Beaufort's Halloween Is Two Nights on Ann Street, and the Second One Is by Lantern Light

On Saturday, October 31, 2026, the Town of Beaufort will close Ann Street to cars and golf carts from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. The closure runs from 507 Ann Street east to Live Oak Street so trick-or-treaters can walk in the roadway. The next evening, about a block west, guides with lanterns will lead small groups through the Old Burying Ground in the 400 block of Ann Street.

So Halloween in Beaufort runs two evenings on one street. Saturday is for costumes and candy. Sunday falls inside Allhallowtide, which the Beaufort Historical Association describes as "the three-day period dedicated to remembering the departed." This year the schedule also has a few changes worth knowing before the weekend arrives.

Saturday starts an hour earlier this year

Last year's closure was different. On Friday, October 31, 2025, the Beaufort Police Department closed the 500 through 800 blocks of Ann Street starting at 5:00 p.m. The 2026 closure starts at 4:00 and ends at a fixed 9:00 p.m. That earlier start suits families with younger children. Halloween also falls on a Saturday this year, so there's no school night to plan around.

Access to the DSS parking lots stays open during the closure. Last year the town also asked visitors to park nearby, wear reflective gear and keep pets leashed and calm around the crowds.

The town handles the street closure, but the decorating and candy come from the people who live on Ann Street. The 2025 listing said so directly: "Ann Street festivities are not a Town-sponsored or coordinated event. Participation is up to each resident." The same listing said "hundreds of trick-or-treaters fill the historic street" each year and that residents "go all-out, transforming their homes into haunted masterpieces." The 2026 page doesn't repeat that wording. It does describe the closure the same way, as a way "to provide a safer environment for trick-or-treaters."

Sunday moves one block west

The Beaufort Historical Association runs Voices of the Past on Sunday, November 1. Tours leave at 4:00, 4:30, 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. and last about 45 minutes. Each group gets a Caretaker Guide who leads the way along the cemetery's winding paths by lantern light. Actors appear at selected gravesites, and this year's cast includes new characters.

The tour is small. Each time slot takes 25 people, so the whole evening holds 100 guests. Tickets cost $24 for adults and $12 for ages 6 to 12, and they're sold until they run out. You can buy them online, by calling 252.728.5225, or at the Old Beaufort Shop on the grounds of the Beaufort Historic Site at 130 Turner Street. Physical tickets can be picked up at the Welcome Center before the event or on the day.

The Beaufort Historical Association's event page is clear about the tone:

"This tour and the Middle Lane event honor the past and are not intended to frighten or evoke fear."

That makes Sunday a good fit for the people who sat out Saturday, including grandparents, older kids past the candy stage, and anyone who prefers a quiet walk with a guide to a crowded street.

Who rests in the 400 block

You don't need a ticket to visit the Old Burying Ground. It's open all year, and you can pick up a self-guided map at the gate or at the Welcome Center on Turner Street. The historical association also runs guided tours year-round, weather permitting. It asks for 24 hours' notice, and the guides wear period dress. Voices of the Past is the one evening a year when the tour runs at dusk with lanterns and actors.

The cemetery dates to the early 1700s. It was used for Anglican services in the nearby St. John's Parish, and Nathaniel Taylor deeded it to the town in 1731, after the first survey of Beaufort. The state's historical marker for the Old Burying Ground places it between Ann, Broad and Craven Streets.

The markers themselves say something about early coastal life. Many graves are marked with shell, brick or wooden slabs, because stone headstones had to come from far away on wooden sailing ships. Others have brick-covered vaults that protected them from high water and wild animals. An archaeological survey in 1992 found that the northwest corner, which looks empty, is actually the oldest part of the cemetery and holds many unmarked graves from the early 18th century.

Three burials draw the most attention:

• Captain Otway Burns, a privateer during the War of 1812.
• The crew of the schooner Crissie Wright, who died when their ship ran aground at Shackleford Banks during a January storm in 1886. They share a common grave.
• The child buried in a keg of rum, who died at sea. The historical association lists this grave among its notable burials. Coastal Review reported in October 2024 that no archival records confirm who the girl was or that the story happened, so it's best treated as a legend.

From the cemetery gate to Middle Lane

Voices of the Past isn't the only thing happening on Sunday afternoon. From 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., Middle Lane hosts a free Día de los Muertos festival. The Town of Beaufort's listing promises authentic food and drinks, live Latin music and dancing, children's crafts, a display of ofrendas honoring loved ones who have died, and a free screening of Coco. Beaufort Picture Show, the local nonprofit sponsoring the festival, lists the Coco screening on its own site. The historical association says the businesses of Middle Lane host the festival.

The festival is still fairly new. In the October 14, 2024 Board of Commissioners meeting packet, the festival's event application called that year's festival a "second-year event."

The timing works well with the tour. The festival runs four hours, so even the 5:30 tour lets out with plenty of evening left. The 4:00 tour ends around 4:45, which leaves time for food, music and the ofrendas before dark. Craven Street, one of the three streets around the cemetery, also leads toward Middle Lane. The town's downtown parking guide lists a lot that connects the 100 block of Craven Street to Middle Lane.

Put together, the two days look like this:

1. Saturday, October 31, 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Trick-or-treating on Ann Street, with the road closed from 507 Ann east to Live Oak Street.
2. Sunday, November 1, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Día de los Muertos on Middle Lane.
3. Sunday, November 1, tours at 4:00, 4:30, 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. Voices of the Past in the Old Burying Ground, 400 block of Ann Street.

The weeks around the weekend

The Ann Street weekend is the center of a busy few weeks in downtown Beaufort. The calendar starts a week earlier on Turner Street and wraps up on the waterfront the following Friday.

The Fall Party carries the historic site's America 250 theme. The menu from Beaufort Grocery Company is meant to reflect flavors from around the world and the country's diverse heritage. At the NC Maritime Museum on October 29, Christine Brin will look at sea monster legends. The museum notes that these stories are told almost everywhere, even by people who live far from the sea. The museum's November talks keep going in that historical direction, with a November 19 session on North Carolina privateers and letters of marque. It's a good follow-up after standing at Otway Burns's grave.

The stretch ends on Friday, November 6, the first Friday of the month. Rock the Docks brings free, family-friendly live music to John Newton Park and the western parking lot at 500 Front Street from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The town reminds guests to bring their own chair or blanket. It's the last First Friday of the fall series, which returns in April and May 2027.

If you live a few blocks from Ann Street, you know the street's calendar is part of what makes these historic-district homes what they are. When you're ready to see how that history shows up in your own home's value, NC Coastal Team can walk you through it. Get Your Home Value.