The Most Haunted Places in Hawaii
Hawaii has 12 documented haunted locations in the HauntBound index.
By the numbers
- Total documented
- 12
- Haunted Hotel / Inn
- 4
- Theater / Performance Venue
- 2
- Museum / Historical Site
- 2
- Family-friendly
- 12
- Bookable
- 6
- Oldest documented site
- Moana Surfrider (the Moana Hotel) (1901)
- Most-reported phenomenon
- apparitions
Ranked
- 1. Hawaii's Plantation Village Opened in 1992 on the old Oahu Sugar Company plantation in Waipahu, this museum recreates the camps that housed contract laborers from Asia and the Pacific between 1850 and 1950. Staff report a museum-owned Japanese doll that keeps turning up outside its display case in the Puerto Rican house, and choking sensations reported by workers in the Okinawan home; the museum has been investigated by Ghost Hunters and The Dead Files. Documented since 1992 · 7 independent sources · 2 media mentions
- 2. Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor (Hangar 37 & 79) Hangars 37 and 79 on Ford Island were bombed and strafed in the opening minutes of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor; Hangar 79 still shows bullet holes from that morning. The museum opened in the original structures in 2006. Island residents and staff describe an apparition called Charley, a sailor in period dress seen near the hangars, along with voices and footsteps investigated on camera by Ghost Hunters in 2011. Documented since 1941 · 3 independent sources · 1 media mention
- 3. Hawaiʻi Theatre Opened in 1922 as Honolulu's grandest movie palace, this 1,760-seat theatre survived a near-demolition before a 1996 restoration that later earned it national recognition. Staff keep a ghost light burning onstage after hours, and storytellers describe a Chinese merchant said to have died in the building, reportedly seen in a passage beneath the stage, along with a hula dancer said to have taken the stage one night and never left. Documented since 1922 · 4 independent sources · 1 media mention
- 4. Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa Henry Kaiser opened this beachfront resort in 1954 near Fort DeRussy; Conrad Hilton bought it in 1961, and it grew into Hawaii's largest hotel, with more than 2,500 rooms across five towers. Since a 1959 newspaper account, staff and guests have reported a tall woman in a red dress appearing in corridors and vanishing. The 17th floor separately carries reports of sliding doors opening and closing without cause and cold spots noticed by guests and staff. Documented since 1954 · 5 independent sources
- 5. Moana Surfrider (the Moana Hotel) Waikiki's first hotel opened in 1901 with the islands' first electric elevator and a bath and telephone in every room. Stanford co-founder Jane Stanford fell ill there in 1905 and died the next day, a death a 2003 historian's review concluded was an unsolved homicide. Guests and staff describe a Victorian-dressed woman drifting through the hallways and the historic banyan tree, identified in tour lore as Stanford. Documented since 1901 · 4 independent sources
By city
- Honolulu: 7 documented sites
- Waipahu: 2 documented sites
- Wailuku: 1 documented site
- Kailua-Kona: 1 documented site
- Paia: 1 documented site
Press images
- Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor (Hangar 37 & 79) Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hangar_79_(30674636235).jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/hawaii/pacific-aviation-museum-pearl-harbor/hero.jpg
- Moana Surfrider (the Moana Hotel) w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moana_Hotel,_Kalakaua_Avenue,_Waikiki,_Honolulu,_HI.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/hawaii/moana-surfrider/hero.jpg
Images listed here may be republished with the credit shown; all other HauntBound images are not offered for press use.
Superlatives
- Oldest documented site: Moana Surfrider (the Moana Hotel) Documented since 1901.
- Most documented: Hawaii's Plantation Village 7 independent sources.
- Top haunted stay: Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa Overnight stays bookable.
- Most family-friendly: Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor (Hangar 37 & 79) Family Comfort rating: High.
Methodology
For purposes of the HauntBound Index, "most haunted" means the location with the strongest documented record of reported haunting phenomena. We evaluate the quantity, independence, persistence, and documentary quality of published reports. We do not attempt to determine whether paranormal phenomena are real, and we never count a source that only establishes a building's history as evidence of haunting claims. Repetitive coverage is subject to diminishing returns, so a story retold many times does not outrank a story independently documented. Rankings never consider commercial relationships.
The 2026 Index reflects sources identified and classified as of September 15, 2026.
This is a documentation ranking, not a visitation guide; sites not open to visitors are marked on their entries.