Haunted Hawaii - Spirits of the Pacific

The uhane is the Hawaiian word for soul or spirit. It is the belief that at night the uhane leaves the body to travel (uhane hele) the outer realms in search of knowledge, experience, or adventure. The uhane only re-enters the body upon waking. The Tibetan Buddists call it astral traveling.

The Hawaiians believe that when your physical body dies, the uhane travels to the leina, which is where the spirits leap from this world to the nether world. Two such portals are at Waipio Valley on the Big Island and Kaena Point on Oahu.

It is believed that sometimes the uhane lose their way, for whatever reason, and remain bound to earth to wander endlessly, unless a kahuna (Hawaiian high priest) can bless them and show them the way that they must go.

There are many legends and stories about the power and wrath of our Goddess, Pele. Most Hawaiians have had at least one sighting of her in their lifetime and many have had more. I myself have seen her twice, and have felt her presence more times than I can count. Once I saw her at the volcano during the 1959 eruption, and another time, in 1974, I picked her up hitchhiking in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Pele is a shape changer and will appear in any shape she chooses, but seems to favor some more than others. It is common to see her dancing and swirling in the fires and smoke of the active volcano with her long black hair keeping time with her movements, dancing and swirling away from her body as she twists and turns in the fire.

Often she will be seen as a medium sized white dog wandering alone on a moonless night. When she is spotted in the shape of the white dog it is a sign of a death in the ohana (family).

Pele has been seen as an old hag, bent-over with age, and with bits of lava rock and ash clinging to her long, salt and peppered gray hair. She has also been seen as a beautiful young Hawaiian woman, with gorgeous long, blue-black hair flowing down past her waist.

Madame Pele's attire have included old raggedy clothes, muu-muus, holokus and peareus in white, red or black. The pareau being wrapped and tied in the Hawaiian tradition.

People must have respect for Madame Pele, her ways and her aina. The rocks must not be taken from the volcano area. If the rocks are taken away from the area, or from the islands back to the mainland, only hard luck will befall these people until the rocks have been returned to their rightful place. There is life and there is death in the rocks.

On the day before the 1959 eruption, I went with my mother to visit Uncle George, the then owner of the legendary and infamous Volcano House. Uncle George was suppose to be in communication with Madame Pele. He took a ho`okupu (an offering wrapped in ti leaf and included a bottle of whiskey) to the rim of the Halemaumau crater, where Pele resides. When he returned from to the Volcano House to meet my Mother and myself for lunch, Uncle George told us he had spoken to Auntie Pele and that the volcano would erupt around 10:00 P.M. that night. It did.

"Chicken skin" is the Pidgin English term for "goose bumps". All of my photos of the Volcano House, along with a few others, vanished. I lost my hard drive to a virus and lost my stored photos. The originals are in the possession of my children in Hawaii who are without Internet connections.

So, I will try to find replacements that I can insert and leave it at that. Auew!

This is a Story My Uncle Told Me as a Little Girl ~ Many, Many Years Ago.

An old hag, with gnarled hands and body, having unkempt, ratty, long gray hair with bits of aa (lava rock) tangled in it, had arrived at the door of a very small hut in the Punalu'u district of the Big Island of Hawai'i. She came to the hut begging for food. The little hut was the home of a poor couple that didn't have much, but the couple was willing to share the little fish and poi that they had with the old, and gnarled stranger.

As the old hag ate her fish and poi, she told the couple that she had been turned away by the two wealthy homes that were neighboring the small hut on each side. She said that she had tried the big houses first because they looked like they had enough to share with a poor old woman.

She told the couple that because of their kindness by taking in a stranger, they would always be protected and never have to fear the flow of the volcano. The old woman then asked for a drink of water, saying her throat was very parched.

The couple went outside to draw fresh, cool water from the spring, to give to the old hag. When they returned with their calabash full of water, they discovered that she was gone.

The next day, the volcano erupted, and the flow of the lava was fast and swift. As the flow reached the little hut, it divided, sparing the little hut, as it flowed around and completely covered the two large homes on both sides.

