The Hauntings by Kori-Ann Koverman of Kapolei, Hawaii

 The Hauntings by Kori-Ann Koverman of Kapolei, Hawaii................. 

When people think about Hawaii the first thing that comes to mind is a tropical paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is generally known as a vacation spot during any time of the year due to the year round warm oceans, beautiful scenery, and sunshine. Taking a closer look at the Hawaiian Islands, the island of Oahu is the main island consisting of the most residents and being the most popular amongst tourists. Although visitors think Hawaii is endless paradise there are haunted places on the island with backstories. 

The Pali lookout is a popular tourist attraction being located on the east side of the island of Oahu. Although many visit the attraction for the beautiful views of the mountain ranges and ocean, little are aware of the history and ghost stories of the Pali. A tale that most locals are told from a young age is about the lady in the white dress. Legend has it that if you travel during the evening on the Pali highway which leads up to the lookout and encounter the lady in the white dress you are supposed to present an offering. Many people get into accidents on the highway due to the fact that they try and avoid encountering the lady. A few “rules” when coming into contact  with spirits are to remain calm and  be respectful. In the media I presented, the police officer in the video did not have a peace offering for the lady in the white dress so instead she decided to talk to the lady and just explain the job she was doing. Since the police officer was respectful to the spirit she was able to pass over the Pali with no difficulties. 

Popular lore is that if you are traveling with pork also known as Kalua pig in your vehicle, your vehicle will break down and you will be stranded on the side of the road until you remove the Kalua pig from your vehicle. The reason people are forbidden from bringing pork across the Pali is because of the history of two Hawaiian Gods. The story is that Pele had a bad breakup with Demi-God, Kamapua’a, who was half man and half pig. Since the breakup was so bad they do not want to see each other again. So by trying to bring pork across the Pali you are trying to bring Kamapua’a back to Peles' side of the island. 

Driving over the Pali at night is scary all by itself but there was one time where I felt like I was not going to be okay. On the Pali road there is one specific haunted spot called Morgans Corner. Although Morgans Corner is on the Pali road it is considered its own place because of its supernatural stories. Morgans Corner is a certain point on the Pali where the road takes a very sharp turn to where you cannot see the other side of the road. The story behind Morgan's Corner is that two prisoners escaped in 1948 and gagged and killed a woman in her home. A man named Dr. Morgan lived near the woman who got killed. Hhis house was on the sharp turn therefore giving it the name Morgans Corner. One night I was driving to my friend's house and took the Pali to get there. In the car it was myself and one of my friends. It just so happens that night there was a full moon so my friend was trying to take pictures of the moon with her phone. She couldn't get a good picture from inside of the car so she rolled down her window to try to snap a better picture. We were approaching Morgan's Corner when she dropped her phone out of the window and screamed at me to stop. That night the roads were dead so it was just us two and the dark for miles. We both got out of the car to find her phone but once we found it and started to head back to the car something felt off. Reaching to open the car door it turned out it was locked and my keys were in the car with the engine running. We immediately tried to call anyone who could come help or pick us up but no one answered the phone. I started to get worried. At this point we were standing on opposite sides of the car on the verge of tears when all of a sudden we heard laughter. I looked at her quickly and asked why she was laughing and there was no time for jokes. She said it was not her and that is when we both started to cry. I grabbed my door handle and began to rapidly pull to open the car door knowing that there was no way it would unlock. I pounded on the windows and started saying “please please please”. All of a sudden it unlocked and we got in the car and started to drive away. 2 minutes down the road we reached Morgans Corner. After that night I had never driven down that road again and my friend and I never spoke about that night to each other or anyone. How did the doors get locked? How did they become unlocked? Who was laughing? All these questions and no answers, only spirits and stories. Many people who are visiting the island do not believe these tales until they encounter the ghostly spirits that live among the highway. 

Although many people hear about the Pali being haunted, it isn't the only place on the island where there are ghostly spirits. The Kipapa Gulch, located in central Oahu and is a bridge spanning the ravine underneath. Not only is it a road where many people travel along but also where people on the island reside. In 1410, Kipapa Gulch was used as a battle ground for one of the most major battles in Hawaiian history. Mailikukahi was the chief of Oahu and was becoming a very successful chief. The chiefs of Maui and Big Island were worried about the influence Mailikukahi would have on their people that they decided to take matters into their own hands. They left their respective islands and landed in Waikiki then marched inland to meet at the battle ground we now know as the Kipapa Gulch. Mailikukahi and his warriors were able to win the battle against the invaders. It was said that so much blood was shed that it filled the gulch and overtook the water. The name Kipapa, meaning paved way, was given to the gulch after the battle because it was now paved with the dead. According to Megan Shute in the article, These 11 Hauntings In Hawaii Will Send Chills Down Your Spine, she states “Residents have reported hearing the sounds of people crying under the bridge, as well as seeing lights move down the mountainside, into the gulch”. People of the islands believe that this battle left behind many unrested spirits of Hawaiian warriors. Unexplained accidents and head on collisions that happen on this bridge are blamed on the spirits that lurk the gulch. I have driven over the Kipapa Gulch a couple of times and have never experienced any spiritual interactions but there is definitely an eerie feeling while driving over the old battle grounds. 

