ISLIP, NY — Kevin and Kristy O’Reilly love the holidays.
They love it so much that they utilized Kevin’s background as a DJ and electrician to turn their Islip home on Bates Street into a dazzling Christmas display in 2018. The show was such a hit with the community, that they expanded by adding a Halloween light spectacular “to the mix” in 2019.
For three more years, Halloween and Christmas on Bates Street were straight out of a holiday movie.
Hundreds of people came from near and far to gaze at the lights. Families smiled for photos out front. Children were in awe and filled with wonder each time they drove by the house. The O’Reilly’s Christmas display won the local competition one year, and they even kept the holiday spirit alive through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In 2020, we were proud to be able to provide a show and give people a place to go and have fun even during a pandemic,” Kevin said.
Then came the 2022 season and everything changed when computer hackers literally stole the show.
Kevin remembers it vividly.
“It was the end of August and I was settling into my office to finish off some of the programming for the upcoming season and when the computer turned on I found a note on the screen,” Kevin told Patch. “Basically what it said was, ‘You have been hacked. We have encrypted everything on your computer.’ And if I wanted it back, I would have to pay them $5000 in Bitcoin.”
But there was more. The hackers racked up $25000 worth of credit card charges on Amazon, delivered the items to various locations, and hacked the Bates Street Light Display’s Facebook page.
“And just like that, in the blink of an eye, I lost six years’ worth of programming. This was devastating, to say the least,” Kevin recalled. “I went into total panic mode because we were only four weeks from doing our 2022 Halloween show.”
But the O’Reillys found the strength—and the spirit—to pull through.
“I don’t know how I did it but I built a brand new computer and had to replace all the network equipment in my home, costing us thousands of dollars that I planned on using to make some long-wanted upgrades to the show.”
Kevin remembers “somehow managing” to put together a few songs and some lights to put on a Halloween display.
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But it wasn’t easy.
“I was so hurt and mentally drained. Why would someone do this to me? We didn’t do a Christmas show that year. And to be honest, I felt so violated and broken,” he said. “I tried to get a show going for 2023, but I had lost all the desire and love of doing it because of how hurt I was. After not doing any shows in 2023, I was kind of disappointed in myself. I felt like I let the entire community down.”
For Kevin, the light show isn’t just a hobby—it’s a work of art and a labor of love that’s about sharing the holiday spirit.
“When I was a kid one of my favorite things to do was to get in the car with my parents and drive around looking at all the great lights displays,” he said. “Back then there were so many houses that decorated. You could go every night and drive through countless neighborhoods. Obviously, shows like mine didn’t exist yet because the technology wasn’t really there yet.”
So after a short break spent recovering from the blow, Kevin and Kristy decided to light up Bates Street once again.
“In January of 2024, I said to my wife, ‘I have to push through and dig down and find the spark I had before.’ It was a long road with a lot of long nights staying up till two or three in the morning, but all the hard work paid off,” Kevin said.
And “hard work” isn’t an exaggeration. Kevin said programming the lights and music takes anywhere from 8 to 12 hours of computer time per minute of music. In addition, he custom-builds props, crafts thousands of lights into a beautiful display, and choreographs and synchronizes music with the props.
On Sept 10., the O’Reillys started setting up for the 2024 Halloween display. After a “long month of work” and a lot of late nights, the Bates Street Halloween show lit up on Oct. 9. and runs through Halloween.
Those with young children don’t need to worry—the Bates Street display keeps it family-friendly, avoiding gore, blood and scary images.
While their Christmas display won’t be up and running this year, Kevin and Kristy plan to bring it back in 2025 and they can’t wait to see the smiles on visitor’s faces.
“Seeing all of you and all the kids having fun is what drives me to outdo myself year after year,” Kevin said.
The show will run every night until Halloween night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays at 32 Bates Street in Islip.
The O’Reilly’s light show can be found on Instagram at @lightsonbates.
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