Illuminated jack-o’-lantern sitting on sandy ground amid dry coastal plants and soft fog, evoking a spooky evening walk or yard display near the Carolina shore.

Halloween Events on the Carolina Coast: Outer Banks to the Lowcountry (2026)

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Shipwrecks, pirates, haunted beaches, and centuries-old ghost stories. Nothing beats Halloween on the Carolina coast. This year, skip the usual neighborhood trick-or-treating and generic haunted-house lines. Instead, trade them for moonlit dunes, pirate jamborees, waterfront costume crawls, and spine-tingling coastal lore stretching from the Outer Banks to the Lowcountry. Here’s your 2026 guide to making the season truly unforgettable by the sea.

Research compiled from town/chamber calendars, tourism boards, and local event listings. Dates and details are subject to change. Always confirm with the official event source before publishing or traveling. Event info is current as of September 2026.

Orange jack-o’-lantern balloon, white ghost balloon, and black “Happy Halloween” balloon tied to a red-brick column, ready for a coastal Carolina Halloween porch or festival entrance.

NORTH CAROLINA

Outer Banks (Corolla to Ocracoke)

  • Halloween Island: Manteo, Thursdays–Saturdays throughout October (kickoff Oct. 1–3). 13 themed pop-up bars, 13 “spooky shops,” and a passport/stamp challenge benefiting local charities via the Outer Banks Community Foundation.
  • Ghostly Gallies: Kill Devil Hills, Oct. 10–31. Sister event to Halloween Island: themed pop-up bars along the beach road.
  • Halloween International Film Festival: Roanoke Island Festival Park theater in Downtown Manteo, North Carolina, Oct. 23–24. Independent horror and Halloween-themed shorts/features, now in its 7th year.
  • 13th Annual Outer Banks Halloween Parade of Costumes: Aviation Park in Kill Devil Hills, NC. A longtime costume parade tradition, free and open to all ages. Date & Time: Sunday, October 25, 2026
  • Dare to Scare 5K & Sweet Treat Fun Run: Coastal Studies Institute (373 Bowsertown Road, Wanchese, NC 27981), Oct. 24. 5K race plus a kid-friendly fun run with festive snacks.
  • Ocracoke Pirate Jamboree: Ocracoke Island. Multi-day, family-friendly pirate encampment hosted by Blackbeard’s Pirate Crew.
  • Pumpkin Patch Saturdays: throughout October at local farms, hayrides to the pumpkin patch.
  • Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum: Hatteras. Daily family scavenger hunt with a nautical/ghost-ship theme, running throughout the season.
  • OBX Ghost Tours: Guided ghost-hunt walking tours, available throughout October.
Trio of carved pumpkins on a wooden table — a smiling orange one topped with autumn leaves, a pale open-mouthed jack-o’-lantern, and a classic toothy orange pumpkin — perfect for a Carolina coast fall display or pumpkin-carving party.

Crystal Coast (Beaufort, Morehead City, Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, Newport, Cape Carteret)

  • Newport Halloween Hootenanny: Newport, held on Halloween night. Community-wide celebration with games, food, and candy.
  • Dirt Nap Fest: Mill Whistle Brewing, Beaufort, held just after Halloween. Car show, vendors, and a spooky/surprising atmosphere.
  • Halloween Soirée at NC Beaufort Bar: Beaufort. Dress-up evening event with entertainment.
  • Town of Cape Carteret Fall Festival: Free, family-friendly fall event with a Halloween-adjacent theme.
  • Emerald Isle Car Show: family-friendly fall event (not Halloween-specific, but timed to the season).
  • Various trick-or-treat and trunk-or-treat events across Morehead City, Atlantic Beach, and Emerald Isle: check the Crystal Coast events calendar closer to the date, as neighborhood-level events are typically announced in early October.

Wilmington

  • Wilmington Halloween Bar Crawl: Citywide, Oct. 31, 3–10 PM. Ticketed, multi-venue bar crawl with a costume contest.
  • Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington: A walking tour of the city’s most actively haunted homes and cemeteries runs throughout the season.
  • Poplar Grove Plantation Ghost Hunt: Sept. 12 and other fall dates. Overnight paranormal investigation with guided history.
  • Monster Dash 5K: Carolina Beach State Park, Oct. 17. Halloween-themed trail race for all ages.
  • Zombie Run 5K and Monster Mile: Oct. 18. Costumed “zombie dodge” 5K plus a family-friendly Monster Mile with trick-or-treating.
  • Eek! Week Festival: Children’s Museum of Wilmington, Oct. 31, 9 AM–12 PM. Costumes and Halloween-themed activities for kids.
  • Maiden’s Park Halloween Festival: Family-friendly pumpkin carving, costume contests, and games.
  • Torment Haunted Laser Tag: Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park, running throughout October.
  • Wilmington Ghosts tours: year-round ghost tour operator with expanded fall offerings.

Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach

  • Farewell Summer Jazz Funeral: Kure Beach‘s Oceanfront Park and Pavilion, held each fall. New Orleans-style costumed procession with a live brass band, marking the symbolic “end of summer.”
  • Halloween-themed Story Time by the Sea: Kure Beach. Costumed storytelling event for kids.
  • Carolina Beach Dive Bar and History Tour/Scavenger Hunt: recurring fall events with a spooky-history bent.
  • Halloween Eve Bar Crawl: Wilmington/Carolina Beach area, Oct. 30. Trick-or-treat and fall market events at
  • Kure Beach’s Ocean Front Park: check the town calendar for exact October dates.
Colorful assortment of orange, green, yellow, and speckled pumpkins and gourds piled high, the kind of harvest display you’d find at a coastal Carolina farmers market or Halloween farm stand.

Brunswick Islands

  • Oak Island Spooktacular Halloween: Middleton Park Complex, Oak Island. Free outdoor concert, carnival games, trick-or-treat, costume contest, and fall market.
  • Egg-stra Spooky Egg Hunt: Bill Smith Park, Oak Island. Flashlight egg hunt with candy-filled orange-and-black eggs.
  • Southport Fall Market: “It’s Spooky Season”: Waterfront Park, Southport, Oct. 28.
  • Halloween Ghost Ship: NC Maritime Museum at Southport (historically held in late October). Pirate-guided storytelling, cannon demonstration, and Halloween crafts: confirm current-year scheduling directly with the museum.
  • NC Oyster Festival: Ocean Isle Beach, mid-October (2026: Oct. 17–18 per regional listings). Not Halloween-specific, but the coast’s biggest fall draw in this stretch, timed to coincide with the Halloween season.
  • Trunk or Treat: Town Center Park, Ocean Isle Beach, late October (often on Halloween itself), 5:00–6:30 PM.
  • NC Festival by the Sea: Holden Beach, Oct. 24–25. Arts & crafts festival, not Halloween-themed, but a major fall draw in the same window.
  • No dedicated Sunset Beach Halloween event was found in current listings: residents/visitors typically travel to Ocean Isle Beach or Holden Beach for organized Halloween activities.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Myrtle Beach & North Myrtle Beach (Grand Strand)

  • Fright Nights: Plyler Park, Myrtle Beach, Fridays–Sundays, Oct. 2–Nov. 1. Free, family-friendly weekend series: live bands and roaming performers (Fridays), stage shows (Saturdays), and a foam party (Sundays). Wraps up with a Day of the Dead celebration on Nov. 1.
  • Halloween BOOnanza: North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex, Oct. 24, 5–8 PM. Magic shows, marshmallow roasting, games, inflatables, and trick-or-treating.
  • Halloween on the MarshWalk: Murrells Inlet, Oct. 31. The MarshWalk’s longest-running event: costume contests, trick-or-treating, and food/drink specials at all eight MarshWalk restaurants.
  • Myrtle Beach Halloween Bar Crawl: citywide, Oct. 31, 3–9 PM.
  • Myrtle Beach Jeep Jam: Oct. 30–Nov. 1. Not Halloween-themed, but it overlaps the weekend with a Sunrise Beach Crawl and nightly parties.
  • Conway Ghost Walk: Conway (just inland from Myrtle Beach), Oct. 15–18. Guided storytelling tour through downtown; part of “Halloween, SC,” Conway’s month-long seasonal rebrand.
  • Southern Palmetto Farms Spooktacular Fall Fun: Aynor, Oct. 25–26. Not-so-scary costume contests, trick-or-treating, and fall activities.
Black letter board reading “TRICK OR TREAT” surrounded by small white, yellow, and green pumpkins against a plain background, ideal for a Carolina coast front-door Halloween greeting.

Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Georgetown (Hammock Coast)

  • Grand Strand Witches’ Night: Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, Oct. 17. Halloween crawl benefiting the Children’s Recovery Center.
  • Hopsewee Hallows: Hopsewee Plantation, ~10 miles south of Georgetown, Oct. 13, 20, and 27, 5:30–7 PM. Spooky storytelling by an author/historian, followed by cider and pumpkin cookies in the Tea Room.
  • Harvest Home Weekend: Brookgreen Gardens, Oct. 3–4. Pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating, scarecrow building, and a hay maze: family fall fun rather than a scare-focused event.
  • Cypress River Halloween Paint Event: Pawleys Island area, seasonal ticketed paint night.

Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Folly Beach, Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms

  • Mermaids & Mateys Festival: Folly Beach, Oct. 3. Community festival with pirate/mermaid costumes, local arts and food vendors, live music, and a costume contest, described by organizers as having “a splash of spooky fall fun.”
  • Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch: Boone Hall Plantation, Mount Pleasant, running for nearly a month through October. Halloween tractor tours, corn mazes, petting zoos, pony rides, and a pumpkin patch.
  • Charleston Halloween Bar Crawl: Multiple dates in late October, citywide.
  • The Fright Crawl: Charleston Halloween Weekend Pass combines four separate bar crawls into one pass.
  • Charleston’s Terrors Ghost Tour: A walking tour through 300+ years of the city’s darker history, running nightly through the season.
  • USS Yorktown Ghost Tours: Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant. After-hours access to normally closed areas of the ship, including the flight deck.
  • Sandlapper Water Tours Ghost Tour: Harbor-based ghost tour by boat.
  • Southern Screams Haunted Attraction: “MACABRE”: Holy City Brewing area. Charleston’s flagship annual haunted house.
  • Spirited Halloween Ball: South Seas Oasis, downtown Charleston, Halloween night, 7–11 PM.
  • Scarecrows on the Square: Family-friendly scarecrow-building community event.
  • Taste of Sullivan’s Island: The Island Club, Sullivan’s Island, Oct. 17 (fundraiser, not Halloween-themed, but falls in the same fall window).
Classic carved pumpkin glowing warmly on a bed of autumn leaves and dirt at night, capturing the quiet outdoor Halloween atmosphere common along the Carolina coast.

The Lowcountry Beaches

  • Beaufort Halloween Celebration: Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, Beaufort, 10 AM start, trick-or-treating at 12:30 PM.
  • Halloween on the Harbour: Harbour Town, Sea Pines, Hilton Head, Oct. 30 or 31 (varies by year), afternoon. Trick-or-treating, games, and a costume fashion show on the Liberty Oak stage.
  • Trick or Treat Trail: Providence Presbyterian Church, Hilton Head, late October. Large community event: candy stations, cookout, glow room, obstacle course, and inflatables.
  • Coligny Plaza Trick-or-Treat & Costume Contest: Coligny Center Stage, Hilton Head, late October evening.
  • Island Rec Center Pumpkin Patch: Hilton Head, late October.
  • Sandbox Children’s Museum “Spookalicious” Halloween Celebration: Hilton Head, Oct. 31. Pumpkin patch, potion-making, and a costume contest.
  • Tanger Outlets Halloween Harvest & Trick or Treat: Bluffton, late October afternoon.
  • Bluffton Spooktacular: Evolved from National Night Out; a community event with first responders, trunk-or-treat, and a DJ.
  • World Famous (Oyster Bar) Halloween Party: All-day “carnival of the bizarre” with costume contests, a Hilton Head institution.
  • Hilton Head Humane Pet Adoption Halloween Party: Costume contest for pets and owners.

Whether you’re chasing pop-up bars on Halloween Island, racing through a costumed 5K, or simply watching the kids trick-or-treat along a marsh walk, the Carolina coast delivers autumn magic with a salty breeze. Pack your costume, confirm those final dates, and enjoy a season of coastal hauntings and harvest fun from Corolla to Hilton Head.

Halloween is just one stop on the Carolina coast’s year-round calendar of festivals and events. Whether you’re chasing oyster festivals in the spring, fireworks in July, or holiday flotillas in December, our full Carolina Coast Festival & Events Guide rounds up everything worth planning a trip around, month by month, from the Outer Banks to the Lowcountry.

For more Carolina vacation area guides and Carolina coastal travel inspiration, dive deeper into explorecarolinabeaches.com and our Festival Guides.

Dimly lit red-hued Halloween table set with a glowing jack-o’-lantern, candelabra, face-printed plates, spiderweb accents, and spooky glassware — a festive coastal Carolina dinner party ready for guests.

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