Haunted Royal Hawaiian Center, Helumoa
Waikiki the former seat of Hawaiian Royalty
Since the time of the O‘ahu Ali‘i, Mā‘ilikūkahi, in the 1400s, Waikiki has been the home of royalty and Oahu’s center of government. Kamehameha I and his warriors camped here when they landed in 1975, ready to fight for Oahu. He later made his home here for a time before moving the royal seat to Pakaka in Kou, now known as Honolulu. In the 1880s, Kamehameha’s great-granddaughter, Bernice Pauahi Bishop inherited Helumoa. Upon her death in 1884, the land was bequeathed to Bishop Estate.
Golgotha at Waikiki
In March 1898, Colonel George Macfarlane leased some space in Waikiki to establish a seaside annex to the Hawaiian Hotel. A group of seven Japanese workers was leveling off some mounds in the coconut grove called Helumoa. In preparation for removing some of the coconut trees, they cut off the roots around the tree, and then they went to lunch.
As they were returning from their break, a gale rattled the foliage of the tall palms like castanets. The undermined tree shivered in the blast and began to reel to its fall. Even the ground rumbled and, it is stated, the awa and mullet in an adjacent pond leaped upon their fins clear out of the water.
As the workmen retreated from the falling trees, the unthinkable happened. Flung high into the air by the catapultic motion of the roots was a mass of human bones - entire skulls, femurs, vertebrae, ribs, everything. One skull struck one of the workers in the back as he ran, and when he turned to see what hit him, he almost died of fear.
There was no way to get the men back to work. The only one who returned was the foreman. He began delving in the soil when, close to the surface, he found an entire skeleton. It was in a sitting position with arms extended over the head. There was another skeleton discovered not so well united in frame.
A very aged woman named Kaohi, who was a retainer for Princess Pauahi was still living near the place. She said she was born there and there used to be a heiau on that spot. The bodies of Hawaiians slain in battle were buried within its walls.
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