Hawaiian folklore is a mixture of ancient Hawaiian mythology and various urban legends that have been passed on from one generation to another. These include spine-tingling tales regarding various places in the islands. With Halloween just lurking around the corner, there is no better time to talk about Hawaii's most haunted spots and the scary tales behind them. Below is a low down of the island's most celebrated supernatural places and why they are worth your visit.
Kapiolani Park in Waikiki is one of the most haunted spots on Oahu. Today, locals report of hearing battle cries and seeing figures dressed in ancient battle gear in the park. The eerie apparitions are called Huakai’po or the night marchers which are believed to be the ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors. If you ever encounter them, never look them straight in the eye or you will be forced to walk among them for eternity. You should also lie down on your stomach, face down (to avoid eye contact), stay quiet, breathe shallowly, and don’t move. Other places haunted by the night marchers are the Moanalua Gardens, Kualoa Beach Park and Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, usually sites where great battles took place hundreds of years ago.
Manoa Falls, located at the very back of Manoa Valley, is also a place of ghostly haunting. An area near the falls was once designated to the Ali’i (royalty class) only and locals report encountering spirits of the royals at night especially during Po’kane or the night of the walking dead.
The Hilton Hawaiian Village is said to be home to a mysterious woman in red which was often seen dancing and wandering along the hallways or even on the beach only to disappear into thin air. Some people believe that the woman is the fire goddess Pele, while others say that it is the ghost of a village Kupuna (elder), as the hotel sits on what was once an old Hawaiian fishing village.
The Leio’papa Albert Kamehameha building in downtown Honolulu is said to be inhabited by the spirit of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma's only son to whom the structure was named after. Figures, shadows and footprints of a little boy, believed to be that of the young prince who died at age four, were often seen in different areas of the building.
The old Kaka’ako Fire Station in Oahu is known to be inhabited by a supernatural entity referred to as the "choking ghost". According to firemen, the entity comes in the middle of the night to sit on your chest and choke you. The fire station is also home to mysterious orbs, believed to be spirits, that can be captured by cameras.
Washington Place, the former home of Queen Liliu’okalani and Governor Burns, is said to be haunted by its former residents. Now a museum, some workers and visitors claimed to have encountered the historic figures while inside the mansion. One story tells of two lady visitors who were given a tour of the mansion by a strange man only to be told by a security guard that the man they encountered was the spirit of the late governor who has been dead for over 25 years.
St Andrews Cathedral, which was built with the intervention of Queen Emma, is said to be inhabited by her spirit. Locals say the queen's spirit often pays a visit during the Day of Ascension and her favorite piano is often heard playing her favorite tunes when no one is sitting there.
The Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is haunted not by the spirits of the war heroes who were laid to rest there but by the restless ghosts of ancient Hawaiians who were offered to the gods as human sacrifices by the Kahunas.
