10.31.2016

Who's Driving the Lift?

Informant: Male/43/Ethnicity undisclosed
Location: Mapunapuna, Oahu

I work the night shift in a warehouse in Mapunapuna, and on Fridays I work non-stop into Saturday just to get things done. So this happened today, October 29, 2016, and the weird part is it was a little after 7:00 a.m. 

On Saturdays, there's usually three of us working, but one guy called out sick for Friday and Saturday, so there was just two of us doing our usual. Around 7:00 a.m. I could hear my coworker still on the stand up lift instead of taking his break, so I wanted to see what he was doing and saw that he just wanted to set things up to make it easier after his 10 minute break. So I walked past him and went towards my desk and saw that I had forgotten to put all of my trash into a bigger bag to be taken out. So from where my desk is, there's a big machine that blocks my view of where my coworker was using the stand up lift, but I could see things below, like legs, and the lower part of the stand up lift. So I grabbed my trash and started putting it into a bigger bag and noticed my coworker came behind and stood by the machine looking at me. I just kept picking up my trash one by one and kept looking back at him, wondering why he was just staring at me instead of helping.

As I started to tie the bag I could still see him standing there out of the corner of my eye, and I started getting irritated. All of a sudden I hear, "beep beep beep," and right as I was done I looked straight in front of me, and I was still able to see my coworker standing on the side. I was about to turn my head towards him to say something like, "Yes, can I help you?" but thought again and asked myself , "If he's standing here staring at me, then who the hell is driving the stand up lift?" So I turned and looked, but nothing was there. I know I saw him turn the corner, stop, and just stand there. And I know I'm not seeing things or imagining things either because our warehouse has good lighting and no dark or shady areas, and I've been doing this for eight years with nothing weird ever happening until today, in the morning, of all times. 

I remember growing up hearing similar stories that happen often in Samoa where people see their family member walking past the house, but they just came from inside the house and know their family member is sleeping inside, so they go back inside only to find them still asleep. It happens quite often in Samoa, and they know its a ghost because the family member they see walking past doesn't even acknowledge them, but just looks straight and keeps on walking.

Do Your Parents Feed the Frogs?

Informant: Male/26/Filipino
Location: Wainaku, Big Island

I have a bunch of family that live in this small, tight-knit community: Wainaku, Big Island. Grandparents, numerous aunts, and relatives live around the block. While playing video games in a relatives home, my brother and I got a phone call from my mother saying it's getting late and we should head to another aunty's home for dinner.

My brother and I picked up our kick scooters and headed up the road. At the fork of the road, a tall, barefoot old lady wearing a long white out-of-style dress, danced in the middle of the road holding a tray of food. I told my brother to ignore the lady as our aunty's home was at the immediate left of the fork. The old lady faced me and asked, "Do your parents feed the frogs?" That ridiculous question made me stop to answer her no, and I was curious why she asked that question. She said she will feed the frogs what was on her tray: guacamole and tortilla chips. Dumbfounded, I said yes when she offered me and my brother to taste her guac, which was delicious. She then ran into the middle of the fork, into the dark, yelling, "Frogs, this is for you!"

I told this story the next day to relatives and people in my Aunts street. Not one person said that an old lady of that description lived in the neighborhood.

The fork on the road? It was actually a bridge over a river that conjoins two streets. Some say a church used to be next to that bridge...

2.07.2016

The Mossy Green Wolf of Kailua

Informant: Male/38/Chinese-Caucasian
Location: Kailua, Oahu,  HI

I'm no writer and don't claim to be a story teller. This story really happened, so I found a site that I can tell it on. 

This happened back in 1987 when I was 12 years old on [REDACTED] Way in Kailua, Oahu. The kids in the neighborhood used to come out late and play a game called "chuck-it." It was a very quiet cul-de-sac, so no one cared that we would play all night long. 

So here it is. We were all hiding in bushes and trees, hiding from the person that was "it." I remember this clearly 'cause it freaked me out and I still think of it today. The rain had just come through at about 2:00 a.m. Yes, we played in the rain too. We were all getting wet and the person who was it had tagged me. I had to come out of my hiding place and go to my friend and neighbor Chad Parris' porch while they continued searching for everyone else. While I was walking across the neighbors long driveway I felt something was looking at me. 

