The night is bitterly cold for those not enjoying traditional Halloween beverages. The stars shine fiercely, ignoring the enormous police spotlights brought in for the special I.V. celebration.

Every restaurant is packed and making pure profit, every liquor store is nearly sold out of Captain Morgan’s signature concoction, and every house plays one song with lyrics that reflect the party mood: Let’s get lost tonight. You could be my… Goldilocks tonight?

Ghostbuster, Dr. Seuss character, or prostitute tonight?

Walking towards the ocean you see your breath, you laugh with friends at that guy dressed like Gumby, you regret not taking that last gulp of hot apple cider. It is the calm before a storm.

Nearly 30,000 people in IV ignored the calendar and celebrated Halloween early. And like a clown car, all 30,000 seemed to have fit into less than three blocks of Del Playa Drive, including everyone you’ve ever met or gone to high school with.

Second-year City College student Andrew Hunter was one Goleta local in a sea of thousands of out-of-towners.

On two separate nights, He appeared as a Blendito 3000- robot smoothie-maker-and a hillbilly mechanic, complete with the required mullet. It is his fourth time celebrating Halloween in Isla Vista. What’s changed?

“More cops, more people every year, more annoying people,” he said.

Since he lives on the other side of the U.S. 101 freeway, the annoyance and horror of traffic and parking from the influx of college students does not really affect him.

“Well, considering the first two years I was dropped off by my friend’s mom, I never really had to deal with parking before,” Hunter said. This year he took a cab.

Not all students and locals had such a good time. Sgt. Erik Raney from the Santa Barbara Sherffi’s Department, said 213 arrests were made, the majority of which were for being drunk in public.

Also, 326 citations were given over the weekend, the majority of which were for minor in possession.

Those arrested were then taken to the Isla Vista Theatre, to wait to be transported to the Santa Barbara County Jail. Once there, they are put into what are known as “drunk tanks,” big, open holding cells.

The floors and walls are made of concrete, and the ceiling is partially open. The night becomes even colder than before.

Matt K., a UCSB student who asked for his last name not to be used, was one of the 213 who enjoyed this situation first hand. Matt was arrested for being drunk in public while walking back to his house.

He said that while it was obvious he was drunk and he was definitely in public, he was not causing a scene.

Still, he said, the cops threw him to the ground and cuffed him.

“The cops who arrested me at night were ***holes,” he said. “But the Santa Barbara cops in the morning were nice.”

The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department, which has jurisdiction over Isla Vista, recruited cops from other parts of California for Halloween to create a force of 200 officers. This may be why Matt had two very different experiences.

While in jail that night, Matt spoke with others in his holding cell. In sharing stories, he said he discovered the majority were out-of-towners who vowed never to return to Isla Vista.

Last year, nearly 80 to 90 percent of all those arrested were from out of the area, according to press release from UCSB’s office of Student Affairs.

Despite rain falling from the sky and vomit falling from Del Playa balconies, spirits were high, though not that prevalent. Where were all the ghosts?

Some say it’s not cool to throw a sheet over your head anymore, perhaps because a sheet might cover any portion of skin, and that would break the one rule of Halloween in Isla Vista: Skin, and sin, is in.