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Hawaii is renowned for its stunning landscapes, azure waters, idyllic weather, and friendly locals. Yet, beneath this paradise lies a shadowy side filled with eerie tales. Discover 10 haunting stories deeply rooted in local folklore.
10. The Legend of Pele and Pali Road
Numerous tales surround the tumultuous relationship between Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of lava, and Kamapua‘a, her hog-faced demigod lover. One such story has given rise to a peculiar local myth: Never transport pork across Pali Road.
According to legend, Pele and Kamapua’a shared a stormy relationship that was destined to fail. Kamapua’a was born from an affair between his mother and her brother-in-law, and his stepfather, who called him Hog Face, treated him harshly. Despite growing into a handsome, intelligent, and powerful man, Kamapua’a craved his stepfather’s approval. Consumed by anger and hatred, he altered his appearance by tattooing his face and donning a boar’s mask. His actions caused chaos on his stepfather’s land, forcing him to flee the island.
Upon arriving in Hawaii, Kamapua’a learned of Pele, a stunning woman, and traveled south to propose marriage. Repulsed by his looks, Pele resisted his advances but eventually relented, and the two wed. Encouraged by her acceptance, Kamapua’a’s demeanor softened, and his appearance reverted to its natural state. However, Pele, bewildered by his sudden change, distanced herself and retreated to her fiery, lava-filled side of the island, leaving Kamapua’a to reside in the cool, verdant region. Their separation became permanent.
In the modern retelling, transporting pork across the Pali Highway, linking Windward Oahu to Honolulu, is said to enrage Pele, causing vehicles to malfunction until the pork is discarded. Some versions feature an elderly woman or a white dog appearing, demanding the pork as an offering. This act symbolizes bringing a part of Kamapua’a into Pele’s territory, which is strictly forbidden.
9. Mujina, The Faceless Woman
Originating from Japanese folklore, a mujina is a faceless entity capable of transforming into human shapes. One well-known mujina, Kozo, disguised himself as a monk and roamed shadowy paths at night, requesting water or tea from passersby. When Japanese immigrants brought this legend to Hawaii, it evolved into a unique local tale.
In 1959, a woman allegedly encountered a mujina at a Kahala drive-in theater. She claimed to have entered the restroom and noticed another woman brushing her hair. Upon closer inspection, she realized the red-haired woman lacked any facial features. The witness reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized.
Initially dismissed as a rumor, the story gained credibility in 1981 when radio host Glen Grant discussed it on air. The woman called the station to share her account, revealing the mujina had red hair—a detail previously unknown. This sparked numerous reports of faceless mujina sightings across Hawaii, some recounted by Grant himself.
8. The Night Marchers
The Huaka’ipo, spirits of ancient Hawaiian warriors, are doomed to roam the islands forever. Called the Night Marchers, they move in single file, bearing torches and weapons, beating drums, and chanting. While they seldom appear by day, their presence signifies they are guiding a living family member to the afterlife. Signs of their approach include drumbeats growing louder, a putrid smell, conch shell blasts, and the glow of torches.
Gazing upon the Night Marchers is believed to bring misfortune. To avoid harm, one must lie facedown as a gesture of respect. If they catch you looking, they will kill you unless an ancestor identifies you as kin. Since no structure can block their path, many locals recount tales of the Night Marchers passing through their homes, leaving terror in their wake.
7. The Little People Of Hawaii
The Menehune, referred to as Nawao in ancient texts, are Hawaii’s equivalent of fairies or leprechauns. Standing about .6 meters (2 feet) tall, they inhabit remote forests and are known for their playful yet powerful nature. With supernatural construction skills, they can build anything in a single day. Native Hawaiians often hired them to create homes, temples, and heiaus (sacred sites). Shy and reclusive, they work exclusively at night and vanish if discovered, leaving their projects unfinished. Disturbing them risks being turned to stone.
The Menehune are credited with constructing Alekoko Fishpond, the largest aquaculture reservoir on the island, located near Nawiliwili Harbor in Lihue. Some historians suggest that the Menehune legend may have roots in reality. One theory posits that the Menehune were actual people from Marquesas Island who settled in Hawaii before the arrival of the Tahitians. It is believed that the Tahitian settlers drove the Menehune into the dense forests to survive.
