Do kids actually egg and TP houseson Halloween?
Posted by DrDMango@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 295 comments
Posted by DrDMango@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 295 comments
MoronLaoShi@reddit
It was when I was a kid (45 now) but I have not lived in the US for 10 years. I’d imagine eggs are too expensive for that kind of thing now.
WokeUpIAmStillAlive@reddit
Yeah it still happens
emotionalaries@reddit
some kids from my community TP’d my grandpas office building one year, they brought trash bags to clean it up once he saw it & got pranked lol. it wasn’t a disrespect thing. but i had a friend TP her ex bf house on halloween in 2019. last year of remote normalcy
MysteryBelle_NC@reddit
We used to tp houses in the 80s. I wouldn't do it now, not after the lesson that was covid.
HecticTurtIe@reddit
We had "Mischief Night" growing up in the northeast. The night before Halloween kids would egg cars and houses, TP them, soap up some windows... Nothing overly damaging but a pain to clean up. I haven't lived there in a long time, but it seems to have died out a bit now.
Roboticpoultry@reddit
We did it almost every year to the jackass down the block from us. But this was before ring cameras and before we considered the guy might be completely unhinged and come out blasting
After_Lunch7662@reddit
I did as a kid in the 90s. Shaving cream too
cloisteredsaturn@reddit
People used to do it when I was growing up, but I’ve not seen it happen in a long time.
SonnySmilez@reddit
Only if your candy selection is wack.
Josephcooper96@reddit
As far as I know no or at least not as much as in the past
1Negative_Person@reddit
Have you seen the prices of eggs and toilet paper lately?!
cool-breeze_@reddit
We TPed houses in the early years of the 2010s. Not specifically on Halloween, though. We never egged anyone’s house or cars, but we would egg people’s lawns and throw flower over them so it would bake into the lawn. We would also fork lawns. Also, we only did it to our friend’s houses (and the school principal’s house once), but it wasn’t a mean thing that you’d do to someone you didn’t like.
Like other people said, my guess is ring cameras have killed the fun of it.
Ragtime07@reddit
Oh yeah!
Adventurous_Bit1325@reddit
Interesting that this post is immediately below the post about the guy who shot and killed the 11yr old kid in the back because he was doing the doorbell thing. It’s much more dangerous out there than it used to be.
lollipop-guildmaster@reddit
Literally not. It's much safer than it used to be. There's been an uptick since 2016 (Thanks, Cheeto Hitler), but it's still nowhere near as bad as it was when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s.
https://www.consumershield.com/articles/murder-rate-by-year
REDDITWONTWORK@reddit
It's so depressing how true this is, man. Crime rates have historically been going down continuously, it's only recently with this uptick but according to Pew Research violent crime fell by 49% if one uses the FBI crime statistics and by 71% in the period of 1993 to 2023. It's a shame how prevalent fearmongering is and has gotten. Commercial aircraft are safer than ever before, and yet conversations about incidents regarding aircraft have increased by 243% on Reddit and Twitter according to Storyful analysis. Different concept yet same principle. There's so many actual problems increasing that dont get nearly the attention they need and yet also so many problems that are decreasing that get way more than they deserve. It's annoying and depressing.
UnabashedHonesty@reddit
Yes.
LostArtofConfusion@reddit
On Devil’s Night (the night before Halloween), we would go soap windows.
BFG7576@reddit
Are you from Michigan? Only place I ever heard call it devil's night. We always called it mischief night
LostArtofConfusion@reddit
I am indeed. It used to be a night for pranks and stuff. Then some folks in Detroit used it as an excuse to burn down buildings. So, the powers-that-be tried to rebrand it as "Angel's Night."
BFG7576@reddit
I remember in the movie Gross Pointe Blank, Minnie Driver's character comments she used to have her own place, but it got burned down on Devil's Night.
Juleswf@reddit
I knew you’d be from Michigan. Devils night seems to only be a thing in Michigan.
agirlnamedbreakfast@reddit
Yes. I grew up in Michigan where it was called “Devil’s Night,” lived for several years on the East Coast where is was “mischief might,” and now live and have mostly as an adult lived on the West coast where it’s not called anything.
Juleswf@reddit
Me too. Grew up in Michigan, been on the west coast the last 35 years. No one here has heard of Devils night!
lollipop-guildmaster@reddit
And half the time when they have, they think it's Halloween. (Looking at you, Brandon Lee's The Crow)
Elegant_Bluebird_460@reddit
That's what we called it in MA too. We used both terms here actually.
wexpyke@reddit
we call it mischief night in philly
Ecks54@reddit
Isn't it jist called Monday? (And Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday....)
SRQmoviemaker@reddit
Same in fl
EnvironmentalShoe5@reddit
Same in NJ.
WelcomeToBrooklandia@reddit
In CT too!
Eat--The--Rich--@reddit
We used to lima bean peoples yards. They sprout with the dew and grow around the grass so you can't just mow them off lol
Icy_Calligrapher7088@reddit
Gate night here in Canada
Subject_Stand_7901@reddit
Sounds like a question a cop would ask...
spartangibbles@reddit
It definitely happened growing up but I dont see it happening much these days..... but to be fair houses didn't have ring cameras and other tech that made identifying people an easy task.
proscriptus@reddit
And people have started murdering children who come to their door a lot more.
secretaire@reddit
It’s a statistically safer time for children than the 70s and 80s. The facts speak for themselves and this fear mongering invites and incites a bunch of bs.
cruzweb@reddit
source?