In 1971, I was on my way back to Kona from a luau (party) in the Puna district of the Big Island, when I saw a beautiful Hawaiian woman about my age, hitchhiking. I thought how odd for her to be out alone so late at night on this desolate road...something bad must have happened to her.

I pulled over to pick her up and thought she must have been at another party, as she was dressed in a white pareau and was wearing a beautiful haku leipo'o (braided head lei) of lehua blossom and ama'u fern.

When she got into the passenger seat of my car I asked her if she was alright and she smiled sweetly and said that she was fine. I sensed that she didn't want to talk, so I decided to keep quite once I found out where she was going. We hadn't gone very far, perhaps a little less than a mile or so, but I knew there would not be many more homes until we got closer to Kalapana as we were heading to the Volcano area.

I asked her if she needed to go to Kona with me or if she was only going as far as Kalapana. She answered by lightly putting her hand on my right arm and said, "You are in danger, stop here."

I immediately pulled off the road on to the shoulder, and as I did so, a cane truck, loaded to the hilt with sugar cane, came barreling over the crest and down the hill at high speed. My eyes must have been as big as saucers as I watched the driver trying to maneuver the truck to slow it down on this narrow road.

What I suddenly realized was if I have been there, in the middle of this narrow road, it would have crashed into me head on.

As this huge loaded truck went crashing by me, I looked over to my passenger to ask her how she knew and to thank her for saving our lives, but no one was there. She was gone. The only thing that was left was part of a lehua blossom sitting in a puddle of water on the passenger seat.

At that point I was so shaken I couldn't drive. I got out of the car and walked back to the luau to stay for the night.

The beautiful painting above was loaned to me by artist Kathy Ostman-Magnusen. More of her work can be seen at Kathy Ostman-Magnusen

When visiting Hawai'i, you will often hear stories of people meeting an old woman in white at Kilauea that is believed to be Pele revealing herself in another form. Sometimes she is spotted with a white dog, and at other times only the white dog is seen, which is another of Pele's forms.

Sometimes the old woman will be hitchhiking, like my encounter with the young version of Pele, and sometimes she will just be walking long side of the road. Some have seen her at the edge of the caldera with her arms stretching out to the sky, and some have seen her as the old hag like in the story of the hag begging for food.

If you ever have an encounter with Auntie Pele, no matter what form she chooses to show herself, always give her what she ask for and she will protect you. Turn her down and Auwe! I hate to think of what will happen to you from Pele's scorn.

Remember to NEVER take any rocks from the Volcano area or any sand from the black sand beaches. Hard luck will follow you where ever you go!

You have been warned!

There are many stories of the Night Marchers. In a little while I will tell you my story.

The huaka'i po (night marchers) are the spirits of the ancient Ali'i (royalty) guards and warriors. They are only seen on ancient, sacred paths where the Ali'i and Kahunas (high priest) walked in life. Prior to the viewing of the procession, you can see the light of the torches glowing in the distance and hear the beating of the drums and the voices chanting in Hawai'ian. Sometimes you can hear the trumpet shell sound off.

In life of ancient times, it was kapu (forbidden) for a maka'ainana (commoner) to cross the path of or to even fall in the shadow of the Ali'i. It was instant death for anyone who mistakenly broke this kapu. As in life, so it is in death. If a commoner gets in the way of the huaka'i po, they will surely die at the hands of the spirit guards. Some say that if you look a night marcher straight in the eye, you will disappear, never to be seen again. If you should ever encounter a night marcher procession, you should immediately get out of the way of the path and prostate yourself by lying down flat on the ground on your stomach, with your head face down to avoid eye contact. Moanalua Gardens in the Kamananui Valley, and the old Pali lookout on Oahu, are two of the many places the Night Marchers have been seen, time and time again.

When I was a young girl, I was staying with some family friends at their home in the mountains of the Kaa'awa Valley, not too far from an ancient burial grounds.

It was about midnight when I heard a trumpet shell blow and then the drums and the chanting. I woke my friend and we went outside to see what was going on. Everyone else was sleeping, and I remember thinking , "How can they sleep through this?"

