Mischief Night or Mischievous Night is an informal holiday where young people engage in jokes, pranks, vandalism, or parties. It is celebrated mostly in Yorkshire and other parts of Northern England on the night before Guy Fawkes night, November 4.
The earliest use of the phrase 'mischief night' comes 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". The concept of Mischief Night is certainly older though, as Puritan Philip Stubbs decries the May Day Eve mischief night as early as 1583.
In some regions in England, these pranks originated as part of 'Bringing in the May' on May Day Eve, but gradually shifted to later in the year. Dates vary in different areas, with some marking it traditionally on 4 November (the night before Bonfire Night), or the 30th October (the night before Halloween), though the latter is more common nowadays.
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." However, the shift only happened in the late 19th century and is described by the Opies as "one of the mysteries of the folklore calendar".
Word of Mischief Night began to appear in U.S. newspapers in the 1930s and 1940s and told of those who were celebrating wanting to put distance between the wholesome night of trick or treating and the chaotic night of causing havoc around the town. Some believed that the stress of the Great Depression was causing people to act out and this is what caused Mischief Night to break out at that time.
West Kootenay (British Columbia), Vancouver Island, Thunder Bay (Ontario), and Winnipeg also called it "Gate Night"; in English-speaking Quebec it is known as "Mat Night" in reference to a tradition of stealing front door mats. "Devil's Night" is another common name in Canada.
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 cause mischief in the neighbourhood.
Some parts of the country hold a Mischief Night on 30 October, 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 regions. It is known in Welsh as Noson Ddrygioni and in Scottish Gaelic as Oidhche nan Cleas.
In most areas of Northern England it is celebrated on 4 November, the night before Bonfire Night. In recent decades the tradition has moved to the night before Halloween.
In parts of Yorkshire as "Mischievous Night" or the shortened "'Chievous Night" "Miggy Night", "Tick-Tack Night", "Corn Night", "Trick Night" or "Micky Night" In some areas of Yorkshire, it is extremely popular among 13-year-olds, as they believe it to be a sort of coming-of-age ceremony.
In Liverpool and parts of the surrounding region, It is typically celebrated on 30 October, Mischief Night is often shortened to "Mizzy Night". Locally it has a reputation of causing anti-social and disruptive behaviour as well as vandalism in the area. In 2023 the night was described as being like a 'Warzone'. The local police force Merseyside Police often has increased patrols of areas on Mischief Night.
In most of New Jersey, and other regions of the United States, including New Orleans, Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, parts of New York state, and Connecticut, it is referred to as "Mischief Night".
In the Great Lakes region, Michigan, western New York, and western Pennsylvania it is known as Devil's Night.
In Des Moines, Iowa and its surrounding suburbs, it is known as “Beggar’s Night”. It is common for children to trick-or-treat on Beggar's Night rather than Halloween.
In some towns in North Jersey and parts of New York State, it is also known as "Goosey Night". Cabbage Night is also used in this area as it is the term used in Vermont, Connecticut, Bergen County (New Jersey), Upstate New York, Northern Kentucky, Newport (Rhode Island) and Western Massachusetts.
Baltimore (Maryland) traditionally refers the night as "Moving Night" due to the custom of exchanging or stealing porch furniture and other outside items.
It is known as "Gate Night" in Bay City (Michigan), Rockland County (New York), North Dakota and South Dakota.
In Detroit, which was particularly affected by Devil's Night arson and vandalism throughout the 1980s, many citizens took it upon themselves to patrol the streets to deter arson and other crimes. Started in 1997 as an initiative to combat the legacy of Devil's Night, "Angels' Night" usually ran October 29 through October 31 with up to 40,000 volunteers on patrol, around the time most Halloween festivities were taking place. However, official city support for Angels' Night patrolling was discontinued in 2018 after arson had declined significantly.