Big Island Now poll no. 34: Where is the spookiest place on the Big Island?

While Halloween for some is about candy, parties and costumes, the holiday is also a time of heightened awareness of the spooky and supernatural.

Hawai‘i Island has no shortage of hauntings and legends that will leave you with chicken skin. There are tales of the beautiful hitchhiker up in the volcano area that if picked up, slowly transforms into an old wrinkled woman that eventually disappears into thin air in your car.

Many people have witnessed the trail of torches carried by the Hawaiian warriors, night marchers, whom you should never look in the eye.

People have observed a woman in white at Hulihe‘e Palace on Ali‘i Drive.

While there are many places that could be named, here are just a few:

The hōlua slide at Keauhou in Kailua-Kona is the largest and best-preserved land-sledding slide in the state. In ancient Hawai‘i, chiefs would sled down the side of Hualalai. In the modern day, people have reported seeing night marchers in the area.

Mackenzie State Recreation Area, located in Puna, is 13 acres of Ironwood trees along the rugged coastline. While beautiful, the area is known to be a place where violent crimes, including murder, have occurred.

An area commonly known as End of the World in Keauhou is located on Lekeleke Bay. Feeling like you’re on the edge of the earth standing on the cliffs overlooking that vast Pacific Ocean, the area is the site of an old battle and is a graveyard for many Hawaiian warriors.

Spirits have been seen on Hilo’s Banyan Drive or felt at Konawaena High School in South Kona.