A Vanishing Hitchhiker in Puhi

Informant: Female/38/Korean ancestry

Location: Puhi, HI

My father told me that my great-grandfather worked for the sugar mill in the early 1900's, but at one point was laid off. Not knowing how he was going to support his family, my great-grandmother told him not to worry: she had been saving money, and gave it to him, telling him to buy a car to carry fares as a taxi driver.

One night my great-grandfather was driving southbound past Puhi in an area that is now near Kaua`i Nursery and Landscaping. Just before approaching the dip in the road, he saw a woman on the side of the road. It was dark, so my grandfather pulled over and offered her a ride. The woman accepted and got into the back of the car. Looking in the rear view mirror, my great-grandfather could see that she was an old Hawaiian woman. She said she was going to Koloa, and my great-grandfather took off in that direction. After passing through Puhi, he looked in his rearview mirror to speak to the woman, and was shocked to see that she was gone. There was nobody in the backseat of his car. My great-grandfather was sure that it was Pele. 

My dad told me that you're not supposed to bring pork through that area, and I was shocked to hear that because I had never heard it before. I heard that you're not supposed to bring pork through the tunnel of trees, but I had never known about that area. But then I remembered something that happened a few y ears ago. 

My coworkers and I were driving back to the office in Lihue from Koloa. Right when we were passing by Kaua`i Nursery and Landscaping, our car died. We pulled over on the side of the highway right next to the nursery, right after the dip in the road...right about where my great-grandfather's passenger would have vanished from his backseat. 

Read More

Madam Pele in all her glory

Informant: Male/66/Caucasian
Location: West Maui

It was in the summer of 1984 and my first trip to Hawaii with my Great Aunt who had retired recently. We booked a flight/hotel deal and first landed in Honolulu for a couple of days. I can't recall which islands came after that on our trip, but this encounter with Madame Pele happened on Maui just after a snorkeling trip over a reef.

Seems to me the bay was fairly large and had a rip tide that day. I had a boogie board, fins, and snorkeling mask as I bobbed along backwards watching the sea life and corals when I looked up and was almost pulled out of the bay and was suddenly in deep water. I swam sideways to my left to get out of the riptide and then was only a few feet above the coral. It tired me out even at that shallow depth swimming back to shore. I made it to shore, but was very tired even at 32 years old and knowing how to swim.

I came up the hill where my Great Aunt was sitting and watching me quite concerned whether I was going to get back okay. I sat down on the blanket to rest and still had my snorkeling mask on my forehead holding the flippers when Madame Pele made contact with me. I did not see her, but heard her speak to me telepathically. She identified herself right away and knew I had a great respect for her even though she was only an island myth up to that point with me. I read some years before of people having seen her and a white dog together but didn't believe or disbelieve them.

I know she's telepathic because she scanned my Great Aunt and said or thought to me, "Your Aunt Grace is a non-believer. Would you like to have some fun with her tonight at the Luau?" I said, or rather, thought,"Sure...I'm game, what do we do?" Pele said "When you drive into the Luau , the moment your wheel leaves the road I am going to stop the wind from blowing at the Luau. Have your aunt pick the moment as I will be watching. When you leave, the moment your wheel touches the pavement I will start the wind blowing again! Let Grace decide when the time is right." I agreed and told my aunt what just transpired with Madame Pele. Pele has a marvelous sense of humor from what I experienced with her even though my aunt was a skeptic. I thought to Pele', "We're going to the Luau in your honor tonight to celebrate our new friendship!" Aunt Grace never thought much of any paranormal or new age material period and referred to it all as "That old Hoo-Doo stuff."

All this took place about mid afternoon perhaps around 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. I turned in the snorkeling equipment and we went to lunch afterwards for a quick bite before the Luau that night. We wanted to drive by it in the daylight rather than miss the turnoff at night. We drove by the Luau location but did not pull in. We did some sightseeing for a couple of hours and around dusk we headed for the Luau. It was still daylight and fading fast when we arrived. I told my Aunt that Pele was waiting and watching and the wind would stop the moment we drove into the Luau. I waited on Grace to call it and she said "Now...go now! No WAIT!" I said "Make up your mind this time!" She hesitated a few moments watching the wind blow and said."Now...GO NOW!" The instant the front wheel left the asphalt and onto the Luau property the wind suddenly died down as if someone had unplugged a giant fan! It was truly amazing to see.

