Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 10, 1 October 2021 — CHICKEN SKIN: [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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Lopaka Kapanui, Hawai'i's foremost teller of spooky stories, hos spent countless hours researching otherworldly phenomena and odding to his collection of ahost stories ond toles of supernoturol encounters. The bonyon tree he stonds beneoth is on o hill in Mōnoo Cemetery ond is thought to be a portol between worlds. The inside of the mossive tree is chorred, supposedly oue to energy possing through it. - Photos: Jason L ees

By Cheryl CheeTsutsumi Ascent, a sight, a sound - the connections Lopaka Kapanui makes with the supernatural are often subtle. "It could be something that in and of itself is eommon - like a bird, bells chiming or the fragrance of a flower - but it's odd for it to appear at a certain time and plaee," he said. "Other people might not even notice it, but if you're receptive, you feel the vibe and you know it's a message from someone in another world." Kapanui is the founder of 0'ahu-based Mysteries of Hawai'i, whieh offers regularly scheduled nighttime ghost tours and, upon request, lectures, daytime historical tours and other presentations. He grew up learning about Hawaiian history, customs, legends and paranormal activities from his mother and aunt, who shared their mo'olelo in the traditional way - orally. Nothing was written. "They would continually tell me, 'E mau ana ka 'ike,' whieh means 'The knowledge must continue, " Kapanui said. "I knew from a young age that I would be responsible for passing along what I had learned to my own family." Little did he know, however, that storytelling would be his calling and that he would influence countless people outside his 'ohana. His journey was shaped to a great extent by the late Glen Grant, a historian, author and college professor who was known for his books and walking tours about loeal myths, folk tales and

ghost stories. In 1994, on the recommendation of a friend, Kapanui took Grant's Ghosts of Old Honolulu tour and began reading his books whieh made him realize that, having grown up in multiethnic Waipahu, he already knew many of those spooky stories - not only Hawaiian lore but anecdotes with Japanese, Filipino, Chinese and Korean roots. Coincidentally, at the time Kapanui was an alaka'i for his cousin Keone Nunes' hālau, whieh was performing hula kahiko as part of a tour Grant was doing in Wai'anae. As the co-host, Nunes recounted Hawaiian legends and chicken-skin tales of the leeward area. "One day, Keone told Glen he had to be on the mainland for several days, and he couldn't do the tour," Kapanui recalled. "Glen was panicked: 'What am I going to do? I don't know your part.' Keone said, 'It'll be okay; I'm sure Lopaka ean handle it. " Kapanui turned out to be a promising raconteur, and Grant subsequently offered him occasional work as a guide for some of his tours. "I accepted because I was grounded in the cultural and spiritual aspects, but it took me a while to fmd my voice as a presenter," Kapanui said. "Glen said, 'Don't try and be me. Make the stories your own. It's important for a Hawaiian to tell them.'" As a student at Leeward Community College, Kapanui had been planning to earn a degree in Hawaiian studies and language, but as time passed, he realized being a storyteller was what he was meant to do. In 1999, he asked Grant if he could work with him full time.

Grant agreed, but he passed away in 2003. Two years later, Kapanui launched his own tour company as Ghosts of Old Honolulu in honor of his mentor. That evolved into Mysteries of Hawai'i in 2009, but its mission has always been to "share the history of Hawai'i and her people one story at a time." Over the years, hundreds of strangers have tracked down Kapanui to tell him about their mysterious encounters, and he has also spent long hours researching otherworldly phenomena at Bishop Museum, the Hawai'i State Archives, the Hawai'i State Library and Kaimukī Puhlie Library, and, via internet resources, the Library of Congress, American Society for Psyehieal Research, newspapers.com (the largest online newspaper archive) and the Rhine Research Center, whieh, according to its website, "bridges the gap between science and spirituality." Kapanui's tour groups gather in the evening when it's dark and quiet, whieh sharpens their awareness because there are no crowds, traffic and other distractions. "My tours aren't entertainment; I'd like participants to consider them authentic cultural experiences," he said. "I begin eaeh tour with a Hawaiian chant, announcing our intentions and asking the ancestors to guide and protect us during our time together. I express our hope that whatever happens that night is positive. I also end eaeh tour with a chant to thank the ancestors and to let them know that we're leaving." According to Kapanui, if something eerie happens during a tour, it's because of the participants' energy. If they are open-minded or have a high level of psyehie sensitivity, spirits might try and communicate

with them. His tours are never the same beeause his guests and their spiritual aeuity are different. "I might have 20 people on a tour who are all taking pietures of a mystieal spot," he said. "Nineteen of them will wind up with nothing unusual, but one guy's photos will have strange streaks of light. It's not beeause of his eamera, it's beeause of him." Kapanui speaks with respeet and humility, and he does not use seare taeties during his tours. "Nobody is going to jump out from behind a tree to startle you, and I don't pretend to see weird things that aren't there," he said. "I'm just a storyteller who is interested in the oeeuh. I ean't foree anyone to believe me. For myself, I know it is real." ■

Lopaka I{apanui offers three 90-minute walking tours through his company, Mysteries of Hawai'i: Urban Legends on Monday, Waikīkī Night Marchers on Wednesday or Friday, and Ghosts ofOld Honolulu on Thursday or Saturday. Cost is $40 per person. All tours start at 7 p.m., and reservations are required. Be aware some tours are not suitablefor children under the age of 15. Custom and private tours ean be arranged. For more information, eall (808) 673-9099 or eheek out https://mysteries-of-hawaii.com.

For those who are brave enough, Kapanui offers storytelling tours after dark in downtown Honolulu. He says no two tours are the same and if something eerie happens, it is because of the energy and psychic sensitivity of the participants.