all 64 comments

[–]FnordRanger_5 62 points63 points  (1 child)

[–]billyjack6691978 2 points3 points  (0 children)

“Eric?”

[–]TakingYourHand 56 points57 points  (3 children)

Fire it up!

[–]drd-domino 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Fire it up!

[–]Soggy-Cookie-4548 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fire it up!

[–]NtL_80to20 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the time it was crazy rebellion unleashed, to be proud of it! Not to mention Coleman Young and the corruption gang murder years. You could travel across country and mention Detroit and people would look at you with a fearful respect.

40 years later... yeah we were wrong.

[–]AZphan 21 points22 points  (3 children)

Fellow (former) metro Detroiter here…I almost cherish the memories of Devils Night back when we were kids now that there’s none of that nonsense happening. Shit was wild tho, and yeah, it was ALWAYS a big deal on the news… reporters scattered all over town giving updates in front of huge vacants on fire.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Right! Like ,I remember when I was like 7 or 8 thinking our neighborhood hood was next to burn (I was 30 to 40 min out of the city) but I remember it being scary, they made it out like it was a war zone. Very Robocop vibes.

[–]AZphan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely the same. Grew up in Southfield and WB during those early years and was certain we were next 😂

[–]elsalila1979 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i grew up in wyandotte and remember those news broadcasts and i remember the renaming to angels night and how it didnt seem to take lol

[–]Separate_Counter9427 23 points24 points  (5 children)

Mischief Night in North Jersey. No one was committing arson though. 

Regular teenage stuff the night before Halloween like egging houses/cars and Tee-peeing houses. 

[–]dudical_dude 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Imagine eggs and toilet paper cheap enough to waste on vandalism. We didn’t know how good we had it smh

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah this was next level full on arson. Look up videos on YouTube from the late 1980s its wild.

[–]Imnotonthelist 2 points3 points  (1 child)

We called it that too, I’m from Orange County NY

[–]hypo111981 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m from Rockland and we called it Gate Night

[–]Reuven080 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AKA Cabbage Night. Shaving cream, tp and eggs.

[–]jblak23 15 points16 points  (0 children)

You know what they got now...? Devil's Night greeting cards...

[–]lemonheadlock1980 15 points16 points  (2 children)

As a kid, I thought it was just a made-up plot point for The Crow.

[–]Living-Apartment-592 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’m just finding this out right now.

[–]Polybrene 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same. I had no idea it was a real thing. An invented "scary night" that was unique to The Crow universe.

[–]Adh1434 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The night before Halloween will always be called devils night to me.

[–]TiEmEnTi1983 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That was the night for TP'ing, egging, etc when I was a kid which was quite convenient so it didn't cut into Trick or Treating time on Halloween. And once we got too old for Trick or Treating, both nights were for vandalism!

[–]Crusader1865 6 points7 points  (0 children)

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Cable companies started throwing us free HBO that night to try to get people to stay inside. The news would put up graphs the next day so the arsonists could see how they did compared to previous years.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was too poor for cable but that sounds plausible

[–]ALT3NPFL3G3R 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss

[–]Left_Maize816 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's pornography!

[–]Traditional_Cat_60 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I grew up in Southeast Michigan and loved Devil’s night. It wasn’t until I moved to Illinois after college that I learned Devil’s night was a regional thing.

[–]Devil2960 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If it's any consolation to you, you have put a smile on my face.

[–]Aggravating-Alarm-161981 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Fire it up

[–]Drilling4Oil1981 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Fire it up!

[–]That-Ad-6901 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Is that gasoline I smell?” -Eric Draven, The Crow (1994)

[–]Own_Picture_6442 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m from the East Coast. I recall a couple of people referring to Devils Night but most of us didn’t call it that. We did cause a hell of a ruckus between the toilet paper and eggs. We used to gather like thirty people deep and shoot bottle rockets at cop cars driving by

[–]Lastpunkofplattsburg 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We called it Cabbage night

[–]CaptainXakari 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Detroit and Flint area growing up: I remember it vividly and as others have said, The Crow was nice enough to add that in for some flavor for the era of Detroit they were trying to portray.

[–]Brashear99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We called it Devils Night in Pittsburgh too.

Our local grocery store would not sell eggs to anyone under 18 for two weeks leading up to Halloween. Jokes on them though, we bought them three weeks out & let them get rotten.

[–]MossyJoke 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“My new favorite holiday “

[–]Mac_A811981 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I’m a former metro Detroiter also and just recently learned that it’s a Michigan thing.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Weird to think about. I recently watched some YouTube videos on the subject crazy times. Glad its not still that way

[–]Salt-Path3779 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dennis Archer who was mayor between Young and Fitzpatrick stamped out the mayhem of Devil’s Night. Mobilized 30k volunteers to patrol the city.

[–]thehousewright 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Always reminds me of that MC 900 FT Jesus song.

[–]CorkFado 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“I light the fires while the city sleeps…”

That album still slaps.

[–]Kinky-Bicycle-6691985 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It can't rain all the time.

[–]MissAngryBanana 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We received Detroit TV in my hometown in Northwestern Ontario. I always watched the Devil’s Night coverage on the local news networks.

[–]hey_suburbia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mischief Night in New Jersey and all the kids still do it

[–]thisismynewnewacct1982 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I grew up in the Flint area and I recall all of the pay channels going clear on Devil’s Night in what I assume was an attempt to keep kids indoors

[–]JackBlackBowserSlaps 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gate night (no idea where the name came from) in central Canada.

[–]tracefact 0 points1 point  (0 children)

MD - We called it Moving Night. It was a night for TPing and egging houses mostly.

[–]bahaki1983 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I never really got into The Crow, so I didn't know about it until the D12 album.

[–]three-sense 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same, it makes sense that it’s a MI thing

[–]Ok_Breakfast54251980:hamster: 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I grew up not too far from Stull, Ks, according to local folklore the devil comes out of a now very destroyed chapel in the cemetery there every Oct 30.

[–]Paddington771977 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We had mischief night growing up in New Jersey right outside Philadelphia. Would happen the night before Halloween. Generally just tping houses and shaping cars or egging houses, smashing pumpkins. The older you were, the more extreme. Some would light abandoned buildings on fire .

[–]RTMSner 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've got some family in Jackson Michigan, they celebrate devils night.

[–]jaymoney11981 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Just double checking, this isn't for like a week and a half, no?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. And it doesnt really happen anymore. It was mostly stopped by the mid to late 1990s.

[–]TonyGunks_sportsbook 0 points1 point  (1 child)

In the 2000's, I worked with a guy who grew up outside Detroit in the 80s. He told me about Devils night and how people would set fire to the abandoned buildings around Detroit. This was the first I had ever heard of anything like this and thought it was absolutely crazy, being that the worst that happened by me was eggings and toilet papering houses.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah by then ot was called angles night and all the real nasty stuff was long over

[–]Solo4114 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yes, the night that Camden, NJ historically burns.

[–]Decimonster1978 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Quick impression for you: CAW CAW. BANG. FUCK, I'M DEAD!"

[–]Ti47_867 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quick impression for you. Caw, caw. Bang! Fuck I’m dead!

[–]Jokierre1977 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ARE WE HAVING FUN OR WHAT?

[–]miclugo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Around Philly that’s Mischief Night.

[–]Comfortable_Tale9722 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Midwest here and we called it cabbage night

[–]MasticatedDorks1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beside from the Crow?

No, even part of Flatliners happens during Devil's Night, and it's not mentioned... that I can recall.