Haunted places on Oahu
Aiea
Aiea High. Aiea High School sits on an old burial ground and like many of its kind, it is home to many strange sightings and unusual noises. The R building is said to be particularly surreal.
Hauula
Hauula, Pounder’s Beach. On the Hauula side of Pounder’s Beach, one can sometimes hear a child’s lost cry or see a woman wandering the waters. These are the ghosts of a mother and her child, who drowned on a rough night on the beach.
Honolulu
The Dole Cannery Signature Theaters. Like many Hawaiian buildings, this theater is built on an ancient temple that met a tragic end. Some decades ago, a bus full of children crashed into the temple, killing most of its passengers. Today, people still hear children’s voices in the theater, particularly in the bathrooms.
Highway 1 (H1).This highway cuts through the Koolau Mountains, where many ancient warriors met their deaths. While the tunnel was being constructed, the diggers found old bones and weapons and many passers have reported ghostly sightings in the tunnel itself.
Hilton Hawaiian Village. Staff and visitors have reported seeing a woman in a red dress wandering the hallways of this famous resort hotel. Believed to be the volcano goddess Pele, she appears throughout the premises and seems to show and hide herself as she pleases.
Iolani Palace. Guards have repeatedly claimed to hear footsteps and see strange shadows at this historic landmark.
Kakaako Fire Station. An old man with a dog, probably an ancient firefighter, is said to haunt this fire station on South Street.
Kapiolani Park. Hundreds of years ago, this park was a battlefield and a site for human sacrifices. As you might expect, it’s teeming with unexplained sights, sounds and smells. The Honolulu Police has gotten used to calls from travelers reporting strange happenings in this area.
State Capitol Building. The capitol stands just beside the Kawaiahao Church, where the ancient Queen Liliuokalani is buried. Apparently, the queen’s soul hasn’t found its leina, as her ghost is sometimes seen wandering the capitol hall’s corridors.
Kamehameha Schools. The “Night Marchers” is a parade of ancient warriors who wreak havoc on anyone or anything that stands in their way—and the school sits right on their path. When the moon is full, one can allegedly hear drum beats and knocks on the doors.
Kamehameha Schools Dormitories. A ghostly lady dressed in 19th-century garb is said to haunt the boys’ rooms in this dormitory. She had been haunting the building for a while before residents recognized her from one of the paintings as Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was responsible for the school’s establishment.
Manoa. On the way to the Manoa Falls, just past the Paradise Park, one can hear strange war cries seemingly muffled by the rainforest beyond it.
Moanalua High School. Residents at this school have grown friendly towards a little boy who haunts the boys’ locker room. He can sometimes be heard crying and shuffling around the corridors. Teachers leave a light on for him at night so he won’t be scared.
Nuuanu. Just across the street from the cemetery is a haunted condominium, where the ghost of an old Chinese woman has been seen wandering the halls.
The Pali Lookout. This place brings an eerie feeling even from the staunchest of skeptics. The Pali Lookout is the site of the battle against King Kamehameha, where hundreds of warriors died defending the island of Oahu. Figures have been seen among the trees, ancient souls wander the right wing and a lone warrior looks out at the ocean from a high cliff.
Pali Highway. There’s a strange superstition that warns against taking pork on the Pali Highway. According to belief, your car will stall and will start again only when you take the pork out. Many locals still follow the warning, although there’s no clear reason why.
Pearl Harbor. The famous site of the attack that launched World War II, Pearl Harbor hardly needs explanation as to why it’s haunted. Ford Island, located at the center of the harbor, is home to many strange sightings and footsteps.
Sacred Hearts Academy. Many years ago, a nun suffered a fatal fall from the stairs behind the school chapel. Today, students can feel a chill air around the chapel, her cold hand touching them or her cold breath on their faces.
Laie
Polynesian Cultural Center. In the Fiji village of the Marquesas region, you can sometimes hear drums playing or babies crying in the distance.
Makaha
Makaha Sheraton Golf Club. Several children drowned in a pool accident at the club some years ago. Their presence can still be felt around the premises and some people claim to have seen them playing around the pool.
North Shore
Waimea Falls Park. At the center of this park is a small, shallow pond said to be haunted by a spirit. Once in a while, someone mysteriously drowns in the pond and although there’s not much space in the pond, the body doesn’t turn up until a few days later.
Pupukea Heiau. The largest heiau (Hawaiian temple) on the island, Pupukea also lies on the path of the Night Marchers and has seen its share of haunting. Even today, people still hear ancient conch shells and the sound of the marchers’ footsteps.
Wahiawa
Wahiawa Elementary School. The Green Lady is a strange sighting in the wooded area surrounding this village. First seen in the 1940s, the woman is said to have scaly green skin and has made a few reappearances in recent years.
Sacred Birthstones. A small site just outside Wahiawa used to be the birthing place for Hawaiian royalty. Marked by a group of flat, round stones, the site brims with positive energy that is felt by every traveler. The stones always go back to their place by themselves when you move them, although no one knows why.
Waialae
Chaminade University. Perhaps the most haunted school on the island, Chaminade was once the site of a children’s hospital that lived through World War II. In Room 208, the outline of a crucifix can be seen on one wall, although the cross itself has been removed years ago. Room 319 was a former soldiers’ morgue and the ghosts of the warriors can sometimes be seen inside.
Waikiki
Diamond Head - La Pietra School. The ghosts of old students follow you around at this school, so you certainly won’t feel alone.
Waipahu
Waipahu Street. When King Kamehameha I invaded Oahu, he took so many lives that the dead had to be lined up from the Waipahu gulch to the Mililani Valley—a distance spanning several miles. The Night Marchers can sometimes be heard on this street and the sound of drums in the distance is a common event.
