Irene Tanaka remembers her father telling her about the Kappa, a Japanese river demon known as a prankster but capable of attacking or drowning people, and what to do if she encountered one of the child-size creatures.
Like many folk tales, the Kappa legend is meant to scare children and keep them safe.
"It was just to keep me away from dangerous currents and the water," she said.
The 38-year-old Mililani resident spun her own tale of the Kappa for her entry in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s annual Halloween Fiction Contest, winning the $200 first prize.
Tanaka said she also drew inspiration from her husband’s childhood stories about playing with his brother in a canal by their Hawaii Kai home, and from the ghost tale of the Green Lady of Wahiawa who snatches children to replace her own missing child.
"So I kind of just put the three together, and I came up with the story," she said.
One of the contest judges loved "the clever twist at the end, which made the story that much more frightening."
Another judge was drawn in by the local theme, believable characters and "the whole concept of Kappa."
"This is a story that would be really great to read around a camp fire in a spooky, whispered voice. It left me wanting to know more about Kappa — is this is a real, Japanese cultural concept? I’ve heard of obake but not Kappa. The story took me someplace I’ve never been."
This is the third time Tanaka, a ninth-grade English teacher at McKinley High School, entered the contest. She said she is a fan of the late Glen Grant, the Hawaii historian and storyteller of supernatural folklore.
"Now I can tell my students this is why you write. You must be able to write to tell a story," she said.
There were 57 entries in the Halloween Fiction Contest.
A past winner, Donald Carreira Ching, captured the second-place prize of $100 with his entry "Down by the River," about young boys who encounter an otherworldly hunter near a river.
A $50 third-place prize was awarded to Milton Miyasato for "Tales From a Tour Guide," and the $25 fourth prize went to Mary Waialeale’s "Henry Orbitz." Both are posted at staradvertiser.com.
Other finalists were Geeta Isardas, Brandi Reyes, Chelsea Kimura, Susan Wright, Shelly Brown, Joey Char, Jacob McMillan, Joseph Han, Alika Young, Jared Lum and Susan Baecker Grant.
Winners of the student division were spotlighted in Saturday’s Today section. They are Jennifer Kimura, a sixth-grader at Niu Valley Middle School who took top honors in her age group with a spooky story about a trip to the cemetery, and Chrissy Hori, a fourth-grader at Ma‘ema‘e who won the elementary school division with her eerie tale of a teen who dies on Halloween.
They each won $50.
