Named after the famous author and poet Robert Louis Stevenson, this facility was the first in Hawaiʻi to adopt a middle school concept in 1988, hosting students in grades 6-8.
It was initially named after Robert Louis Stevenson in 1937, when it opened as an intermediate school on the site of the Territorial Normal School, teaching children from grades 7-9.
I initially learned that RLS Middle School was built over the site of an important heiau in the Pūowaina complex. These heiau were used for various purposes by aliʻi and kāhuna to support the Pūowaina Heiau at the top of the crater we now call Punchbowl. I’ve quoted this bit of information as fact for years.
As we constantly expand our research and knowledge, we continually uncover new information that sheds light on previously accepted norms. Some of what we learn was passed down from mouth to ear, which may result in misunderstandings of certain moʻolelo or the locations where they took place. In these circumstances, we always offer our apologies and ask for forgiveness from our ancestors. Then, we correct our course and take full responsibility for our hiccup. It’s why research in all its aspects is crucial: because you, the reader, are very important to us. Our humble mahalo to you.
As it turns out, the information I had was partially correct. RLS Intermediate School was actually built over the remains of a heiau. However, the current site is not its original home. The Territorial Normal School, which served as a temporary site for Roosevelt High School, Pūowaina Elementary, and then RLS Intermediate, was located near the corner of Green and Alapai Streets.
By the 1940s, the need for a larger campus was clear, and the search for nearby locations began. A parcel in Kewalo-uka, located at the base of Punchbowl Crater, was chosen, where the U.S. Agricultural Experiment Station used to be. Finally, on November 16, 1952, a dedication ceremony was held on what would have been Robert Louis Stevenson’s 102nd birthday, with more than 600 students, parents, and teachers in attendance.
Although the heiau isn’t where I thought it was, that doesn’t mean the school isn’t haunted. The current location of Stevenson Middle School falls directly in the path of Kamehameha’s warriors as they battled for control of O‘ahu against Kalanikupule’s army. And as we’ve mentioned before, the land has a way of remembering past trauma.
After sharing a video about the middle school, my account was overwhelmed with comments and messages about people’s personal experiences. Many claim to have seen headless bodies, near the banyan tree and on the roof of the building. A general eeriness and the feeling of being watched are common. Two people mentioned the P.E. rooms feeling spooky, and one person said he saw the ghost of a man walk through the cafeteria wall.
Stevenson was one of the stops on the Ghost Hunters Bus Tour that my late mentor, Glen Grant, did before I eventually took over. He shared many of his personal encounters there, and he assured me that as time went on, whatever was haunting the school would soon make itself known to me.
One evening, my group stood under the banyan tree and began to take pictures. This was in the late ’90s, so people were still using film cameras. When the burst of flashes went off, sparkles floated down toward us in a slow descent. It was a wonderful thing to behold. It didn’t feel spooky, but we made sure there was no one hiding in the branches, raining sparkling lights down on us.
On another night, the usual busload of 25 people was standing in front of the cafeteria’s double doors. I shared the story of the old Kānelā’au, which we believed once stood there, where human sacrifices were offered to the gods. As I shared this account, we all heard the sound of high heels walking down the sidewalk from the far corner of the cafeteria, and we could tell it was coming our way. I continued talking while waiting for the person in high heels to appear so we could get out of her way. No one manifested, but the sound of the high heels walked right past us.
A second later, police cars rolled up, and the officers approached us. They asked if we’d seen a woman in a dress and high heels walking on the cafeteria roof. I explained that we all heard the heels, but it didn’t sound like it was above us. We hadn’t seen anyone, even though the sound seemed to pass right through us.
“That’s the call we got,” one of the officers said, and then they left us to continue our tour while they investigated the rest of the campus.
Many other strange events took place during my tours, including a group of people seeing headless bodies under the portable buildings. But the strangest account comes from a retired police officer who, along with his former partner, used to patrol the area around Stevenson Middle School. His partner had been on the force for many years and was well regarded by his peers.
There was a major car accident in the area, and all officers were called to respond. The man’s former partner didn’t reply and never showed up for the call. His vehicle, a black Crown Victoria, was seen in the Stevenson parking lot. The officer was found inside, slumped over. He had died of a heart attack.
Later, people reportedly saw a black Crown Victoria pull into the parking lot in the late hours of the night. No one could see inside the car, but almost everyone knew who it belonged to. Some patrolmen would drive by that late officer’s house to make sure that the Crown Victoria was parked in the garage, and it was, I was told.
Wanting to see for himself, the retired officer went to the Stevenson parking lot to wait. Sure enough, a little after 1:00 a.m., the black Crown Victoria pulls up.
“Holy crap,” was the only thing I could say as I was covered with chicken skin.
“End of watch, John,” the officer called out, “We got it covered. You can go home and rest.”
He said he couldn’t see inside the car, but he knew it was his friend, and that was all he could think of to put his soul at ease. The car left the parking lot and was never seen again.
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The authors can be reached at hawaii.mysteries@gmail.com
