[intro music] HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

Aloha and welcome to HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

My name is Emma Forges, and I'm a junior at Waipahu High School on O‘ahu.

I'm excited to be back to host another show.

Mahalo for joining us to watch the work of Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

As Halloween approaches, we wanted to take a look back at some of the fun, and sometimes spooky, stories HIKI NŌ students have produced over the years.

Let's explore special stories of the supernatural, some inexplicable phenomena, and even some fun tricks.

Since it's a time of trick or treat, this upcoming story from a student at Mid-Pacific Institute on O‘ahu is sure to give you the shivers.

[slow piano music] Hi there, everyone.

As a big fan of slasher movies, one of my favorite hobbies is to collect the scary masks of the killers, especially the mask of my favorite slasher, Ghost Face.

Sometimes I put on the costume and act like I'm the ghost face killer, and I do that just because how much I love this character.

Even though my mask is weeping, I'm happy in my own ways.

In fact, I am so happy I can make my own scary movies.

This next story from Moanalua High School students on O‘ahu explores the interesting history of its campus.

When I first started teaching, I used to run around the track.

I used to run about a mile in the morning, four easy laps, just to get exercise.

One morning, I was running around here.

It was about five in the morning in October, November, so it's still really dark.

And I got to the scoreboard at the end of the field.

I felt really cold when I got by the scoreboard.

I didn't think anything of it, and I went another lap, and I felt cold again.

And on my walk down, I went by the scoreboard, and I thought I heard some footsteps in the gravel behind me.

And about halfway, about around this area right here, I heard them again, and I kept turning around.

Nothing was there, and then I just got panicked, and I ran back to my room, and haven't run since in the morning.

Like many schools, Moanalua has its share of campus school stories, passed down from upperclassmen to freshmen, from veteran teachers to rookies.

Those familiar with the campus see a connection between the strange happenings and ancient Hawaiian culture.

Well, from what I heard, it's a woman's heiau in the cafeteria.

The cafeteria workers said, "Yeah, they're women,” because they'd hear the women speak to them.

Heiau served as temples, or places of worship, for the Hawaiians.

Moanalua High School is suspected to be built over what was once a navigational heiau.

Another popular speculation is the talk of Moanalua night marchers.

Night marchers are spirit warriors that escort their ali‘i or chief from the top of the valley down to the sea.

Moanalua High School happens to be right in the path of these night marchers.

Moanalua Valley, it was said that the night marchers came from Moanalua Valley and they marched down the valley.

And nightfall is a time when most of these stories begin.

In fact, Merle Harada, retired Moanalua teacher, has actually taken visitors on ghost walks of the Moanalua campus, where she introduces them to the spirits on the rock walls.

The closest to a human head, they have faces.

And many of the campus stories tell of a ghostly woman.

There was face in the field.

When I called, I said, "Excuse me, excuse me.

You know, you need help, or what are you doing?” From here, she had turned like this, and that's when I just saw I saw no face.

She had long hair.

It was just white.

No features, you know, no ears, no nose, eyebrows, no eyes, just flat face.

But for all the chicken skin moments, all of the witnesses agree that these campus spirits mean no harm.

I think the spirits here with my experience aren't malicious; they're just mischievous.

They like to play around.

And many of the spirits feel right at home here at Moanalua.

So, the storeroom that's supposed to be her house is the one outside on the side of the building.

From the possibly haunted campus of Moanalua, I'm Charina Crisostomo for HIKI NŌ.

[ocean wave] You don't need Halloween as your only excuse to dress up.

This next story from students at Waiākea High School documents the art of cosplay, or dressing up in costume, for fun.

I'm a very quiet person.

I just don't like to talk, but I feel like I just completely change when I go in costume.

Some people only dress up for Halloween.

But for cosplayers, this type of transformation is simply a part of who they are.

I'm suddenly able to go out and talk to people and, you know, maybe act a bit in character, or, you know, take pictures of people or help people out with something.

I don't know, it's really great that I'm just finally able to talk to the world.

Waiākea High School students Kiana and Denali Davis have been cosplaying for a few years now.

Cosplay, or costume play, is the act of dressing up as characters from books, movies, TV, video games or even simple imagination.

Dressing up may seem like a simple hobby, but there's a lot more to being a cosplayer.

Cosplay has helped us make friends in ways that we didn't really expect.

It started off with me and like, I don't know, three or four friends just like, hey, let's make a costume together.

