DR. GLEN GRANT - HAWAIʻI’S GHOST MAN
909 Words
DR. GLEN GRANT - HAWAIʻI’S GHOST MAN
DR. GLEN GRANT WAS from Los Angeles, California. His father, Cliff Grant, worked on special effects for many famous Hollywood films. Dr. Grant smiled when telling me about his dad and times when he and his siblings were allowed to play with the flying monkey masks used in the Wizard of Oz. Dr. Grant proudly displayed a miniature cannon used in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and talked about his brother Robby the Robot from the film The f*******n Planet, who’d make cameos in other science fiction productions.
Dr. Grant received his master’s in education from the University of Hawaiʻi and a doctorate in American studies. He taught at UH and the Hawaiʻi Tokai International University, where he also served as vice chancellor.
Dr. Grant collected Hawaiian and Asian ghost stories and took people on ghost tours. His company was called Chicken Skin, which is Hawaiian pidgin, or local slang, for goose bumps. He wrote several books, including The Obake Files, and had a weekly radio show, Chicken Skin Radio.
Because of Dr. Grant’s passion for Hawaiʻi’s supernatural stories, people called him the Obake man. Obake is Japanese slang for ghost. He opened a coffee shop, the Haunt, where he began his tours. But while Dr. Grant took people on bus tours to haunted areas or guided them through graveyards in the middle of the night, he’d be the first to admit that he was the world’s biggest chicken and he hated when people on his tour would see something behind him.
He’d see the group’s eyes widen and wait for him to finish his story.
One would point behind him. “Dr. Grant, what’s that?”
Dr. Grant dreaded turning around, and if something was there, he’d be the first to run for their bus.
Dr. Grant passed from cancer. His business partner, Jill, experienced a lot of challenges. I helped her with the Haunt and was honored to host Mōʻiliʻili’s annual storytelling night, which Dr. Grant normally did.
Jill closed the Haunt after a falling-out with associates, and others registered the Chicken Skin business name.
Jill, the ghost hunters, and I miss Dr. Grant. We conducted a séance but got nothing. We still hope he is at peace.
DR. GRANT AND THE GRAVEYARD
Inspired by a true story
On a clear night, Dr. Grant took a few people to a graveyard. As the moon emerged from the clouds, a shimmering, elongated apparition drifted between the graves. Everyone screamed, piled into their car, and sped to town.
They calmed down and talked about how something seemed off about what they’d seen. They returned to the graveyard, found the shimmering form, and approached. It was water from a sprinkler, reflecting the streetlights or moon.
DR. GRANT, THE GHOST HUNTERS, AND I
Based on true events
The coffee shop’s creaking door was something from a haunted house. It announced my arrival to people at the tables on the left, while others pursued the bookshelves on my right. A posted menu advertised drinks, snacks, and this Saturday’s dinner and a movie. Beside it, Dr. Glen Grant leaned on the countertop, waved to me, and resumed listening to his customer.
I closed the door as the customer ended his story.
Dr. Grant stood. “See, what I’d like to do is make a group. A ghost hunter society people and businesses could call to investigate their disturbances.”
I approached. “If you create such a group, I’ll be the first to sign up."
He smiled. “Neat.”
We talked, and he was impressed I was a magician with a background in film, a member of the American Society for Psychical Research, and that I conducted my own investigations.
I became a regular on his radio show, where he introduced me as the embodiment of the Obake Files. Obake is Japanese slang for ghost.
We formed the Hawaiʻi Ghost Hunters Society and helped residents and businesses with their paranormal problems. The Society unofficially met at Dr. Grant’s Haunt during its Saturday-night dinner-and-a-movie event.
Dr. Grant had others do his bus tours, so we’d watch the tour leave, discuss our next investigation over dinner, and enjoy an old movie. We had about two dozen members. I ensured some were skeptics, but toward the end, everyone had a few unexplainable incidents.
During our official society meetings, Dr. Grant briefed us about our case and included the location’s history. He joined us a couple of times but avoided fieldwork.
When Dr. Grant passed from cancer, we had a few cases, but things were difficult because people couldn’t contact us, and we spent a lot of time researching locations. The Society was disbanded.
Dr. Grant once asked if I’d be interested in doing tours for him. I was honored but politely declined, and he understood that someone needed to investigate Hawaiʻi’s paranormal stories and experiences.
DR. GRANT AND THE PALI
Inspired by a true story
It had been a while since Dr. Grant did his Pali Highway bus tour, but he soldiered on with his stories. As the bus pulled onto Pali Road, Dr. Grant’s guests were leaning forward in their seats, listening to his story.
Banging ran across the top of the bus.
Dr. Grant screamed and dove into his front seat.
The banging was low-hanging vines thumping along the bus.
- Writer
