If you’re Black, you’ve been told by someone in your family about some haint, a reappearing phantom or a folktale that left you with chills. In honor of spooky season coming, it’s only right for us to recount some of our Black favorites.
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First, let’s give you a lil’ history. Black folklore, whether African or African American folklore, dates back to the 1700s. Storytelling was a huge part of our cultural foundation all the way back before the Transatlantic Slave trade. Many folktales originated from cultural or spiritual beliefs. Others were based on real life experiences during slavery to expose the horrid realities of it but also to keep enslaved people on their toes and ready to fight for liberation.
The themes range between comical trickster tales to scary ghost stories, many being inspired from specific regions from around the country or even the world.
Mosey through this list of Black folktales and see you if you recognize any of these stories:
Candyman, Candyman, Candyman
Though based off the 1992 horror film, the lore behind the Candyman is a legend of its own. The film was inspired by Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden” and follows the folklore tale of the ghost of a Black artist and son of an enslaved man who was murdered by an angry white mob after his relationship with a white woman was exposed. His hand was sawed off and covered with honey, leading to his eventual death by bee stings.
Candyman’s story was remixed by director Bernard Rose who made the tale of his ghost that came to haunt the Cabrini Green public housing development in Chicago – the location where his corpse was burned centuries earlier. He taunted children with candy riddled with blades and kidnapped them by the sweep of the hook he had for a hand.
Want a meeting with him? Say his name five times and into a mirror.
Blue Paint Keeps Away Haints
The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of slaves from the low country of America’s Southeastern coastlands. These Black Americans, many who can still speak a pidgin language that includes Africanisms, tell tales of “haints” or evil spirits who stalk the living because they have not accepted they are dead, per Forsyth Family Magazine. They are said to prey on naughty children but more so, attempt to inhabit the homes of the living. Therefore, across the southern region, houses are painted “haint blue” to ward off the evil spirits and protect the occupants of the homes.
Boo Hag
The Boo Hag comes from another line of southern folklore, heavily influenced from the Gullah Geechee people. The legend traces back to a creature from West African folklore known to be a shapeshifting type of vampire, per Fabric of Folklore. It’s hunt begins at night when it sheds it’s skin to prey on those who slumber and either drain their blood or take their breath. To keep them away, legend says a broom or pile of straw near your bed.
On the other side of folklore, Boo Hags were said to be shapeshifting witches among the enslaved people who charmed people they wanted to sleep with and “rode them like horses” in their creature-form, according to Jacob Stroyer’s autobiography. To keep them away, enslaved people slept with a Bible or placed cayenne pepper and salt in the corners of the room.
Dancing Devils
These are not spirits but rather people who dress as them. Originating in Liberia, “dancing devils” are tribal deities who are worshipped by the Poro men and Sande women, per the Institute Artist.
Their performances are folklore stories in themselves, telling stories that promote societal order through punishment, per NPR. However, the group stays underground and out of the spotlight, only accepting members by initiation which has been highly criticized by the government. Though, when they appear with their grand displays, towering over with stilts or covered in a bush of straw, they are impossible not to look at.
Big Liz
The most known Chesapeake Bay ghost is none other than Big Liz. There’s plenty of versions of her story. However, the most common tale says Liz was a large woman enslaved on a plantation near the Greenbriar Swamp, per Bay to Bay News. The legend says her slave master, a cruel man, ordered Liz to carry a chest full of his possessions to the swamp. After digging a deep hole and placing the chest inside, the man drew a sword and sliced her head off while her back was turned. Since then, swamp visitors claim they’ve experienced odd sightings and chilling presences around the area, alleging Liz still haunts the swamp.
Care to summon her? Honk your horn or flash your headlights on the swamp’s bridge.
Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau
Laveau wasn’t just an urban legend of New Orleans, she was the Voodoo Queen of the times. Back in the late 1800s, she was said to be a hairdresser to wealthy white women who poured out their secrets to her, in typical hairdresser style, per Britannica. She was known as a generous samaritan who was originally a faithful Catholic until she appeared to take interest in incorporating Voodoo practices – which she would use to her financial benefit in exchange of receiving status from the higher class women. She died peacefully at 79 years old. Though, local New Orleans residents claim her spirit wanders about the St. Louis Cemetery.
If you visit her tombstone, you’ll see a plethora of X marks in threes. Legend has it if you draw the symbols, turn around three times, knock on the tomb and yell your wish – it just might be granted.
The Ghost of Myrtle’s Plantation
In another spooky slave tale, we have a girl named Chloe. The enslaved girl was said to have lived on the Myrtle Plantation in St. Francisville, per Nola.com. Though it is speculated that she was even on the property, various folktales allege she became the target of Judge Clark Woodruffe’s advances. However, when she was caught eavesdropping on a conversation about sending her to do fieldwork, the judge sliced her ear off, forcing her into a turban to hide the wound.