Like, let's coordinate our costumes, and this should be fun.

And once we did that, we ended up going outside and wearing our costumes in public, and we got a lot of weird looks, but we ended up making some friends, and Cosplay has really helped us, like, break out of our shell.

So, this is something I've been working on for the upcoming convention, and it's just made out of the old front of a TV.

And I got these tubes from the transfer station, and I just spray painted them.

So, there's the usual places of getting stuff, you know, the store or -   Like Walmart, or something.

Yeah Walmart, or like Salvation Army, you know, like thrift stores.

And then there's, like, some more unusual places, like the recycling center.

I've used caulk, and I've used an old hiking backpack and totally cut that up just to hold a pair of wings.

Yeah, I used some weird stuff, like half pound of feathers.

Aside from one annual convention, there aren't many opportunities to cosplay on the Big Island, but Kiana and Denali are hoping to change that.

Anyone can cosplay like it's not bound by gender or sexual orientation, or you know your size, like you could be like 12 feet tall, or you know, like 7,000 pounds.

They encourage more people to embrace their inner superhero, one costume at a time.

This is Poina Liwai from Waiākea High for HIKI NŌ.

[ocean wave] It turns out there's a lot of good ghost stories on Hawai‘i campuses.

This next collection of creepy experiences was captured by students at Kea‘au High School on the Big Isle.

Living in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i, we're fortunate to be surrounded by a multicultural society formed by the early Puna Sugar Plantation.

With these various ethnic groups around the many colorful stories and superstitions of their homelands, although our school is fairly new, Kea‘au High School has its own share of mysteries.

One day after baseball practice, I went to drink water at the gym, but it was closed, so I walked to the J building to drink water.

As I was walking there, the water fountain was already on.

So as soon as I got there, it turned off, and I was kind of scared because I heard J building have a lot of spooks, and as I was in class one day, I walked outside and the lights just turned off, and that's my experience of J building.

Just recently, Charisse went to go fill up her water bottle, and I followed her, and I went to drink water, and this lady was talking to Malcolm, and as she walked out of the building, I was walking towards Malcolm and one of the teachers' aides, and then all of a sudden, the lights went off, and we freaked out.

And then I was starting to get goosebumps.

And then Malcolm went to turn on the light switch, and the lights went right back on.

And ho, I stay getting goosebumps right now.

After a recent incident, the students went to security offices, checked the security cams to see if anyone touched the light switch.

As you can see here, here's the teacher's aide, Malcolm.

Phoenix is a bit behind her.

The light switches are on the wall, and then the lights went off.

After looking at security cameras further, we captured an eerie figure in the corner of one of the cameras.

As you see the figure walking towards the hallway, it disappears into thin air.

I am standing here in E building where at least three people have reported seeing chairs levitate and fly off tables.

It's strange, but I would have to conclude from a scientific point of view, that it was seismic activity that caused that chair to vibrate across the table and fall on the ground.

Being Native Hawaiian is special to us ‘cuz we have spirits that watch over us.

My kupuna guys used to tell me growing up, but the one thing you no can do is be afraid.

Always respect the spirits and give them as much love as you can, and those spirits leave you alone, because those spirits is actually there to watch over you and keep, that, you're safe and everything.

Hmm, tales of the supernatural.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, or maybe paranormal.

Who knows why these things happen?

Whatever the case, student life goes on here at Kea‘au High with a little bit of mystery and a lot of respect for the unknown.

This is May Rose reporting from Kea‘au High for HIKI NŌ.

[ocean wave] Let's explore more of the eerie tales collected by HIKI NŌ students on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i Island, and Maui.

We are here on the campus of Wai‘anae High School on West O‘ahu, where there are reported sightings on this school's farm.

This place may be seen flourishing with life.

However, there has been some unusual activity.

In this very shack, many students and staff have reported hearing noises such as footsteps and door creaks within the building.

In fact, the agricultural teacher has stated that after knowingly leaving the doors and oven shut, he came back to them wide open.

The tales from within these walls have become well known around this campus.

We're back at Mid-Pacific in Manoa Valley.

I'm standing in front of Kawaiha‘o, the oldest building on campus.

Some people say Kawaiha‘o is home to a friendly apparition we call the Holokū lady.

Over the years, there have been numerous reported sightings of a lady dressed in a white holokū, which is the Hawaiian word for a long, loose-fitting gown with long sleeves and a high neck.

It is said that one of our early female boarding students died suddenly one night, and that her spirit lives on in Kawaiha‘o.

