Some people call it Snake Road, others refer to it as the windy road, but its actual state designation is Kaukonahua Road. This narrow ribbon of asphalt connects Wahiawā and the North Shore. There have been many car crashes and pedestrian accidents along this twisting thoroughfare. Long straightaways tempt drivers to push the speed, but they end in sudden curves, blind rises, and tight lanes with little shoulder to forgive a mistake. Minimal lighting and slick pavement after a rain add to the hazards, giving the road a spooky reputation that only deepens after dusk.
Although the road is well-traveled, those who have to drive it often do so with trepidation, like this Hale‘iwa resident who shared her story with us.
She was held up at work and left Mililani just at nightfall. If she’s able to make it before the sun goes down, she’ll travel the windy road, Kaukonahua. However, on this particular evening, the sun had already set, so she contemplated staying on Kamehameha Highway. Because it takes longer to get home that way, she laughed at her own nervousness and decided to travel her usual route along the twists and turns.
About a mile in, she realized there were no cars in front or behind her. Usually, at this time, the road is bustling, but for some reason, she was the only driver. For a second, she thought it was unusual, and then let it go. As she drove further, she saw a white owl flying in front of her. It had been years since she’d seen an owl, she said, and thought it was neat to see one so early in the evening. As she continued to drive the speed limit, she assumed a vehicle would soon catch up to her, but none did. Shortly after passing a small memorial on the side of the road, she finally saw the red taillights of a car up ahead in the distance. She sped up a bit, trying to get closer to the car in hopes of easing her discomfort at being the only one on the road. All of a sudden, the music cut off, and the instrument panel on her new truck turned red with an “imminent crash” alert flashing and a loud beeping alarm echoing in the cab.
“Crash into what?” she thought, “There’s nothing around me!”
It happened so quickly and stopped so suddenly, she didn’t know what to think. She made it home safe, brought the truck in for service, but found nothing wrong. She said that all she could think of was the legend of the Lady in White.
“What if I ran into a spirit?” she asked.
There’s an urban legend about a bride who was late to her wedding at the old St. Michael’s Church. The priest was driving her in his car and was speeding to get to the church on time. The vehicle hugged each treacherous turn on the winding Kaukonahua Road until it took one turn too wide. The priest lost control of the car and hit a tree head-on. Both the priest and the bride were killed instantly. People say that on certain nights, you can see the bride and the priest walking along Kaukonahua Road, trying to hitch a ride to the wedding. You pull to the side of the road and wait for them to walk up to your vehicle, but they never do. However, as you continue along the road, you see them again, trying to hitch a ride, but this time, their bodies are bloody and mangled.
There is a story similar to this one in nearly every state in the union. Sometimes it’s just the bride. Sometimes it’s the bride and the groom. The details differ depending on the location, but they’re all very much the same story.
When I was still in the early stages of my ghost tour career, I developed a tour to a few haunted locations in the Waialua area. The tour would take us by bus down Kaukonahua Road, and I had an idea to add to the experience. I asked two friends of mine if they would dress up as the bride and priest as part of the ghost tour. We chose a safe spot on the side of the road where they could stand so they would be under a streetlight, and I would time the story just right so when the bus made that turn, there they were in full bloody costume and makeup. They were enthusiastic about doing it, and we drove the route and practiced a few times so we would all be prepared by the weekend.
And so the tour began, and I was in full storytelling mode. As we turned onto Kaukonahua Road, the bus driver turned off the interior lights to add to the ambiance. The bus came around the bend with perfect timing.
“And there they wait, on the side of the road, hitching a ride to a wedding they will never attend.” I said, then I pointed, “Look! There they are!”
When the people on the bus looked out the window and saw the bloody images of a priest and the bride, everyone screamed. Everyone. Our plan went off without a hitch. After the tour was over, everyone went home scared, happy, and worn out.
The plan was to meet at Denny’s in Kunia afterward to decompress and discuss the tour. My friend and I waited for the couple, but they never showed and didn’t answer their phones. Finally, as we were walking back to our cars, my phone rang.
As I was congratulating them on a job well done, the young man interrupted me and asked if I’d gotten their messages. My friend and I both checked our phones, but there weren’t any missed texts or calls.
“We both got called into work last minute,” the young man explained, “I texted you. We both did. I’m so sorry we let you down.”
I stopped in the middle of the parking lot, confused. As far as I and twenty-five other people saw, they were standing on the side of the road, fully dressed in a priest’s suit and a wedding dress, and covered in blood. We rushed back to town and met the couple at their job forty-five minutes later. Their boss, who was standing nearby, confirmed that he called both of them into work for the evening shift, and they’d been there all night. That was the first and the last time we ever tried anything like that.
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