Hawaii is the United States newest state, in-fact it is the 50th State to join the Union, having joined the same year as Alaska in 1959 but later in the year on 21st August. It is the only island state a part of the US and only one of two US states not attached to the US mainland with the other 48 US states. Alaska is the other US State not attached to the mainland, although it is attached to the same continent, but separated from the US mainland by Canada. Hawaii is also the most isolated US state, being located far out into the massive Pacific Ocean, making it the only US State in the Tropics and only US State located outside of the North American continent. The State capital and largest city is Honolulu. Due to its history and location the state is one of the most diverse in the entire US.
Hawaii takes up the Hawaiian Archipelago which is made up of 137 volcanic islands that span 1,500 meters, the islands are physically and ethnographically part of Polynesia in its subregion of Oceania. The island chain includes the eight main islands of Ni’ihau, Kaua’i, O’ahu, Moloka’i, Lana’i, Kaho’olawe, Maui, and Hawai’i, often just called the Big Island or Hawaii Island to avoid confusion with the state and archipelago names, most of these islands are where most of the state’s population lives and where most of the tourism exists, although Ni’ihau is a privately managed island requiring permission to visit and access to Kaho’olawe is also restricted due to its status as a reserve and can only be used for Native Hawaiian cultural, spiritual and subsistence purposes. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are uninhabited and the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument can be found here, which is the US’s largest protected area and 3rd largest protected area in the world. Many parts of the island chain feature hills and cliffs which may be forested, and of course there are many tropical beaches.
Hawaii’s economy is a major agricultural exporter, including honeybees, pineapples, sugarcane and seeds. Hawaii is an increasingly diversified economy with the two largest sectors being tourism and military defense, with the U.S. Pacific Fleet stationed here. Tourism is big thanks to the tropical climate, beaches, natural scenery, oceanic scenery, active volcanoes and surfing, tourism is most popular on the Big Island. Hawaii is also a popular destination for scientific research and study. The state has one of the highest costs of living and as such also has a large homelessness problem.
Now let’s get into the strange and the unexplained of the US State of Hawaii. Hawaii has much folklore associated with it and also much folk religion due to the culture of the native peoples of the island. And so naturally the island has many mysterious and unexplained elements to it, including that of the paranormal.
One such paranormal mystery and which is a strong part of Hawaii’s cultural folklore is that of the Night Marchers of which I have gone over in my previous Paranormal Alphabet series before. It is perhaps the most widely known paranormal mystery and folklore of the islands.
The Night Marchers are a popular Hawaiian ancestral legend, but what are they exactly? They are said to be groups of evil ferocious warrior spirits who will without question kill any unfortunate mortal in their path that they deem to have disrespected them, or their chiefs, kings, or gods. Ancestors who encounter them would be spared out of respect. They most commonly march during the night time, as to which their name suggests.
Tell tales signs of Night Marchers heading in your general direction include hearing frenzied beating of drums, blowing of conch shells, loud sounds of marching and chanting, and also the orange glow of fiery torches in the distance. It is very unwise to attempt to impede their march as they can overcome any obstacle placed in their path and would then go on to kill those who tried to prevent their march.
Interestingly many have reported sightings of the Night Marchers in Hawaii, often times seen within forests up on high sheer cliffs where the glow and movement of torches could be seen in the darkness, many times in areas that would be very difficult to move around within, with their often being no nearby paths. Some say Night Marchers may leave footprints behind where they have traversed while others say they float in the air leaving no trace.
Many suggest if you hear the Night Marchers coming to run away and hide or if you are unable to do this drop face down on the ground and remain motionless as they pass you, such as seen as showing respect to them and they may choose to spare you for it, but if you decide to look up at them it would be seen as disrespectful defiance of them, and us such they would go on to violently kill you. Planting of Ti shrubs around an area or property may also keep them away as they can repel evil spirits.
Night Marchers are said to be most common during the New Moon and most often seen around ancient sacred sites on the islands that may have had a strong relation to a chief. The origins of the Night Marchers comes from the time Hawaii was under a Caste system long, long before it was part of the United States. A Caste system divides people into distinct classes, and those more privileged were in charge. A Hawaiian Chief was often seen as a physical manifestation of god, seen to hold huge spiritual power known as mana.
When a Chief visited a settlement on the islands his warriors would beat drums and blow conch shells and the lowly commoners were expected to look down upon the ground. This was because looking upon a chief was forbidden as their body parts were considered sacred. Any commoner who did dare to look at them would face death as punishment. These chiefs, upon passing into the afterlife, were believed to continue their sacred duties as Night Marchers. The Caste system was guided by kapu, which was a system of taboos that sought to keep the spiritually pure from the potentially unclean, leading to strict social laws.
