From the Nuuanu Valley, a remote and mysterious place just outside Honolulu, comes one of Hawaii’s best-known tales. Legend says that the Ghost Dog can be seen in the clouds at sunset or standing brazenly in the middle of the highway, but the locals will tell you his favorite haunt is the Nuuanu Valley.
Long before cars, if a traveler saw the Ghost Dog in his path, he’d turn back. The dog was a symbol of death and to see him was an omen of coming disaster. He is supposedly an ancient demi-god who used to attack and kill any man he met on the road. But locals look upon him today somewhat fondly, saying, now, that they feel lucky to have seen him trotting across the front yard last night.
Source: Pualani, Roseare, “The Ghost Dog of Nuuanu”, The Hawaiian Connection, 1998.
