Halloween. Every time I hear that word, the first thing I instantly think of is, “This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!” Yes, I love the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s one of my favorites.

In a way, I’m glad I live on an island in the middle of nowhere; the chances of my Christmas being ruined by some creepy skeleton is slimmer than those mainlanders. Though I don’t know what it is about Hawaii. Halloween is not a big part of the culture. It’s an up with the sun down with the sun community. My street come Halloween is pretty dull. Finding places to have a spooky night can be tough. Lucky for my family and me, we know the best neighborhood on the windward side of Oahu for a classic Halloween experience.

Kaimalino is a neighborhood just down the beach from our house, a ten-minute drive. Driving into the dead end neighborhood, a massive tree looms over the street, throwing shadows every direction; it’s the first creepy welcome sign.

You’ll see every house decked out for the occasion. Spider webs draped over doors, tombstones with dead trying to dig their way out of their graves, pumpkin patches. It’s insanity.

One house in particular goes all the way for this special holiday; they turn their three-car garage into a haunted house. Not only is the haunted house itself frightening, a cauldron of ono candies can be found if you finish the haunted house in one piece. (Ono in Hawaii means tasty)

Another one of my favorites can be found on a dead end. Not scary enough? He projects clips from scary movies onto his house, everything ranging from Scream to A Winnie the Pooh Halloween. Scattered across his yard is a cemetery. The graves have been recently dug up though. Bodies litter the yard. As you walk towards the candy bucket the man has left out, your heart starts beating a little faster. Spiders dangle from the roof. You walk across the lanai towards the bucket, your heart is pounding. The bucket of candy is placed carefully on the lap of a rotting body. Gross to think your candy could have possibly touched the infected body of a dead person. As you reach to grab that purple box of Nerds, a hand flies out to grab yours. The seemingly lifeless body screams. You scream. As you rush out as quickly as you can, you hear a man laughing. A terrifying encounter indeed.

As you rush from one house to another, notice the adults. They mingle with each other, and walk with their kids, wine glass in hand. It’s a relaxed night in that sense. A variety of characters can be seen: witches, wizards, hippies, hobbits, princesses, super heroes, zombies, vampires, you name it; it has been seen in Kaimalino.

One of my other favorite homes to visit is the little old lady on the corner. Her house is hidden my shadows; walking up the long driveway, you’ll find her sitting alone in a chair, a cauldron of orange something smoking slightly. She could totally pass for a witch. “Try some of my Spider Goo” She’ll whisper. Sheʻll pour you a cup of the steaming orange substance. Don’t worry. It’s not poisoned, but actually really good. It sizzles on your tongue the way soda would, but has a nice sweet zing at the end. I have my ideas of what the secret ingredient is, though I’ve never been able to guess it. 

Kaimalino seems to go on forever. In one night of trick or treating, one could rack up enough candy to feed an army. The bucket you carry will seem heavier than an elephant. Whenever I go with friends, we end our night with a massive trading of the treats. A Hawaiian Halloween certainly isn’t as scary as Linda Vista Hospital or Universal Studio’s Fright Night, but we do have awesome beaches to recuperate on the following morning.

Austin Weihmiller is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program.

Photo courtesy and copyright Jessie Voigts