Footprints in Koke'e

Informant: Male/27/Hawaiian-Korean mixed ancestry

Location: Koke'e, Kaua'i

Me and a bunch of my friends were staying up in a cabin in Koke'e for a weekend. When we went to sleep, we stretched out or sleeping bags on the floor, feet facing each other in two rows. This night was cold. Koke'e is usually cold, but this night was unusually cold. It was freezing.

I woke up in the middle of the night because I had to pee. The moon was full and light was streaming in through the window. I could see the room lighted up. I sat up to head to the bathroom when I saw something unusual.

You know how when you walk on sleeping bags you can see the indentation of the feet? Well I saw footprint indentations...but in motion. Someone was walking across the feet of our sleeping bags and I could see the footprints as it was moving. It walked in a circle into the center of the sleeping bag feet, and suddenly I saw the fabric indent, as if a body had just laid down. And as soon as I saw it, the fabric lifted. Whatever was there was gone.

Nobody else saw what I saw, and I don't think anyone believed me either.

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The Gliding Woman on The Bridge

Informant: Male/25/Filipino ancestry

Location: Hanama'ulu, Kauai

My friend and I were driving another friend back home. We were crossing the Hanama'ulu bridge right after the stoplight when we all see a woman walking on the side of the road across the bridge. She was in a mu'umu'u, jacket and hat. It's not strange to see someone walking on the side of the road at night, but this woman wasn't walking the way that a normal person walks.

You know how when you walk you have a natural bounce? This woman didn't have that. She didn't bounce. She glided. It was almost like she was floating.

We passed by her in the car and nobody said anything. Finally my friend in the backseat broke the silence."Wow did you guys see that lady?" We had all seen the way she glided. Weird.

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The Vanishing Road

Informant: Male/25/Filipino ancestry

Location: Koloa, Kauai

My neighbor across the street had recently gotten into a car accident near the Hyatt hotel in Poipu. Me and some friends decided that we wanted to go see the site of the accident, so we decided to drive through the Koloa bypass. The way we decided to go normally only takes like five minutes. From my house in Koloa to the Sheraton only takes about five minutes. It's a route we all drive all the time.

My friend was driving, and he lives right around the corner from me. Somehow what should have taken five minutes turned into 45 minutes. We didn't know where the hell we were, or why it was taking so long. What you have to understand is that we were raised on the South side. We know all the back roads like the back of our hands. But we had no idea where we were. Nothing looked familiar.

Finally we found our way out and ended up by the fire station. On the way back home we even tried to find the strange road that we had driven on, but we couldn't find it ever again.

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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?

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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.

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Happy Holidays

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!

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A Choking in the Tunnel of Trees

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.

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