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ENTITY explains Mischief NightPhoto via Instagram / @mrs.lakey

Many love Halloween for the free sugary treats and chance to dress up in clever costumes. However, the night before Halloween is all about the tricks. In fact, Oct. 30 is known as Mischief Night.

While the mischief can be as simple as childish pranks like egging houses, it can also be as severe as vandalism and arson.

But what actually goes down on Halloween Eve? ENTITY explains what Mischief Night is.

When did Mischief Night begin?

ENTITY explains Mischief Night

Mischief Night dates back to 1790 and it started with innocent intentions.

Researchers at the University of Oxford looked into a headmaster who promoted a school play, which ended with “an Ode to Fun, which praises children’s tricks on Mischief Night in most approving terms.”

However, Mischief Night wasn’t always the trick to Halloween’s treats.

The original Mischief Night added another silly prank day to April because the headmaster encouraged it to be practiced on the day before May Day.

ENTITY explains Mischief Night

In addition to pranks like throwing eggs, children switched street signs and locked people in their homes.

However, the pranks became more serious when the night was popularized in the United States during the Great Depression. This included setting fires and breaking windows.

Mischief Night is also known as “Devil’s Night.”

In the 1970s, Mischief Night in the United States took a turn for the worse. Economic turmoil in Detroit, Michigan led to serious vandalism and arson.

Oct. 30 saw increased crime in the Rust Belt area in the following years, with the night taking on the name “Devil’s Night.” Many vandals targeted abandoned houses the banks foreclosed.

Then in 1984, Detroit teenage crime ran rampant in the three days leading up to Halloween. In fact, there were over 800 fires recorded. This led to a Halloween-time curfew imposed in 1985, banning teens under 18 from being on the streets late at night.

Citizens tired of the destruction renamed it “Angel’s Night.”

After over 10 years of fighting the destruction in Detroit, citizens seeking peace decided to band together to create a strong coalition against the violence.

It started with neighborhood watch programs and then by 1996, Detroit law enforcement coordinated with 34,000 volunteers to patrol the streets and decrease arson and other crimes. They re-dubbed the night “Angel’s Night” because they became the opposition to the “devils” causing harm on the streets around Halloween.

In addition to the extended curfew and citizen help, organizations and churches offered youth events like slumber parties and movie nights so teens would be less likely to cause Mischief Night mayhem.

Because of the active approach the city took, there were less than 150 Halloween fires reported in 1996.

Then they had “Cabbage Night” and “Goosey Night.”

The phrase “Mischief Night” is most common in New Jersey and rarely used nowadays throughout the United States. However, there are two other terms describing what goes on the night of Oct. 30: “Cabbage Night” and “Goosey Night.”

The original Cabbage Night doesn’t have anything to do with mischief or mayhem. Instead, the term originated in Scotland, where tradition has it that girls would analyze their neighbor’s cabbage patch on Oct. 30 to find out the qualities of their future husband.

However, when Massachusetts adopted the idea, teens interpreted it to mean taking cabbages from their neighbors yards and throwing it at their doors. Today, like other Mischief Night pranks, “Cabbage Night” has more to do with egging than vegetables.

Back in New Jersey, the term “Goosey Night” originated in the Pompton Lakes in the 1940s. Boys would prank businesses by soaping their windows and nearby cars.

All in all, when Halloween comes around, pranks are fun tricks. However, serious crime won’t be excused on Mischief Night or Halloween. So either stick to the treats or make sure you’re doing tricks that won’t cause damage!

 

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