Ever hear footsteps while walking through Kawaiaha’o alone at night? Well, if so, you’re not alone, as many students and teachers have experienced paranormal activity throughout these halls. Many still wonder today, do ghosts still roam the halls of Kawaiaha’o, and if so what should we avoid?

Being one of the oldest buildings on campus, Kawaiaha’o holds a great deal of history that led to the establishment of Mid-Pacific. Its name, Kawaiaha’o, originated from Kawaiaha’o Seminary, which was where Mid-Pacific was before it moved into the valley of Manoā. The building itself was built around 1907 having its first major renovation in the 1980s.

“Back then though the name of the building was Atherton,” Director of Student Activities, Bill Wheeler said, “They renamed it Kawaiaha’o after Kawaiaha’o Seminary.”

Of our campus, Kawaiaha’o is one of the most well-known buildings, because of its history, which ties back to Mid-Pacific’s roots and it is also just one of the oldest buildings on campus.

“It’s the iconic building of our school,” Wheeler said, “The oldest building that remains from that era when we first started [out].”

With its rock wall exterior, and spooky appearance, many have speculated that ghosts haunt these halls, a well-known story is “The Holokū Lady.” This is about a young high school girl who had a boyfriend who wanted to marry her, so they decided one night they were going to meet up around 12am and run off together. The girl, excited, told her friends she was leaving this place and never to return. Her friends were shocked but happy for her and wished her luck. But when midnight came around, the girl waited outside for him to come pick her up, 3 hours had passed and he never came. So she could only assume that he was a player and never wanted to go with her, so she hung herself out of embarrassment and her body was found the next morning. That same morning, when the boyfriend found out about his girlfriend, he got on his motorcycle, drove off a cliff, and died out of grief.

“A [young high school] girl was going to elope with her boyfriend but then things did not work out and she wasn’t picked up. She hung herself because she was afraid of embarrassment.” Creative Media teacher, Kevin Tokuda said.

There are many versions of this story as it gets passed on from generation to generation, they say both the boyfriend and girlfriend’s souls still haunt the halls of Kawaiaha’o, searching for each other day and night. Another well-known ghost story is, “The Rocking Chair Lady”. It was about a teacher who was very strict and at night she watched over the dormitory from her rocking chair which overlooked the tennis courts. One night the lady had a sudden heart attack in that very same rocking chair. However, when morning came, everyone thought she was asleep and went on with their day until later, when she was found dead by another teacher.

From the ghost stories page of the “Some Traditions Never Change” yearbook, it says, “The teacher was discovered in the rocker in the hall. Faithful to the end, she sat in the hall and kept her vigil. For years and years the rocker was kept in the hall and night after night, the rocker would begin to rock without anybody sitting in it – or was there?”

Hopefully, now you know more about Kawaiahao’s history and not just the creepy old building on campus. If you still wonder and want to find out more details about these uncanny stories, ask Mr. Tokuda to see the yearbook where you can read their full stories.