Believe me, those hallways were dark, even when the lights were on. It didn't help that the guy who had shown me to my room when I arrived told me not to worry about the noises at night. He pointed out that it had nothing to do with the fact that my room was the old morgue.

After I came home, I saw an article on Facebook about a group of ghosthunters who did an investigation at the old hospital. Glad I didn't know that while I was there.

Do you have any stories of HAINTS in your hometown? Have any personal experiences that made your hair stand on end? I'd love to hear your story.

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