Ghost in Honoka‘a Jailhouse
Ghost in Honoka‘a Jailhouse
In August 1922, newspapers reported that there was a particular ghost in the Honoka‘a Jailhouse that could persuade any to prisoner confess his crimes.
Cell number three was identical to every other cell in the jailhouse with their plain white walls, a high, barred window, and a heavily barred door. However, when a prisoner was placed in the cell, he would become as tame as a kitten and would soon offer his confession.
Several prisoners have claimed that the ghost is that of a Chinese man and officers confirmed that a Chinese man did hang himself in the cell about a year prior, in 1921.
In every instance, the prisoners in cell No. 3 claimed that, at midnight, a light suddenly appeared on the ceiling and traveled down the eastern wall. It slid along the floor toward the bed and then up to the barred window. There, the mysterious light stopped and the next instant, a moan and a choking sound were heard, the light jumping around as if it were being shaken. It is about this time that the prisoner would yell for help and declare that he will tell the truth if he is removed from the haunted cell.
“It works like a charm and we never have any trouble,” the deputy sheriff said, “If a man denies his guilt, we say nothing but place him in cell No. 3. then we sit back and wait for the inevitable to happen, and shortly after midnight we get the confession.”
Office fires at ghost.
By December of the following year, the ghostly presence was said to make itself known in both cells 3 and 4. One night, towards midnight, the jailer on duty was roused from his sleep by screaming coming from the cells. Rushing to the rescue, the jailer opened the door and found the prisoner in a state of near-collapse. When asked what the ruckus was about, the prisoner stated that the cell was filled with ghosts. In order to pacify the frightened man, the jailer put another prisoner with him in the same cell to keep him company.
Not more than a half hour passed when even louder screams from the cell called the jailer back. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find second prisoner on his back and fighting the air with his hands in an effort to ward off an attack on his throat. When the struggle was over and the man could breathe again, he said that a ghost tried to choke him and nothing the jailer said could change his mind. He’d seen the ghost just like his fellow inmate had.
The jailer decided to investigate further and, moving the men to a different cell, he took out his pistol and entered the supposedly haunted cell, closing the door behind him. It was not long before the the inmates of the other cells and the entire neighborhood were frightened awake by a series of gunshots ringing through the night.
When he was questioned, the guard said that, not long after he closed the door, he saw a spirit form that kept beckoning him towards the door. He called out but received no answer and then fired his gun at the spectral intruder. Nothing happened and the spirit remained, still beckoning him. The guard became desperate and emptied his gun at the wraith but still, nothing happened.
Ghost moves on.
In order to avoid further incidents, jailers stopped putting prisoners in cells 3 and 4, and that portion of the jail remained empty. Then, in 1928, the newspapers reported that the officers at the Honokaa jailhouse say that it seemed the spirits in the cell have moved on.
Things were quiet in the jailhouse for the most part and the cells are now in use again without any disturbing midnight visions.
Haunted Honolulu and Hawaii’s Other Ghostly Secrets
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