The new Oahu prison was built in Iwilei, on marshy land at the end of a coral road surrounded by fish ponds. It was sometimes called the “Oʻahu Prison,” “King’s Prison,” “Kawa Prison” or, simply, “The Reef.” The gallows were built in the courtyard near an immense banyan tree.

In 1916, the front page of the Honolulu Star Bulletin featured a startling headline: “FIND OF BONES EXCITES PEOPLE ON WATERFRONT!” The discovery was made on a Wednesday afternoon near Pier 12, where workers unearthed what seemed to be a human thigh bone. But this was no ordinary bone—it measured a staggering 24 inches in length and 8 inches in diameter at its widest point.

In Japan, the Noppera-bo is a yokai, a supernatural being that resembles a human but is marked by its eerie absence of facial features. Known for startling the living, these faceless apparitions are typically benign, though their appearance is deeply unsettling. Legends often describe the Noppera-bo as initially appearing as an ordinary person before their facial features vanish, leaving only a blank, featureless expanse where their face should be. This ghostly presence has reportedly been spotted in several places across Hawai‘i, including the Waiakea Villas in Hilo, an intermediate school in Kailua, and the Moanalua school campus. One of the most notorious sightings occurred in May 1959 at a school in Palolo, and of course, at the Waialae Drive-in.

Iolani Palace stands as the only royal palace in the United States, a symbol of Hawaii’s regal history and grandeur. But beneath its elegant exterior, the palace has been the backdrop for a chilling tale of ghostly encounters.

The first prison on Oahu was at Fort Kekuanohu... also known as Fort Honolulu or “The Old Fort.” This is where Fort Street gets its name. While the Old Fort no longer stands, people are said to have an uneasy feeling when standing where the old gate used to be -- at Walker Park at the foot of Fort Street.

Downtown Honolulu is a hotspot for spiritual and psychic energy. From ancient burial sites to modern office buildings, one might be hard-pressed to find one spot in the downtown area that isn’t haunted. Follow our “Hawaii’s Most Haunted” posts to learn more about hauntings in Honolulu and all around Hawaii.

In 1968, in their new home in Hawaii Kai, a family described an encounter with a ghost they called “Bernard.” The house was only five years old and the neighborhood was brand new, so there weren’t any previous tenants. However, Bernard made his first appearance to the family’s 17-year-old daughter, who was a senior at Kalani High School.

In 1901, a woman came forward to say that she dreamt of an old kahuna who died. She said that in her dream, he told her that he did not come to his death naturally. In the dream, Joe told the woman that he was hit in the back of the head by a Japanese man, and described the club that was used.

Stories of the “Woman in White” can be heard around the world in almost every culture. Kahuna nui Emma deFries was the great-great granddaughter of Keali‘iopunui and Hewahewa, the Kahuna nui of Kamehameha I. In 1971, she shared a story with the newspaper about her grandpa’s ghostly encounter with a woman in white.

It is perhaps one of the most well-known urban legends of hawaii. Its story has spanned decades. Every generation, the hauntings at this place resurface and become an urban legend all over again. A 1942 article, a 1972 editorial, and a 1994 book makes one question whether the Kasha is real. Let’s check it out…

Many people talk about the hauntings at Morgan's Corner but forget about the death, suicide, and murder just up the road at the original "death curve" at Judd Trail and Jackass Ginger Pond.

At 1442 Emma Street, now within the location of Kamamalu Park, stood a house that was reportedly haunted. Do you think the ghost now roams the playground?

Is it an urban legend borne of the far-fetched stories shared between teenagers on a dark night somewhere in the depths of Nu‘uanu? Or is it a fact, one that still makes its presence known, even today? Perhaps the question shouldn’t be, “Is Morgan’s Corner haunted?” The better question is, “Who or what haunts Morgan’s Corner?”

It lies in the shadows of the Ko’olau mountain range, a narrow road with a melancholy, and sometimes violent, history. Hawaiian newspapers as far back as 1885 have recorded tales of robberies, fires, rapes, fatal accidents, and murders on the mile and a half twisting trail from the halfway house junction to the bottom of the road where it meet Kamehameha highway.

There have been numerous deaths at this precipice that marks the peak of this pathway from Nu’uanu to Windward Oahu -- from the last stand of Kalanikupule, to falling rocks, strong winds, horses losing their footing, and cars careening out of control, not to mention suicides... and murder. This area has a long and violent history. It’s not just one thing that haunts this place, it’s many.

In the uplands of Kalihi, there were once sacred heiau, a spring brought forth by the god Kane, and a pair of Kupua who would watch over the valley. Some say that the destruction of those stones set the stage for the unfortunate events surrounding the building of the Wilson Tunnel.

Thought to have originally been built for the purpose of telepathic communication, the mana here is ever-present and powerful. However, before you try to charge your crystals here (yes, unfortunately, it’s been attempted), one must understand that there is so much more here. The residual negative energy of the untold numbers of men that were sacrificed in the space is also constant.

A woman staying in Waikiki in the 1930s says that on the first night she saw glowing lights just on the edge of the water. On the second night, she saw the same thing, except now, the glowing lights seemed to have shadowy forms as if they were people holding up torches, walking along the beach, heading toward Diamond Head to the old heiau. Now, that heiau is a private school.

In the back of Manoa valley, people began to see orbs of light coming from the earth. The mysterious phosphorescent fire had the Hawaiians and Japanese living in the valley distinctly scared. A Japanese yard boy said that about 10:30pm in the upper part of the valley a particular light seemed to glow. The light was not strong, but being the only fire in the valley, it called attention.

Seminarians have long talked of attacks by levitating pencils, of doors that would stick on one side but not the other, of pats that rattled without cause. Even laypeople who work at the religious institution talk of feeling a presence, hearing a voice, having something press against them. “It was real,” Ferraro said, “Told and corroborated by prominent men in the Roman Catholic Church.”