I looked back to my left and saw a dark green wolf with bright green eyes staring at me as I walked by. Yes, I do know that there are no wolves or foxes in Hawaii. It didn't run as it slowly walked by me. I froze and could only stare back 'cause of how scared I was. The wolf looked like it had wiry hair, but mossy looking. The size was like a normal grey wolf and it showed me his huge fangs. The strange thing is, it just continued on and never growled or barked. It was like he was just letting me know he was there and not to mess with him. It went on to jump the wall and walked along the lake. I yelled for everyone to come over to see what I just saw, and everyone said I was seeing things. I know what I saw. I didn't play with my friends for almost two weeks after that. They would still go out every night, but I was traumatized. The older locals I told the story to say it was the Goddess Pele and kids should never be out that late on Oahu. I moved away a year later and never saw it again. Since then, I have continued to search Hawaii folklore stories or strange animals in Hawaii and have yet to find another person who has seen it.

In 2006, I went to the movies to watch M. Night Shyamalan's The Lady in the Water. During the movie there is a green wolf creature and I was like OMG is this really happening. The creature looked a lot like what I saw, but his version had red eyes had grass on its back instead of moss. I don't know what legend he pulled that creature from, but that was it. Maybe someone knows the legend or myth this creature comes from, but I need to know and will continue searching...

1.03.2016

"She's Coming for You."

Informant: Male/42/undisclosed ethnicity
Location: Waipahu

In 1994 I moved to Waipahu to take care of my grandma at a place called Tropicana Apartments. I was up late working on my cars interior one night and was tired, so just after midnight I decided to go buy cigarettes at the Shell Gas Station and vacuum my car. 

I took the back road (Waipahu Road) blasting my music, and as I came up to the traffic light I slowed down to make the right turn on Waikele Road. There weren't any cars or pedestrians around as I made the turn, but as I turned I heard clearly as if it was two inches from my ear, a woman saying angrily, "Turn down the music!" So I moved my head, startled, and looked to the left at where the person spoke so close to my ear. Then I turned my head further looking back, seeing if I drove past anyone. At that same moment, the volume started going down by itself without the knob turning. I let go of the gas pedal wondering, "What the hell?" Then my left forearm from elbow to fingertips started to hurt really bad, as if I left it in a freezer for days. I gassed it to the gas station at the corner and jumped out of my car trying to shake of the cold feeling that was hurting my arm. 

As I was confused, I walked to the sidewalk and looked back trying to figure out what just happened. I couldn't figure it out until I looked to the right side of the street and saw the graveyard right next to Waipahu Elementary School. And that's when I realized that what I heard was a ghost. She must have grabbed my arm, too. At that moment my chicken skin had chicken skin and I started jumping to shake it off. As soon as I collected my self I sat in my car and told myself not to go back that way after I bought cigarettes and vacuumed. 

After I was done, I saw a bunch of cops pulling a car over on the main road. I didn't want to take that route, so had no other choice but to go the same way I came. I drove home quick without looking at the graveyard or anything on the sidewalks and got home exhausted, went straight into the house, upstairs, without turning on any lights or TV and went straight to bed. I fell asleep quickly and was awoken in what felt like a 10 minute nap buy a little boy. 

He was about eight or nine years old, wearing a long-sleeved striped shirt. He grabbed my big toe and kept wiggling it. I got up and looked at him, wondering if maybe my grandma had guest's sleeping over. I lay back down to sleep, but again the boy grabbed my toes and wiggled them until I got up. This time I looked at him, and he pointed to the door and said, "The lady is coming for you." I put my head down again and thought, "What the hell is this kid talking about?" Then I remembered the voice and everything else and sat up, but there was no boy or sound of my door opening or closing. 

I got up and went into the other room (my grandma always slept in the living room downstairs) and I felt this woman (I don't know how to explain the feeling but it was powerful) coming down the street towards the apartments. Without looking outside, I could feel her presence. It was so strong, and it moved to the front door and stopped. I ran to my doorway looking around  for an escape because I was thinking she was gonna come up the stairs, but instead I felt her move up to the second floor and come into the house through the wall of the other room I just came from. I ran downstairs and into the bathroom (downstairs bathroom is located under the stairs) and felt her moving past my room. She went down the stairs and stopped halfway, and I felt her coming straight through the stairs, straight at me. That's when I opened the door and ran out the back, flicking the lights on as I ran.  I ran a few buildings away and waited for sunlight before going back home.