She was even featured on the cover of our recently published yearbook.

Aloha.

We are here on the campus of Waiākea High School, located on the east side of Hawai‘i Island.

Children laughing, running footsteps, and dirt handprints on walkway ceilings.

These are commonly found at any school but are totally out of place on an empty campus at night.

Teachers and staff who find themselves on our campus after dark have reported that they have witnessed these occurrences.

Local historians say that there is a trail that leads right through our campus.

This trail was used by warriors to get to and from their training grounds.

Certain areas on our campus have more activities, such as H Building, R Building, and the back access roads.

The trail gives off a lingering energy that causes weird activities till this day.

We're back here at ‘Īao School in Wailuku, Maui.

Almost everyone in Hawai‘i has a ghost story to tell, and our school has one too.

There have been many stories over the years that a building is haunted, with doors slamming on their own and objects falling unexpectedly.

In addition, some people say there is a woman dressed in white who appears in the hallway, and as quickly as you see her, she'll disappear.

No one is quite sure who she is, but people swear to have seen her.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, no one has come up with any other explanations for the strange happenings in A building.

Welcome to ‘Ilima Intermediate School, located in Ewa Beach on the island of O‘ahu.

Over the summer, our new band director, Mr.

Kawasaki, experienced a supernatural phenomenon while cleaning up one of the practice rooms.

He noticed that some weird things started to happen.

As he left the band room, the third practice room door creaked open, and the light suddenly turned on.

Later that day, he noticed that the lights had turned off again and the door was shut.

The previous band teacher, Mr.

Longamon, had also experienced these supernatural events.

They both believed that it could be a Hawaiian spirit connected to some of the traditional musical artifacts.

A priest was brought in last year to bless the room in hopes of warding off the spirit, but it is believed that the ghost still haunts the third practice room.

With this information, we must ask: Do you believe in ghosts?

Trick or treat?

If you picked trick, you might enjoy this tutorial about how to pull off a basic trick of the Japanese game called Kendama.

This timeless piece from our archives was produced by students at Wheeler Middle School on O‘ahu.

Remember these?

Kendamas are making a comeback in Hawai‘i schools.

You might remember the big cup trick, which everyone starts out with.

Today we will teach you another popular trick called the airplane.

I can get lighthouses like every try.

Step one: Hold the ball with your thumb, forefinger, and middle finger.

Hold the ball so the hole is facing up, and the spike hanging from the string is also facing up.

Make sure the hanging ken, or wooden stick, is still.

Then swing the ken outward.

Try to swing it out so it stays in a consistent arc.

The last step is to practice, practice, and practice.

It's not easy to do, but it's great fun to keep trying.

Well, hope you have fun.

Check out kendama.or.jp/english for more tricks.

This is Monabelle Cabigon from Wheeler Middle School for HIKI NŌ.

[ocean wave] You may have noticed kendama has made a comeback lately.

I know it has on our campus.

Teachers have even banned the wooden toys from classrooms.

Students from Waipahu High dug deeper into the popularity of kendama in this next story from our archives.

Kendama, a Japanese wooden toy meaning sword ball.

It contains a spike and three different cup sizes.

It appears to be a toy craze in Hawai‘i and is quite prevalent on campuses across the state.

Let's find out what makes the kendama so popular.

I think kendamas are so popular because it's not really a game or toy that you can master.

So, like once you learn the basics, you can just keep going and start to learn more top of the line tricks.

I think Kendama is popular because a lot of people play it, and pretty much it's pretty, it's been passed on from everyone.

Like oh try this toy, it's pretty cool, and that's how I got hooked onto kendama too.

Kendamas are popular because it's fun and it's a good toy to make new friends with.

It's physical and it's not just on a screen and it gets them moving and the fact that I guess it challenges them in a way.

It's interactive because it helps with my motor skills and hand-eye coordination skills.

I honestly think it's better than seeing kids messing with their phone all the time.

I think it's very positive.

The only downside is it's become an addiction to the level where they're playing it during class, so I think it's fine as long as they don't play it when they're not supposed to.

I play kendama continuously from four hours.

The longest I played was five hours.

It's addictive.

I don't think kendama should be played in class at all because school is a lot more important than Kendama.

Oh my god!

Because the popularity of the kendama continues to grow each day, it seems as if the trend will stay for a while.

This is John De'Orio for Waipahu High School, reporting for HIKI NŌ.

