By Blair Smith, Staff Writer

Every October, students and locals must make their Halloween “game plan.”

Where’s the best candy?

Where are the best decorations?

What costume will I get?

Where should I go for my night of trick-or-treating?

Everyone asking those questions is in luck, because there are some Halloween hotspots on the OBX where kids can get piles of candy and have a spook-tastic Halloween experience.

School Finance officer Ron Cope and his friends in the First Street/Landing neighborhood behind Lowe’s have been creating Halloween fun for over 20 years.

“It’s a neighborhood project,” Cope said. “All the neighbors get together and do costumes and decorate their house.”

Cope likes to decorate by theme each year and tries to do a new theme every Halloween.

“Last year we were ‘Scarbucks’ because Starbucks opened up,” Cope explained. “We were bloody baristas.”

Over the years, Cope has come up with some pretty unique ideas. One year he made a pirate ship for his front yard and used dry ice. He and some friends also dressed up as bloody doctors at a hospital, and also as the Grim Reaper. He wants to keep this year’s decorations a surprise for the yearning trick-or-treaters.

“The best one is where we had these white masks and there were no faces on them. We just walked around and didn’t make a noise or say anything,” Cope said. “People were terrified, even adults!”

According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween candy sales are estimated to reach a whopping $8.4 million, an all-time high in NRF’s Halloween survey history. Cope said he and his neighbors go through at least $100 worth of candy.

Cope explained this Halloween mania as the “Mardi Gras of Halloween,” adding that his area is like the French Quarter — where everyone wants to be.

“They bus kids in from all over,” Cope said. “They even come in from Currituck, Wanchese, Manteo. Sometimes we get so bombarded that you don’t have time to see the costumes because you’re so busy giving out candy that you’re just surrounded by mobs. If you have friends come up with their kids, you don’t even know they’re there.”

With so many people around, the neighborhood also is bombarded by police: “Usually the police block off First Street and they patrol the neighborhood on bikes,” Cope said.

Another hotspot on Halloween night is Martins Point in Kitty Hawk. One of the reasons why is because the neighborhood has a hayride for all the trick-or-treaters and a lot of candy.

Sophomore Parker Melson has been trick-or-treating in Martins Point for almost eight years now.

“They are very creative. I love it down there, one of my best friends lives there, too,” Melson said. “Their candy is always good — they have big chocolate bars! I love all the haunted houses and I love the decorations, too, with all the lights and the pumpkins.”

Sophomore Hayley Miller and her family ride in their decorated golf cart for  trick-or-treating.

“Normally, two days before Halloween we decorate our golf cart and get that all decked out for my brother to go and trick-or-treat with my mom and my dad,” Miller said. “In the past, we (Haley and her sister, Shelby) have done a bonfire at the bottom of our driveway and given out candy. We usually have a lot of trick-or-treaters because of the hayride.”

A few houses down from the Millers lives John Devereux. He has been going all out with his Halloween decorations for around five years. Devereux pulls out all the stops on Halloween night.

“We like to get something new every year, have something a little different,” Devereux said.

Devereux starts decorating his house around the first of October so his Halloween creation can be fun for the kids. Devereux, who owns his own towing business, also has a little fun with his work: While he is in the driver’s seat, a skeleton sits beside him on the passenger seat.

He sees about 60 or 70 little trick-or-treaters and has to buy plenty of treats for them.

“I probably spend about $40 or $50 on Halloween candy,” Devereux said. “It gets expensive, but it’s fun.”

There may be some tricks and treats on Halloween, but the people at these OBX hotspots are always sweet.

What are some of your favorite Halloween memories on the OBX? Share them in the comments below! (your email address will not be printed)

Sophomore Blair Smith can be reached at [email protected].