As we found a parking spot and walked into the activities going on watching the native Hawaiians mingling and getting ready to take the pig out of the pit. Someone was taking photos and as I was standing among some Hawaiian guys I heard one of them say "This is weird how the wind has stopped over the luau but is blowing further out!" I said "What you are seeing is the hand of Pele at work! This is Madame Pele's doing." They all looked at me askance but couldn't get over the wind behaving so strangely. I told them it would start back up again when we left after the luau was over. Anyway, we had a great time and soon it was time to leave. We were in the last group to leave and I stopped on the gravel road and said "Okay Grace, it's your call. When the tire touches the asphalt the wind will start up again! Call it." She looked around again at the windless area and back at the road and said "Go now!" As soon as the wheel touched the pavement the wind suddenly blew strong again and did so all night long. Aunt Grace became a believer that night.

A second encounter with Madame Pele occurred later when Mauna Loa erupted while I was back at home in East Tennessee. While we were at Kilauea, we wanted to see the crater and hopefully some lava. There came a cold blowing rain and all we saw was steam and fog. Everyone fled to the Sheraton to get something warm to drink and sit by the fire. I was naturally disappointed as I wanted to see Pele "In Her Glory" with the lava and an eruption. I didn't say anything about it other than to my Aunt Grace and we flew home a few days later.

One night I was asleep in bed in the wee hours of the night when I felt some benevolent energy lift me up and out of the body and up high into the night sky. It pulled me Westward and over the United States and half way across the Pacific Ocean it seemed until I was parked above Mauna Loa in the dark. I could see the lights of cities and communities in the distance with me being twice the height of the volcano. I thought "What in the world am I doing here in Hawaii above Mauna Loa?" Then a voice I recognized as Pele said "NOW Behold Pele IN HER GLORY!" At that moment Mauna Loa let loose with a terrible blast and lava spewed up in the air like a giant 4th of July rocket. I was awe struck and humbled at the same time. Excited as I could be, I said "Thank you my friend Pele'!" I woke up in bed crying.

After I woke up, I walked into the kitchen and saw my aunt Grace sitting at the table in morning daylight where it was yet darkness in Hawaii....I said "Mauna Loa just erupted...you know...that huge volcano above Kilauea."  She asked me how I knew that. I said "Pele took me over there and showed me just as it went off a few minutes ago!"  Just then the radio announced "This just in from Hawaii: Mauna Loa has erupted in a fiery display of nature!" Aunt  Grace thought I heard it on the radio. I said "How could I have heard it on the radio if it just now is being announced?"

Read More

Pele saves a life at Kilauea

Informant: Male/59/Caucasian

Location: Past Pahala on Highway 11 on the Big Island

Aloha. With it being Mother’s Day as I write this, and with all the stories of Hawaii in the news these days, I was reminded of a trip I took to the islands in which I had a couple of very strange paranormal encounters. I have been, in the past ten years, a paranormal investigator and have had many encounters with spirits and entities over my lifetime which is how I came to formally investigate these phenomena. Being half Scottish and the other half Viking with psychic skills, I can reliably say there is much more going on in the unseen world than most people will ever know. This story is one of my favorite encounters and I hope you enjoy it.

In the early 1990's, I took a series of trips to the Hawaiian islands. One of my favorite island visits was my trip to the Big Island where I spent a week exploring the island and taking in the sights. For several days, I made the 80 mile drive from Kona to the Kilauea and explored the volcanic vents, even witnessing the lava flowing across an old section of road at one point in my explorations.

I spent one day hiking across a significant portion of the upper crater area near Kilauea’s volcanic vent and saw the lake of lava for myself and decided to do as the Hawaiian people do and to leave a small offering of a candle and a prayer to Pele as a sign of respect.

Not being native to the islands, I was simply giving a tip of the hat to a force of Nature whose presence one can feel just by looking around at the living landscape that makes up the islands. Never did I imagine that this force and spirit might give me a tip of the hat in return -- twice.

