Is Devil’s Night Still a Thing in Michigan?

Devil's Night is Halloween’s Christmas Eve, but in a really bad way.

I didn’t realize until a few years ago that Devil’s Night was pretty much unknown to the rest of the country. Yeah, Devil’s Night is mostly a Michigan thing. But is it really still a thing in 2025?

Since I grew up in the 80s, Devil's Night was something your parents always warned you about and would never let you go out that evening. For many kids, it pretty much scared the hell out of us... and rightfully so.

Is Devil’s Night Still a Thing in Michigan?

The short answer: not like it used to be. Back in its wild heyday in the 1980s, Devil's Night in Detroit meant hundreds of fires, vandalism, abandoned houses getting torched, and residents basically living on edge. But now the numbers are way down. For example, in 2021, the Detroit Fire Department reported just three structure fires on October 30.

It is not like Devil’s Night is marked on any official calendar or anything. It is more of a Michigan memory at this point. Some people still joke about it or get a little extra alert if there are vacant houses in the neighborhood, but the full-blown arson chaos is long gone.

See Also: Is Toilet Papering or Egging a Crime in Michigan?

A bunch of places have their own name for the night before Halloween, even if they never went full Detroit with it. Here are the big ones:

Mischief Night: New Jersey, Philly, parts of the East Coast
Cabbage Night: Vermont and New Hampshire
Goosey Night: some areas in New Jersey and New York
Devil’s Night: Michigan’s version and by far the wildest
Gate Night: Midwest and parts of Canada
Moving Night: some Midwest towns, referring to moving outhouses
Mat Night: Minnesota, which somehow involves stealing doormats

Most of those were harmless pranks like TPing, soaping windows, or knocking things over. Michigan was just like, That’s cute. Let’s set buildings on fire.