Mischief Night

Mischief Night is an informal holiday on which certain children and teens engage in pranks and minor vandalism. It is known by a variety of names (see below).

Historical background

The earliest reference to Mischief Night is from 1790 when a headmaster encouraged a school play which ended in "an Ode to Fun which praises children's tricks on Mischief Night in most approving terms".[1] In the United Kingdom, these pranks were originally carried out as part of May Day celebrations, but shifted to later in the year, dates varying in different areas, some marking it on October 30, the night before Halloween, others on November 4, the night before Bonfire Night. According to one historian, "May Day and the Green Man had little resonance for children in grimy cities. They looked at the opposite end of the year and found the ideal time, the night before the gunpowder plot."[1] However, the shift only happened in the late nineteenth century and is described by the Opies as "one of the mysteries of the folklore calendar".[2] In Germany, Mischief Night is still celebrated on May 1.

Naming variations

In the United States and Canada

In most of New Jersey, as well as in Philadelphia, Delaware, parts of New York State, and Connecticut, it is referred to as "Mischief Night" or, particularly in the Great Lakes region, "Devil's Night". In some towns in Northern New Jersey and parts of New York State, it is also known as "Goosey Night".[3]

Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Maryland, it has traditionally been referred to as "Moving Night" due to the custom of exchanging or stealing porch furniture and other outside items.[4]

In rural Niagara Falls, Ontario, during the 1950s and 1960s, Cabbage Night (French: Nuit de Chou) referred to the custom of raiding local gardens for leftover rotting cabbages and hurling them about to create mischief in the neighborhood. Today, the night is still celebrated in Ontario but is commonly known as "Cabbage Night" in parts of Vermont; Connecticut; Bergen County, New Jersey; Upstate New York; Northern Kentucky; Newport, Rhode Island; Western Massachusetts; and Boston, Massachusetts.[5]

It is known as "Gate Night" in New Hampshire, West Kootenay (British Columbia), Vancouver Island, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay (Ontario), Bay City (Michigan), Rockland County (New York), North Dakota and South Dakota; as "Mat Night" in Quebec; and as "Devil's Night" in many places throughout Canada, Michigan, and western Pennsylvania.[6]

In the United Kingdom

In some parts of the country, "Mischief Night" is held on October 30, the night before Halloween. The separation of Halloween tricks from treats seems to have only developed in certain areas, often appearing in one region but not at all nearby.[6]

Mischief night is known in Yorkshire as "Mischievous Night", or the shortened "'Chievous Night" "Miggy Night", "Tick-Tack Night", "Corn Night", "Trick Night" or "Micky Night" and is celebrated across the north of England on November 4 the night before Bonfire Night.[7] In some areas of Yorkshire, it is extremely popular among thirteen-year-olds as they believe it to be a sort of "coming of age ceremony".[8]

In and around the city of Liverpool, Mischief Night is known locally as "Mizzy Night"; trouble spots were being tackled by Merseyside Police in 2015.[9]

Contemporary practice

Mischief Night tends to include popular tricks such as toilet papering yards and buildings, powder-bombing and egging cars, people, and homes, using soap to write on windows, "forking" yards, setting off fireworks, and smashing pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns.[6] Local grocery stores often refuse to sell eggs to pre-teens and teens around the time of Halloween for this reason. Occasionally, the damage can escalate to include the spray-painting of buildings and homes.[10] Less destructive is the prank known as "Knock, Knock, Ginger," "Ding-Dong Ditch," "knock down ginger," or "knock-a-door-run and nicky-nicky-nine-doors (West Quebec)."

Another popular prank in the United States is to put a small paper bag filled with dog excrement at the victim's front door, set it on fire, ring the doorbell, and run away while the occupant stomps out the disgusting surprise, thus getting it on the bottom of their foot.

In some areas of Queens, New York, Cabbage Night has included throwing rotten fruit at neighbors, cars, and buses. Pre-teens and teens filled eggs with Neet and Nair and throw them at unsuspecting individuals. In the mid-1980s, garbage was set on fire and cemeteries were set ablaze. In Camden, New Jersey, Mischief Night escalated to the point that in the 1990s widespread arson was committed, with over 130 arsons on the night of October 30, 1991.[11]

Angels' Night

In Detroit, which was particularly hard-hit by Devil's Night arson and vandalism throughout the 1980s, many citizens take it upon themselves to patrol the streets to deter arsonists and those who may break the law. This is known as "Angels' Night". Some 40,000 volunteer citizens patrol the city on Angels' Night, which usually runs October 29 through October 31, around the time most Halloween festivities are taking place.[12]

  • In the 1994 film The Crow, the protagonist and his fiancée are murdered on the eve of their Halloween wedding on "Devil's Night" by a street gang on the orders of Detroit's most notorious crime lord, Top Dollar. With the help of a mystical crow, Eric returns from the grave on "Devil's Night" one year later to exact revenge against the crime lord and his henchmen.[13]
  • A 1999 episode of Rocket Power explores the joys of Mischief Night in The Night Before.
  • A 2006 film, Mischief Night, is based on events surrounding this night in Leeds, UK.[14][15]
  • A horror film released in 2013, Mischief Night directed by Richard Schenkman.[16]
  • A different horror film released in 2014, Mischief Night directed by Travis Baker.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wainright, Martin (November 2, 2008). "Traditionalist pranksters prepare for mayhem of Mischief Night". The Guardian. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ Opie, Iona; Opie, Peter (2001). The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren. New York: New York Review Books. p. 255. ISBN 0940322692.
  3. ↑ Myles Ma (October 30, 2014). "Mischief Night? Cabbage Night? Goosey Night? What does it all mean?". NJ.com. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Neighbors take action as 'Mischief Night' pranks turn ugly". The Baltimore Sun. October 31, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  5. ↑ Ditko, Veronica MacDonald (October 1, 2010). "Cabbage Night to You, Mischief Night to Me". The Franklin Lakes Journal. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "October 29, 2008-Devil's Night: The History of Pre-Halloween Pranks by Heather Whipps". Live Science. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ Opie, Iona; Opie, Peter (2001). The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren. New York: New York Review Books. p. 276. ISBN 0940322692.
  8. ↑ "Confessions from a Mischief Night Brat". BBC North Yorkshire. October 31, 2006. Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Merseyside Police take action to prevent Mischief Night trouble". liverpoolecho. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Jackson Citizen Patriot: October 21, 2007-Halloween blow-ups vandalized in Springport by Jake May". Blog.mlive.com. October 21, 2007. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  11. ↑ Fire and Police Departments Extinguish Pre-Halloween Arson Sprees
  12. ↑ "City of Detroit Angels Night – Home Page". Ci.detroit.mi.us. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Crow". Rotten Tomatoes. 1 January 1994. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ Mischief Night film review Retrieved on October 31, 2008
  15. ↑ imdb ref Retrieved on October 31, 2008
  16. ↑ "Trailer: Mischief Night". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  17. ↑ "After Dark Has a Release Plan for Mischief Night – Shock Till You Drop". Retrieved October 7, 2015.
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