Shotgun_Mosquito@reddit
Ding Dong Ditch Dead
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/03/us/houston-ding-dong-ditch-shooting-wwk
Lothar_Ecklord@reddit
Confirmation bias and media brigading. It’s the safest decade of US history and global history. People aren’t randomly getting shot for trick or treating, don’t be silly.
carameIricecakes@reddit
Even once is too many times dude
lollipop-guildmaster@reddit
But that doesn't change the fact that all violent crimes, including murder, are way down from when I was a kid. Pranking houses with TP was more dangerous for me than it is for my niblings now. It's just a fact.
sheburn118@reddit
Just FYI, the kid in Houston was trying to kick the front door down, like the current TikTok trend. It wasn't someone ringing a bell and running away, they were actively trying to kick the door in.
proscriptus@reddit
The News.
garden__gate@reddit
I saw two houses TPed in my neighborhood last Halloween! I was surprised.
StupidLemonEater@reddit
I'd be willing to bet most of those TP'd their own house, as decoration.
ForsakenPlane@reddit
Maybe, a lot of times you TP your friend's house as a joke rather than target unknown people. That also means you don't really care if you get caught (but all the cameras do take some of the fun out of it).
Living_Act2886@reddit
This gives me hope for the future.
r2k398@reddit
Because it’s expensive AF. I’d be so pissed if my kids wasted eggs or TP.
Ca1rill@reddit
The possibility of getting shot doing such a prank is also something we didn't think about as kids that is more present in our minds these days.
AmaNiKun@reddit
Yes...
Embarrassed-Theme587@reddit
i’ve never seen it happen but i wouldn’t be surprised
Terrible-Image9368@reddit
Not really anymore. Not with eggs $4 a dozen
sublimesting@reddit
Yeah but not as much as tv would have you believe.
reereejugs@reddit
Used to back in the days before video surveillance was literally everywhere.
CocaChola@reddit
Well, back in the 90s, the night before Halloween was called Devil's Night where I lived (Maryland). If one of us had a particular grudge against someone in the neighborhood, they became the victim. I remember there was this one lady who hated all us kids for hanging out near her house and she always bitched at us, so one Devil's Night about 6 of us got on our bikes, all of us with 2 cartons of eggs each, and we unleashed all of the eggs on her house. She came running outside on the phone with 911 screaming that we were shooting her house with machine guns. We rode our bikes so fast out of there, but it was such a fun memory and very distinctly 90s for me. You do that kind of stuff now you could get seriously hurt by a homeowner with a "home protection weapon." None of us got in any trouble nor did we ever get caught. It was just one of those things.
K_N0RRIS@reddit
In the past, yes. Not anymore. This probably was a "thing" up until the mid to late 90s, but nowadays, kids don't even go outside and cause hijinks anymore unless its for a tiktok skit. And everybody's house has a ring camera nowadays so if they did, they'd be caught.
I always thought vandalism was corny regardless of the circumstances so I've never done either and i don't feel like i've missed out on anything.
LSATDan@reddit
And other Saturdays.
Source: I'm Gen X. Sorry, Mr. Hyatt
bluescrew@reddit
Not since ring cameras
Character_Wait_2180@reddit
I did it a lot as a kid in the 80's and early 90's. But I don't see it anymore. It seems to be a dead artform.
redditer-56448@reddit
It was much more common decades ago. Ya know, before the security cameras everywhere and having to worry about someone shooting you for being on their property
Nightcoffee_365@reddit
Not much anymore. Used to be a reliable thing in the 80s-90s but somewhere between then and now it kinda stopped. The great toilet paper shortage of 2020 may have killed the tradition completely.
shelwood46@reddit
It makes me sad that today's teens aren't tp-ing their teachers' homes or cars.
rcp9ty@reddit
When it comes to cars most people just stick with saran wrap
rcp9ty@reddit
Yes, they Egg, TP, Flamingo, Fork, or worst of all Potato.
Forking - putting a bunch of plastic forks in the yard stopping a person from mowing the yard without removing the forks.
In case you're wondering what Potato means they will look at the forecast and if the weather says that its going to rain the next day they will sprinkle instant potato mix on a lawn which causes the yard to become lumpy after the rain.
lollipop-guildmaster@reddit
I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit during the heyday of Devil's Night (the night before Halloween, not Halloween itself). In the city, "gangs" were setting fires to literally hundreds of homes and businesses. (Not actually gangs; turned out that the vast majority of them were the owners of said homes and businesses, torching their own properties and blaming gangs in order to get an insurance payout)
In the suburbs, Mom and Dad patted me on my little blonde head and sent me out with a backpack full of toilet paper to decorate the neighborhood. Some kids also soaped windows or sprayed shaving foam on houses/cars. Bad kids egged houses.
I got caught by police one year, along with one of my younger step-siblings. They asked to see inside of our backpacks. When they saw it was only TP, they told us to have fun and get inside before it got too late.
DGlen@reddit
TP yes. Egging can break something and is usually avoided by most. Plus they used to be cheap.
