Trick-or-treaters looking for something different tonight can head to Blythe Landing in Huntersville, where the third annual Boating Safety Haunted Cove runs from 6 to 8 p.m. with a haunted house, a haunted boat dock, trunk-or-treat, music, candy, food and even pirate ships. The free, all-ages event is open to the public.
The Cornelius Police Department announced the details in a Facebook post Friday morning, writing “TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!” as it invited families to the lakeside celebration. According to the Cornelius Police Department, the event is presented by the Joshua Murray Boating, Safety, Education and Awareness Center, organized alongside the police department, Mecklenburg County and the Mecklenburg County ABC Board.
A Center Named for a Fallen Officer
The gathering spot for tonight's festivities carries a somber history. The Joshua Murray Boating Safety and Education Center was dedicated at Blythe Landing in honor of the late Cornelius police officer, according to qcnews.com. Murray died from a massive pulmonary embolism while off duty on December 29, 2021, the station reported.
The station's report notes the center sits inside the old commissary building and includes a classroom used for boating education and safety classes. The local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary chapter also plans to use the space as a communication center, per the same account.
Why Boating Safety Matters on Lake Norman
The push for boater education carries real stakes on North Carolina's waterways. So far in 2026, the state had investigated 26 boating incidents, five of them fatal, resulting in five deaths, with alcohol identified as a factor in three of those incidents, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Blythe Landing itself is a busy hub for boaters on Lake Norman, listed at 15901 NC Highway 73 in Huntersville with six boat ramps and 218 parking spaces for boat trailers, according to Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation.
The Center's Launch
Tonight's gathering marks the third year organizers have paired Halloween fun with safety messaging on the water. A “First Annual Boating Safety & Haunted Cove Event” was first listed for October 18, 2024, according to Complete Wellness Community Services, which tied that inaugural event to the same Joshua Murray Boating, Safety, Education and Awareness Center.
When the center first launched, local first responders marked the occasion publicly. Huntersville Fire wrote on X that it helped honor “Cornelius Officer Joshua Murray's legacy at the launch for the new Boating, Safety, Awareness & Education Center located at Blythe Landing,” adding that its tower truck flew an American flag over the event.
For families heading out tonight, the event offers a free way to mix Halloween traditions with a cause rooted in honoring a local officer and promoting safer boating on Lake Norman.
