Faceless Woman of Wai'alae - Island of Oahu - Honolulu, Hawaii

There is a legend in Hawaii of spirits of the dead or demons that are shape-shifters in that they can lure victims in close by taking on the form of a human.  This legend carries over mostly from Japan where fox or badger like demons transform themselves into humans that are faceless.  These demons are commonly known as noppera-bō or sometimes referred to as mujina due to their badger like alter form.

This painting by Edwin Ushiro depicts a noppera-bo or mujina

In an area of the island of Oahu known as Kahala, there have been reports of noppera-bō centered around the site that was formerly the old Wai'alae Drive-In Theater on Wai'alae Avenue.  In the early 1980s, a woman was using the restroom at the theatre an saw a girl with long red hair standing at the mirror combing her hair.  However, when the girl turned around she had no face!  The woman was heard screaming in terror and was found on the bathroom floor writhing frantically having some sort of psychotic episode.  She was hospitalized and later had to under go psychiatric treatment because of her ordeal with the noppera-bō.

The Wai'alae Drive-In Theatre in a dilapidated state prior to being torn down in the 1980s

The Wai'alae Drive-In Theatre building where a woman encountered a faceless girl in the restroom

The drive-in was built next to the old Kahala Cemetery and it is believed that a spirit emerged from there and manifested itself as a noppera-bō or mujina.  The drive-in was torn down in the late 1980s and replaced with housing and storage facilities, however sightings of the noppera-bō have been still seen around the area including the nearby Kahala Mall.  For some reason the sightings mostly occur in restrooms.  Perhaps because this is a place where the noppera-bō can make close contact with it's intended victims.  So if you are ever on Wai'alae Street in the Kahala area, you may want to avoid using the restrooms!

What a noppera-bo or mujina may look like if you should happen to encounter one

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