Suspicious-Bass9276@reddit
Not much now a days. I’m sure back in the day they did but everyone has ring cameras etc. so naaaaa not really
Amazing_Divide1214@reddit
I thought it was the night before halloween that was popular to do this when I was a kid growing up. I don't think it happens much anymore though. Kids aren't really ever unsupervised anymore and cameras on houses are commonplace.
More-Adeptness-5523@reddit
With the current price of toilet paper and eggs; I doubt it!🤣
Thin-Quiet-2283@reddit
We did in the 70s and early 80s. Would be terrified in today’s world.
Elegant_Bluebird_460@reddit
I haven't seen it since ring cameras came onto the market. But when I was growing up it was common. It was more likely to happen the night before Halloween however, what we called "Devil's Night". That's when the mischief happened. TPing and egging houses, forking lawns, covering cars with bologna.
verygoodverygoodyayy@reddit
We never egged houses, but my parents would take us to TP a couple neighbors we were good friends with. All done in good fun, not malice. Cameras make it trickier but hopefully will carry on the tradition!
jkoki088@reddit
Thankfully, not like it once was
ParticularYak4401@reddit
Who needed Halloween to TP someone’s house back in the ‘90s? It was a frequent activity for gendered sleepovers in youth group. At least in my grade TP’ing one another’s homes was hilarious or at least one another’s cars when we started driving.
tutti_frutti_dutti@reddit
I tried to ding dong ditch as a 12 yr old kid circa 2014. A neighbor came out and screamed bloody murder at us, cursing up a storm and threatening to call the cops. I actually think he might have gotten violent if we hadn’t taken off running. It was terrifying.
So many people now have no concept of kids being kids, they overreact to everything. I think this is the real reason kids are scared now and don’t test boundaries. They’re not able to make mistakes the same way past generations were.
Just the other day, a kid was shot in Texas trying to ding dong ditch.
devilscabinet@reddit
We toilet papered houses year round. Always people that we knew, though. I never egged anything, but my car was egged a few times when I was a teen.
Freewayshitter1968@reddit
Yes we did. There were minigating factors though
Zealousideal_Draw_94@reddit
I doubt it happens much anymore, but I did see a house TP’d year before last.
txlady100@reddit
Yes.
KonaKumo@reddit
Not so much on Halloween....the rest of the year...yes
MuchDevelopment7084@reddit
A long time it happened. But today; not so much.
In fact, I don't believe I've even heard about one in the last thirty years.
Merkilan@reddit
It still happens here in Mississippi. As annoying as it can be, I am happy to see it. For a while it did not happen at all, but in the past 4 years it has gotten popular again.
Merkilan@reddit
It still happens here in Mississippi. As annoying as it can be, I am happy to see it. For a while it did not happen at all, but in the past 4 years it has gotten popular again.
Normal_Occasion_8280@reddit
We preferred buring paper bags full of shit on the porch, ringing the door bell and running off.
Gorewuzhere@reddit
We used to in the 90s when I was a kid... Now a days probably not, I haven't seen it.
Trick_Photograph9758@reddit
Yes, it happens. It's not common though. Happens maybe less now than it used to.
Karamist623@reddit
I did it when I was younger. (I’m older GenX). I don’t see it done much anymore. Oh, and we also soaped cars.
tn00bz@reddit
Egging is usually reserved for someone you really don't like. I got egged once. Someone tried to steal my friends skateboard, so I punched him in the mouth. I thought he was going to kill me. He just egged me.
mfigroid@reddit
Yep. TP was for friends or the girl you liked.
EnvironmentalShoe5@reddit
They definitely did when I was growing up.
uReallyShouldTrustMe@reddit
Ngl, even as a kid i thought it was asshole behavior and distances myself from those who did it.
mfigroid@reddit
NERD!!!!! Your house is tonight's target.
WrongJohnSilver@reddit
Yeah, I have to agree. I'm not sure why, perhaps echoes of Mexican immigration, or the Western attitude of letting your neighbors be, but kids were pretty strongly taught to respect neighbors and not prank them, in California. It felt so weird to experience differently in the East.
EnvironmentalShoe5@reddit
TP was fine, although thinking about Covid times hurts. I never egged anyone, though.
uReallyShouldTrustMe@reddit
Man... you ready to hate me? I largely skipped covid.
EnvironmentalShoe5@reddit
What does that have to do with toilet paper?
SummitSloth@reddit
Everything. You should've seen Costco during COVID
bjanas@reddit
New England checking in.
Same. It definitely happens, or happened, but Boston kids are proudly dickish while like 80% of their peers are looking are looking at them like "dude, what the FUCK are you doing?"
I guess testosterone is a hell of a drug and that rush is real. But goddamn, talk about underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes. Just so stupid.
theflamingskull@reddit
You're no fun.
uReallyShouldTrustMe@reddit
Never?
bubba1834@reddit
I stopped seeing it near me around 2013
BobsleddingToMyGrave@reddit
Not around here, they'd probably get shot.
Subterranean44@reddit
Egging is mean. TPing is a prank you might pull on a friend or family member. It can be mean too but when I was a kid it was mostly a prank to your friend - then they’d get “pay back””
Duque_de_Osuna@reddit
Not on Halloween, it is the night before. And no, not really.
brilliantpants@reddit
When I was a kid, in the late 80’s and early 90’s, the night before Halloween was referred to as “mischief night” and teens would 100% go out and do stuff like throw toile paper into trees, egg houses and cars, write on cars and streets with soap, and steal and smash up pumpkins and jack’o’lanterns.