Sometimes the Gods themselves are said to march with the Night Marchers and as such seeing them would also be a death sentence to any mortal.
Another mystery on the island is that of the Menehune, that were said to be a race of pygmy peoples on the island coming from Hawaiian mythology. There are some theories that such a race of peoples may have actually been original inhabitants on the islands. There is a theory that a first settlement came from the Marquesas islands, now a days part of French Polynesia, and a second settlement of peoples coming from Tahiti, now a days also an island of French Polynesia. The Tahiti people were said to have seen the original inhabitants as lowly commoners or manahune in the Tahiti language and as such displaced them to become the dominant race over them, forcing them into the mountains. Some who subscribe to this theory highlight an 1820 Census that lists 65 people as Menehune.
Now a days in mythology the Menehune are seen as spiritual entities or even actual hidden peoples. It is said that originally, they built many things on the islands such as ancient temples known as heiau, roads, canoes, fishponds, and also houses, and that they would be able to build these things very quickly overnight due to their skill. Such temples and other ancient structures that still stand today have been attributed to them in this mythology and some believe these peoples can be sometimes seen around them, but it is best not to anger them as they could become aggressive to those who disrespect them or their ancient sites. There have been limited accounts in modern times of people claiming to come across them. The Menehune in mythology are said to come out as builders during the night to build structures of stone, but will quickly hide if disturbed by humans.
They are described as being over 2ft tall but no more than 3ft. The legends may have also originated as a post-European contact mythology adapted from the term manahune to the European legends of Brownies which were mythical fairy/hobgoblin creatures. The term manahune had come to mean by the time of settlement as lowly people or people of low social status rather than actual small peoples.
In Hawaiian folklore and folk religion exist a supernatural entity known as the Mo’o. They have been featured in many folk tales from the islands culture and folk religion and are said to be giant supernatural lizards and often referred to as dragons, and can either be protective deities of certain areas such as freshwater pools of water or they can be malicious threats that in such a case would be seen as evil, and in stories such as that may be slayed to save someone or something, usually involving the Hawaiian Gods, such as Pele for example. Some are also said to have the power to shapeshift to disguise themselves as other animals or beings and perhaps even shapeshift into the geography itself in a bid to deceive its foes.
As said, they are said to be often found in freshwater pools or within large caves which they will make as their homes and which they would fiercely guard, they are also said to have the power to control weather phenomena such as the waves and wind. There have been some modern accounts of those claiming to have witnessed them, especially within pools of freshwater. It is said dropping a flower or branch into a pool of freshwater will determine if it is safe to use, if the branch/flower is quickly swept away then the Mo’o wishes to not be disturbed.
Finally, it is only fitting to finish off with unexplained things seen in the sea that surrounds the islands of Hawaii, with one such being giant octopuses. The largest known octopus currently is the Giant Pacific Octopus, with a tentacle span of 14 feet on average and the widest ever recorded being 30 feet. So, it could be that some of these unknown giant octopus seen are simply far larger versions of these that have simply just not been recorded, it’s certainly possible as there is much we yet don’t know about our oceans. On the other hand, people could also be mistaking rare sightings of far larger giant/colossal squids as gigantic octopuses. Interesting of note is that the Giant Pacific Octopus is not thought to inhabit waters around Hawaii, although that doesn’t mean they absolutely do not.
But there have been many sightings of people claiming to see octopus that are far larger than the officially largest known, such as some with an estimated tentacle span of a massive 75 feet, which would be very gigantic. One report claimed a sighting of a giant octopus fighting off several sharks before shooting away with a puff of ink. Colossal/Giant squids have been known to fight with sperm whales although this happens very deep down in the dark depths of the ocean where it is not witnessed by human eyes. Colossal squids again aren’t thought to inhabit the deep waters around Hawaii although again that doesn’t 100% mean they don’t, Giant Squids have a stronger possibility of inhabiting waters around Hawaii but their true range is not well known.
So, it leaves one to wonder what some people have been seeing, it could certainly be possible that they are a new species of octopus or even squid or simply already known varieties that have unrecorded sizes yet larger of what’s officially recorded that do from time to time inhabit the waters close to Hawaii. There is much that the oceans hide from us and the Pacific Ocean itself is truly massive and vast with little land within it, so much of the oceans as a whole are completely unexplored.
Next up we are finally finishing off this long series with the final state on my list – the strange and the unexplained of the US State of Alaska.
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