Ghosts Next Door

Ghosts Next Door
by Lopaka Kapanui

Oct 18, 2016

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween! 12 Nights Left! "Palehua Night"


Palehua:


We were guests of a friend whose family owned the land where a small clutter of cabins were located up at Palehua. We’d been there for most of the afternoon but now that the sun was behind us to the west, the darkness was settling in. Of course, we could see the city lights off in the distance but it felt like we were swimming to shore from a ship wreck. We could see the lights of Waikiki from far off but It didn’t make us feel any better because we knew that there was a proverbial shark in the water somewhere. That’s what it felt like right at that moment.

There was an unknown fear that took a hold of us for some reason and we ended up huddled together in one cabin because we were too afraid to walk the short distance to our own cabins. One couple felt that they needed some privacy and went off into the night where they could be more amorous without giving everyone a free show. That’s when all the trouble began. Number one, we didn’t anticipate the cold so we weren’t dressed appropriately. Number two, it’s terrifying to hear a blood curdling scream from somewhere in the pitched black of night. Because, number three; you know it’s one of your friends who just left the cabin and you want to go help them but you’re too afraid of what you might find.

With only one flashlight between us, we huddled together and on the count of three we pushed the cabin door open and prepared ourselves (not really) for whatever was about to come. Just inside the tree line where the open area ended, we saw a countless number of torch lights and we could just make out the shadowy figures which were holding those torches. The fiery light was not comforting at all, it gave off a strange glow as if the fires alone were alive. There, just at the edge of the tree line was the couple who’d wandered off earlier. They lay naked and prone face down with their hands clasped behind the back of their heads. A large procession of Hawaiian warriors slowly emerged from the trees; all of them bearing torches. I’d heard about them for many years while growing up here on ‘O’ahu but I never thought anything of it until now, but there they were. Fear is not the word to correctly describe what I was feeling at that moment, it was more than that. Was it awe? No, it was reverence, respect and aloha.

Without my having to say anything to the rest of the group, we quickly removed our clothing and followed suit. We all lay flat with our hands clasped behind the back of our heads and kept our eyes closed. We heard the sound of chanting in Hawaiian and the sound of feet marching past us; but I will never forget the individual voices whispering names into my ear,

“Aukai,” “Kahalewai,” “Kahiamoe,” “Mahi,” “Makahi,”

The names went on and on; they were family. We ‘d lost our sense of time so that when the entire procession had finally passed, the sun was already rising over Diamond Head. We were alive most of us, but not the couple. They’d died sometime during the night; their bodies were stiff because of rigormortis and there was a kind of grey membrane film that covered their eyes. There was no evidence of any foul play or accident. It was as if their bodies just suddenly stopped working. Now that it was day, I could verbally say it without fear,

“Night Marchers,”




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