Every year, more than 70,000 costumed revelers roister on Chapel Hill's Franklin Street for the biggest Halloween party in North Carolina, and Duke students have always been part of the celebration.
For many students, traveling to Chapel Hill on Halloween is a rite of passage.
"I really want to go for the experience," said sophomore Shemane Amin, who was unable to attend the festivities last year because of a test the next day. "The point is just to go and drift with the crowd."
Freshmen who have never had the opportunity to go to Franklin Street may be especially curious about the event.
"I've heard it's a wild scene and everyone's there," said freshman Trevor Foskett.
Several underclassmen have heard grand myths about Halloween on Franklin Street and plan to join the masses to witness the event for themselves.
"I'm just following my friends there," said freshman Amanda Wolin. "Everyone says that's the main place to be for Halloween."
Once this rite of passage has been completed, however, students seem to regard Halloween on Franklin Street with mixed levels of enthusiasm.
Sophomore Laura Heeter will not be going to Chapel Hill this year because she has to take organic chemistry and Chinese tests Tuesday. But she traveled to Franklin Street last year and did not consider the experience to be anything out of the ordinary.
"We pretty much just walked the streets," Heeter said.
For students like Heeter, Halloween on Franklin Street may not even be an option. Several students noted they had tests scheduled for Tuesday and will thus be celebrating Halloween with a typical Monday night in Bostock Library.
"Because it's a Monday, I just have too much going on," Heeter said.
Another common explanation for not joining the frenzy is that many of the clubs on Franklin Street will not admit students under the age of 21.
Several cite this as a deterrent and note that they will wait to return to Chapel Hill in a few years as a result.
Some students also prefer the convenience of smaller-scale festivities in Durham.
Freshman Taylor Field said she expects to go to Franklin Street at some point in her time at Duke but would prefer to attend a fraternity party this year.
"That might be easier because it's closer," Field said.
Businesses on Franklin Street, however, expect costumed students to roam the area in their typical full force, despite having to wake up for classes Tuesday morning. Guy Murphy, manager of Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery, explained that Halloween has fallen on weeknights in past years, but this has not stopped eager students from having a good time.
"Last year it was on a Sunday, and it was pretty much status quo from the last few years that we've experienced," Murphy said.
In contrast to Murphy, Tom Herzog, co-owner and manager of Spanky's Restaurant and Bar, noted that with Halloween occurring on a Monday, the total number of visitors may decline-but not too significantly.
"I think students from a lot of schools around the state will come," Herzog said.
He mentioned that he typically sees students from Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, Wake Forest University and East Carolina University. Herzog added that some students come from as far as Charlotte to party on Franklin Street.
Unlike those who must take tests Tuesday or prefer to stay in Durham, several Duke students do plan on fulfilling Herzog's expectations.
The major reason the students said they chose Franklin Street as their Halloween destination is that its teeming, wild atmosphere is so distinctive from the average night out.
"It's not so much a party," Amin said, noting that parties cannot include such a large group of people. "It's a different kind of social experience."
This kind of social experience is what encourages veterans of Halloween on Franklin Street to return.
Junior Mike Kralovec spent Halloween in Chapel Hill as a freshman and hopes to relive the unique experience this year.
"You can go to Shooters any night," Kralovec said, noting that what happens on Franklin Street cannot be matched. "It's just madness. It's college. It's fun."
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