‘Let’s bring Halloween back:’ Copperas Cove ‘haunted driveway’ ready to bring the spirit of Halloween to trick-or-treaters after months of preparation

COPPERAS COVE, Texas (KWTX) - Creators of Copperas Cove’s popular ‘haunted driveway’ aim to keep the Halloween spirit alive every year with its detailed, themed haunted house and decorated displays open only on Halloween.

Many trick-or-treaters flood the driveway on South First St. to walk through the Halloween-inspired display. It is interactive with many creative themes.

“Last year, we had about 350 kids and adults and cars and everything coming through, so we’re expecting that again,” Bobby Cavazos, one of the creators of the haunted driveway. “Now, we improve every year as we go along.”

The decorators and home owners call themselves the ‘Boo Crew.’ The creative director, Kandace Mead, said she starts planning the display in the summer.

“We start at the end of summer finding all the supplies that we need to put in it,” Mead said. “Then, once we get started, I am all about the details.”

She said they start setting decorations up in August in order to finish by mid-October.

“I’m a crafter, so, like, when I did one of the displays, I had to put every single piece in a certain spot,” Mead said. “I would do things differently to see which one looks better, and so it would take me a while to do the details.”

Mead planned the themes of each section, featuring anything from a haunted under-the-sea to pirates. Bobby Cavazos, a member of the Boo Crew, helps Mead bring the ideas to life along with Mead’s daughter, Liz Verlin.

“That’s the cool part about it, too, is there’s quite a few things that are inside of it that my mom has hand made herself,” Verlin said. “Just kind of like the details and the personal time that goes into it, I think is amazing.”

Verlin said decorating the home for Halloween helps her reminisce growing up trick-or-treating at many houses with tons of decorations; however, she has noticed that their home is one of the only big Halloween decorators in the city.

“This brings back memories of my childhood and Halloween,” Verlin said. “It was crazy. You’d see, almost every single house had elaborate decorations, and so this kind of just reminds me of my childhood, how amazing Halloween was and trick-or-treating was.”

Cavazos hopes their hard-work will help keep the spirit of Halloween alive.

“For me, it really kind of makes them (kids) aware of really, of what’s out there...outside things like Halloween, and not just computerized things,” he said. “I think that, for us, it’s giving and them receiving, and we like to see that, especially the little ones and all that.”

While the Boo Crew has been providing the community with a special Halloween experience for many years, they said this year may be their last.

“We’re not getting any younger, and so it just gets harder,” Mead said. “This will be our last year, so we’re hoping to go out with a bang.”

With that, they went above and beyond for their 2022 Halloween haunted driveway. They are excited for the trick-or-treaters to experience the haunted house, and of course, they said if you make it through the first section of the haunted house, you might be given a treat.

Also, Mead said that kids can bring their letters to Santa and place them in a section of the haunted house with their mailing address.

This is their fifth year competing in the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce’s “Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful” competition for Halloween. While they have won first before, they placed second this year. You can find the sign at the front of the home.

Mead did say that, while this may be the last year for the haunted driveway, they still

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