Ep. 4: "A Freaky Tiki" — The Moana Surfrider

Mrs. Millie's Penny Dreadfuls

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Ep. 4: "A Freaky Tiki" — The Moana Surfrider

Mrs. Millie• MAGNOLIA OBSERVER

Jun 09, 2026

Cross-posted by Mrs. Millie's Penny Dreadfuls

"Jane Stanford survived everything. A dead child. A dead husband. Running Stanford University alone for twelve years on personal money. A strychnine poisoning in her own home. She crossed an ocean to get somewhere safe. She did not make it to Japan. This episode is about a murder that was never solved, a kingdom that was stolen and never returned, and a hotel built to make you feel that nothing difficult can reach you here. It is also about a banyan tree that has been standing in the same courtyard since 1904, watching everything, and a woman in Victorian clothing who smells of lilies and cannot find her room because someone turned it into a lobby. Paradise is not safe. It never has been"

- Mrs. Millie• MAGNOLIA OBSERVER

Episode 4: A Freaky Tiki — The Moana Surfrider, Waikiki, Hawaii

In 1905, Jane Stanford crossed the Pacific to escape a poisoning attempt in San Francisco. She checked into the Moana Hotel on February 28th. She was dead by morning. The coroner found strychnine. Nobody was ever charged. The case is still open.

This episode covers the Moana Surfrider from its 1901 opening through a century of guests, soldiers, and unresolved questions. It also covers what the hotel was built on top of: the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the forced abdication of Queen Lili’uokalani, the banning of the Hawaiian language in schools, and the project of turning a sovereign nation into a destination. The land has memory. The banyan tree in the courtyard has been there since 1904 and is not done paying attention.