Sep 16, 2024

Halloween on the Outer Banks

Frights, Sights, and Halloween Delights!

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If you know us, you know that fall is perhaps one of our favorite times of the year. We love everything it has to offer from the crisp, cool nights to the fun Halloween frights. If you’re lucky enough to find yourself on the Outer Banks during this most spooky of seasons, be ready for a fang-tastic time! No matter if you’re the Hallow-queen of scares or just looking for a gourd time, we’ve rounded up the best tricks and treats to satisfy all the ghouls and goblins in your group this Halloween.

Haunted History Fall Food & Drink Family-Friendly Fun Where to Trick-or-Treat Adult Scares
outer banks halloween legends
kill devil hills shipwreck
The Irma in Kill Devil Hills.

Explore Our Haunted History

As you venture to the Graveyard of the Atlantic this Halloween, we invite you to learn more about our haunted history. Witness why we are cryptically coined for the shipwrecks that meet our shores at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras. Or take a creepy crawl through time on an OBX Ghost Tour in Manteo.

For a bit of fright reading, we recommend checking out our blog Haunted Outer Banks: Spooky OBX Ghost Stories. Learn all about our spine-chilling past, including several ghosts that reportedly make an eerie appearance every so often today!

Eat, Drink, and Be Scary

While we can’t boast brilliant fall foliage tours like our neighbors to the north, we like to think that the Outer Banks offers a great alternative. Every year when October hits, our local restaurants break out their fall menus. From savory autumnal salads at TRIO Restaurant & Market to bloody pumpkin-spiced donuts at Duck Donuts, delicious seasonal eats can be found all across OBX. — And we’re here to try every single one of them! Check out our Fall Food Tour blog for our guide to eating across the banks this season.

Ghostly Gallies of the Outer Banks is coming to your favorite OBX restaurant or bar from October 17th through October 31st. Indluge in ghoulish drinks, fantastic food, and spooky events for all brave souls who dare to enter. Be on the lookout for Michael Meyers and Ghostface from Scream – they may lurk in the shadows of one of the Ghostly Gallies.

If you’re looking for some boo-ze, we have a few spots in mind. Head over to Swells’a Brewing to try their locally sourced pumpkin ale, “Gourd To Epic Barrel Aged.” And don’t miss out on Outer Banks Brewing Station’s Pubkin Patch Boo’s & Brews Pumpkin Carving Party on Friday, October 11, 2024, from 6 pm to 9 pm. $12 will get you a pumpkin and a house brew, and live music will be available in the backyard from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

For another hauntingly good time, head to Manteo for the Shipwreck Series Release Party at Outer Banks Distilling on Saturday, October 12th at 10 am. The latest release honors the Ghost Ship Carroll A. Deering, a commercial schooner launched in 1919. It ran aground without its crew off of Cape Hatteras in 1921. What happened to its crew remains a mystery. Can’t make it to the event? Be sure to pick up a bottle of Kill Devil Pecan Rum – it’ll get you into the Halloween spirit! 

Downtown Manteo is transformed into Halloween Island for the spooky season. For 13 nights in October, 13 venues in Downtown Manteo are serving up the most bewitching brews and sinister sips. From October 19, 2024, through Halloween, explore Manteo’s walkable downtown as you enjoy a Halloween-themed bar crawl.

Halloween at Island Farm

Family #SquadGhouls

During Halloween, family-friendly fun can always be found! Island Farm on Roanoke Island is an incredibly educational and entertaining experience. A living history site that invites visitors to experience early life on the Outer Banks, this working farm truly comes alive with its autumn harvest. Fall on the farm brings fun events that include games, crafts, cider, a pumpkin patch, and much more.

pumpkin carving

Get into the spirit of Halloween by carving a pumpkin! This year, the Elizabethan Gardens is hosting A Night of 1587 Pumpkins. Because the English colonists came to Roanoke Island in 1587, the Elizabethan Gardens will attempt to light 1,587 jack-o-lanterns on Saturday, October 26th. Help them reach their number of carved pumpkins by heading there on October 24th or October 25th from 10 am to 4 pm to carve a free pumpkin to add to the pumpkin path.

Duck Trunk or Treat

The Town of Duck is hosting their first-ever Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, October 19, 2024, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Town Hall near Duck Town Park. Stick around after the event to watch a Movie on the Green – Hook will be shown.

The Outer Banks Halloween Parade of Costumes happens each year on the Sunday afternoon before Halloween at Aviation Park in Kill Devil Hills. This year’s event will be on October 27th starting at 2:00 pm. The event includes trick-or-treating, photo props, costume contests, and a costume parade. This event is free and family-friendly.

 

Halloween on first street

Trick or Treat on the OBX

If you’re seeking the best trick-or-treating route on October 31st, take a stroll down 1st Street in Kill Devil Hills. But make sure to park at the nearby Food Lion or Publix as the streets will be brimming with ghouls, goblins, and ghosts. Enjoy a night of silly sights and delightful frights as the neighborhood dresses up and decorates the homes for an evening of candy-fueled fun.

Haunted Whalehead

If you’re further north on the Outer Banks, head to Historic Corolla Park for the annual Creepy in Corolla Trunk or Treat celebration. On Halloween night, costumed children can trick-or-treat on the grounds of the – allegedly haunted – Whalehead mansion. The event begins at 6:00 pm and concludes at 8:00 pm.

Downtown Manteo also hosts a trick-or-treat event on Halloween night. Participating businesses will hand out candy to costumed children.

Creep It Real With These Adult Frights

To the adults in the crew looking for a night of true frights, beware. We have more than a few options to choose from. But know that you go at your own risk… The woods come alive on Fridays and Saturdays in October at Wanchese’s Wicked Woods. Or head to Currituck to experience a new set of scares at the Backwoods Haunt where live actors & multiple scare zones will bring your nightmares to life. And for thrills in the light of day, make sure to check out the Outer Banks’ very own OB-Xscape Room!

island farm graveyard
Courtney Wisecarver

Courtney Wisecarver

Sep 16, 2024

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