The Moonlit Road - The Boo Hag: Cultural Background

	Storyteller Cabin
	Origin
	Gullah
	Federal Writers Project

- The Boo-Hag Origin

Gullah Island

"The Boo-Hag" is based on an old Gullah folktale passed around the coastal islands of Georgia for years. Many of these folktales were collected and preserved in written form for the Federal Writers Project, an ambitious government program providing jobs for unemployed writers during the 1930s and 1940s. Boo-hags, also known as simply "hags," are evil, supernatural creatures that can be found in stories and folktales throughout the world (such as Shakespeare's Hamlet). In most tales, they are ugly, malicious old women who are believed to be in leagues with the Devil or the dead. They can take the form of witches, sorceresses, she-devils or evil spirits. They can also appear as beautiful young women who seduce and weaken rich and handsome young men.

At night, a boo-hag would typically sneak into a sleeping victim's home and commit all kinds of dastardly deeds, such as sucking his blood, stealing his voice and causing nightmares. One of the most common boo-hag tricks is to "ride" a sleeping victim like a horse for miles, tiring him to the point that he would die of exhaustion. The term "hag-ridden" is used to describe someone who is distressed by nightmares or hallucinations of being ridden at night.

The Gullah people came up with unique ways of battling the boo-hag. One method was to put a loaded gun across the head of the bed, since boo-hags hate the smell of gunpowder. Another method was to sleep with a fork under the pillow to keep from being ridden. Yet another was to lay a broom on the floor, since the boo-hag would be inclined to stop and count every straw until the sun came up.

If you're interested in learning more about Gullah culture and the Sea Islands, you may want to check out the following sites:

Georgia Sea Island Singers - For over 20 years, this unique group has toured the world sharing songs and stories set against the history and mystique of the Georgia Sea Islands.

Golden Isles Navigator - A very comprehensive site about the region and its people. Especially helpful if you're planning a trip.

The Internet Movie Database - Contains lots of information on Daughters of the Dust, one of the few films to feature the Gullah people and their unique traditions.