We eventually started putting our pumpkins into the garage at night after getting them smashed a couple years in a row. Such shitty behavior.
However, but the time I was teen I think this was largely dying out. My friends and I would never have dreamed of doing something like that, and I definitely stopped seeing big messes on Halloween morning by about 2001.
Such-Patience-5111@reddit
Yes and not just on Halloween
dgmilo8085@reddit
I answered yes, we did, but not on Halloween. There were too many people out on Halloween.
dgmilo8085@reddit
We did egg and TP houses, but it was always some random fall night, not Halloween.
Queenfan1959@reddit
Not with the price of TP and eggs here!!!!
lezzerlee@reddit
I got egged riding my bike home from work on Halloween one year in about 2013. That shit hurt!
I did TP a friend’s house as a prank in high school, but not on Halloween. We did other relatively harmless pranks to each other as well. But my group never egged (it was seen as a step too far).
goatofglee@reddit
Apparently, according to what I see from parents online, kids these days are way more cautious. So, it might not be something that's as common today, but it was in the past.
Slightly unrelated, but one post was of teens asking their parents if they could sneak out "for the teenage rebellion experience". Lol! It's actually kinda wholesome and it feels like generational healing in a way.
HighFiveKoala@reddit
Around 20 years ago I was eating at a McDonald's with my dad and brother on Halloween and someone randomly threw an egg at the window by us. It didn't impact too hard or loud and I just casually noticed it.
DarkMagickan@reddit
We used to when I was a kid. I mean, i didn't, but it was common. That was a long time ago, though. I imagine you'd get shot if you tried it now.
Dull-Geologist-8204@reddit
Yes but not as common as you would think. Only had a house TP'd once and cars egged once. The egging of the cars wasn't random though. The neighbor left her light on and then would hose down the kids who knocked. They kept showing up at our door dripping wet. The next morning we were woken up by the cops. The neighbor causing the problem called the police and told them we egged the cars. Right because we egged our own vehicle just to cause her problems. I am pretty sure someone's older sibling got mad but didn't know whose car it was so egged all the cars behind the tow of townhuses. Luckily she had called the cops on us so many times before they already knew she was batshit crazy. Not the best way to find out your vehicle was egged because your neighbor is an asshole though.
NoContextCarl@reddit
This was probably more culturally relevant in the 80s or 90s but not as much now. Way too many unhinged people these days. An 11 year old was just shot and killed doing "ding dong ditch" at someone's house, so probably no longer a safe prank by today's standards.
Although doing it to expected target as a harmless prank, that likely still occurs to some extent outside of Halloween. I've read about teachers and students having prank wars and the teacher getting his house TP'ed as a joke fairly recently.
lawyerjsd@reddit
Teenagers will. It's not as common as it once was, but it still happens.
RandomGuyDroppingIn@reddit
In the 2000s I got my car egged on Halloween one year. Everyone's car on the block was egged. Wasn't fun to deal with getting it all off.
I've never personally egged or TP'ed anyone's home.
jackjackj8ck@reddit
Back in the day yes
But now they’re being shot for ding-dong-ditching.
Even in my bougie CA gated community some kids were ding-dong-ditching at like 8pm and some curmudgeons started sending emails round the neighborhood distro with the Ring camera footage 🙄🙄🙄
Living_Molasses4719@reddit
Back in the day (70s and 80s) yes. Probably not much in modern times
boodyclap@reddit
I grew up in the 2000s and we "taped" a house that didn't give us candy, it wasnt like what you see on tv and stuff and we did it more so cuz we ourselves thought of it as a TV trope/cartoony thing we just kinda threw tp over a houses tree and mailbox and that was about it
Egging we never did
Quix66@reddit
I live between two small cities. One of them seems to have the TP tradition and love it. Don't understand why. I'd be so upset! But they think it's cute and a rite of passage. It's one thing if the TP stays dry but if it gets wet it would seem to be a real issue.
I think it's criminal. Some people do complain but a lot of parents and homeowners think it's great. I went to school in the other small city and the principal always warned us to not egg it TP or there'd be unpleasant consequences.
harpejjist@reddit
Yes but it is frowned upon obviously
Adventurous-Depth984@reddit
Do you know how expensive those are????
shammy_dammy@reddit
Not just on Halloween. Thankfully it has really started to go away now that there are cameras everywhere and people are willing to press charges.
RevolutionaryRow1208@reddit
That was largely an 80s thing...good chance you get shot now.
KillBologna@reddit
Maybe in the 2000s but I would be surprised if kids don’t get a heart attack if the leave the house without an ipad.
kgrimmburn@reddit
We still TP in my town. I haven't seen a house yet but football has only just begun. No one's ever really egged houses here. That's viewed as more vandalism like than a few rolls of paper in your trees.
Famous_Tumbleweed346@reddit
Used to be, back in the 80s, early 90s, that if you left your porch lights on Halloween night but then didn't answer the door to give out candy to trick-or-treaters that you could be a target for tping.
Even further back in the day, kids ran the neighborhood on Halloween night, and people respected the arrangement-- give candy or face consequences. Adults anymore don't have any respect for tradition.
