Every Day Is Special: October 30

October 30 – Mischief Night

Posted on October 30, 2014

This is not something that happens everywhere, and I am pretty sure that it is something that shouldn't happen ANYwhere.

Mischief Night is the night before Halloween, and it is (in just some places in the U.S. and world) a time for minor pranks and mild vandalism.

We're talking about toilet papering yards, egging things, setting off fireworks, smashing pumpkins, throwing rotting vegetables, soaping windows, and playing Ding-Dong Ditch by ringing doorbells and then hiding.

Some of these practices are not particularly bothersome or dangerous, but others are pretty bad. In Detroit in the early 1990s, Mischief Night escalated into widespread arson (setting fires) – destruction that was completely unnecessary.

Egging a car or building can cause costly damage (raw egg can damage a car's finish, for example), and egging a person can cause serious eye injury. Smashing someone else's property – even if it is just a pumpkin – is like stealing from them. Maybe that person put a lot of time into carving the pumpkin. Maybe he or she wanted to make a pumpkin pie.

Of course, many of these so-called pranks are strictly against the law! Silly mischief that could result in fines or jail time seems ridiculous, right?

Finally, I find the idea of causing problems for homeowners one night and then begging from candy from the same people the next night troublesome. I would hope that Mischief Night takes a turn for beautiful-and-non-harmful pranks or dies out altogether.

Beautiful and non-harmful pranks?

Even in places where toilet papering is against the law, or police officers nab those who TP trees and houses on grounds of littering, TP-ing can be lots of fun and is (at least here in my community) totally okay if the homeowner has given approval. So ask the parents of the kid you want to surprise (secretly, ahead of time), and then have fun fun fun – in the dead of the night - decking out the place with loads of toilet paper!