After I left my offering at the summit of Kilauea, I hiked down into Kilauea Iki, a smaller volcanic cone next to the big lava lake and was standing at the actual vent where  Kilauea Iki last erupted in 1959. There was a sign there to be careful not to get too close which I, unfortunately, did not heed. I was trying to get a look into the vent and ventured just a little too close. My footing gave way and I began to slide straight down the hill into the chasm leading down into the vent. I had nothing to grab onto and was literally in the first moment of falling in.

The strangest thing happened at that very instant. I was literally shoved back by a very strong gust of wind, almost as if I had been snatched back. I fell on my back and held my camera in my hand and was a little shocked at what had happened. I slowly backed out and got to a safe spot and gave a silent prayer of thanks for still being alive. If I had fallen into that vent, I have no idea what would have happened… badly injured at the least and if I had fallen into the vent hole, I would never have been found. I had the strange thought at the time that  I had been saved by Pele and made sure to take no more chances at the volcano from then on.

I stayed that evening at the volcano well into the night to witness the lava glowing next to the sea and it was a sight I will never forget.  The eruption flowing downhill was spectacular in the sunset twilight and I was transfixed as forests burned away as the lava made it’s way down the mountain and drained into underground lava tubes and poured into the sea. You can’t imagine such a sight… It has to be experienced in person to fully appreciate the sheer spectacle of seeing these great forces at work.

The USGS/ranger/geologist who I happened to run into was very nice and she took me in to witness the flow from a short distance away. The heat and fumes were intense and we stayed for about 10 minutes before being warned to get out before lava encircled us. We were more than glad to exit, but got some amazing photographs of the activity.

The lava flowed across the road in slow motion, crackling and pouring out bubbling asphalt smoke as the road literally burned from the intense heat. I have never seen such a sight since and feel very privileged to have witnessed this amazing sight in person.  The USGS geologist/ranger who happened to be there was taking folks in to the lava flows was very informative and smiled when I asked her about Pele. She said she believed in The Goddess and had a number of strange stories of her own from her time on the island. She also made sure to impress on me how lucky I was to get this close to the lava flowing and said very few of the many visitors to the island get this kind of a chance. I did feel very lucky to have seen it with my own eyes. If I remember right, she said that one in every 5,000 visitors to the island gets to see what we saw.

After witnessing the lava at night and having given my offering to Pele up on the main volcano earlier that day, I slowly made my way back to the main road, Highway 11, and drove my convertible rental back to where I was staying in Kona.  Not long after I passed the area where Pahala is now, I had the music playing and was just enjoying my night drive back to the bed and breakfast I was staying at when I spotted a woman on the side of the road in the distance with my high beams on. There was no traffic that night and I was the only car on the road.

The woman kept walking up the grade next to the road. She was older with grayish hair and slightly stooped, moving slowly on the right side of the road, making a little room for me to pass her. I slowed and saw she wore a green and blue muumuu which covered her frail form. It was nearly 10:30 p.m. or so and the stretch of road I was on was such that we were far from any human habitation I could spot, other than the occasional macadamia farm. I continued to slow and became concerned for this woman being so far from any help in the dead of night. So I found a wide spot on the right just ahead of her and pulled off to see if I could offer this lady a ride.

As I passed her, I looked right at her and she looked at me and slightly smiled. She had very piercing eyes. I couldn’t see features of her face because there was only ambient light from my car side illumination as the evening was pitch black, save for the car and the barest sliver of a moon that was still up. Still, there was a brief moment of communication between us as I slowly passed her and look directly at her. I can’t imagine how I looked to her, but I think surprised was the emotion I was feeling. So imagine my amazement as I got out of the car after parking only twenty or so feet ahead of her and turned and said “Ma’am can I help you?” and was looking at empty space. No one was there.

I scrambled around and looked at both sides of the road and circled the car to see if she was hiding near it. There was NO ONE there! And there was no place she could have gone! No trees, hills or brush to hide behind. Just a wide flat spot and a field to the right that was wide open with a hill up on the right. And behind me was open space heading out some distance to the seashore. She literally had up and disappeared on me!

I stood feeling rather spooked and perplexed and realized that this was likely some kind of ghost sighting. It was early in my life where I hadn’t yet dealt with paranormal matters as an investigator, but had dealt with ghosts and spirits on a number of occasions due to my family history of living in some very haunted places.

