So Supernatural

Episode: Legends of Hawaii: Night Marchers (with Lopaka Kapanui)
Date: November 14, 2025
Host: Rasha Marie Kahumalama O Kanani & Yvette Patrice Kanani Gentile
Guest: Lopaka Kapanui (Kanaka Maoli, "Hawaii's Ghost Guy")

Overview

This episode takes listeners deep into one of Hawaii’s most mysterious and powerful legends: the Night Marchers (huaka‘i pō) — spectral processions tied to ancient warriors, rituals, and royal lineages. Hosts Rasha and Yvette return to their home, Honolulu, recording on location and joined by master storyteller and historian, Lopaka Kapanui. Together, they explore the truth, misrepresentations, and chilling spiritual realities of these famous Hawaiian legends, weaving in ancestral wisdom, personal stories, and advice for respectful engagement with Hawaii’s supernatural.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Returning Home to Tell the Story

• Hosts back in Hawaii: Rasha and Yvette emphasize the importance of returning to their homeland to share these deeply rooted stories where the land (“āina”) and ancestry’s spiritual force (“mana”) are palpable.

  • "We knew that we had to go back home to Honolulu to be surrounded by the land, the ain, the ocean, and the mana of our ancestors." (Yvette, 02:56)

• Introducing Lopaka Kapanui:

  • A revered Kanaka Maoli storyteller, raised in traditional ways of “moʻolelo” (oral accounts), recognized for keeping cultural traditions and folklore alive (02:09).

What Are the Night Marchers?

• Ancient Origins:

  • Lopaka explains the Night Marchers trace back to the "Kumulipo" — the Hawaiian creation chant (05:06). They aren’t just vengeful ghosts but are deeply embedded in ritual processions: warriors, ceremonial groups (canoe-makers, sacrificial victims), female processions, Menehune, and processions for goddesses like Pele and Hi‘iaka (05:06-06:24).

• Diversity of Processions:

  • Not all Night Marchers are warriors; some processions carry specific gender or ritual meaning. Female processions, for example, remain enigmatic even to experts:
    • "You're a man. This is a female procession. It's not for you." (Lopaka, 07:31)
    • Suggests aspects sacred and inaccessible to outsiders or even men.

Clearing Up Myths & Misrepresentations

• Misinformation:

  • Lopaka and his wife created a book to dispel stereotypes and wrong ideas about the Night Marchers, emphasizing respect for correct traditions and breaking with “haolefication” or outsider-derived myths (06:25-08:16).

• Most Haunted Island:

  • Oʻahu is highlighted as the island with the most hauntings due to population density and historical complexity:
    • "Due to the sheer number of people... there just seems to be many more instances of hauntings on this particular island." (Yvette quoting Lopaka’s book, 09:03)

Night Marchers and Living Space

• Interaction with Modern Spaces:
  • Spirits seen even in daylight, particularly downtown Honolulu (10:09-10:49).
  • Ancient marcher paths remain active regardless of modern developments — churches, hotels, schools built atop old paths are reported as persistently haunted (11:12-12:34).
    • "The path is still the path. It doesn't matter what you put in its way. They're still going to march." (Lopaka, 12:34)

Spiritual Mechanics: Residual vs. Cognitive Spirits

• Types of Spirits:

  • Residual: Like a looped recording, unaware spirits repeating to infinity (Hamlet’s father as an analogy) (13:11).
  • Cognitive: Aware, interactive — can physically affect the living (“like sitting on your leg”) and require more care. Night Marchers belong to this category (13:11-13:55).

• Personal Experiences:

  • Hosts and Lopaka share physical sensations (pressure on limbs during the tour), discussing whether these are cognitive or ancestral in nature (14:02-15:18).

Lopaka’s Encounters with Night Marchers

• Direct experiences:

  • Guides a nervous group of architects through Manoa Chinese Cemetery during Night Marcher phase — witnesses wind tearing through but feels no wind or sound, interpreted later as ancestral protection (15:57-18:22).
    • “That feeling of seeing everything but not hearing it or feeling it... you probably had ohana in that, protecting you.” (Keone Nunes, relayed by Lopaka, 18:00)
  • Second sighting: torch lights on night marcher night at Yokohama / Kaʻena area (18:37-19:15).

• Lunar Calendar:

  • Describes four moon phases:
    • Kāne: Warrior and chiefly processions
    • Lono: Processions gathering tax/tribute
    • Mauli: Night of spirits
    • Muku: No moon, gods roam — silence enforced (19:16-19:59)

Protection and Practical Protocol

• Traditional Protections:
  • Plant ti leaf around property, misalign doors to confuse marchers, line sidewalks with ape (elephant ear) leaves to detect their presence. If leaves remain untouched — confirmation of spirit passage (22:20-23:31).
  • "The simplest thing to do is feng shui. Just align everything so it's out of their way, everyone's safe, no one's hurt." (Lopaka, 23:15)

Hawaiian Violence, Colonization, and Survival

• Historical Violence:

  • The violent past informs the supernatural present. Many Hawaiian legends are not “happy endings.” The period after Kamehameha stopped warring is seen by some as the start of colonization (23:54-25:16).