If you hear splashing sounds near a beach or waterfall at night, it’s said to be the Menehune at play. Besides their love for pranks, diving is reportedly one of their favorite activities.
6. The Green Lady Of Wahiawa
In Japanese, the term obake refers to something that transforms. Similar to the mujina, the obake is a shape-shifter in folklore. When the concept reached Hawaii, obake became a general term for supernatural beings, particularly ghosts or evil spirits.
One such spirit is depicted as a woman cloaked in moss and green mold, wandering the Wahiawa gulch. Known as the Green Lady, she is often spotted near the Wahiawa Botanical Garden, though sightings have also been reported at Wahiawa Elementary School. Witnesses describe her as having green, fish-like scales, jagged teeth, and seaweed-covered hair.
The Green Lady’s origin story tells of a woman who visited the Wahiawa gulch with her children. When one child went missing and was never found, the woman died of grief. It is said she now roams the Wahiawa area, searching for her lost child and potentially taking any child she encounters.
5. The Haunting Of Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the Naval Station at Pearl Harbor, resulting in thousands of casualties. The assault also targeted the adjacent Hickam Air Force Base. Today, the site is known for ghostly apparitions, mysterious lights, and unsettling sounds.
A building at Hickam Air Force Base still displays bullet holes from the 1941 attack, marking the spot where hundreds of soldiers succumbed to their injuries. Visitors and staff report encountering spectral soldiers wandering the halls, with footsteps and agonized groans echoing through vacant rooms.
A guard shack at Hickam is notorious for its paranormal activity. Legend has it a soldier was killed inside, and at night, a figure in a 1940s military uniform is seen standing guard. Ghostly apparitions are also reported near the USS Arizona dock, where the ship sank during the attack, claiming all aboard. Soldiers’ spirits are said to patrol the area, even in daylight.
Many visitors experience overwhelming sadness, unexplained fear, or intense pain. The ghost of a soldier, shot after abandoning his post during the attack, is said to haunt the sunken ship’s deck at low tide. Some soldiers’ remains still rest within the ship to this day.
4. Pele In Disguise
Pele, the goddess often described as stunning yet fiery, is known to transform into a woman in red or an elderly lady with a cane to test the kindness of Hawaiians.
Travelers to the islands have reported sightings of a woman in red dancing near the craters of Kilauea National Park, Pele’s home. Others recount encounters with an old woman who requests a cigarette, lights it with a snap of her fingers, and then vanishes.
Another tale involves an old woman, thought to be Pele, who knocks on doors late at night seeking tea or water. Refusing her results in death or heartbreak for the family, while kindness leads to her disappearance and good news the next day.
A well-known Hawaiian legend illustrates Pele’s punishment of selfishness and reward of aloha. Disguised as an old woman with a cane, Pele visited a prosperous village home surrounded by banana trees, coconut palms, and a taro garden. Inside, she saw a well-dressed family feasting.
Pele greeted them with aloha and requested food after her long journey. She first asked for poi, made from taro, but the family refused, despite their abundant garden. She then requested fish and berries, but the family lied, claiming scarcity. After multiple chances to show generosity, Pele left, disappointed by their lack of kindness.
Pele continued her journey and arrived at a modest home. Looking through the gates, she saw a family joyfully sharing the bounty of their garden. She greeted them with aloha and asked for food. The family warmly invited her in and served her a bowl of poi. After finishing, Pele requested more, and the woman of the house gladly prepared another serving.
Pele ate until she was satisfied, and the family never hesitated to share their limited food supply. The woman explained they had no more poi until the next harvest but expressed joy that the old woman had enjoyed the meal. Pele stood and declared that their kindness would be rewarded with a bountiful harvest, while their selfish neighbor’s crops would wither.
3. The Kaimuki House
In Japanese folklore, a kasha is a demonic being that consumes human corpses and delivers them to hell as punishment for mortal sins. While not all haunting cases align with this description, a kasha is said to inhabit the Kaimuki house on 8th Avenue and Harding in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The house’s history is chilling. The kasha is said to have taken residence after a father killed his family. While his wife and son were found buried on the property, his daughter’s body was never discovered.
