Henry’s Spirit Box Session (1): Haint Blue, Hoodoo & Hidden Walls

History, Haunts, & Hahas!
7 days ago
7 min read

Henry’s 1/9/26

R [8:28:18 PM]: hurt hoodoo attached scared woods wall

Cliff Notes Version

(For Extended Version, Keep Scrolling)

The Henry’s Spirit Box Session That Wouldn’t Let Me Ignore the Wall

At Henry’s in Charleston, there’s a covered deck with a haint blue ceiling—courtyard-style, with two building sides and two open-air sides. On 1/9/26 at 8:28:18 pm, a spirit box session dropped this word cluster:

hurt / hoodoo / attached / scared / woods / wall

So I did what any responsible haunted-history person does: I researched the words.

The internet didn’t hand me one clean “this happened here” story. It handed me two big themes:

Lowcountry hoodoo/conjure history—a real cultural tradition with deep roots, often discussed in scholarship and even archaeology. Some research shows how protective practices can leave traces around thresholds and structures. (Cambridge University Press & Assessment)

A “wall” story: the duel death of Turner Bynum, who accounts say was buried outside a cemetery wall because dueling wasn’t considered Christian—later enclosed as the cemetery expanded.

(Not a Henry’s story—just a “wall + spiritual rules” thread that kept surfacing. We’ll do a full post on it later.)

Then it clicked: haint blue.

That blue ceiling is part folklore threshold protection (often discussed in connection with Gullah Geechee tradition) and part very practical Southern logic—blue “sky” ceilings are also commonly said to help discourage insects from nesting. (Southern Living)

So when the session kept tugging at wall, my brain went: what if “wall” isn’t just paranormal? What if it’s architectural? What if something is literally in there?

And once you think “hidden in a wall,” Charleston’s favorite chaotic era shows up: Prohibition. People hid plenty when alcohol was illegal—false compartments, concealed bottles, creative storage. (Smithsonian Magazine)

Do I know there’s something hidden in Henry’s wall? No.

Do I think the question is worth asking—especially in a building that’s evolved over time? Absolutely.

If you want the full story (and the exact spot to stand under that blue ceiling), book a tour. We’ll do history, haunts, and a little comedy—because in Charleston, the past is never fully past… it’s just better dressed.

Henry’s Spirit Box Session: Haint Blue, Hoodoo, and the Question of the Wall

(Extended Version: For Those Who Like to Have Their Tea & Drink It, Too)

If you’ve ever stood in a half-open Charleston courtyard and felt like the air changed—like you stepped across an invisible line—then you already understand the vibe of the covered deck at Henry’s On the Market in Charleston.

This is the spot: the building wraps you on two perpendicular sides, while two sides stay open to the elements. It’s courtyard-like—protected but not closed. And over part of that deck is a haint blue ceiling.

And yes: that ceiling matters—whether you believe in spirits, superstition, folklore, or just the very real physics of bugs in the South.

The moment that kicked this off

On 1/9/26 at 8:28:18 pm, during a spirit box session at Henry’s, we got a tight little word cluster:

“hurt / hoodoo / attached / scared / woods / wall”

Now, spirit box sessions are not courtroom evidence. They’re not “proof.” They’re an experience—one that can be interpreted through a bunch of lenses: paranormal belief, subconscious pattern-making, environmental cues, suggestion, coincidence… or something else entirely.

But when a session drops words that feel location-specific, you don’t ignore it—you investigate responsibly.

Step one: research the weird words (and what popped up)

When I chased those keywords the way any obsessed history-haunt gremlin would (“hurt hoodoo attached scared woods wall…”), I didn’t find one neat, singular “Charleston archived story that perfectly matches.”

What I found instead was a whole lot of hoodoo/conjure history—and one very specific “wall” story that kept surfacing: the Turner Bynum duel.

Cliff notes: the Turner Bynum duel (we’ll do a full blog later)

In short: Turner Bynum was a newspaper editor who died after a duel with Benjamin F. Perry amid intense political conflict of the era. Accounts describe how Bynum was buried outside the consecrated cemetery wall because dueling was considered un-Christian—then later cemetery expansion enclosed the grave.

That “outside the wall” detail is the hook—but it’s not about Henry’s. It’s just what the research world threw onto the table when I asked it about “wall” + “spiritual practices” in South Carolina.

So the question became…

Step two: what applies to Henry’s?

As the research kept circling spiritual practice + thresholds + protection, my brain did the most Charleston thing possible:

Oh. The haint blue ceiling.

Haint blue is widely discussed as a Lowcountry/Gullah Geechee-associated tradition: paint the porch ceiling a pale blue to discourage haints/spirits from crossing the threshold—or to confuse them, or to signal water/sky. Different tellings emphasize different “why’s.” (Southern Living)

And here’s the beautiful part: even if you’re not a “haints” person, there’s also a plain, practical explanation people repeat constantly in the South:

Blue ceilings can make insects less likely to nest because the color mimics sky/light.

Is it the only reason? Probably not. Is it a reason? In a place with Charleston humidity and flying, stinging ambition? It sure doesn’t hurt. (Architectural Digest)

So now we’ve got a spot at Henry’s with a haint blue ceiling—a known “threshold” symbol in local folklore—and a spirit box word set that includes hoodoo and wall.

