Ghosts Next Door

Ghosts Next Door
by Lopaka Kapanui

Sep 30, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #31

 "You don't remember me, but I was on your tour one night when something strange happened," he introduced himself while I enjoyed the sinful taste of a cheeseburger hot off the grill.

Sep 29, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #32

 ....A dream I dreamt


I saw myself for the first time last night in the mirror. I see myself a lot under different circumstances, and I ignore my reflection.

Sep 28, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #33

 "We've talked about this before," my father told me in his best fatherly voice. "You've been warned so many times? Is it going to take someone's death to wake you up?"

Sep 27, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #34

 He's asleep now after such a long, harrowing day.  A child of only five years old shouldn't have to go through the kind of trauma he did, especially with parents who don't give a shit enough to put aside their own selfish needs.

Sep 26, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #35

 Homelessness for the Mākau family wasnʻt so bad. They lived in a Matson container right on the waters of Waiahole and were allowed to fish and grow their taro by the family who owned the land where they lived.

Sep 25, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #36

 If youʻre a vampire anywhere else in the world, I suppose your success would depend not on how large of a nest you make for yourself, but how well you can keep yourself concealed.

Sep 24, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #37

   One day and long ago a humble chapel stood ready to host a wedding—an aged couple who owned it prepared themselves to perform the ceremony and provide food for the reception.

Sep 23, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #38

 Benny was just a puppy when we got her from the Humane Society. She was black all over with a tuft of white on her chest.

Sep 22, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #39

 .......continued from story #41


The Hawaiian couple sat silently together while sipping awa from a thermos. The two seemed to be aware of everything and everyone while only looking at one another.

Sep 21, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #40

 She was naked, blindfolded, and strapped down by her wrists and ankles on an old fashioned barber's chair.

Sep 20, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #41

 The ancient chiefess Māmala was one who loved to drink awa, play konāne, and ride the surf.

Sep 19, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #42

 He was one of the few of his kind that was comfortable in his skin. He was not affected by external influences, which made him feel as if he had to simulate a personality or behavior to fit in.

Sep 18, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #43

 My parents warned me about crossing the bridge on our property by myself. There was nothing special about the bridge; it was an ordinary footbridge built by my great-grandfather when he first brought the estate in the depths of Nu'uanu Valley.

Sep 17, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #44

 A MONTH AGO


My muscles are beginning to stiffen; soon, cramps will set in. We've been tied up and locked in this struggle for an hour.

Sep 16, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #45

 The 2006 Dodge Charger sat in the 7-11 parking lot facing Fort Weaver Road. The four occupants were waiting for the forty-eight number bus to make a stop just past Karayan street.

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #45

 Sidereal time is a particular time of day when paranormal activity is most active. It usually falls within the noon hour. The seasoned parapsychologist regards the hour with equal regularity as the results are most fruitful within that time frame.

Sep 15, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #46

 The studio was on the second floor of the old Kaimuki home, which overlooked the garage. It had everything in it, sink, refrigerator, microwave, bathroom, a/c, and a working shower.

Sep 14, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #47

 Most of the big money people I've met or know are great people, friendly, funny, outgoing, but when it comes down to the money business they're all about, they are ruthless.

Sep 13, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #48

                                                                               1989


1


Once upon a time, and not so very long ago, there was a boy. Possessed of the same joys and worries as any other boy his age, he lived with his parents in a quaint home on the waters of Kahala.

Sep 12, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #49

 Seventh grade was a learning situation for myself and my mom. My first official day as an almost teenager caused me nothing but stress. I had hairs growing in unusual places.

Sep 11, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #50

 If you're admiring the vista of monkeypod and shower trees from the window of a hospital room at Kuakini, it sterilizes your appreciation for nature's work of art.

Sep 10, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #51

 1977


There was a new girl in our school. She was a transfer from Campbell, and before that from Santa Monica. I forget who introduced us to her, but her name was Laura Felch.

Sep 9, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #52

 1973


It was my very last summer in Wainaku. I would never see it again until much later in life. Up until then, I spent all my summers there.

Sep 8, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #53

 If you have never had cold fried chicken in the morning, you don't know what you're missing. I take mine with a bag of Ruffles and a nicely chilled bottle of Pepsi.

Sep 7, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #54

 Ben and Courtney referred to themselves as an uneventful couple from a quiet town in Idaho. A vacation in Waikīkī was a step outside their comfort zone but seemed like something to do before they were too old to do anything.

Sep 6, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #55

 1976


We got our first Soundlite HR-6 egg-shaped radio headphones. I had the blue one, and 'Noodles' (short for fried noodles) got the red ones. They came with Soundlite and carry all cases in the same color.

Sep 5, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #56

 .......Conclusion


Staring at a blank screen for countless hours can't be healthy. At the center in Mānoa, Sid shared that objects to which weʻve become attached are mere reflections of what is already within us.

Sep 4, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #57

 ....Continuing from yesterday's story



The realtor disclosed that a nine-year-old boy died in the upstairs bedroom of the house. She wasn't clear about the details, but it did have something to do with child abuse.

Sep 3, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #58

 As a child, I was sick for a long while. I needed many blood transfusions; the process and recovery made me weak. The nights in Waiʻanae were cool because of the wind coming in from the beach.

Sep 2, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #59

 Before


It was a long and scenic drive through Hakipu'u and Ka 'awa. It was one of those lazy days when one should enjoy the moment rather than go halfway across the island for business.

Sep 1, 2020

100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #60

 ...Continuing from yesterday's story


In the summer of 1975, a budding Buddhist organization in Honolulu then known as the Nichiren Shoshu of America, did the unthinkable.