The Bishop Museum

Posted: 03.25.2025 | Updated: 03.25.2025

As the largest museum in Hawaii, the Bishop Museum is an important landmark for education and art in the state. It attracts visitors from all over the world who want to learn more about the history and culture of the Native Hawaiian people. However, the museum draws another kind of guest — those who want to catch a glimpse of a Hawaiian spirit from long ago. 

The island of Oahu is full of legends and lore, from stories of night marchers to World War II soldiers who have never moved on after Pearl Harbor. Many of the spookiest ghost stories emanate from the center of Honolulu, not far from the Bishop Museum. If you want to see some of the most haunted sites in all of Hawaii and learn about the dark tales behind them, book a ghost tour with Honolulu Haunts. 

Is the Bishop Museum Haunted?

The Bishop Museum is well-known for its phantasmal activity. Tourists and staff have witnessed strange happenings and disappearing figures throughout the museum’s halls. 

Many believe the spirits who reside at the haunted museum are those of Hawaiian ancestors, who are still connected to the artifacts on exhibition. 

A Royal Inspiration 

The Bishop Museum was originally built as a testament to love in honor of a beloved woman in Hawaii’s history.

Charles Reed Bishop grew up in New York, working on his grandfather’s large farm. In 1846, at 24 years old, Charles decided to visit Hawaii. He quickly fell in love with Oahu and decided to stay. 

In short order, Charles started making a name for himself. By 1849, he was appointed collector of customs for the kingdom, a highly respected position. However, the next year is when his life truly changed. 

Charles met Bernice Pauahi, or rather, he met Princess Bernice Pauahi. Nine years younger than Charles, Bernice was the daughter of two high chiefs and great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha I.

King Kamehameha is perhaps the most famous ruler in all of Hawaiian history. In 1810, Kamehameha united the Hawaiian Islands for the first time ever. Said to have supernatural strength and a fiercely strategic mind, Kamehameha became Hawaii’s first king — and his descendants were Hawaiian royalty. 

The Princess’s Vision for Hawaiians

Despite Bernice’s parents being extremely opposed to the match, Bernice and Charles wed and had a very happy marriage. By the late-1800s, Bernice was the last direct descendant of the Kamehameha line. Because of this, she inherited over 375,000 acres of land, roughly 9% of all the land in the Hawaiian islands. Yet, Bernice could see how the native Hawaiian population was shrinking, and her beloved heritage was slipping away to Western influences. 

To fight this, when Bernice died, she decided to leave her entire estate to build a private school system that would incorporate native Hawaiian practices and culture into their teachings. In 1884, she passed away, after being married to Charles for 34 years. 

Charles was utterly heartbroken. Shortly after her death, he wrote, “I know you all loved her, for nobody could know her at all well and not love her. For myself I will only say that I am trying to bear my loss and my loneliness as reasonably as I can looking forward hopefully to the time when I shall find my loved one again.”

Yet, Charles channeled his anguish into action. Charles, who had built up his own wealth during their marriage from his various high-ranked positions, decided to fund the initial school buildings to fulfill Bernice’s vision. 

Charles Breaks Ground On The Museum

After completing the first few school halls and a memorial chapel for his wife, Charles broke ground on the Bishop Museum, which was a place to display the thousands of Hawaiian artifacts that had been in possession of the Kamehameha family. 

Today, the Kamehameha school system has successfully spread throughout the state, teaching 44,000 students annually. In 1884, the value of Bernice’s land was assessed at $474,000. Today, the remaining 365,000 acres are valued at $11 billion. The Bishop Museum is the school’s crowning glory, providing a place for the world to learn about Hawaiian heritage.

Who Haunts the Bishop Museum? 

While Princess Bernice, Charles, and King Kamehameha haven’t been spotted at the Bishop Museum, many believe that other Hawaiian ancestors are tied to the building which houses many important artifacts of Hawaiian culture. 

For example, many native Hawaiians say they are “called” to the museum. One worker remembers hearing a woman chanting in the museum. After asking her why she was chanting, the woman said she had been having dreams where her ancestors were telling her to visit the Bishop Museum. They said they were being neglected and hidden away in the museum. 

The woman had traveled from the Big Island to show that she had heard her ancestors’ calls — and answered them. Then, she asked the worker why that particular room looked so empty. (The last time she had visited, it had been filled with artifacts.) 

The worker explained that the museum had removed the artifacts from that room to restore the room to what it had originally looked like in 1889. The worker assured the woman the artifacts would soon be back on display in another room, which seemed to appease the woman (and her ancestors). 

The Curse of the Heiau

One of the most well-known ghosts of the Bishop Museum had the misfortune of not paying heed to the power of the heiau. 

A heiau was a sacred site where Hawaiians would perform rituals to their gods. There were varying sizes of heiaus, but there was one rule above all else: nothing should ever be removed from a heiau.

Despite the well-known warning, some people didn’t abide by this rule. This included one of the curators of the Bishop Museum. Wanting to recreate a heiau within the museum, to show visitors what one looked like, the curator decided to take lava rocks from a real heiau. 

As you can imagine, this was a big mistake. That night, the mother of a different museum employee had an awful nightmare. She dreamt that the museum was covered in blood. The next morning, she frantically called her son, begging him not to go to work. 

The son said he couldn’t afford to miss work and headed in like any other day. When he arrived, he was told he needed to attend to a leak in the museum’s roof. As he was working on the roof, it started to buckle and then caved under him. The man fell to the ground — striking his head on the very lava stone from the heiau. He was killed instantly. 

Many believe his ghost is the spirit who is often spotted walking around the museum late at night. People also hear screaming from no identifiable source, as well as heavy breathing behind them when no one is there. 

Haunted Honolulu

From haunted museums to ghost-filled palaces, there are plenty of otherworldly presences living in Honolulu. 

If you want a break from the sun and sand and are looking for a unique way to experience Oahu, book a ghost tour with Honolulu Haunts tonight. In the cool night air, you’ll be surprised at what you might encounter. 

Fan of Night at the Museum? Or simply curious to learn about other haunted museums? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to learn about other eerie museums around the US. If you want to read other spectral-heavy sites in Hawaii, read our blog. 

Sources:

• https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/experiences/hawaii/haunted-honolulu-hi
• https://honoluluhaunts.com/
• https://www.ksbe.edu/about-us/about-pauahi/charles-reed-bishop
• https://pauahi.org/our-legacy
• https://www.gohawaii.com/culture/history/king-kamehameha
• https://kareninhonolulu.wordpress.com/category/ghost-in-hawaii/
• https://www.manoaheritagecenter.org/moolelo/kuka%CA%BBo%CA%BBo-heiau/what-are-heiau/
• https://www.hauntedrooms.com/hawaii/oahu/haunted-places