Choked 2022

Choking, struggling for air, the eyes wide, the lips turning blue and foaming at the mouth.

Tyler Fuji'i had gone to the downtown post office to check his mail. It was well after midnight, the time in which he usually liked to go because of how quiet and still it was. He liked that atmosphere; it gave him a sense of nostalgia as if he were in another place and time. His P.O. box confirmed that. Ornately designed and very heavy, the little rectangular-shaped door squeaked open to reveal several checks in an envelope and one letter from an old chum of his at Dartmouth. A far cry from the condo he owned on Nu'uanu. Without warning, someone or something grabbed him from behind; it felt like a noose around his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter each time he resisted and struggled. Then, whoever the assailant was, dragged him back down the hallway, literally on his heels. The noose tightened even more, which left him unable to cry out for help. It was frustrating to Tyler, knowing that this might be his last day and that in this post office is where his mangled corporeal form would be found. Then, as if reading his thoughts, whoever assaulted him, suddenly let him go and let him be.

~

"Look, Chuck, another one," the sheriff Wednesday called his partner over while reviewing the security tape from the downtown post office.

"What do we have here?" Sherrif Chuck Medeiros leaned in closer. The two law enforcement officers watched while Tyler Fuji'i was assaulted by the apparition of one of the long-dead executioners. The latter once pulled the lever at gallows, where the floorboard would fall away, leaving the lawbreaker to hang until he was dead. 

"This thing only attacks young Japanese or Chinese guys, yeah?" Sherrif Wednesday said.

"Filipinos too," Sherrif Medeiros replied. "Not so much Hawaiians. You know the routine, erase 'um, so the state cannot get sued."

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17A Productions Presents

LOPAKA KAPANUI - CHICKEN SKIN GHOST STORIES

A LIVE and IN-PERSON storytelling concert at the historic Hawaii Theatre. This master storyteller is one of Hawaii’s most popular teller of tales and has been in the business of scaring people for more than 20 years. Lopaka is terrifically skilled at provoking that sudden chill going down one’s back or causing the small hairs on your arms to stand up. Chicken skin is what we call it in Hawai‘i. Others might refer to it as chills or goosebumps. Sharing real accounts of Hawaii’s supernatural culture, Lopaka often leaves audience members questioning the darkness on their drive home and anxiously leaving the light on at bedtime.

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