Chloe allegedly devised a plan to poison the family by way of a birthday cake. However, the judge didn’t take a bite. When the locals heard of what she’d done, she was lynched by an angry white mob. Visitors say Chloe still haunts the walls of the mansion and often appears as a shadowy figure in photos of the plantation.
Anansi
One of the most known tricksters is Anansi, which originated from Ghana and adopted by the Caribbean. The Anansi was initially considered to be creator of the world but was typically portrayed as a spider-like creature, per Britannica. The trickster is known to outsmart oppressors with cunning wit and the knack for escaping sticky situations. The Anansi’s tricks can be quite harsh to assert dominance over his opposers including acts of cannibalism, exploitation and serious betrayal.
For enslaved people, Anansi became a symbol of hope to escape bondage, offering strategy to devise plans and make decisions foreseeing the consequences.
The Boogeyman
Having origins from hundreds of countries around the world, the continuous story about the “Boogeyman” is that he (or it) is an evil being that sulks in the darkness to prey upon disobedient children. Sometimes, he’s portrayed as a monster hiding under your bed or staircase.
However, in Haiti, he’s considered to be a mythological being called Tonton Macoute (“Uncle Gunnysack”), per Brown University. He kidnaps children by throwing them in a sack (or macoute) and punishes them by eating them for breakfast. This name was soon adapted to describe the Haitian secret police created in the 1950s by dictator Francois Duvalier who kept Haitians feeling like they were fleeing “the Boogeyman” for decades.
Shango
Originated in the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria, Shango is recognized as the God of Thunder, who other cultures might consider to be Zeus. However, his legend is connected to a king of Oyo who reigned for over 500 years, per The Collector.
His damning experiments to create lightening with magic left both his palace and family destroyed. Sunken in shame, he took his own life. However, Yoruba people believe he ascended as an orisha, or divine deity, who uses lightening to defend Oyo from its enemies.
High John Roots
The root medicinal herb is a common ingredient in spells used for protection from evil spirits, granting good fortune with money and relationships and instilling strength. Its magical properties stem from the legend of High John The Conqueror.
His story originates from old African American folklore where he’s said to be a cunning enslaved trickster but turns to a fool once in the presence of an oppressor, per Oxford Reference. Overall, he’s emphasized to be a conjure maker. Therefore, using the herb or its oil can conjure success and love if you desire it.
Flying Africans
The widespread legend is a tale directly from the desire of enslaved people to be set free from bondage. The legend claims some Africans were able to escape their chains by flight… literally. They are said to have used a magical passage to go back home to the motherland.
Allegedly this tale is inspired by real, firsthand events recorded back in the 1800s, per The Collector. The lore is said to have been the inspiration behind the mass suicide of the Igbo people in 1803 who drowned themselves in refusal to become enslaved and hope to be taken home by the water.
Uncle Monday
The Hoodoo legend’s tale was originally told by author Zora Neale Hurston. The man was born in Africa, where he became a practiced shaman. When enslaved, he was brought to the Carolinas but escaped and traveled further down to Florida where he helped Indigenous people learn herbal magic.
According to the Museum of Florida History, Uncle Monday wasn’t just magical with herbs but had his own magic ability: shapeshifting into an alligator. Legend says he also had command over other reptiles. He reigned as a Hoodoo man of the highest power. There’s no telling if he still crawls the streets of Eatonville, Florida.
Sukey and The Mermaid
Sukey’s story is about a girl who sneaks off from tending the garden to go to the beach and sing a song to conjure “Mama Jo.” In Caribbean folklore, the name is translated to “water mother” or “mermaid.” The two become friends and eventually Mama Jo begins to gift Sukey with coins, which her dad seizes as soon as she comes home. The story goes on that Mama Jo blesses Sukey with a dowry of jewels and gold but under the condition she marry one man: Dembo. When he shows up, Sukey’s father kills him, takes the dowry and flees by sea… only to get swallowed up by the waves because Mama Jo wasn’t having it. Dembo is revived by magic so he and Sukey live happily ever after.
The tale is a sweeter spin on the original lore around mermaids. Igbo people passed down stories from centuries ago that half-fish, half-human creatures were visiting water spirits, per the American Museum of Natural History. The most popular was Mami Wata, who was known to heal the sick. Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, mermaids are known as sinister tricksters who seduce men to their deaths.
The Badman
The trickster tale that managed to ascend from old folklore into modern culture was none other than The Badman. The legend is similar to every other trickster character in slavery folklore. However, The Badman doesn’t take the form of the cute and witty Br’er Rabbit but instead of a sly, dark outlaw.
His heroic yet rebellious appearance evolved into the original “gangsta” culture, as described by author John W. Roberts. Remember the story of ol’ pimp “Stag” Lee Shelton? The guy who shot another man dead over losing his hat? His story was heavily correlated with the Badman trope. The character just kept evolving until we saw it blossom into the persona of our favorite Hip Hop artists and modern “gangstas” we see today.
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