Step three: the hoodoo connection (history + respect, not sensationalism)

Hoodoo (also called conjure/rootwork in many sources) is broadly described as an African American folk-magic tradition that developed under slavery and blended African spiritual survivals with elements of Indigenous and European practice. (Cambridge University Press & Assessment)

And importantly: the scholarship and archaeology around Lowcountry spiritual practice isn’t just “spooky stories.” Researchers have documented how protective practices can leave physical traces—like caches or deposits in and around buildings (thresholds, doorways, windows), sometimes involving common protective materials. (PMC)

That doesn’t mean “Henry’s has a conjure bundle in the wall.”

It means: in this region, people historically used protective practices tied to thresholds and structures—so it’s not a ridiculous idea to ask structure-based questions.(PMC)

Step four: why the wall keeps tugging at the story

Back to Henry’s: that covered-deck section wasn’t always “just a deck.” The area used to be tied to living quarters/office space, and I’ve got photos showing the deck area evolving over time (open-air in earlier images vs. covered now).

So when the spirit box words feel like they’re pointing—“wall”—my interpretation doesn’t have to jump straight to ghost.

It can start with the simplest, most Charleston-appropriate possibilities:

A renovation seam that hides old openings
A patched doorway/window line
Old storage cavities
Electrical/plumbing chases
Or—yes—things intentionally concealed

And that’s where the next thought shift happened:

If something were hidden in a wall, Charleston has an entire era famous for hiding things.

Step five: Prohibition taught everyone to hide things

When alcohol was illegal, people got creative: false compartments, disguised storage, hidden spaces—because survival (and profit) loves a secret. Popular histories of Prohibition describe both the scale of illegal liquor distribution and the ingenuity used to conceal it. (Smithsonian Magazine)

And Charleston-specific storytelling about vice, enforcement, and “respectable” façades is a whole ecosystem—one we’ll keep handling with care and citations as we build it. (More on that in future Henry’s / Market corridor posts.) (Charleston City Paper)

So: “wall” doesn’t have to mean “spirit stuck in drywall.”

It can also mean: history stuck in the building.

Six practical next steps (the “Okay, but what do we DO?” list)

Here are six grounded ways to move forward—whether you’re a skeptic, a believer, or a “both, depending on the day” person:

Map the exact hotspot: Stand where the session felt strongest. Mark the deck’s two solid walls. Note where the covered ceiling begins/ends. Patterns love a map.
Do a low-drama documentation pass: Take daytime photos of that wall line: seams, patches, vents, old framing, weird trim transitions. If you find a “story seam,” you’ve got a lead—paranormal or architectural.
Run a “quiet night” audio test: Set a recorder in the covered-deck zone (with permission and privacy in mind). You’re not chasing demons—you’re collecting baseline sound. Wind + wood + old structures can create very real “voices,” and that’s useful data either way.
Check the renovation timeline for that specific section: You already have renovation-related leads and public-history breadcrumbs. Cross-check what changed when (deck coverage, office footprint, wall work). Even a rough timeline can tell you what might be inside a wall.
Treat hoodoo/haint-blue context with respect: If we reference Gullah Geechee cultural traditions or Lowcountry conjure history publicly, we do it as culture and survival history—not as a gimmick. Scholarship exists for a reason; use it carefully. (Cambridge University Press & Assessment)
Come walk it with me: Because the whole point of History, Haunts, & Hahas! is this exact moment: history + hauntings + comedy, without bullying anyone’s beliefs. If you want the Henry’s story in full—deck evolution, threshold folklore, and the “what might be in that wall” Prohibition wink—book a tour and I’ll show you where to stand, what to look for, and how locals tell the tale.

Works Cited / Source Links

Henry’s on the Market haunted • Henry’s Charleston ghost • Henry’s spirit box session • haint blue ceiling Charleston • Gullah Geechee haint blue • Charleston haunted pub crawl • Lowcountry hoodoo conjure • “blind tiger” Charleston history • Prohibition Charleston hidden walls • Charleston ghost tour Henry’s

Stay posted for more from this spirit box session:

R [8:28:18 PM]: hurt hoodoo attached scared woods wall
R [8:28:32 PM]: yes waiting woman beware here body
R [8:28:47 PM]: dimension possession wendigo hide never warning
R [8:28:58 PM]: stairs hi lost tormented sister listen
R [8:29:04 PM]: dead shadow person where cold spot follow dead
R [8:29:16 PM]: fae lover afraid anxious woman fae
R [8:29:30 PM]: afraid spirit window dawn phantom run
R [8:29:40 PM]: sorry blessings limbo crypt poisoned desperate
R [8:29:52 PM]: betrayed lie down haunted reaper God
R [8:30:01 PM]: hurt soldier where dark yearning time
R [8:30:07 PM]: lover rest gone long hopeful warning
R [8:30:17 PM]: punishment deceased
R [8:30:32 PM]: seven stay scared home afterlife fade
R [8:30:38 PM]: danger evil dark leave heaven salt
R [8:30:56 PM]: there down suicide shadow goodbye pirate
R [8:31:04 PM]: thank you curse dusk regret dark accident
R [8:31:13 PM]: evil poisoned grief behind despair then
R [8:31:25 PM]: angel styx bitter careful husband midnight
R [8:31:36 PM]: afraid aura restless show help summoning
R [8:31:46 PM]: child remember trial after reaper blessed

Keyword ideas (mix & match):

Henry’s on the Market haunted, Henry’s Charleston ghost, spirit box session Charleston, haint blue ceiling Charleston, Gullah Geechee haint blue, hoodoo Lowcountry conjure, Charleston haunted pub crawl, Prohibition hidden compartments, Charleston ghost tour, Henry’s rooftop deck