Once outside we followed the path through the jungle towards the chanting. We could see the glow of the torches through the trees of the dense vegetation. The drums and the chanting were getting louder and the torches were getting closer to the spot on the trail that we were standing. My friend turned and ran away in fear, and as I turned to follow her, my foot caught in a tree root, tripping me and I went down to my knees in the mud, unable to get untangled from the tree root. The drums were so loud that I thought they were inside my head and my heart was pounding so hard I didn't know if it was my heart or the drums and I couldn't get loose to run.

Suddenly, I was picked up from behind and flung like a sack of potatoes off the trail and into the jungle. I lifted my head out of the muddy leaves where I had landed and watched as the procession of guards and Ali'i marched past. As the procession marched down the trail moving past the house, one by one they vanished into thin air, and the sounds of the drums and the voices faded away. I will never forget as long as I live, the sight of the regalia, the beauty of those huge men, as they seemed to be close to 7 feet tall, the human smells of the ancients as they passed by, and the sight of their vanishing as if had never come.

Years later, a Kahuna spiritual teacher, Sam Lono, said that I had been protected by one of the ancient guards either because he was an ancestor to my family or because I was an innocent child.

This is one of the spookiest movies about the Night Marchers that was filmed in Hawaii by identical twin brothers. The story is about twin guides who lead a group into the caves and secret lava tubes in Waipio Valley on the Big Island of Hawaii, where they encounter the night marchers."The Night Marchers" contains five minutes of computerized special effects. Some required two weeks of filming for scenes just one minute long, Blake, one of the twin brothers says, " 'Jurassic Park' has only six minutes of special effects."

Buy the Night Marchers at Amazon

There is a story of a woman, sometime in the 1950's, driving up Palani Road from Kailua-Kona town. It was a rainy, moonless night and the roads were very slick. One curve is particularly bad as you come around it, the road almost hairpins to the left. There is a huge tree there, but I can't remember what kind, It might be a monkey pod.

Anyway, the woman was very upset because she caught her lover with another woman. She was crying, and going to fast when her car slid out of control and hit the tree head on.

Ever since then, there have been a multitude of accidents - all of the drivers that have run into the exact same spot on the tree have claimed to have seen a woman, soaking wet and crying, standing in the middle of the road. The drivers claim that while trying to avoid her, they crashed into the tree.

Some thought they were seeing Madame Pele, standing with her long black hair whipping in the wind and the rain, while others claimed to have seen a haole woman, soaking wet and crying.

It is a wonder that the tree is still standing for the amount of times it has been bashed.

When we were children we would visit Waimea Falls on the north shore of Oahu, to swim and dive off the cliffs of the falls, into the lagoon below. In those days, the only way in was to hike or ride in on horseback or donkey. We never thought much of it. It was a beautiful and fun place to go.

Over the years, there were many accidents, of people diving off the falls and meeting with fatal accidents. Some broke their necks on the rocks and some drowned. The thing that was very odd was that all of the fatalities were American or European sailors.

As kids we chalked it up to "dumb haoles" that either didn't know how to dive or didn't know how to swim, and should never have gone into the water in the first place. What we could never figure out was how come it was always sailors and how did they break their necks on the rocks when the rocks were so far away from the center of the pool?

Please watch the video below. Is this the answer to the unanswered questions?

On Oahu, many years ago, I was a little girl and my family was coming home from a luau (party) at my Uncle's house in Kaneohe. In those days the freeways hadn't been built yet and the only way to get across the mountains was over the Pali Road. We were headed to Kaimuki to drop off my other uncle before going home to Kahala. Now it is called the "Old" Pali Road and is closed off to traffic.

We had a bunch of luau food packed up in the car to bring home, including kalua pig. We were on our way down the road heading into town and the car stalled. My father got out and checked everything and everything seemed to be alright, but the car still wouldn't start. My other uncle that was riding with us, finally said to get rid of the pork.

My sister set the package of pork outside the car. My father turned the key and the car started right up. My uncle jumped out of the car, grabbed the package of pork, jumped back in the car, my father went to take off and the car stalled again.