As a parent taking my kid trick or treating and trying to figure out who's giving out candy, I prefer the old system.
AlixFoxx@reddit
Definitely still happens, just don't ask me where I was on Halloween on any given year
bizoticallyyours83@reddit
Not that I've seen. But that doesn't mean it never happens.
Oomlotte99@reddit
It happens. I don’t think as much now but when I was in high school in the early 2000’s people did.
rosewoodlliars@reddit
I’d be damned is someone did that today. Some lunatic would shoot them on sight.
1337b337@reddit
Widespread at-home surveillance curtailed that a lot, but it sitll haplens from time to time.
Theycallmesupa@reddit
In my town it's usually at the end of the year and school sports related.
STONEDST00PID@reddit
I'm from Phoenix, AZ . We once Taped a house and wrapped a cactus up pretty good. Didn't realize how fucked up that was.
Complete_Aerie_6908@reddit
Absolutely!!!!
Outside_Narwhal3784@reddit
I assumed it happened in other parts of the U.S. haha. I grew up in a very very small community, so pranks like that were very rare any time of year.
But as you mention in, now that I’ve lived in a big city for the last several decades I don’t think I’ve ever seen it myself.
squilliamfancyson837@reddit
When I was a really little kid, my mom would get permission from our neighbors and we’d TP some of their bushes. Of course I didn’t know at the time that she was giving them the heads up so for me it was just a sneaky fun prank we were pulling
GrayJayne@reddit
Yes, I helped TP one in 1986 as a high school senior. I didn’t really want to do it.
Bluemonogi@reddit
I never did that or had it happen in my neighborhood.
I think Halloween vandalism in my area was usually smashing jack o’lantrens.
Egging or tping houses was not really Halloween but some random night.
SteampunkExplorer@reddit
I've never seen it happen, and I'm in my late thirties.
But I also live in an area where people tend to be friends with their neighbors, and kids don't roam around with no supervision at night. Ergo, your mom would kill you if you tried something like that. 😂
GetOffMyLawnYaPunk@reddit
You seen the price of eggs & TP lately? I know eggs have gone down in price some, but still.
_haha_oh_wow_@reddit
A long time ago, yes. These days it doesn't seem to happen from what I've seen.
BearsLoveToulouse@reddit
I haven’t seen it now that I’m older. I remember seeing cracked eggs on side walks and a few random TP strands on a tree as a kid but nothing huge.
I’ve haven’t see anything like that- I am sure kids with smart phones help, maybe it is because kids trick or treat at older ages, and I know some towns intentionally have events to get kids engaged and not doing stupid stuff at night
TechnologyDragon6973@reddit
It used to happen like 30 years ago. I don’t think anyone is risking that much mischief these days with all the Ring cameras everywhere.
CulturalLow4@reddit
I got hit in the face with an egg my last year of trick or treating. Never saw the TP thing irl.
CatBoyTrip@reddit
i was too busy getting free candy to do any of that dumb shit.
stroppo@reddit
I would think not anymore because in the US you're likely to be shot for doing so.
Just read a story the other day about some boys in Houston doing a "doorbell prank," ringing someone's doorbell and running away. The homeowner shot at the boys and now one of them is dead.
So yeah, don't do "pranks" in the US. Too dangerous.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/02/texas-man-charged-11-year-old-shot-dead-doorbell-prank
Sleepygirl57@reddit
Only the cool kids do 😉
AuburnFaninGa@reddit
Auburn University (AL) students traditionally “roll” the trees in downtown Auburn at “Toomer’s Corner” at after a big win (in any sport). The two original main trees were removed and replaced after a fan from rival University of Alabama poisoned the trees.
himenokuri@reddit
The jerk ones do
Not2daydear@reddit
Used to. Now they burn buildings on Devil’s night.
jackfaire@reddit
Yes and no. It didn't happen every year and not to every house.
My brother and I sort of egged a house. Effectively we were egging a house. The intention was to see if we could get eggs to clear the house but most of them landed on the roof. I can only cite being dumb teens that didn't think shit through.
No idea what we were thinking trying to get eggs into our neighbors back yard.
BoseSounddock@reddit
TPing was much more common than egging. Egging was more frowned upon because it could cause real damage to the paint on a house. TP was more innocent and just annoying.
It wasn’t really a Halloween thing, though. It was a Homecoming week Junior/Senior war thing.
tcrhs@reddit
We rolled houses, but never egged anything. It wasn’t just on Halloween.
I had a sleepover and we snuck out to roll yards. We rolled my own yard so my Mom wouldn’t think we did it. I broke my window screen and got caught.
AnonymousCracks@reddit
Definitely, but it's not exclusive to Halloween.
I saw some kids going around and TPing random houses in my Grandparents' neighborhood. When they got to my Grandparents' house and saw me, they were like "Miss, would you like us to TP your house?"
I politely told them no and they just moved onto the next house. 🤷♀️
redflagsmoothie@reddit
Everyone has cameras nowadays so I doubt it. When I was a kid (90s) it was a thing.
dildozer10@reddit
My shithead friends and I would roll houses any day if the weak when we were in our teens. I stopped doing it after the homeowner pulled a gun on is a couple of times.
