Observed on

October 30th

 

Observed by

(Unoffically) Detroit, Michigan

Country of Origin 

England

Celebrations/Customs

Arson

Similar/Related to:

Mischief Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, Moving Night, Cabbage Night, Mat Night

Key Points / Halloween Connection

- Destructive version of Mischief Night that occured in 1970s/80s Detroit that resulted in waves of arson.

Brief Bio

Devil’s Night, stemmed from the European tradition of Mischief Night. Mischief Night can be traced back to Britain — where it is a reference to the day before May Day, a celebration for the return of spring. 

Much like Devil’s Night in Detroit, Mischief Night in Europe was marked with pranks committed by youth. Mischief Night made its way to the U.S. during the 1930s and 1940s, when cities across the country started experiencing a higher number of pranks and vandalism on October 30, the night before Halloween.  

Some historians even cite the rise of the Devil’s Night mischief to Black Tuesday on October 29, 1929 — when the U.S. stock market crashed, causing the Great Depression. Tensions of war and extreme poverty could have caused an escalation in the number of incidents. 

From the 1940s through to the 1970s, Devil’s Night in Detroit, as in other communities around the state, remained largely harmless and mostly a nuisance to the police and fire departments — the pranks consisting of egging homes or toilet papering houses, nothing too extreme or dangerous.  

But, in the early 1980s, the pranks began taking a dangerous tone. 

Rising unemployment in the city contributed to the number of empty properties — the perfect target for arsonists. Pranksters began setting fires in abandoned properties and homes and in 1984, the Detroit Fire Department extinguished more than 800 fires across the city — this would be the highest number of fires recorded. 

The arsonists often targeted empty homes and properties, but, intentionally or unintentionally, the fires spread quickly. Over the years, the fires resulted in injuries, destruction of property and even death. What began as simple pranks committed by youth quickly escalated to city-wide arson.