I had that odd feeling of being laughed at and the sensation of being watched and yet was not scared. In truth, I hoped I hadn’t missed seeing the old woman and had left a real flesh and blood lady in the lurch out on that lonely stretch of Hawaiian road. In my heart, I knew she had never been there as a mortal woman. She was something else. I got back in the car and pulled away, feeling a mixture of emotions, but mostly being confused and a little spooked at what had looked like a real flesh and blood woman one second and then empty space the next.

Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes as well as the creator of the Hawaiian islands. Pele also carries a staff, which she uses to test if the ground is dry.  I did not see a staff, but it was night and she did appear to be hunched over when I saw her.  And she is well known to appear to we mortal folks as either a young woman or an older woman. I had briefly heard some of these tales of how she appears to people on my trips to the islands, but had never given them much thought beyond my respectful offering up at the volcano summit.

Having mentioned that Pele is the goddess of not only fire, but of lightning and wind, I cannot help but think that the wind that shoved me back from a nasty fall at Kilauea Iki was of her doing.

The next morning at breakfast, I mentioned my unusual sighting of the prior night and my near fall into the volcanic vent to my hosts at the bed and breakfast. They were an older retired couple and they looked at me in astonishment. I asked what was wrong.

“You’ve never heard about Pele on the road?” the husband asked. I shook my head. He smiled and said “Well…you must have done something right, because Pele herself appeared to you. Many people here have had that experience and the fact you stopped to help her was pleasing to her.”

I told him about my offering on the summit of the volcano and he and his wife plus the other guests smiled. We all agreed it was a really nice experience and I was left with a beautiful memory of the island, a mystical experience I shall never forget and and paranormal experience that I am but one of many to have had.

My only advice to those traveling to the Big Island is this: If you see a young woman or old woman along Highway 11 in Hawaii, all alone and needing a ride, stop and be nice to her. You may well be in the presence of a powerful Goddess who will likely give you amazing blessings if your heart and mind are in the right place.

And if you are at the Volcano National Park, leave an offering for Pele in the form of a bottle of gin, flowers or fruits. You’ll be creating good karma and giving Pele the respect She deserves.

I will return to Hawaii one day, now that I have retired. The people are amazing and the energy there is amazing. Mahalo!

Read More

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...

Read More

Pele Visits the Coco Palms Resort

Informant: Male/40's/Filipino

Locationt: Coco Palms Resort

I was a bartender and my wife was a waitress at the Coco Palms Resort in the 1960's. One night as we were closing up the bar, I heard the door bells chime and turned to see a young woman walking up to the bar. She had long brown hair and a long red dress that covered her feet and made her walk seem unusual. She walked up to me and asked, "May I have a puhi paka, please?"

"I don't know what kind of drink that is. Even if I did, I can't make it for you because we're closed. You need to leave!" She seemed angry with my reply. My wife came running from the other side of the restaurant, "No, honey, she's asking for a cigarette." she told me. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. We don't smoke. May I offer you a free soda instead?" I began to object, but my wife quickly cut me off.

"No," the woman said, "Thank you for your kindness." And with that, she turned and walked her unusual walk out of the restaurant.

"You idiot!" My wife yelled at me. "I'm in charge of this bar and I'm not going to give free drinks or cigarettes to anyone that barges in after hours!" I barked back.

"Didn't you see her eyes?" She asked. "When you told her to leave, there was fire in her eyes. You pissed her off! That was the goddess Pele. If she ever asks you for something, you give it to her!"

"How do you know it was her?" I asked.

"Besides the fire in her eyes? I could tell by the way she walked... She was floating."

Read More

Paperweight

Male / 47 /Filipino-Japanese

Location: Big Island/ Oahu, Hawaii

Over 20 years ago, four of us went to the Big Island for a two week melee of fishing, camping and just having a good old time before going back to school.

We landed in Hilo in the early morning hours, had breakfast at Mcdonald's and picked up our Beach Boy Camper which was a Toyota truck with a over-sized camper mounted to the back. Our trip consisted of stopping and camping at as much sites as we could, playing tourist in a foreign land that we'd never been before. We headed to Kalapana Black Sand Beach where we camped out for some days and then we headed for Kilauea via the Chain of Crater Road. We stopped up at Volcano House to admire the sights and then proceeded to the many lava tubes and craters that make up Kilauea.

