Mischief Night & Halloween Nostalgia
It was suburbia’s wildest night
Looking at the memories of suburbia growing up, I can always look back on how the neighborhood would go silent quite quickly as summer ended. It once again obtained a bit of energizing when the Halloween season kicked in. My time growing up encompassed all of the 1980’s and the early to mid 1990s. It was a time I thoroughly enjoyed, and I remain with a feeling of being blessed still today for being able to experience that era, with its uniqueness especially with being pre technology into the technology era.
Back in those days Halloween was exceptionally popular where I grew up. The population of trick or treating kids was so abundant, that a person driving a car through our neighborhood would have to slow down greatly, and be extra observant and cautious of the many hundreds of dressed up kids running all over the place. The character of the area generally, had a good sense of Halloween fun and spirit as well because I can’t remember there being more than a very small handful of houses that did not participate.
Now right before this spooky holiday came, there was always a preface to it all. i don’t know how it works in other parts of America or the world, but here in central New Jersey, USA we call the eve before Halloween, Mischief Night.
Eggs were rampant sometimes on those October 30th nights, and the morning after always brought sights of toilet papered trees. It was a night where seemingly all vandalism laws somehow unofficially took a back seat. Now, from rumors I have heard besides the eggs and toilet paper, the dirty deeds involved soaping car windows, and even using slices of bologna to leave polka dots on cars. Some of those seem more extreme than others, and I myself was all for keeping it simple, maybe just a few eggs and a roll or two toilet paper. But that’s just me.
I don’t know if my memory perhaps exaggerate those mischievous nights, but it really does feel like the deeds were quite active on that night each year. Looking back at the way it seemed back then, I swear it felt like you had a 50/50 chance of an egg hitting your door each year.
As a kid who wanted to do some innocent fun, it wasn’t always easy to do because the parents of the friends circle were all on high alert about how many eggs were in the house every mischief night. So getting in on a stash of eggs wasn’t always such a simple task.
Like anything else from the good old days, Mischief night seemed good while it lasted as innocent fun, because as abundant and fun as it once seemed, it quickly died down as time went on, and I think that’s a good thing. Because what was once some innocent fun, got more and more vandalistic as the many years went on. Sometimes real damage, or even fires could happen in some cities in the nation.
For me and my friends, we didn’t find enjoyment from that type of severe damage of property. I could never find enjoyment on doing something that would cost someone else a lot of money. As I had many hopes of becoming a local volunteer firefighter when I’d turn 16, the idea of Mischief night turned me off as I matured. Not really any regrets; like I say, I was just more of a proponent of the simple things that give off a laugh, and not hurt.
I had many successful Halloween nights, especially after learning that carrying around pillow cases was the way to collect candy. I don’t remember exactly when I quit trick or treating, but pretty much, it was around the average age that kids give it up.
When it comes to the “good old days” and the reminiscing, I most definitely notice that the trick or treaters numbers went significantly down from the late 1990’s into the 2000’s with a slight jump again around 2010, 2011. It seems like it is going up little by little again as the new families once again move into these neighborhoods around central New Jersey.
It wasn’t necessarily my favorite holiday growing up, but I still enjoyed the memories of the neighborhood getting fully involved in traditions of the holiday. What this time means for me also is that my very favorite season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, are not too far around the corner.
But until then, Happy Halloween!
By MICHAEL PATANELLA
