31 Days of Halloween | Day 30: Devil's Night - Halloween's Most Dangerous Tradition

On Halloween morning in 1984, smoke hung over the city of Detroit.

Over the previous three nights, firefighters had responded to an astonishing 810 fires.

Homes, businesses, and abandoned buildings burned as an annual tradition of Halloween mischief spiraled into something far more dangerous.

Detroit called it Devil's Night.

But the story of Devil's Night began centuries earlier, with a tradition of pranks, stolen garden gates, and one night a year when young people were allowed to get away with things they normally couldn't.

Tonight, we're investigating the dark history of Mischief Night and Devil's Night.

From the English villages where teenagers terrorized their neighbors to the Irish and Scottish Halloween customs that crossed the Atlantic, we'll explore how harmless pranks evolved into increasingly destructive American traditions.

We'll uncover the origins of Cabbage Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, and the elaborate tricks that once turned entire communities upside down.

Then we'll travel to Detroit, where Devil's Night became synonymous with arson, abandoned buildings, and a city struggling to contain hundreds of fires.

We'll also examine the devastating Mischief Night fires in Camden, New Jersey, and the extraordinary community efforts that eventually brought these dangerous traditions under control.

Because long before Halloween became a night of costumes, candy, and haunted attractions, it was a night when the rules were different.

And sometimes, the consequences were deadly.

Welcome to Day 30 of 31 Days of Halloween