Mischief Night, Explained.
Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 12:00 AM 
As previously mentioned, Saturday, October 30th will be a great night for music. "The Cult will be continuing the halloween theme down at Starland Ballroom, Automatic Loveletter will be playing Hangar 84, Blood On The Dance Floor will be at The School of Rock, and The Black Crowes will be playing at The Borgata. If you're not looking to attend a show, check out the Asbury Park Zombie Walk, where approximately 5,000 people will look to break the Guinness Book of World Records, record for most zombies in a single location".
What I forgot to mention was that Saturday is also Mischief Night, or whatever you call it, so whether you're on the offensive side of things, or the defensive, be safe and have fun. History and and name debates can be found below.
Mischief night or Gate night (also known as Devil's Night, Goosey Night, Cabbage Night and Mizzy Night in some areas) is an annual tradition in parts of England, Canada, and the United States; a night when the custom is for people (primarily teenagers and preteens) to take a degree of license to play pranks and do mischief to their neighbors. The most common date for mischief night is October 30, the day before Halloween.
Traditionally, Mischief Night was celebrated on 4 November.[citation needed] This was due to Guy Fawkes' mischief and part of the mischief was to light bonfires early. Later, a mischief night was celebrated at Halloween (October 31 and the eve of winter) or May Eve (April 30 and the eve of summer) until the nineteenth century. Shrove Monday (i.e. the night before Shrove Tuesday and known as Nickanan Night in Cornwall and Dappy-Door Night in Devon) was also celebrated in this way in some places. In some localities, notably Yorkshire, it occurred on the night before Guy Fawkes Night (November 4) but there are no records of this date being celebrated before the late nineteenth century and it is assumed that festivities were transferred there from the much older folk festivals. An alternate view, with records going as far back as 1790, shows it was ported to Halloween. Mike T who grew up in Passaic Co says he thinks its Goosey Night. He's an idiot. [That may well be, but in Hawthorne, which is in Passaic County, in the 60's we had Goosey Night every year with lots of kids roaming around, and lots of soap applied to cars, stores, etc. The term "Mischief Night" was never used at that time.
In Northern New Jersey's Passaic County it is called "Mischief Night". In Bergen County, it is referred to as "Cabbage Night" in some areas as well as "Goosey Night". In South Jersey and the Philadelphia region (as well as Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT), October 30 is referred to as "Mischief Night," where mischievous teens rub soap bars on car windows, throw eggs at houses, adorn trees with toilet paper, and run away after ringing doorbells. In Camden, New Jersey, Mischief Night had escalated to the point where widespread arsons were committed in the 1990s. Over 130 arsons were committed in that city on the night of October 30, 1991.
It is known as "Gate Night" in Trail, British Columbia, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Thunder Bay, Ontario and Rockland County, NY (USA) and as "Mat Night" (or Mad Night) in Quebec, Canada, always on the 30 October, the eve of Halloween. It is also commonly known as "Devil's Night" in many places throughout Canada.
It is also known in Yorkshire as "mischievous night", "Miggy Night", "Tick-Tack Night", "Corn Night", "Trick Night" and "Micky Night" and is celebrated on November 4.In Liverpool, it is known as "Mizzy Night" and is celebrated on October 30.
Modern tricks are toilet papering yards and buildings, powder-bombing and egging cars and people and homes, using soap to write on windows, "forking" yards, setting off consumer fireworks, and smashing pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns. Local grocery stores often refuse to sell eggs to pre-teens and teens around the time of Halloween for this reason. Occasionally though, the damage can include the more serious spray-painting of buildings and homes. (Wikipedia)
And a look at the names for the evening:
Cabbage Night in the northeastern U.S., where rotten vegetables are collected and left on porches or smeared on windows.
Mat Night in English-speaking Quebec, where pranksters steal doormats and switch them with the neighbors’.
Gate Night, in the Midwest and Ontario, where livestock gates are opened as a prank.
Goosey Night in Passaic and Sussex Counties, New Jersey.
Devil’s Night in Detroit where pranks are now often tied to gang activities.
Damage Night in Cincinnati.
If that term came from England, “goosey” means an idiot, or a quick look at something. Both seem kind of fitting. Probably only an idiot would partake in Goosey Night activities, and if they’re a tiny bit smart, they would only do those activities quickly! (Veronica MacDonald Ditko for The Franklin Lakes Journal)
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