'However, I can't imagine any important difference between "hello" and "halo". Too bad you never thought to ask'

Both Mom and Grandmother Ruby are now dead, and Ruby died before I had a chance to know her. From what Mom told me, Ruby distinguished between pronunciations as "hello" (the greeting) and "halo" (the aura or nimbus). A "halo" greeting indicated a good person, and "hello" indicated a suspicious one. Mom couldn't hear any difference when visitors spoke these words (or, maybe, the one word). Also, I don't know of any southern Georgians pronouncing "hello" with a long A instead of a short E - so I wondered whether anyone had heard of "halo the house" as a greeting or whether Ruby was using body language or some other clue when she decided to let someone in or keep someone out. Ruby lived in the late 1800s-early 1900s.

Thanks,
Tsyganka