The legend says the night marchers are normal-size warriors, dressed for battle, carrying spears, clubs, and some are beating war drums and blowing tones from conch shells, to announce the advancing of their march.
According to the myth, they are suspended in air; their feet do not touch water or ground as they traverse through the night, and they leave no evidence of their visitations.
Anyone living along their path may hear chanting, sounds of blown conch shell tones, and marching noises in the night.
Ancient Hawaiian beliefs state that any mortal looking upon or being seen in defiance toward the marchers will die violently.
Some people maintain that if the mortal lies motionless, face down on the ground, they are showing proper respect, fear, and deference to the night marchers, and they will be spared.
In ancient Hawaiian lore, the laws declared body parts of a King or Chief to be sacred, and not to be seen by a mortal.
The punishment for looking at these parts is always instant death, usually by bolts of intense light and flaming heat originating from several of the warrior's eyes aimed toward the mortal.