Mischief Night In NJ - Negligence On 1st

Indeed, where I grew up in south Jersey the night before Halloween was mischief night, and any parent who let their kids out on 10/30 was negligent, a fool, or worse. 

I guess it's a testament to 9 years of Brooklyn living, but when I was putting out a fire in the backyard (good times!) an hour ago, the words mischief night never even occurred to me.  Rather, it was "thoughtless asshole smokers" because there is no doubt in my mind that a carelessly tossed cigarette butt sparked the fire. 

No worries though, a neighbor and I had the fire extinguished by the time the fire department got here - and damn, they got here FAST!  Very impressive response time.

In NJ, The Night Before Halloween Is 'Mischief Night'

" In some parts of the United States, the night before Halloween is the night when youths wreak havoc on suburban homes. Or maybe it only happens in New Jersey and Michigan—a dialect survey found that New Jersey residents call it "mischief night" and Michiganders call it "devils night" while other U.S. residents have no name for it at all! Maybe it's just referred to as the night where you go and throw eggs at houses and cars, put shaving cream everywhere and then TP the whole yard."

http://gothamist.com/2013/10/30/in_nj_the_night_before_halloween_is.php

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