Well we stopped at this one spot along the crater and had lunch and beer. We were, I guess, fortunate to have along with us a University of Hawaii Hawaiiana major with us (I won't mention his name). My friend Paul and I decided to get a closer look at the inside of the crater and noticed the a'a lava and the pahoehoe lava littered around the crater. I noticed this one pahoehoe lava rock that would look cool on my desk at home as a paperweight. My friend Paul had the same idea. Before this trip my dad, who was a wise old man, told me not to bring back any rock from the volcano or anywhere; in fact he threatened me not to take any thing at all. So Paul and I talked amongst ourselves and decided to ask our UH major about his opinion on taking the volcano souvenirs. Our Hawaiiana major tells us that if we were sincere about it we should ask Madame Pele if we could have the rocks. So like naive fools, we stood there at the edge of the the crater and yelled out if we could have the rocks. There was no answer from Madame Pele. we took that as a "yes." We packed up our precious cargo and left for the great frontier. Through the remainder of our trip, it was nothing but choke fish to eat, starry nights and sunny skies and there basically couldn't have been a more awesome vacation.

We got home to Honolulu, everyone went on their merry way. High school started up for fall season and life went on. About six months since our trip to the Big Island, Paul's and my household experienced an all too weird change.

I got a call one day from Paul. He told me that while he was working at the Gibson Dept. Store in Mapunapuna one night, he finished his grocery job and went to his car. When he got to where his car is usually parked he noticed it was missing, stolen as what HPD later explains. Paul never found his car but later it was found in Waianae. Right after his car got stolen, my house got burglarized and our second car got stolen too because they got a hold of our extra keys. We never linked what happened to Paul and my dad's car and our house. Maybe it was all coincidental.

Another time, I was cruising at home one afternoon when my parents burst through the door arguing about missing money. I asked my mom what happened. She explained that they withdrew $600 dollars from the bank and placed the envelope of money in my moms bag. She went on to say that while they were driving home, she opened the handbag to check on the money and found it missing. They scoured the parking lot right after and even checked with the teller if she had seen the envelope of money. No money was ever found.

One day my mom was cleaning the house and she came across the rock in my room. She called for my dad and my dad hit the roof. He blamed all the misfortune on the rock in my room and he mentioned the same for Paul's car getting stolen. All my dad wanted to do was to get rid of the rock even though it meant me swimming back to the Big Island. Things got weirder. One day I noticed that there was like some kind of object in me eyes. It first felt like there was dust or dirt in my eye but as weeks went by, it felt like there was a piece of rock inside. I would go through bottles of eye wash but to my dismay it still felt the same. I finally went to an eye doctor and after the test he said my vision was 20/20. I still complained about the sensation in my eye, so the doctor gave me some extra strength eye wash and sent me home. My vision got worse over time. I just lived with the discomfort. As for Paul, I hadn't heard anything about any more problems. By this time my mom and dad made plans to fly us all up the Big Island for some vacation and to return the rock. My dad booked our flight for one weekend, and he told me to call Paul and bring his rock because my dad wanted all rocks off this island and the bachi to end.

It was now the Thursday before our trip. Paul brought his rock and I placed both rocks in a shoebox and waited for our big trip. We flew out on Aloha Airlines and made it safely on the Big Island. We grabbed our bag and my dad and I went to grab our rental car. As we were leaving, my mom who was watching the bags called out hysterically for us to come. She had this mouth open, bug-eyed look on her face. My dad asked her what the yelling was all about. So she stuck her hand in the bag and showed us the $600.00 that was missing. It was still in the envelope that the teller gave them. My dad had his doubts. He told her she didn't look good in her bag before she left the bank the first time and that it was probably in one of the pockets. But my mom told him that the bag she had was totally different from the one she had that day at the bank. Coincidental?

We packed up our rental car and arrived at the Hukilau Hotel in Hilo. I was too tired to go anywhere so I sat on the lanai while my parents got a bite to eat. It was a nice cool night, and the stars and the full moon were out. Our room overlooked a canal right across the street, and I stared at the waters and noticed the reflection of the stars and the full moon. Then I realized that my vision was cleared up and I could see clearly. I told my mom that I could see better again. She never said anything back.

