This is the name that is associated with the night before Halloween, October 30th, when teenagers/youths traditionally involve themselves in crimes such as vandalism and/or they perform other pranks on their neighbours, friends, and communities. Devil’s night is a long standing tradition that actually can be traced back as far as the 1930’s. This night was first started in the Detroit area and criminal actions on this night are more often performed in the Detroit and surrounding areas than elsewhere in the world. The acts that occur on devil’s night traditionally include throwing eggs at houses or toilet papering yards. These petty crimes are often in retaliation of perceived wrongs or simply for the crime itself or a dislike for a neighbour. University students often even perform such pranks on the houses of their friends on this night.
In the Detroit area in the 1970’s crimes began to escalate on devil’s night and they included the burning of abandoned houses, etc. Local business men caught on to this and even began burning down their buildings to collect insurance money. With these incidences being blamed on devil’s night hooligans and leading to the night receiving even greater notoriety. In the 1980’s the crimes in Detroit reached their peak with 800 fires, but city officials really cracked down and the crimes have since greatly receded. Devil’s night is also known in other parts of the United States and Canada and around the world (particularly Ireland where it is becoming more popular) as Mischief night. Some times this night gets out of hand with some serious crimes being committed but a lot of the time it is just teenagers trying to have some fun and blow off steam. (For myself I remember egging the houses of my friends in University and also even doing so to my brother’s girlfriend’s house, with his blessing. It was good clean fun but we of course helped them clean up later.)