1.24.2010

The Haunted Arcade

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?

1.10.2010

A Sister's Guiding Hand

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.