Halloween was a way for young people to take revenge on adults with few consequences.
A Game of Cat and Mouse
Pranks were part of Halloween fun, and tomfoolery was accepted so long as no one was hurt and property damage was kept to a minimum. Even when things went too far, property owners often refused to press charges. Popular pranks in the early 1900s included stealing gates and porch furniture, tipping outhouses, soaping windows, and blocking the street with whatever wasn’t nailed down.
Pranking was a rite of passage for many of Edmonton’s young people. But just because it was expected didn’t mean homeowners gave up completely. The newspaper clippings below are from the late 1920s. They show that adults were not always easy targets for pranksters, and sometimes took steps to outsmart the city’s marauding young people.
Law and Order
By the 1920s some pranks were becoming more dangerous, and steps were taken to make the streets safe. To deter young vandals, policing increased on Halloween nights. By the 1930s, the glory days of Halloween pranking in Edmonton were over, although petty vandalism continued.
According to police reports a lot of property damage was done on Halloween night in 1930. Some of the more interesting pranks that occurred that night included derailing the streetcar, damaging sidewalks and fences, stealing gates and street furniture, and eight young men who stole and wrecked a democrat (a horse-drawn wagon). Interestingly, most of the children got off with a warning.
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