Again my uncle put the pork out of the car. My father started up the car, my uncle jumped out, grabbed the pork and away we went....

only 1 foot and the car stalled and died again.

After several more attempts at failing to bring home the kalua pig, we finally just left it. The car started up and drove off without a problem, and we went home without it. Auwe! We were sick that we had to leave all of that food, but .... no can help. If the spirits says no, then no it is.

Morgan's Corner is on of the most well known ghost stories of Oahu. The real oddity is that there are two Morgan's Corners and two separate stories, and both places are very scary.

The first one is at a hairpin turn on the Nu`uanu Pali Drive (near the Morgan estate). According to local legend, one night in late summer, a young couple drove to the corner to make out. The boy was in the driver's seat and the girl was in the passenger's seat.

That night, the weather was rainy and humid. They had parked under a gigantic tree so that the car would be a little more sheltered from the rain. It was already 11 pm when they arrived. They had made out for a few hours and decided that it was getting late and they had better head back home.

When the boy tried to start the car, it wouldn't start. He went outside to check the engine but couldn't find anything wrong. He decided that he should walk into town and ask for help at the nearest gas station. He told the girl to wait in the car for him with the doors locked and that he would be back as soon as he could.

After waiting for a while, the girl fell asleep. A few times during the night she awoke to the sound of rain dripping and tree branches scraping on the roof of the car. She thought nothing of it other than wondering when her boyfriend would return as she fell back to sleep.

She didn't wake again until the next morning when she heard someone knocking on the car window. Two policemen motioned her to get out of the car. As she did, they grabbed her and rushed her to their patrol car, keeping her head from turning back to the boyfriend's car. Once in the patrol car she turned around to look, only to be horrified.

It was not the rain coming down on the car the night before, but the blood of her boyfriend who had been hung above the car. His wrists had been sliced and his body gutted from head to groin, like a pig for a luau. What she had thought were branches scraping on the roof of the car were the fingers of her boyfriend blowing in the wind. His ankles had been tied to the large branch that stood over the car.

Legend has it that if you hug the trunk of the tree on which he was hung at midnight and look up, you will be unable to let go, and you will see the boyfriend's face looking down at you from the treetops.

The second Morgan's Corner is at another hairpin turn at the end of the Old Pali Road on the windward side.

As the story goes, a young girl by the name of Theresa Wilder from the Morgan's Estate, had been missing for several days and by the time they found her, it was too late.

She had been raped, murdered and hung on the tree at the end of the road. Her head had severed itself from her body, leaving her head hanging by the rope alone. Her head and her body were never re-attached at burial, leaving her to forever roam the Nuuanu Pali Drive.

It is said that fireballs can be seen behind boulders here, and it is also said that if you sit under the tree and look up you will see a girl hanging from the branches.

If you're in a car you are able to see a big black figure sitting on the tree above you. You are advised ~ NOT to get out of your car.

Even though the road has been closed for years you can still get there on a bike or walk.

The Honolulu Magazine published a special report on Morgan's Corner after this lens was created. Under the copyright laws I do not have permission to show you the videos here.

You may read the entire article and watch both videos at the Honolulu Magazine website. I do heartily encourage you to read the material and watch both videos to the end.

One thing that I have personally learned is that spirits appear when the want to appear ~ not when you want them to.....

You decide,

The construction of the tunnels while building Hawaiian freeway, Hwy-1 on Oahu started in 1953. The construction was slow going because the construction worker's were continually having encounters with ghostly figures of Hawaiian warriors while the tunnels were being built. When these encounters would happened all of the worker's would walk off the job and not come back.

Strange, unexplainable accidents kept happening that put more fear into the workers. When old bones were discovered, the workers would refuse to dig and would again walk off the job. The construction company was continually having to find new workers that didn't have Hawaiian ancestry to finally get the construction completed. It took 7 seven years to finally complete. Wilson Tunnel was finally finished in 1970.

You will often hear tales from people who live on Oahu, that to this day, the cries and chants of ancient warriors can still be heard while driving through the tunnels.