Early the next day we headed up to Kilauea Crater and my dad asked me where we got the rocks. I couldn't remember anything, so we decided to find a nice spot to put the rocks and leave an offering of laulau and a bottle of beer. Maybe Pele would like a quick lunch and a beer. I don't know why it was a laulau and beer combo. I then stood by the rim of the crater and apologized for taking the rocks, sincerely. As we were standing around and admiring the scenery, a park ranger showed up to check on us. My dad told him what I did and what had happened. The pleasant Japanese ranger chuckled and then told us that we weren't the only ones that had problems. He went to tell us that his department has to go down to the post office at the airport once a month to empty out one of the many carts designated for the park service and bring the load of rocks and other items up the volcano to deposit them back inside the park area. Each package has it's own reason and story, but everyone just wants to return the rocks to there rightful home. The stories are the same: bad luck had come to them.

Since we returned the rocks to their rightful home there have been  no other strange things.Well, we hope.

Read More

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You...

Informant: Male/22/Hawaiian – Portuguese ancestry

Location: Wainiha, Kauai

Me and my friend were coming back one night from fishing on the north shore. It was pretty late, like 2:00 a.m. On our way back, we see a lady on the side of the road. A woman in white, with gray- white hair going down to her butt. 

As we’re about to pass her, she starts levitating. She levitates across the road to the passenger side of the truck where I'm sitting. I can’t see her face because her hair is covering it, but I can see red glowing eyes, like fire. Then I see both her arms wind back like she is going to throw something, and I throw my arms up over my head and yell.

The glass of the window shatters into a million pieces. I’m showered with glass. My friend starts to floor it, but I yell at him, “Stop! Stop! Stop the car!” So he stops, and I say, “If you need a ride we’ll give you a ride.”

Something jumps into the back of the truck. We can feel the truck shift with the weight.

When we get to where we were going, we hear a woman's voice say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

The next day, the broken window was completely fixed.

Read More

Pork in The Tunnel of Trees

Informant: Male/27/Hawaiian-Korean mixed ancestry

Location: Tunnel of Trees, Kauai

A while ago, when my parents were just married, they were coming back from a party with my uncle and his wife around 2am. Being local, they had a bunch of food with them from the party which included kalua pig among other things.

To get back home, they had to drive through the tunnel of trees. When they entered the tunnel, their car started acting funny. They thought that my uncle was messing around with everyone, but when they looked at his face, he was pale. They realized he wasn't messing around. His foot was on the gas, gunning it, the car still running but not moving.

Finally someone realized why they weren't moving and yelled, "The pork! Get rid of the pork!" So they threw the pork from the car and the car shot forward at full speed since my uncles foot was still on the gas. They moved so quickly they almost flew over the side of the road.

Read More

Kamapua'a at The Merrie Monarch

-->

Informant: 14 years old/female

Location: Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, Big Island

For the past 30 years my grandma's hula halau, has been in the Merrie Monarch hula competition in Hilo on the Big Island. One night, my cousin and I went walking around the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel at three or four in the morning. We walked out to the beach and we sat on the dock just talking.

We looked out to the ocean saw this small cat-like figure on the rock wall in Hilo bay. My cousin and I started freaking out. We decided to walk down the road to the gardens at hotel and we looked back and saw a black pig following us. We started to get scared. We go back to the dock and the pig was there again. My cousin and I were wondering what the heck a pig was doing following us.

After this, a young but older lady came up behind us and she started chanting in Hawaiian. Her presence was very warm, but my cousin and I were still scared as ever. I speak fluent Hawaiian; the lady chanting was saying, "Kamapua'a leave these girls alone. You are a pig, and a pig you will be."

My cousin and I looked at the pig and it just disappeared. We turned to the lady and she told us our grandma was looking for us and we should go back upstairs. We got back upstairs and told our grandma about what we saw. She told us that around Merrie Monarch time, Kamapua'a comes around Hilo in search of Pele. Legend says they had a thing going on. 

Every year since that incident my grandma has made sure that my cousin and I stay in our rooms. But every Merrie Monarch since that night, my cousin and I go outside to go look at the dock and we see that same lady we saw from 2003, making sure that we are safe. My grandma said it's Kapo, Pele's best friend keeping us safe from harm.