During Halloween the Haunted Plantation is a big haunted attraction. This time of year islanders visit the plantation at night for a good spook and scare from actors hidden throughout the plantation homes. Many people think that because the plantation is used for Halloween fun it is not really haunted when in fact it is. The Haunted Plantation is located in central Oahu and when it isn't being used as a haunted house it is better known as Hawaii’s Plantation Village. From 1850-1950 the plantation village was used to house immigrant laborers who were working in the sugar cane fields. There were separate houses for different races giving the plantation houses their names such as the Potruguse House. The plantation village housed immigrants that were Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Filipino, and Hawaiian. Today the plantation is no longer used to house laborers, but instead is a museum where local tour guides show tourist and school groups around for hours for those learning and visiting the 50 acre village. There are many stories surrounding the plantation, some believe it is haunted and some believe it is just a hoax but those with personal experience with ghostly spirits only have scary stories to tell about this village, myself included. It was the day before Halloween and my friends really wanted to go to the Haunted Plantation. I was a big baby and got scared easily so I told them no but I would drive them there if they wanted. I ended up taking 4 of my friends to the plantation that night and waited in the parking lot for them to be done. They went through the houses in the plantation and told me that it was really spooky but nevertheless a fun experience. On the drive home one of my friends said that her leg was hurting and asked someone to shine a flashlight on it so she could look at it. Shining the light in the backseat of the car nothing  seemed out of the ordinary and everything looked okay with her leg. She thought it could have just been from walking around so much and didn't think anything more of it. Later that night we were all hanging out at my house when someone pointed to her leg once again and noticed bruising. It was weird because in the car there were no marks on her leg but how could there be bruises 30 minutes later? She touched it softly and winced at the pain. The scariest part was as the night went on the bruise started to become more and more dark. By the time we were ready to go to bed the bruise had developed into the shape of a hand gripping around her calf. There were four distinguished lines that acted as fingers and a round shape connecting to it that acted as a palm. Never again did we go back to the Haunted Plantation and I have never been so glad that I decided to sit out of that night. Being so intrigued with the experience my friend group had I looked up if other people had similar experiences and I found the craziest thing. There had been other people who had either worked as actors or just people walking through that had the same experience of bruising as my friend did. There is no way that it is a coincidence that more than one person visited the same place and the same thing happened numerous times. There is definitely something supernatural going on in those plantation homes and I never want to go back to find out, but if you like a good scare and you're brave enough to check it out then this place is for you. 

  Oahu may be seen as a beautiful paradise at the surface but if you dig a little further, the island can be a scary place. There are things that happen across the island that just cannot be explained, but when you listen to the stories and the history it all makes sense. Hawaii is a special place and the cultural history is important to understand when living or visiting any of the Hawaiian islands. These stories may be scary but they are real! Follow the rules and show respect to the spirits and you will be fine but if you do anything to upset them, beware. 

Works Cited 

kitvtv. “Hawaii Plantation Village Reveals Real-Life Ghost Story.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Oct. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD_q-iooGKc. 

Lamkin, Virginia. “The Night Marchers of Kipapa Gulch.” Seeks Ghosts, 1 Jan. 1970, seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-night-marchers-of-kipapa-gulch.html. 

Lee, Diane. “Scary Ghost Stories from Hawai'i's ‘Haunted’ Plantation Village.” Honolulu Magazine, 15 Oct. 2020, www.honolulumagazine.com/scary-ghost-stories-from-hawaiis-haunted-plantation-village/. 

Shute, Megan. “These 11 Hauntings In Hawaii Will Send Chills Down Your Spine.” OnlyInYourState, 10 Aug. 2020, www.onlyinyourstate.com/hawaii/hauntings-hi/. 

Tamashiro, Kristy. “Mysteries of Hawaii: Tales of Kipapa Gulch and Waipahu Cemetery.” KHON2, KHON2, 24 Oct. 2020, www.khon2.com/local-news/mysteries-of-hawaii-tales-of-kipapa-gulch-and-waipahu-cemetery/. 

TheHonoluluPD. “The Unexplained Paranormal Stories of HPD - The Pali Lookout.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=umIINuhjIzM. 

Media

The Pali: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umIINuhjIzM

Morgans corner

The Kipapa Gulch : https://www.khon2.com/local-news/mysteries-of-hawaii-tales-of-kipapa-gulch-and-waipahu-cemetery/ 

Haunted Plantation: https://www.honolulumagazine.com/scary-ghost-stories-from-hawaiis-haunted-plantation-village/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD_q-iooGKc