[ocean wave] Let's take a moment to learn how to toast pumpkin seeds from students at Lokelani Intermediate School on Maui.

Do you want to make toasted pumpkin seeds the local style?

Preheat oven.

Scoop out the seeds.

Clean the seeds.

Add eight cups of water in the pot.

Then, add the seeds.

Next, add four tablespoons of Hawaiian salt.

Boil the water and let it simmer.

Drain the seeds from the pot.

Spread oil on the pan.

Spread the seeds on the pan.

Make sure not to overlap them.

Bake for 10 to 20 minutes, or till seeds turn around.

While the seeds are still hot, add flavors like li hing mui.

Let them cool.

You can also eat them with the shells on.

So ‘ono.

[ocean wave] In this next story, students from Roosevelt High School on O‘ahu investigate the history of the most distinctive landmark on their campus.

Roosevelt's bell tower has been a historical landmark in Makiki for many years.

I have no idea why the tower existed.

I think my grandma went to school here, and she never even heard it ring, or I don't even know if there's a bell in there.

The bell tower has become an iconic structure over the years.

Well, I understand that back during World War II, since it was the highest structure on the island, you know, highest up on this hill, that it was used as a lookout point for enemy aircraft.

Withstanding the rivalry in World War II, the tower continues to face fire, but the friendlier kind.

When I was in high school, the ILH was Interscholastic League of Honolulu, and all of the schools, all of the high schools in town belonged to the ILH.

So that included private schools, and the big rivalry because of our physical proximity, was Roosevelt and Punahou.

So, Roosevelt guys used to go over and paint the Punahou Rock, and sometimes our tower would get painted buffin’ blue.

But there is a dark side to the tower.

I know a few stories.

One of them is one of our former principals used to tell me that if you look really close in the tower, that you would see a figure or a body, and, you know, I always drive by and I look and I never saw one until one day I did.

And I took a look and it was like, it was, wow it was crazy.

I seen a person standing there and of course I got all scared and I left.

I don't think that anything is haunted.

I just know that it brings back a lot of history to the school, and I'm sure that they're very good people, and, I guess, they want to be nice to us.

We concluded after going through the many resources at the state and school library that the tower was built as just another addition to Roosevelt's Spanish architecture, a popular style at the time it was built.

It's our trademark.

It's the landmark that when you see Roosevelt, you see that tower.

It's like Diamond Head to Waikiki.

This is Rachel Ringor reporting for HIKI NŌ.

[ocean wave] On a more serious note, certain infrastructure from Hawai‘i's historical sugarcane industry can leave behind some hazardous stuff.

Here's one story from our archives that highlights the situation.

It was produced by Kaua‘i High School students.

The Lihue Sugar Mill started in 1848 and was a major supplier and producer of sugar.

The old plantation tracks can still be seen, and the grounds of the mill are littered with signs from a past era.

The plantation was in operation since the 1800s up until the year 2000, when the mill was shut down, smokestack went dry, and the gates were closed and locked.

And they've been that way ever since.

Ernesto Ancheta was employed by the mill for 20 years.

Well, they just gathered us one morning up at the cleaning plant, told everybody to assemble up there, and the manager told us that the parent company JMB decided to close the company down.

Since then, public access to the grounds have been restricted, and the mill has become run down.

And the building itself has also become a popular historic landmark for those who travel this route on a daily basis, or for those who pass it for the very first time.

But there's more to it than just the broken glass and graffiti-covered walls.

The inside of the mill is plagued with asbestos, a chemical that is known to be cancerous.

There was asbestos.

It was one of the things I was afraid of when everybody sent us out on jobs.

Which makes the Lihue Sugar Mill Decommissioning Project all the more complicated.

According to a recent article in the Garden Island newspaper, a contractor has been hired and given the responsibility of asbestos mitigation and mill dismantling.

Regardless of the timeline that the Lihue Sugar Mill comes down, one thing is certain: that it is a true historic landmark that has helped shape and grow our island culture.

Reporting for HIKI NŌ from the island of Kaua‘i, I'm Dillon Ancheta.

[ocean wave] Well, that's a wrap.

Hope you're not feeling too spooked.

Mahalo for watching the work of Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

Don't forget to follow PBS Hawai‘i on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to enjoy the best stories from Hawai‘i's youth.

You can find this HIKI NŌ episode and more at pbshawaii.org.

Tune in next week for more proof that Hawai‘i students HIKI NŌ, can do.

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