Read More

Pele in the Tunnel of Trees

Informant: Male/40/part Hawaiian ancestry
Location: Tunnel of Trees, Kauai

A friend of mine was driving home to the south side of Kauai to Koloa town one night. In order to get to Koloa one must pass through the "tunnel of trees," one way in one way out. 

It was about 2:00 a.m. and he was driving home alone after a party in Lihue. The moon was full that night, but as you enter the tree tunnel there are no street lights, just glimmers of moonlight shining through tree openings flickering like a strobe light. 

As he entered the tree tunnel, he noticed an old lady dressed in white hitchhiking in the middle of the night. He thought it odd, but just kept driving and stepped on the accelerator to get out of the tunnel as fast as possible. He did not recall the events that took place after this; all he remembers is his car had skidded to the side of the road and stalled. When he looked in his rear view mirror the old lady dressed in white was sitting in his back seat. 

He did not stick around to ask her how this happened but just ran as fast as he could through the tunnel of trees to get home. He was clearly shaken when retelling the events of this night, but speculates that this person was "Pele."

Read More

Pele at Halfway Bridge

Informant: Male/64/Portuguese-Filipino ancestry

Location: Halfway Bridge, Koloa

My grandfather had a job as a taxi driver on Kauai around the 1950's. One night as he was driving toward the west side, he noticed an old woman in white walking on the side of the road. Since it was his job to drive people where they needed to go, he instinctively pulled over and asked the woman if she needed a ride. She didn’t say anything, but just got into the car, and my grandfather drove off again. After a little while he turned around to ask the old woman where she was heading to, but when he looked in the backseat, she had vanished. 

He immediately knew that the old woman he picked up had to have been Pele.

Read More

Pele Sighting at Kilauea

Informant: Female/16/Mixed ancestry
Location: Volcanoes National Park, Big Island

My hula sisters and I went on a hula retreat a few years ago up at Kilauea on the Big Island where, of course, Pele lives. We were walking around the Volcano park one night when something started following us; we could hear footsteps. So my friend was like, "Hey, you guys hear that?" My other friend said, "It's probably a weasel or something," so we just kept on walking. Then we heard barking and we were all scared and didn't know what to do. We walked a little faster, and then it started to get warm. Very, very warm. As we got closer to one of the look outs, we could hear chanting and all of us were freakin' out like crazy.

My friend and I were the ones who were most afraid and we decided to stay in one place, but we could sense something right behind us. We all looked behind us and we didn't see anything, but it was really warm, and the chants kept on getting louder and louder.

Then we heard the footsteps again.

I felt something by my feet and when we ran under the light we saw that it was white dog. When we looked out into the dark, we could see another white thing coming right at us and the chant was getting louder and louder. We ran back to our cabin as the chants kept on getting louder. When we finally got inside our cabin we looked out and the dog was right there at our door step. Our kumu said "It's madame Pele" & when i looked out of my window, that white ghost person thing was still there.

I decided to go to sleep, but I couldn't so I went back outside. I noticed that dog was still there and since I'm such an idiot, I decided to go play with it. It was very cold that night so I had to put on a jacket, pants, socks and shoes. I called the dog by me and as I looked at the dog and played with its ears, I noticed it was very hot, like hot water kine. Then the lady came up to me and asked if that was my dog (this was around 6 a.m. and the sun started to rise). I looked at her and I said "No, sorry." I looked down to play with the dog again and then looked up to ask that lady a question, but she was gone.

I kept on playing with the dog and I started to hear chanting again. I looked out where the woods were and I saw that old lady again, and as I looked at her, I looked into her eyes and they were red. I mean, RED, RED, RED! Then she called the dog and it went running to her, and I looked away for a second and turned back and they were both gone. My kumu told me, "You just witnessed something that no one has really ever witnessed." I asked him, "What is that?" and he said, "You saw Pele."

So, I get back into my bed and noticed there was a rock on it. It was a medium sized rock and it was real, real, HOT! I looked out the window and saw the dog go running and vanish. I never saw that dog ever again, neither did I see that lady.

But that rock followed me.

I put it outside, but it would always find its way back inside. When I left to Oahu, it found it's way next to my bed there. My Kumu told me to keep that rock with me no matter what. If that rock keeps on coming back to me then that means its my rock and it's a rock that only I can have an no one else can.

To this very day, I still have that rock.

Read More