Haunted Historic Sites in Honolulu Beckon You This Halloween

Learn the spooky histories of different Hawai‘i cultures.

October 26, 2018

Robbie Dingeman,

LOPAKA KAPANUI SHOWS OFF THE RUINS OF KANIAKAPŪPŪ, ALSO KNOWN AS KING KAMEHAMEHA III’S SUMMER HOME, IN NU‘UANU VALLEY.

PHOTO: AARON K. YOSHINO

You probably heard the one about the ghost that followed a visitor home from Hawai‘i’s Plantation Village? Or the doors that keep re-opening by themselves at Hawaiian Mission Houses.

Since it’s October, you can experience many of these things around town in anticipation of the holiday dedicated to spookiness. The folks who run historic Hawai‘i’s Plantation Village in Waipahu have many stories about staff and visitors who believe that a spirit followed them home after visiting the 1900-era sugar plantation village.

So, it only makes sense that the village is also transformed into arguably the state’s scariest haunted house, which sprawls across the 50-acre campus that is a historic freeze-frame of plantation days.

Oct. 26, 27, 28. 31. Gates open at 7 p.m. and close at 11 p.m. or until the plantation reaches capacity. $15 general admission, $20 for fastpass line and $30 for VIP front of line. Cash only. Hawai‘i’s Plantation Village, 94-695 Waipahu St., hawaiihauntedplantation.com.

You don’t need to pay to stroll through another historic building. The Hawai‘i State Capitol, has intriguing stories of phantom sights, sounds and even whiffs of cigar smoke. Master storyteller Lopaka Kapanui retells a compelling account from former Hawai‘i lawmaker Eloise Tungpalan who often took her daughter with her to work at her office at the State Capitol. One day, Tungpalan saw her daughter playing with a ball, bouncing it and apparently talking with someone. When Tungpalan asked her daughter later about her playmate, her daughter described a nice Hawaiian lady. Days later, when the two passed the statue of Queen Lili‘uokalani —which stands between the State Capitol and ‘Iolani Palace —her daughter pointed and said, “Mom, that’s the lady who played with me at the office.”

Want more haunted stories? Master storyteller Lopaka Kapanui is appearing in two places the weekend before Halloween:

Oct. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m., he will be telling plantation tales, 13 obake stories and include a surprise at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i’s Mānoa Grand Ballroom. Advanced reservations are required.
$15 for JCCH members, $20 for nonmembers. Parking validation will be provided. 2454 South Beretania St. (808) 945-7633 ext. 47, j cch.com.
Then catch Kapanui at Honolulu Museum of Arts on Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m., for a storytelling session with the spine-tingling theme, “Edge of Darkness.” Here’s the pitch: “Prepare yourself for stories that come to life in the dark recesses of your mind and never leave. In celebration of Halloween, don’t miss the chance to hear legends never revealed until now—they've been locked away for a reason.”
$12 for museum members, $15 general admission. Doris Duke Theatre, 900 S. Beretania St. but the entrance is on Kinau Street. (808) 532-6097, honolulumuseum.org.

On Halloween, master storytellers Jeff Gere and Alton Chung will tell tales of real-life encounters with Pele, a kissing ghost, stones with a curse and more at “Spooky Tales” for Hawai‘i Public Radio. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Stories are recommended for ages 18 and older.

$25 general, $20 for HPR members, $15 for students with ID. Atherton Studio, 738 Kāheka St. (808) 955-8821, hprtickets.org.