Ghosts Next Door

Ghosts Next Door
by Lopaka Kapanui

Jun 14, 2022

Hālua 2022

Truth. The more aquiline your features and skin tone, the more you are admired and accepted.

The more aboriginal your features and the darker your skin tone, the less accepted you are and the more you are likely to be judged negatively. That means that whatever goes wrong in the space you are occupying as a dark-skinned aboriginal type, you are the one that will be blamed for it, especially if something goes missing. Even if it is determined later that you are not the one at fault, you will never get an apology. Lastly, if you, as the lighter skin person, should come under some windfall or good circumstances, blessings and accolades will fall upon you. However, if you are the darker aboriginal who has the same success, you will be accused of trying to be more than you are and not knowing your place. So, here is the ghost story. A teacher of Hawaiian ethnicity at an unnamed public school who was good-natured and jovial and was under the assumption that the staff he worked with were equally as such was one day called into the office by the principal of the school. 

"You were alone with the fifth grade class in your classroom, and it is Wednesday," the principal said.

"Oh gosh!" The Hawaiian teacher replied. "I completely forgot it was Wednesday, Iʻm sorry about that!"

"What is everyone supposed to think when they discover that the fifth-grade class is with you, in your room by yourself?" The tone, the principal, took was accusatory and belligerent. 

"That this is our normal hula class at this very same time, every afternoon," the Hawaiian teacher replied. "Like I said, I forgot it was Wednesday. Just so you know, I have known these kids and their parents since pre-school, so they are not strangers to me. I have been teaching hula to these same kids since then."

Without any proof of anything and not asking the students and parents of the Hawaiian teacher as to his credibility, he was fired then and there. He quietly packed his things and left the campus, never to return. However, a few nights after a parent-teacher meeting, everyone walked toward the parking lot; they were horrified to witness a flaming blue orb that menaced them and chased them around the cars. Bumps, bruises, and scrapes were had when some people fell, tripped, or went tumbling and the ruff graveled surface. It did not stop there. The staff who witnessed the Hawaiian teacher being falsely accused and never coming to his defense were also menaced by the same flaming blue orb in their homes or while taking a late-night walk. Those staff members resigned that week. Most vexing was the sudden disappearance of the principal, never returning to work. No call, no letter of resignation, no e-mail, nothing. Only then did the flaming blue orb cease to manifest. If you are wondering, the Hawaiian teacher who was fired did not send the ʻakualele. It was the Hawaiian mother of one of the students at the school. She sent the ʻakualele in retaliation for her daughter being unfairly suspended for something that was not her fault. The accusation was that she had hidden a bottle of whiskey in her backpack when it was in fact a bottle of lemon tea in a plastic bottle with no wrappers on it. The innocent girl opened the bottle for the principal to smell so that she could know that it did not contain alcohol. The principal refused, and the Hawaiian girl was suspended. Thus came the flaming blue orb to haunt the school. 


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17A Productions Presents

Lopaka Kapanui at Hawaii Theatre
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.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!


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