Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui
For more than 25 years, I’ve been sharing Hawai‘i’s haunted history, weaving together folklore, history, and firsthand accounts to bring our ghost stories to life. As a Native Hawaiian born and raised on O‘ahu, I grew up listening to traditional mo‘olelo from my kupuna, stories that shaped my passion for preserving our islands’ supernatural and cultural heritage. That passion has led me to a lifetime of storytelling, earning a special citation from the Hawai‘i State Legislature for my work in keeping these legends alive.
My wife, Tanya, and I run Mysteries of Hawai‘i, a locally owned ghost tour company dedicated to exploring the eerie and unexplained. Tanya, a lifelong horror enthusiast and researcher of hauntings and native legends, and I have co-authored Hawaii’s Night Marchers: A History of the Huaka‘i Po and Kahuna, our first full-length novel.
We are thrilled to share our love for Hawaii’s history, haunted and otherwise, with Aloha State Daily readers. Hawai‘i has some of the most chilling and fascinating supernatural tales in the world, and we can’t wait to bring them to you.
Latest from Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui
Disembodied voices at Queen Kapi‘olani Hotel
Spirits ancient and modern have been heard and seen in the hallways and kitchens of this hotel, named for King David Kalākaua’s gracious wife.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 31, 2025
Residual energy manifests at Ali‘i Place
More than a century ago, the site hosted stables that were burned down during an outbreak of bubonic plague. Now, it's home to the Ali‘i Place office tower. One tenant, the Prosecuting Attorney for Honolulu, is the kind of place where strong emotions leave a mark on their surroundings, resulting in eerie experiences.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 24, 2025
The dark history beneath Blaisdell Center
The Kewalo area where this entertainment complex now stands was once home to a pond called Kawailumalumai, or Drowning Waters. Members of the kauwā, the outcasts who were often used as sacrifice, were drowned there. People have reported seeing faces in the water of the present-day pond, including our ghost column author.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 17, 2025
Huaka‘i Pō at First Hawaiian Center
First Hawaiian Center remains the tallest building in Downtown Honolulu. The property on which is stands is home to an amazing — and sometimes frightening — history. Long before there was a bank, a house stood on the property, known as Haleʻākalā. Bernice Pauahi lived there, as did the future Queen Liliʻuokalani. Duke Kahanamoku was born there. And some say Huaka‘i Pō, the Night Marchers, still make their presence known there.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 10, 2025
The Spirit of Kamakahonu
Hungry spirits and haunted history surround the King Kamehameha Hotel on the Kona Coast of Hawai‘i Island. The area of Kamakahonu was home the royal compound of Kamehameha I, where he worshipped at Ahu‘ena heiau and where the most influential figures in Hawaiʻi gathered nightly.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 03, 2025
Spooky shadows at the Pink Palace
The Royal Hawaiian Resort Waikīkī is nearly a century old, and at least three centuries of history and legends predate it at its seaside location. Is it any wonder guests have reported otherworldly experiences?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 26, 2025
Ups and downs of haunted Harbor Court
Long ago, the land under Harbor Court in Downtown Honolulu hosted a heiau and generations of Native Hawaiians. Layers of landfill and modern architecture may have covered the area, but they can't erase the lingering traces of the past.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 19, 2025
Haunted halls of Honolulu Hale
Honolulu's city hall, Honolulu Hale, is nearly a century old — old enough to acquire a reputation for sightings of a supernatural nature. Here's the history of how the building came to be, and what people have experienced in its hallways.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 12, 2025
The bones beneath the Contessa
The Contessa condominium in Mo‘ili‘ili stands where Kamo‘ili‘ili Church and its mainly Hawaiian graveyard had served the community since 1850. The remains of nearly 500 people were moved for the condo, but workers and residents over the years have reported chilling tales of the spirits that remain.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 05, 2025
Ages of unrest at Windward Mall
The former Sears store in particular had been a nexus for unexplained activities — staffers and shoppers pushed by unseen forces, clothes flung along their racks.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 29, 2025
Unseen visitors at the Mission Houses
Between 1821 and 1832, missionaries built three houses on what was then a dry and dusty plain. A city has grown up around then since then, but eerie shadows of the past have been seen at these Honolulu landmarks.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 22, 2025
Ghosts of the past at the Navy Exchange
The building rests on the slopes of Āliamanu and Āliapaʻakai, places bound to the legends of the goddess Pele and her sister Hiʻiaka. Shoppers and staff alike have shared eerie tales of what they've seen and felt here.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 15, 2025
Hauntings at Honolulu’s “Ghostbusters” building
At the corner of Kapiʻolani and Ke‘eaumoku stands a modern building with some possibly ancient nighttime visitors, according to people who have worked there late at night.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 08, 2025
Disembodied eyes at Mānoa Falls Trail
If you look out into the dark of night at this storied trail, something just might look back at you.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 01, 2025
Kaukonahua’s Haunted Drive
The tree-lined two-lane connecting Wahiawā to the North Shore just might be home to the ghostly presence of a doomed bride.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 24, 2025
The mana remains at Pu‘u o Mahuka
Above Waimea Bay on O‘ahu stands the island's largest heiau, Pu‘u o Mahuka. Dedicated to the war god, Kū, the place still holds special power. Is it any wonder people have had some intensely strange experiences there?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 17, 2025
Hauntings at Hawai‘i’s Biggest Mall
With a long history of Hawaiians living in the area prior to Ala Mona Center's development, the shopping center has been home to many strange and eerie sightings.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 10, 2025
The Haunting of Kinau Hale
Is it ironic, or fitting, that the government office that hands out death certificates may be haunted by multiple spirits? Strange things have been experienced at the corner of Punchbowl and Beretania.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 03, 2025
Watchful eyes at Makiki Temple
Only Hawai‘i can claim to have had two monarchs who sat as masters of a Masonic lodge during their reign: King Kamehameha IV and King David Kalākaua. Freemasonry offered brotherhood and a moral code — and a sense of mystery, with a strange tale emerging about the Makiki Temple.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 27, 2025
Ali‘i are ever-present at Mauna ‘Ala
In October 1865, a solemn procession of ali‘i moved 21 sets of royal remains from the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace to a then-new final resting place in Nu‘uanu Valley, Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 20, 2025
Beneath the moon at Alakoko
Historians say that on certain nights, the Kauaʻi fishpond is not so still, and the riverbank not so empty.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 13, 2025