Informant: Male/40’s/European Ancestry
Location: Kapa’a, Kauai
A friend of mine worked at Fun Factory in Waipouli for a few years. In the time that she worked there, she had experienced some pretty strange things.
A new game had come in one day, but it was too big to get through the doors without having to unhinge them. They couldn’t leave the game sitting outside, so a small group of them camped out in the store to make sure the game wasn’t stolen.
My friend had set up a tent inside the store, and within view she could see her other friend asleep. In the middle of the night, she heard what sounded like someone hitting the game machines. She said it sounded like someone walking passed all the games with their hand out. She sat up and looked through the mesh to see if it was her friend, but he was sleeping in the same spot. There’s no way anyone else was in the store.
Another strange occurrence happened in the storage room. My friend saw that it was closed, but heard all kinds of noises coming from inside. Underneath the door she could see that someone was moving around in there. Thinking it was her coworker, who often used the store room to change his clothes, she didn’t think much of it. She walked over and knocked on the door, but nobody answered. She tried to open the door, but the door wouldn’t open. She thought a pole had fallen and was blocking the door, or that her coworker was messing with her. But just then he walked in the front door, wondering what she was doing.
My friend explained that the door wouldn’t open but there was someone in there. When her coworker tried, the door opened easily for him. Nobody was in there.
Now, a family friend has a daughter who works at Fun Factory. Recently the nighttime janitor told them all something strange: “I don’t wanna freak anyone out,” he said, “but I see strange things here at night. I saw a man hanging in the back.”
According to legend, there was a true report of a man having committed suicide in that area before Fun Factory existed. Maybe it was him causing all the mischief?
1.24.2010
1.10.2010
Informant: Female/25/Korean ancestry
Location: Apia, Samoa
I work at one of the local schools, and one of the people I work with had recently lost his daughter in the tragic tsunami in Samoa. He came to the classroom to raise awareness about the relief fund in Samoa. But he also came to share the story about his granddaughter, which he read to us from an email sent by his son.
She was only nine years old when she died. Her body was found in her parent’s truck washed out onto the reef. Her younger sister, who was only three or four, was also washed away with the waves, but managed to survive when a boy clinging to a coconut tree grabbed her and pulled her up. But before that, something miraculous happened, which she told to her family.
She was being swept away with the water, and she was completely submerged. Then, suddenly, a hand reached down and grabbed her. When her head breached the water, she saw her older sister holding on to her saying “Don’t worry, I got you.”
By that time, her sister had already drowned.
12.27.2009
I missed Christmas, but happy New Year to everyone! New stories will be posted after the new year. Have a safe and wonderful time ringing in 2010!
12.20.2009
Informant: Female/24/Mexican-Filipino ancestry
Location: Tunnel of Trees, Kauai
There’s a well-known story among our circle of friends that involves someone we know that has a penchant for seeing and experiencing spirits. One of the most memorable stories goes like this.
While driving through the tunnel of trees one night with her boyfriend, our friend, who was in the driver’s seat, experienced something unexplainable. The tunnel filled with fog, and then suddenly, something started choking her.
With her hands still on the wheel, and her boyfriend watching the whole episode from the passenger’s seat, the car shut itself off and drifted into the oncoming lane. By the time the choking stopped, she was at the end of the tunnel. Luckily there was no on coming traffic. After calming down a bit, they continued on to the boyfriend’s house.
When they got there, she was understandably shaken, and in pain because of the burning mark on her neck. Where she was choked was the imprint of a large man’s hand. By the next morning, the mark had disappeared.
When she got to her cousins house later that day, her cousin asked “What were you doing last night?” She replied, “What do you mean?” and the cousin said, “Look at your car.”
The sides of the car were a bit muddy, and in the mud were hand prints, all over, as if someone was trying to get in.
12.13.2009
Informant: Female/24/Mexican-Filipino ancestry
Location: Lihue, Kauai
I had another strange dream when I slept over at my boyfriend’s house. In my dream, I was with the family in the living room but I had to use the bathroom. For some reason nobody told me where the other bathroom was, so I had to find it myself. When I came back, I plopped down on the couch and stretched out. Then a little boy approached me.
He had the most peaceful, serene look on his face. I had never seen anyone so peaceful looking in my whole life. And he opened his arms and hugged me, with his head in my lap. Then my boyfriend’s mom walks in and says to me, “Oh, I want you to meet Serenity.” She actually said his name was Serenity in my dream. And then I woke up.
I told my boyfriend about the dream, and he says to me, “Come. I want to show you something.” He walks over to a closet and pulls out this Wyland-esque painting. “My mom wants to put this painting in every single room of the house.” The plaque at the bottom of the painting bore the name: “Serenity.”
12.06.2009
Informant: Male/ 65/ Portuguese ancestry
Location: Lihue, Kauai
The old county jail on Kauai, when it existed, was known by everyone on the island to be haunted. There were stories of bars slamming, mumbling, and even choking ghosts. In those days, there were only two guards on duty at all times, so if one of them took the day off, the rookie cops were sent in to be stand-in guards. Sometimes my dad was one of them.
The jail had two floors, and there would never be any occupants on the second floor, because that’s the floor that was haunted. Weird things could be heard coming from the second floor. Things that sounded like doors slamming, or dragging tin across the bars. The prison wasn’t always full, and sometimes there were no occupants at all. He said they used to threaten misbehaving inmates with incarceration on the second floor because everyone was so scared of it.
My dad himself heard bars slamming on the second floor, but upon inspection, found nobody. On nights when there was nobody in the jail, some of the rookie cops would get so scared they would sleep in their cars outside in the parking lot instead of staying in the jail. There have been no stories of the new jail that was built in it’s place. Do you think it may also be haunted?
11.29.2009
Informant: Male/25/Chinese ancestry
Location: Waikiki, Oahu
I used to work at a certain high-end retailer in Waikiki. There were stories of weird things happening in that particular branch. I heard from a coworker that he saw a bag fly off the shelf. I didn’t really trust him though, because he was known to embellish his stories a bit. But he did seem genuinely freaked out by his experience. It wasn’t long before I had my own.
It was during the day, from what I remember. Me and another coworker were in the store. My coworker was maybe like, 3-5 feet away from me at the counter. I was just standing there, and suddenly I heard a loud whisper saying “Ken!” or something like that. I just remember it being really, really in my ear. It was a really loud whisper. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.
I turned back to see if maybe my coworker was calling me, but right at the same time she looked up and asked me, "Did you say something?" At this point I’m going "Uh...I thought you said something." She says "Oh, I thought I heard somebody saying something, like Kay or whatever."
Nobody else was in the store. If she didn’t call my name…then who did?