During the 1950's and 1960's I was going to school on Oahu. I believe that it was 1959 when this happened. On Friday nights all of us kids would go to the Waialae Drive-in to hang out and watch the movies. It wasn't very expensive then, but you know kids... we would all pile into the cards with a few stuck in the trunk as you only paid per car, if I remember correctly, and we would party at the drive-in.

This one Friday night, we were all outside of our cars partying. My girlfriend Karen, had to use the lua (restroom). When she came back she was white as a ghost herself. She told us that she was looking in the mirror combing her hair when she saw in the reflection behind her, half of a woman. She described her as having a body from the waist up, wearing a black dress, and combing her long red hair. The really odd thing she described was that the woman didn't have a face. Karen claimed that when she turned around, there was no one there. She would not go back into that lua again. Everybody was laughing and telling Karen that she had too much beer and was seeing things.

A week later on the front page of the Honolulu Star Bulletin was a story just like the one that Karen had told us. The article told how there had been significant reportings of the same story. There was also a picture published, of an artist sketch from the description given by one of the people that had seen the faceless woman. The sketch look exactly as Karen had described her, but the woman had black hair instead of red hair.

In one version of the story, a girl left her car and went into the restroom around midnight to put on fresh lipstick (just like Karen). In the mirror she saw a figure behind her with long hair and no face. She saw that the figure had no legs, only half a body. When the girl turned around, there was nobody behind her. The door slammed shut and locked as the poor girl screamed and fainted.

In another version the woman went to the restroom. As she entered, she noticed the place was occupied by another woman who was standing in front of the mirror combing her long, beautiful hair. The first woman came closer and spoke. The second woman turned slightly. She had no face. The first woman was so frightened she ended up in the hospital with a breakdown.

Others have claimed to hear pounding on bathroom stall doors and seeing her come through the old wooden doors combing her long black hair.

The Waialae Drive-In had originally been built on part of an old cemetery across from the Kahala Mall, however, at the time I remember reading in the newspaper article, that the owner of the drive-in denied it. The Waialae Drive-In was torn down in the 1984 and a storage building was erected on the same site. An upscale subdivision has been built behind where it once was.

There are some that say the spirit is a mujina spirit. A mujina is a Japanese spirit that is often seen in Japan in the women restrooms.

Recently I read where a tourist had the very same sighting experience in the ladies restroom across the street at the Kahala mall.

Iao Valley, located up past Kahului and Wailuku, is considered to be the second wettest place on earth, second only to Mount Waialeale in Kauai. A stream cut valley, it is also the home of the bloodiest ancient battle on the island of Maui.

In 1790 Chief Kamehameha, unifier of all Hawaiian islands, defeated Maui chief King Kalanikupule in the Battle of Kepaniwai. The battle was said to be so bloody that dead bodies blocked Iao Stream, earning the battles' name Kepaniwai, or "damming of the waters".

Another greatly important factor of Iao Valley is that there are Hawaiian ali'i (royalty) buried throughout the valley, making it kapu (forbidden) for any outsiders to hike on the valley floor.

There are many strange stories of this area. Some have seen the night marchers, others have seen lone men running with torches, others report seeing fireballs and red eyes in the dark. I myself have been witness to the red eyes more than once.

The most common complaints are about hearing the sounds of battle and the cries of death during the cover of darkness.

The student voices are timid and low. They almost whisper "E Laka e, pupu weuweu e Laka e, o Laka...Laka of the wildwood." Their kumu (teacher) commands, "Stand up! Take a big breath. Now let me HEAR you!" Larger than life in his massive signature green head lei, renowned Hawaiian hula and chant master Charles Kaupu is leading the group of visitors in a chant. They are asking the favors of the goddess Laka. They are experiencing the ancient art of Hawaiian chant as they stand on the beach at the base of a giant black rock in Kaanapali, Maui.

