Old 'haint hunting' method involved two sticks, cupped hands and bravery

Pine Barren Creek in Wilcox County, Ala.

A reader sent me an e-mail a week or so ago and asked me a several questions about “haints.” What are they? Where did the word “haint” come from? Have I ever seen one?

As many of you readers will know, the word “haint” is nothing more than another word for ghost. Believed to be a variation of the word “haunt,” the term is now considered part of the regional dialect of the Southern United States. One dictionary that I checked said the word comes from the old Middle English word “haunten” or from the Old French word “hanter.”

When most of us hear the word “haint” we think of a ghost. However, I also read that some people believe that a haint is a spirit or witch that will chase their victims until they die from exhaustion. Others say that haints are unfriendly, restless spirits that exist between the physical world and the afterlife. In almost all cases, haints are described as negative beings or as tricksters.

Recently, one well known Wilcox County native told me that he remembered hearing older people tell stories years and years ago about their own encounters with haints. He also noted that haints played a big part in local Boy Scout initiations during the 1960s when Peyton Burford was scout master of Troop 94. Back in those days, you had to “catch a haint” as part of the initiation process when you wanted to move up from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.

This ritual would take place during late night camping trips at various locations throughout the county. The man telling me this story said that he was 11 years old when he “caught” his haint during a camping trip on Pine Barren Creek.

He went on to explain that to catch a haint you had to hold two sticks, about 24 inches long, in each hand, between your thumb and pointer finger, while cupping your hands. Then you would shout three times, “Here, Haint! Here, Haint! Here, Haint!”

I asked the man if they had to use a certain type of wood to attract a haint, and he said that they just used any type of sticks that they could find. He said that the sticks did have to be large enough to catch the haint around its neck when it tried to eat out of your cupped hands. The man noted that other scouts would try to catch the haint by its temples rather than around the neck.

In either case, once you caught the haint, it was yours for life, the man said. Of course, after the young scout survived the night outdoors and the initiation ritual, the scoutmaster would explain the initiation and officially welcome the youngster to the troop. The scoutmaster would also swear the young scouts to secrecy regarding the initiation so as not to spoil it for other up and coming scouts.

In the end, I have never seen a haint or a ghost, but I have witnessed many other unusual incidents. I consider myself to be an open-minded skeptic, and I always enjoy hearing from people who have had unusual, supernatural experiences. With that said, let me hear from you if you’ve ever seen a haint or a ghost or anything else unusual in and around Wilcox County.