Hawaiian ghost stories

My family moved to Hawaii in 1974 when I was 8 years old and quickly learned that we were in a whole new world.  Clouds obscured the top of the Pali (vertical, green cliffs) that loomed over the town of Kailua where we lived.  It rained seemingly every hour and the sun peeked out only briefly.  Hawaii was a dark place compared to the bright, sunny openness of my birthplace, Colorado.  Instead of carefully cultivating plants and trees and hoping they would grow, in Hawaii they had to be hacked down in a constant battle.  It felt like the landscape moved in on you, concealing and closing in. 

In this environment ghosts seemed only natural.  The stories local children told us were strange.  The first one we heard about had to do with the god Kamapua'a.  Kamapua'a was a pig, literally, and often at odds with Pele, the goddess of the volcano.  On Oahu, the island we lived on, it was said that Pele would not allow Kamapua'a to cross over her (now extinct) volcano.  In a practical sense this meant that those travelling over the Pali using one of the two (now three) highways carrying pork would have car trouble.  My family actually debated the reality of this, as we had planned to go shopping on the other side of the island.  In later years when I really thought about this legend, I realized that grocery trucks and restaurant supply trucks must cross the Pali daily, and you never saw them by the side of the road. In any case, the legend goes on...

Another legend tells about the Night Marchers. The night marchers, as it was told to me, are the ghostly Hawaiian soldiers that fought in various battles throughout the islands. They continue marching to the battle in ghostly formation.  If you happen to run in to them at night, you should avert your eyes and strip naked, lying down face up.  This way they won't hurt you.  I never learned what it was they would do to you, but I was sufficiently afraid to take heed.  The night marchers have sometimes appeared in photos as a line of vertical white smudges or flames. They can be seen holding torches and wearing Hawaiian warrior helmets as well.  I never saw the Night Marchers, thankfully, though some in my family think that the ghost that walked outside my room may have been a night marcher.

Another legend involves Pele, the volcano goddess.  She is said to be very powerful and many chants and hulas are dedicated to her.  Hawaiians often travel to the Big Island of Hawaii to make offerings of gin to the volcano in her honor.  Pele is one of the more powerful of the Hawaiian goddesses and also seems very much alive when the volcano is erupting.  It is said that if you take rocks from the volcano or from a Hawaiian temple, called He'eiau, you will have bad luck until the rock is returned.  In my experience, this is very true!  Pele is said to wander the highways as an elderly hitch-hiking woman.  If you pick her up she disappears from your car but you have good luck.  If not, of course misfortune rains down on you! 

I related the story of the Menehune in "Grandma says goodbye".  These are the stories as they were related to me and of course there are many variants.  There is even a movie out (fictional) about the night marchers.
There are other legends but these are the ones that came to mind first and had the most affect on my life.

If anyone has stories they would like to share, please leave a comment and share your story.  I love to hear about things that have happened to others!