Clawdius_Talonious@reddit
Not if you give out good candy.
Actually I'm pretty sure it's Mischief Night or Devil's Night, the night before Halloween when most of that stuff gets done so what kind of candy you give out that year doesn't enter into it, although some vindictive shits might hold grudges in my experience TP is expensive when you're a kid so you save that sort of thing for your friends, and use 1 ply paper that comes down with the water hose pretty easy.
infinitefacets@reddit
At least up until the 90s they still did. Halloween was less mischievous after 2000. From a kids pov anyway.
MyUsername2459@reddit
Law enforcement got a lot more serious on 9/11/2001, and even petty vandalism started to be taken a lot more seriously.
infinitefacets@reddit
I was going to say the same thing but I didn’t want to call the trolls 🥴
VenomFlavoredFazbear@reddit
As a gen-zer, I’m only familiar with it in pop culture; I don’t think it’s a thing we do
thepineapplemen@reddit
Same, I’ve never known anyone who’s actually done it or had it done to them
helloiamabear@reddit
They did on Mischief Night (the night before Halloween), but this doesn't really happen anymore.
PureYouth@reddit
I mean that was just a Saturday night for me when I was in middle school lol. The good ol days
knuckles_nice@reddit
Does anyone ever get forked? Where kids stick a bunch of plastic forks in your yard and snap the handles off? I heard about this growing up but wasn't sure if anyone ever did it.
MonsieurRuffles@reddit
We had the occasional TPing on Mischief Night in NJ. It wasn’t as destructive as egging or soaping windows. One of the families in our neighborhood would have hot chocolate and a place to hang out on Mischief Night.
UmptyscopeInVegas@reddit
Back when eggs and toilet paper was less expensive...
RoxoRoxo@reddit
when i was a kid, this lady was giving out like microloafs of wonderbread, the laof was the size of like 1 piece that was in the shape of a loaf..... her house got tped and egged that year lol but i havent seen it since
happyme321@reddit
I got my dad’s affair partner when I was in junior high. 😂 It was fun
LopsidedCry7692@reddit
TP still happens
MyUsername2459@reddit
Not really.
It was a thing decades ago. . .but a combination of more modern security systems (like doorbell cameras), police treating it as serious vandalism, parents being a LOT more involved in trick-or-treating than they were decades ago (when it used to be normal for kids to go doing it on their own, instead of escorted by parents) definitely vastly down on it.
I can't remember the last time I saw a house actually get TP'ed or egged.
justsomeshortguy27@reddit
It happened more often before doorbell cameras
Ineffable7980x@reddit
It definitely happened when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. I don't know if it is quite as common now.
er1catwork@reddit
TP for the people you like and egg for the bastard neighbors! Back in HS, TPing was pretty common - for friends or on senior football players houses. I haven’t seen a house TP’d in probably 10 years :(
apcb4@reddit
No. They do it the night before Halloween! We call it “Mischief Night” but that’s very regional.
daringnovelist@reddit
The only time we ever ran across it was when we lived in a heavily Christian area. (I mean the kind where there are rules against dancing.) The kids turned nasty, there. Otherwise it was pretty rare.
HalcyonHelvetica@reddit
Yes but not commonly. My high school did it as an "induction rite" of sorts before school started in August (there was some sort of frat and sorority like society for the mostly White and mostly wealthy kids). The guys would egg their freshmen’s houses and the girls would TP their freshmen’s houses. This would happen again around Halloween.
Pyewhacket@reddit
Not just Halloween
la-anah@reddit
I've never seen it happen. I have lived in Massachusetts all my life (GenX). I grew up in a rural-ish town and lived in Boston for many years. I now live just north of Boston in a small city that is famous for Halloween. I haven't encountered movie-style attacks on houses in any of the places I have lived.
BM7-D7-GM7-Bb7-EbM7@reddit
This is a Northern thing. We never did this in Texas, but I had a friend from up North who talked about it like it was the funnest night of the year.
xczechr@reddit
Have you seen the price of eggs these days?
Listen-to-Mom@reddit
We used to soap car windows too. Never egged anyone though.
Ozythemandias2@reddit
Don't forget the ole Saran wrap the car.
Vegetable-Star-5833@reddit
I myself never did it cause that costs money and my family was poor but yes it does happen
oswin13@reddit
Egging is rarer (especially when eggs are expensive!) They cause real property damage.
TPing was specifically for homecoming and traditionally in my town the cheerleaders were responsible for TPing the football teams houses, though folks would usually take the opportunity to do other teachers etc. It was definitely a sign of endearment in an odd way.
Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit
I don’t think I ever saw or heard of anyone getting egged, but it was very common – and kind of a point of honor - that the football players houses would get TP’d by the cheerleaders. So it was kind of backwards where I meant. If you saw a house that was TP’d you figured somebody popular there. It was a little different and I in California though because it really rains during football season so you don’t have the added issue of wet toilet paper
Ok_Concentrate4461@reddit
TP is done more these days around Homecoming, and to people you like. It’s weird. If I was the parent of those “popular” kids I’d be livid.
phydaux4242@reddit
My brother used to buy each of his kids a dozen eggs for Halloween. And he’d drive them around the neighborhood, pointing out the houses he wanted them to be sure to hit.
