Spooky Stuff :1orglaugh Knocking on my chamber door. Tonight is Mischief Night (or Devil's Night)
DETROIT, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Detroit is looking for volunteers in its ongoing effort to turn the pre-Halloween Devil's Night into Angels' Night.
Angels' Night
Raymond Cheeks, director of Neighborhood City Hall, told the Detroit News that 57,000 people have already volunteered to be angels on the nights of Oct. 29, Oct. 30 and Oct. 31. That's up from 56,480 volunteers last year.
The night before Halloween, usually known as Devil's Night or Mischief Night, had been a traditional time for minor vandalism and pranks, usually fairly harmless ones involving toilet paper and shaving cream. But in Detroit and some other communities, the night morphed into a festival of arson. In 1984, the worst year, Detroit had 810 fires during the Halloween season.
Officials say that the volunteer patrol has actually cut the number of fires to below average. Last year, fires were up slightly from the previous year but investigators blamed that on high winds bringing down power lines, not on an increase in arson.
Megan Pitts, the volunteer coordinator, said many Detroiters turn the effort into a family event, with parents showing up accompanied by costumed kids.