The group is gathered near Puu Kekaa, Black Rock. From a hotel lobby they rode the elevator to the beach level. There the kumu tells the story of the great Maui chief, Kahekili who excelled in the game of lele kawa, leaping 300 feet from the rock cliff into the ocean. That never-equaled feat isn't left to the imagination. Every evening, at sunset, a resort diver makes a graceful leap into the ocean to honor the diving prowess of the great chief.

"The spirits are always present," kumu says, adding, "This very hotel once needed my help." The elevator - yes, the same one they just used - was constantly stopping, trapping people inside. Maintenance took it apart, repaired it. It stopped again. In a last-ditch effort before a total replacement, the management called the kumu. After a few minutes with the uncooperative equipment, he knew the problem.

The elevator was in the direct route of a path used by the ancient peoples to reach the place of Leina Ka Uhane, where the spirits leave for the next world. Moving the elevator was not possible. The kumu offered up chants as hookupu, (gifts) and "respectfully requested" that the spirits travel a different route. "One week later," he says with a confident shrug, "no more pilikia, no more trouble."

To read more of this article visit the Time Machine by Lynn Cook

There have been numerous reports about an occurrence that happens to them as they are leaving Kepaniwai Park at Iao Valley. About 50 yards before coming to the stop sign, their car will be carried forward, after you have braked to a stop. This is suppose to be the effects of the spirits!

It is a visual effect. The scenery makes it appear that you are driving uphill when in fact the road is actually sloping down, however there are many stories from this area.

The Iao Theater in Makawao has had numerous reports of haunted dressing rooms....voices are heard having conversations, with no one there; doors open and close; different fragrances and aromas will waft through the dressing rooms; material items will be seen moving by themselves; and they have experienced an unexplained "choking feeling", especially backstage.

"There's two [ghosts] that I know of for sure. There may be more, but for sure two", according to Louis Fernandez III, the manager of the theater.

Fernandez said on numerous occasions he's seen a dark black figure walking down the ramp towards the women's restroom. He said others have seen the apparition on the platform area that divides the audience into upper and lower halves.

"I have actually searched the theater thinking that someone was in here with me, but no one was there," he said. "The other ghost is a little more curious. He likes to hang out near the stage." Fernandez said he feels this way because there have been times when a mic on stage that is "off" will suddenly show sound input on the boards.

Activity seems to surge late at night after performances. "I think they enjoy the stuff that we do," he said. "They don't bother us and we don't bother them. I think they like it here."

The Hawaiians are often called the "Irishmen of the Pacific" because of the many similarities of cultures and beliefs, one of which is the Menehunes. The Menehunes are often compared to the Leprechauns of Ireland because of their small stature and mischievous, magical ways.

It is believed in Hawaii, that the Menehunes were an actual race of Polynesian people, small in stature, but with a powerful muscular build similar to the pygmies of Africa, but with lighter colored complexions. Every reported sighting describes them as always having long hair and being very shy. They are believed to be the first inhabitants of Hawaii. The theory is that they arrived from the Marquesas, long before the arrival of the people from Tahiti.

As the legend goes, the Menehunes were only invisible to each other and their own descendants. Many people could hear their strange language and the hum of their voices, but the gift of actually being able to see them with the naked eye was only bestowed on those related to them through bloodlines. Not so oddly, as children are more open to the supernatural, children could often see the Menehunes, when their parents could only hear their voices.

The Menehunes were talented craftsmen who lived deep in the rain forest and built beautiful koa wood canoes by night. The ancient rock walls of cut stone that are frequently seen on all of the Hawaiian Islands are believed to have been built by the Menehunes, as are many of the ancient fish ponds, and ancient roads. The rock walls built by the Hawaiians were not cut and fitted like the walls of the Menehunes. Their walls were built of stone left in its natural state; not cut. The once magnificent and historical terraced gardens in the Kalalau Valley were built by the Menehunes.

There are many legends of the Menehunes and their magical feats similar to the stories of catching a Leprechaun, but most of the legends revolve more around the amazing building skills the Menehunes possessed. They were able to accomplish extremely difficult building feats all in a single night. Especially on a full moon. If anyone ever encountered the Menehunes during their nights work, all worked was immediately ceased as they disappeared, melting back into the surrounding forest.

