Mischief Night
Back in Jersey when I was a "yout'," the night before Halloween was Mischief Night. This was the night of the year when "bad kids" would roam through the neighborhoods doing "bad stuff." Not just fun, toilet-paper-your-friend's-house kind of bad stuff. Not just the flaming bag of dog doo on your grouchy old neighbor's front porch (which I actually saw done once). Instead, it had become an excuse for brick-through-your-windshield, bag-of-paint-on-your-head-off-a-fire-escape, steal-stuff-off-your-porch, a-dozen-eggs-in-your-face-at-close-range kind of bad stuff.
On Mischief Night, the bad kids might even beat you up, de-pants you or steal your wallet.
I don't know why this night was singled out for trouble. Perhaps it was an outgrowth of the original trick or treat idea: On Halloween, if not rewarded with a treat, merry costumed pranksters were entitled to play a trick on the resident of the house. But I guess once everyone started handing out the microscopic bags of M&M's, there weren't enough legal tricks left to get all the adolescent rage out of some people's systems. So the hoods just started vandalizing and terrorizing the night before, and then showing up for treats the next night.
We were never allowed out of the house on Mischief Night. Never. Even the grownups looked both ways and walked briskly to their cars and back.
If I'm not mistaken, tonight's still Mischief Night in a lot of big cities, and I guess it's been known to get quite out of hand in some places.
Might be a good night to lay low with a hot toddy, and a book or a blogroll.
Unless, of course, you're a bad kid.
| Posted at 3:30 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (4)
I have read about pretty serious arsons one day before H-ween. That's scary.
http://www.spub.ksu.edu/issues/v100/fa/n052/ap-DevilsNight-11.3.html
Posted by alan | October 30, 2003 9:33 AM
I have never heard of this...but I will be careful tonight. Thanks.
Posted by Barb | October 30, 2003 10:35 AM
Maybe this is just an East-Coast phenomenon? I grew up in Pennsylvania and also remember, as early as four or five years old, "Devil's Night". Quite a number of the trees in our row-home apartments were fully draped with toilet paper by the time of Halloween, and eggings were not uncommon either.
Posted by Damon | October 30, 2003 3:25 PM
Hey guys....thats nothing! What me an my friends do will make you laugh so hard or leave you in awe. Heres a few of the CRAZIEST things i have ever done:
EX.
1)STUPIDEST: 2:00 in the morning ring someones doorbell answer the door naked and say you rang....
2)CRAZIEST: Directiones on how to make a flaming bull get toilet paper and tp it around a tree and light it on fire
3)ROCKY: get a big rock and throw it in some yuppies mansion window the alarm will go off and the police will come so get youre f*cking pale ass outta there
4)iHey guys....thats nothing! What me an my friends do will make you laugh so hard or leave you in awe. Heres a few of the CRAZIEST things i have ever done:
EX.
1)STUPIDEST: 2:00 in the morning ring someones doorbell answer the door naked and say you rang....
2)CRAZIEST: Directiones on how to make a flaming bull get toilet paper and tp it around a tree and light it on fire
3)ROCKY: get a big rock and throw it in some yuppies mansion window the alarm will go off and the police will come so get youre f*cking pale ass outta there
4)i
This is one is for the real daring:
5)Bum: dress up one of you're friend in really poor or dirty cloths and make him sleep on you're neigbors doorstep.
these are for the DARING ONLY
That last one, number 5....guess who was the one who did that and got kicked the next morning. Yep, yours truly. Hahahah, have fun! But most of all be safe!
Posted by Sean | March 13, 2004 12:30 AM