The History Behind This Remote Hotel In Hawaii Is Both Eerie And Fascinating

When most people check into a Hawaiian hotel, they expect comfort, some Hawaiian-themed décor, and maybe a nice view of the ocean. What they don’t expect is to stay awake at night afraid of the paranormal, but believe it or not, the Hawaiian Islands are home to quite a few hotels surrounded by spine-chilling myths. One of these hotels is the well-known Volcano House Hotel. Don’t take our word for it, though: check out the fascinating history and haunting stories surrounding this otherwise picturesque lodge.

Ryan Ozawa/Flickr

Nestled within Hawaii’s most famous destination, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Volcano House is one of the islands’ oldest hotel, tracing its origins to the mid-1800s when it was built as a modest, one-room shelter made of grass and native ohia wood poles.

University of Hawaii at Manoa/Flickr

In 1866, a four-room wooden frame structure replaced the original hotel and housed notable guests such as Mark Twain, who wrote about the hotel "Neat, roomy, well furnished and a well-kept hotel. The surprise of finding a good hotel at such an outlandish spot startled me, considerably more than the volcano did."

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J. Stephen Conn/Flickr

But the hotel’s history isn’t as sparkling as Mark Twain would have you believe. A fire destroyed the entire hotel in 1940, and the structure was rebuilt, with various additions and changes being made over the last eight decades.

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Rumor has it that a former Volcano House owner and his family claimed to regularly see an apparition of an elderly woman. This ghastly woman has also been seen in guest rooms and wandering the hallways.

J. Stephen Conn/Flickr

Sightings of a ghostly white dog on the entrance road to the hotel have also been reported. There are many who believe this white dog is Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes, in disguise, warning guests of death.

John Hyun/Flickr

With views of the Kilauea Caldera in the dining room as well as some of the guest rooms, we shouldn’t neglect to tell you about Pele’s curse. The curse states that anyone who takes rock or sand away from the Hawaiian islands will suffer bad luck until the items are returned. Whether this myth is the result of Pele or merely a disgruntled park worker is unknown, but each year, hundreds of visitors send packages full of rocks and sand back to the island to relieve their bad luck.

John Hyun/Flickr

Though the paranormal activity at Volcano House is based purely on rumors and myths, there is no denying that the historic hotel has a fascinating history.

All paranormal legends aside, the Volcano House is a phenomenal place to stay while exploring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. To learn more about Volcano House’s charming side, click here. And for more haunted hotels, none of which are as remote as Volcano House, click here.