The Menehunes were known for their kindness and were always willing to help the Hawaiian people in need of their engineering expertise, and their supernatural powers enabled them to perform some marvelous feats. They were also known to be very mischievous and given to playing pranks such as hiding things. To this day, when something is missing or lost in the home, you will often hear, "The Menehunes must have taken it".

As more and more people migrated to the Hawaiian Islands from the Marquesas and Tahiti, the less the little people were seen. It is believed that as the population of the Hawaiians (who were much larger in stature) increased, the Menehunes were eventually forced away from their homes in the forests with their last stronghold on the island of Kaua'i.

His Hawaiian Majesty, King David Kalakaua, wrote in his book, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, of "The Lost Tribe", as he called the Menehunes. In 1820 there were suppose to be 200 Menehunes left, but at the time of his writing in 1888 there only 65 counted by the census at the time. and none since then. It is believed that the last of the Menehunes living in the 1800's occupied the beautiful lush Kalalau - Honopu Valley on Kaua'i. Many people on Kaua'i to day still lay claim to being descendants of the Menehunes.

In all of my years living in Hawaii, and all the stories I have been told by my Tutus (Grand Parents), aunties and uncles, this is one I had never heard before. It certainly made me laugh. So much that I had to relate it here. It is told by a mainland haole woman named Mary Trotter Kion from Maryland, and I quote:

"Several legends abound as to how the Menehunes happened to be on the island of Kauai. One legend says that back in ancient times a boatload of vacationing leprechauns stopped off to take their pleasure in the Hawaiian Islands. Seeing how wonderfully lush and green the islands were, just as it was back home in Ireland, they decided to stay.

In time, all folks being as they are, the leprechauns began to intermarry with the Polynesians already living in the islands. The results were offspring of a considerably smaller size than the Hawaiians, and a wee bit larger than the leprechauns. As to how these new small people came to be called Menehunes is yet to be discovered."

As I have already said " Never heard this one before", but you never know.....

It could be true.

This story dates back to late Spring of 1982, shortly after the statue of Queen Liliuokalani was erected at the Capitol mall. The Queen faces the State Capitol and looks out through the rotunda and toward Beretania Street. The story was told to a current capitol staffer, who said that the source wishes to remain anonymous.

This incident happened to a woman who worked for a Neighbor Island lawmaker who has since passed away.

Early one evening, she was returning to the Capitol from a fundraiser at Saint Andrew's Priory. She crossed South Beretania Street by the Richards Street light. She was walking to meet her boyfriend who was waiting to pick her up, parked in the drive-through fronting the Father Damien statue.

As she was walking along Beretania toward the parked vehicle, she saw a tall Hawaiian woman dressed in a dark colored muumuu out of the corner of her eye. The woman was in the distance and to her right side, walking atop the concrete wall bordering the makai (towards the ocean) side of the Capitol and the reflecting pool. The staff person is of Hawaiian ancestry, and her first thought was that it looked like the Queen, but she dismissed it.

Suddenly, the figure of the Hawaiian woman turned to face mauka (toward the mountain), stepped off the concrete wall and walked across the surface of the water.

The woman staffer felt a chill shooting through her body and ran to her boyfriend's car. "Let's go!" she shouted to her stunned boyfriend and closed her eyes as they drove off along South Beretania Street to their apartment in Liliha.

She was so shaken, she never told her co-workers in the capitol. But she did tell her grandmother, who was also Hawaiian and a member of Kawaiahao Church. At the end of her story, she asked her grandmother what was the significance of the Queen walking across the pond. The grandmother smiled and said that the queen was probably tired of standing on her platform, wanted to walk and take a look around her new home, and to cool her feet in the pool of water. "Wouldn't you?" she asked her granddaughter.

Thanks goes to Mahealani for submitting this story from the "Hawaii House Blog: Ghost Stories from the Hawaii Capitol

f you have a Hawaiian ghost story or experience to tell, please send me an email:

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Tell me your Hawaiian Ghost Story and I will publish it here. If you have a website link, please include it with your story. Free advertising for you!