PsychologicalBat1425@reddit
Not on Halloween. I never egged anyone's house, that causes damage to paint and siding. But, people did it when I was young. I have TP houses before as a teenager. Never did it in Halloween. I was usually at a party on Halloween.
Grundens@reddit
we used to when I was a kid, late 90s/ early 00's.. plus blowing up mailboxes with firework mortars and sometimes full-blown paint ball battles in the center of town. now a days all the kids head home before it even gets dark. thankful I grew up when I did.. but yet, look at the shitty hand we got as adults. such is life
Grand_Raccoon0923@reddit
I remember doing it when younger in the 80s and 90s. That shit is too expensive now.
CabinetSpider21@reddit
It was very common in the late 90s early 2000s. Don't really see it much anymore
Ok-Trouble7956@reddit
Certainly happened when I was a kid but I rarely see it these days. Technically vandalism and with all the cameras these days I guess that discourages kids from doing it
Dark_Web_Duck@reddit
We used to in the 80's and 90's. Haven't seen much of it since.
North_Artichoke_6721@reddit
We did this when I was a teen in the 1990s.
Turn1Loot@reddit
We did that the night before; Devils Night
Yankee_chef_nen@reddit
It happens but it’s more likely to be done by older teenagers or adults than kids.
Randygilesforpres2@reddit
Not anymore. Back in the 70s and 80s yes, maybe earlier too, but it dropped off in the last couple decades.
machagogo@reddit
Yes, but I have not seen this in quite some time. Over 25 years since the last instance I have noticed.
therealbamspeedy@reddit
Around here they TP a house of a football player during homecoming, sometimes athletes of other sports too, like if they qualified to compete in state tournament or something.
BigoleDog8706@reddit
Yes sadly.
Apocalyptic0n3@reddit
I grew up in metro Detroit and the night before Halloween was known as Devil's Night for decades there. We were not, under any circumstances, allowed outside that night. People would set cars and buildings on fire. They'd randomly shoot guns. They'd tear trees down. They'd throw buckets of paint. People rarely got hurt, but tons of property got destroyed.
In the late 90s, the area declared the night "Angel's Night" and every city sent the cops out in force each year. Every small act was arrested and prosecuted much more heavily than normal. Within about 10 years, the property damage was no longer a thing.
That_70s_chick@reddit
It happened a lot when I was growing up but the only cameras were big and obvious and our parents didn’t take a bunch of pics because film was expensive. These days it would be so hard to not get caught.
MorningAngel420@reddit
Only if they want to get shot
aquay@reddit
yes, and not just kids
gadget850@reddit
In the past, yes. Too expensive now.
JenniferJuniper6@reddit
From experience, not since maybe 1974.
Positive-Fondant5897@reddit
Every night after football games, the trumpet section in the band would TP other band members' homes. Me and my friends TPed on of their houses, and the parent caught us. We explained they TPed a couple of our houses. They let us finish and put a spotlight in the tree to show our handiwork and what they'd have to clean up the next day.
Toriat5144@reddit
Sometimes. But now more focused on getting candy.
Ms-Metal@reddit
Yeah, of course it's real. Not so much anymore, but definitely a thing when I was growing up in the '70s. Very common.
smokervoice@reddit
TP doesn't even have to be on Halloween. It's just a high school prank for your friends or enemies.
Such-Mountain-6316@reddit
Decades ago, yes. We had a dog that chased the culprits off the property. We came home to a tree that was 1/4 TP'd and several rolls lying around where they had obviously been chucked at her. We picked them up and used them. We served her a steak. Good dog. I miss her today, and that was when I was a kid.
Now, Google Ding Dong Ditch Murder. I wouldn't recommend rolling anyone's yard today.
PAXICHEN@reddit
No. The night before on Mischief Night.
RavenMcG@reddit
Then? You would see a bit in my town; now, not in this economy.
kpbennett02@reddit
Some do. Not as common now. But it happens
legal_bagel@reddit
Doubtful in current times; an 11 yo was just gunned down in Texas while running away playing ding dong ditch.
tacosgunsandjeeps@reddit
I see houses TPed every year, but never see any egged
Interesting_Edge6775@reddit
Back when eggs and tp were crazy cheap, yes that was a thing
unknown_anaconda@reddit
It happens, it isn't common.
ALittleSalamiCat@reddit
TP still happens all the time here, but it’s more of a friendly prank between kids nowadays. Everyone has Ring cameras, so anyone TPing knows that they’ll be seen. I’ve definitely seen prank wars where kids will TP their friends back and forth.
Egging, not really. I feel like that is reserved for people you actually don’t like. And since there’s cameras, no one is stupid enough to do it anymore.
The_Brain_FuckIer@reddit
lmao never seen it done on Halloween but when I was in high school there was a tradition that seniors on the football team got their houses TPed by the cheerleaders. The year they did my house someone decided to use a good TP though so you could sorta just pull it down and rake it up, you're supposed to use the cheapest 1 ply you can find so the dew turns it to mush and it gets everywhere. I did fork the yard of a guy with my friends one time on Halloween but he had it coming.
Modern_Klassics@reddit
Used to happen, not anymore. Such an mean thing to do to someone.
AggressiveKing8314@reddit
Didn’t egg but did the tp thing many many times. Other shenanigans as well but was never destructive. Soap on windows was another good one.
