Words: Ellen Richardson

It’s that time of year again: the season when the ghouls, ghosts and goblins come out to roam the streets. These creatures were joined this week by some of the coolest and creepiest old school hot rods, muscle cars, antiques, rat rods and cars from the 40’s, 50’s, 60s and 70s at Lexington, NC’s annual Spooky Cruise. This eerie event offers a step back in time, and cars from both yesteryear and today lined the streets of Main St. in Uptown Lexington wearing their Halloween best.

While area children enjoyed a little trick or treating, each of the hundreds of car owners in attendance had the opportunity to enjoy their own childlike spirit thanks to the spookiest of car costume contests. Featuring some of the most well-known historic rides, from Cadillacs to Studebakers, all wearing their creepy best, participants in this creative cruise-in competition didn’t hold out on turning their classic rides into some of the most frightening hot rods ever seen.

Spookiest Car Costume Contest

First Place – 1976 Cadillac Reaper Hearse owned by Jone and Linnie Hayes

Long-time fans of this site might be familiar with this year’s Spooky Cruise Costume Contest Winner. A 1976 Cadillac Hearse, appropriately named the Reaper Hearse and owned by Halloween aficionados Jone and Linnie Hayes, the winning car made its second trip to this popular event. While they may have missed out on the top billing in the past, this year’s event was an entirely different story.

“This win is awesome,” said Jone. “While being named the runner up a couple of years ago was an honor, after missing out on this event last year due to automotive problems, to come back this year and be awarded with the prize that I have always dreamed about was just so amazing.”

Second Place – 1956 Oldsmobile owned by Burt Murphy

The second place winner is familiar rat rod in this area which has been making its rounds at events like the Heavy Rebel weekend in downtown Winston-Salem, as well as several area car shows like this one. While this ride may be familiar to some, according to Murphy and his car-loving wife, this is the first time that their beloved Halloween rat rod has been recognized like this.

“We began the restoration job on this car about three years ago and while we just wanted to bring it back to its former glory, it quickly became a passion project that my wife and I wanted to show off,” said Murphy. “I guess we did that in the best way that we know how at this event, and to be recognized for all this hard work is an incredible way to start off our favorite holiday season.”

Third Place – 1957 Studebaker owned by Kenneth Peace

One of the few stock classics in this year’s decorating contest, the third place winner also turned a lot of heads. Although this was its first appearance at this Halloween Cruise-in event, owner Kenneth Peace said that he has always enjoyed Halloween and thought there was no better way to show off his prized possession then with a fun costume.

“I have been coming to several of these area cruise-in events, but when I found out that both me and my car could feel like kids again all while enjoying time with other classic car lovers, I jumped at the chance,” said Peace. “Little did I know that we would be recognized like this.”

Congrats goes out to this year’s costume contest winners! Be sure to check out additional photos from this year’s Spooky Cruise-In at https://youtu.be/K1cGQoRBHgM.