In the summer of 1942, authorities were summoned to the Kaimuki property after a woman reported an unseen entity attacking her children. Upon arrival, police encountered a frantic woman screaming about a ghost trying to harm her kids. Reports state that officers witnessed an invisible force throwing the children across the room.
And the house was just beginning to reveal its horrors.
Three women later moved into the Kaimuki home. One night, an invisible force grabbed one woman’s arm, terrifying the group and prompting them to call the police. After explaining the incident, the women asked the officer to escort them to one of their mothers’ homes. During the drive, they pulled into a parking lot, where the officer found them struggling with an unseen force, one woman appearing to be choked. When he tried to intervene, he was pushed back by what he described as a “large calloused hand.”
The officer managed to get the choking victim into his patrol car, but neither vehicle would start. When he allowed her to return to her car, both vehicles started effortlessly, as if nothing had happened.
As they drove away from the parking lot, the situation worsened. The officer witnessed the car door being torn off and flung onto the road, followed by the choking victim being thrown from the moving vehicle. Despite their efforts, the women and the officer could do nothing as the kasha strangled its victim to death.
In 1977, a newlywed couple returned to their Kaimuki home after an outing and went to bed. Around midnight, the wife awoke to an icy chill in the room. She noticed a large, limbless figure hovering above their bed. Terrified, they sought advice from their reverend, who suggested offering food to the spirit to help it move on. After a week of following his advice, the spirit never returned.
2. Haunting At Morgan’s Corner
Morgan’s Corner, situated on Nuuanu Pali Drive leading into the Nuuana Valley, derives its name from Dr. James Morgan, a prominent doctor who lived near the hairpin turn in the 1920s.
Locals believe the turn became haunted in 1948 after Therese Wilder, a 68-year-old widow, was brutally murdered in her home by two escaped convicts. Her gardener, Isabelo Escalante, found her body, prompting a swift manhunt. The fugitives confessed, admitting they killed her after smelling her cooking while fleeing a burglary.
Another tale from Morgan’s Corner involves Brittani Lochmann, a girl who allegedly hanged herself from a tree at the end of Nuuanu Road. Her body went undiscovered for days, and when found, it had detached from her neck, leaving only her head in the noose. Her head was never reattached, even for burial, which locals say explains why her spirit lingers on Nuuanu Pali.
A popular urban legend tied to Morgan’s Corner recounts a young couple parking their car under a tree one night. When they tried to leave, the car wouldn’t start. The boy left to seek help, telling the girl to stay inside. Throughout the night, she heard branches scraping the car’s roof but eventually fell asleep.
The girl woke to a policeman ordering her to exit the car and walk away without looking back. She obeyed but couldn’t resist turning around, only to see her boyfriend’s body hanging upside down from the tree. His torso was slit open, and his fingers were dragging across the car’s roof.
1. The Half-Faced Girl Of Old Pali Road
The Old Pali Road in Nuuanu Valley is widely regarded as the epicenter of Oahu's paranormal phenomena. Long before the Pali Highway was constructed, this historic route was the stage for pivotal battles in Hawaiian history. Notably, in 1795, during the struggle to unify the Hawaiian islands, King Kamehameha I compelled thousands of his adversaries to leap to their demise from the Nuuanu Pali cliff. To this day, spectral figures are reportedly seen plummeting from the cliff.
Over the years, numerous accounts have emerged of spectral sightings in the vicinity, including the infamous Night Marchers and a spectral figure dangling from a tree at Morgan’s Corner. Among these tales, the story of a young girl with half a face stands out.
Both residents and tourists have reported encountering the ghostly figure of a young girl with long, dark hair, playfully skipping rope as she drifts along the road. While this image is unsettling on its own, one observer noted that the girl’s face was devoid of a nose, cheeks, and mouth, leaving only her enormous, protruding eyes to stare back.
Legend has it that the young girl was a victim of assault, strangled with her own jump rope, and abandoned in the bushes to decay. The trauma of her death might account for the bulging eyes, but the absence of facial features is attributed to wild animals scavenging her remains before she was discovered by authorities.
