Raleigh, N.C. — Hillsborough Street has long been a favorite haunt of North Carolina State University students. But some students want to make the thoroughfare a haunted spot for a Halloween celebration.

Taking a cue from Chapel Hill, which annually hosts tens of thousands of University of North Carolina students and others in a downtown Halloween bash, organizers at N.C. State said a similar party could be staged on Hillsborough Street.

Students organized the inaugural Haunted Hillsborough Hike Wednesday night, and 12 businesses agreed to offer specials on food and drinks to attract students in a partying mood.

"We're not trying to compete with (Chapel Hill). We're just trying to have something that is good for N.C. State students," organizer Matt Potter said. "We've got 30,000 students here and a great street, and there's no reason why we shouldn't have our own party."

Potter said he hoped to attract about 2,500 students to the event, which is patterned after Hillsborough Hike, an end-of-semester ritual in which students go up and down the street buying drinks after finishing exams.