• Cultural Stewardship:

  • Emphasis on learning, preserving, and respecting Hawaiian history and spiritual beliefs to avoid superficial or disrespectful interactions (e.g. tourists only seeking pleasure in Waikīkī) (38:24-39:06).
  • "It's not just to... lounge on the beach and have a Mai Tai. You need to know the Hawaiian history and to respect it, respect its people, its culture, its land." (Yvette, 38:59)

Haunted Waikīkī and Iolani Palace

• Waikīkī's Spiritual Significance:

  • Area originally reserved for high chiefs; burial sites under today’s hotels, making hauntings common. Kapiʻolani Park is a place of personal connection for Yvette, stories of bones found during construction (26:06-29:09).

• Supernatural at ‘Iolani Palace:

  • King Kalākaua’s reign rife with spiritual warfare.
  • Describes practices to identify cursed spirits — use of mirrors to discern human from spirit (34:32-38:24).
    • "The problem with that spirit is... it looks like everybody else. You can touch it, you can talk to. It doesn't bathe, it stings." (Lopaka, 35:32)
    • Mirrors employed for covert detection of these harmful spirits.

The Ethics of Storytelling and Cultural Responsibility

• Refusal of Sacred Knowledge Not Meant for Him:
  • Lopaka recounts refusing a detailed map of Night Marcher paths not from his bloodline; explains the deep ethics and kuleana (responsibility) inherent in Hawaiian tradition (29:34-31:54).
    • "That map didn't belong to me. Even though I looked at, I was... like, wow, blown away... it's not my bloodline, it's not my Kuleana." (31:07)

Closing Reflections: Stories, Aloha, & Legacy

• Passing On Knowledge:

  • Lopaka was told by his mother:
    • "Everything you've learned up until now is not about you." (40:16-41:48)
    • Her passing marked with the intent that the knowledge and stories are for service to the community, not ego.

• Healing and Advice:

  • Encourages listeners to reflect on who in their life needs to hear 'I love you' — a simple act with the power to change lives (44:15-44:49).
    • "Think about who it is in your circle... that needs to know from you and only you, that you love them... those three words might change their life..." (Lopaka, 44:15)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The path is still the path. It doesn't matter what you put in its way. They're still going to march.” – Lopaka (12:34)
• “You're a man. This is a female procession. It's not for you.” – Lopaka, recounting a spiritual message (07:31)
• “As soon as you figure out who that is, call that person. Tell them, I love you.” – Lopaka (44:49)
• “Everything you've learned up until now is not about you.” – Lopaka's mother (40:16)
• "If you decide to come back here at 4 o'clock in the morning and you can determine what moon phase that is on our Hawaiian lunar calendar, then call me." – Lopaka (12:42)
• Refusing the map:
  • “That map didn’t belong to me... it's not my bloodline, it’s not my Kuleana.” (31:07)
• Advice to visitors:
  • “Go to this place and keep your mouth shut and just sit there and take in everything... we talk too much. A lot of people talk to hear their own selves speak, and they're missing everything.” (39:17)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:09] – Introduction of Lopaka and his storytelling tradition.
• [05:06] – Lopaka recounts Night Marchers' roots in Kumulipo and ancient rituals.
• [06:25] – The intention to correct misinformation about the Night Marchers.
• [09:03] – Why Oahu is Hawaii’s most haunted island.
• [11:12] – Churches and modern buildings constructed atop ancient paths.
• [13:11] – Explaining residual vs. cognitive spirits.
• [15:57] – Lopaka’s personal encounter in Manoa Chinese Cemetery.
• [19:16] – The four Hawaiian moon phases relevant to spiritual activity.
• [22:20] – Traditional and modern methods to protect against Night Marchers.
• [26:06] – Waikīkī haunted history and burial ground stories.
• [34:32] – ‘Iolani Palace, Kalākaua’s story, and the curse-detection ritual.
• [38:59] – Importance of tourists respecting Hawaiian culture and spirit.
• [40:16] – Lopaka’s mother’s final lesson about the true purpose of inherited knowledge.
• [44:15] – Final thoughts: The transformative, healing power of saying “I love you.”

Conclusion

This episode blends chilling ancient legends with lived encounters, personal revelations, and wisdom about humility and kuleana (stewardship/responsibility). Lopaka Kapanui stands as a guardian of narrative authenticity, urging listeners—locals and visitors alike—to treat the islands, and each other, with deep respect. His stories encourage attentive listening, cultural preservation, and active expressions of aloha. The undertone is clear: these tales are living, evolving reminders of Hawaii’s past, its sacred mysteries, and its enduring spirit.