RustyRayWay@reddit
Doesn’t really happen in my neighborhood but the main problem with where I live is that it’s just far too car centric. More walkable neighborhoods with lively halloweens usually mean you’ll see more houses covered in TP lol
agirlnamedbreakfast@reddit
Never on Halloween. One time in high school I helped egg/TP a friend’s ex boyfriend’s house (literally remember saying “mom, can we have this carton of eggs?” And walking out the door) and later felt bad when I realized it was just probably an annoyance to/extra work for his parents.
OkMasterpiece2194@reddit
It's wild, it used to happen a lot when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s and then it would have been perfectly acceptable to chase the kid and rough him up a little bit.
Maybe now it isn't as fun for kids because adults can't really do anything. Maybe the fear of the chase and stuff was part of the fun. Now people just sue each other and the kid is the victim and that's no fun.
BalrogRuthenburg11@reddit
It was definitely a thing in southwest Chicagoland in the 90s. It’s rare to see today.
Big-Ad4382@reddit
Not now. If they are going to TP a house it’s usually school related e g “we like this boy!” and not Halloween related.
happygrizzly@reddit
Yeah where I lived getting TP’d meant you were popular.
Appropriate-Food1757@reddit
Much less than in the 80’s and 90’s.
I do see some doorbell ditching despite the Ring cams and it gives me a little smile.
ac7ss@reddit
not so much in the last 30 years.
Pitiful_Bunch_2290@reddit
Eggs and toilet paper? In this economy?!
I think it's been well over a decade since I saw an adorned house. Everyone has a security camera now, so there are plenty of deterrents that didn't exist a while back.
BigMomma12345678@reddit
Only the shittiest ones, but not all or most
NOTcreative-@reddit
yes
Icy-Mixture-995@reddit
Not where I lived. It was mostly something to watch in TV.
vingtsun_guy@reddit
It was definitely a thing when I was a kid - 80's. I haven't seem or heard of anything like that happening for a long time.
Lulusgirl@reddit
I grew up and still live in Metro Detroit. Google "Devils Night" to get more of a background. It's not just in our area, but that's where it started, my older sister still remembers fires in Detroit when she was 10, back in the 80's. Heck, my dad remembers the '67 riots, he was 13 at the time living in east Redford.
lilfoothillsheaven@reddit
Yeah, it's real. After Halloween you can drive around and see which houses got TP'd.
Also forking lawns was a thing.
poechris@reddit
One year people got donuted in our town. So many Shipley's donuts all over people's yards and roofs and driveways. And so many insects and birds...
SabresBills69@reddit
Not many tricks ir treat now like was done when I was a kid sround 1980.
Back then streets were filled with kids trick-i-treating on the roads. The slightly older teen kids would fo thise eggs/ to stuff overnight.
Today because of fear about child haters kidbapoers, and molesters, kids dont go yhus as much anymore. Its more school organized or church organized or socisl group organized parties.
Kids still dress up Schools have events or dances around then Parties still occur ( even those for adults)
kapybara33@reddit
No one I knew egged anyone’s house but kids would TP their friends’ houses
gaoshan@reddit
I was personally involved in papering trees and houses as well as egging on a number of occasions (in the 1980s).
ModernPrometheus0729@reddit
I’ve never done it or known anyone who ever did
Dependent_Home4224@reddit
I don’t know about that but mailbox smashing was popular in my rural town in the early 90s.
mugenhunt@reddit
It's very rare in the neighborhood I live in. Almost unheard of.
Affectionate_Spot403@reddit
I downvoted you because it is normal here in america.
Odd_Championship7286@reddit
My wife got her car egged last year. I’ve never seen her so mad! It’s surprisingly hard to get off
ZebulonRon@reddit
I TP’d a house once, but it wasn’t on Halloween.
Mattturley@reddit
Find a midwesterner to tell you bout Corning!
animepuppyluvr@reddit
My mom once tp'd her friend bush in the front yard as a part of their minor prank war but thats the I only time I saw it
hecking-doggo@reddit
When I was younger yeah, but not really anymore. Though just a couple weeks ago a house on my street got TP'd out of the blue.
GotchUrarse@reddit
In the late 70's/early 80's, a lot of stuff happened. TP'ing was minor. Egging houses. Burning or smashing mail boxes. We where shitheads.
WideGlideReddit@reddit
On mischief night when I was growing up.
Endy0816@reddit
TPing was a thing.
kris10185@reddit
The night before Halloween was called Mischief Night where I grew up, and that's when it was done. And people in my boring little suburban town in NJ definitely did it!! It wasn't until recently that I found out "Mischief Night" is a regional thing! The Midwest has the same concept though but they call it Devil's Night.
shelwood46@reddit
Yes, though in some places it starts the night before and they have a name for it (Mischief Night in NJ, Devil's Night in MI)
According-Couple2744@reddit
Back in 1989, my boss(who was about 45) lived next to my oldest brother. She left her husband and brought a new house for herself and her children. One night, she was thinking about all of the bad things he her ex had done to her, so she went to the store and purchased several dozen eggs, and threw them at her ex husband’s house. Her ex ended up blaming my 12 year old nephew for egging his house. The only reason why my brother didn’t kick his a** was because her ex was such a wimp, my brother said it would have been like hitting a woman. It was several years later that I was talking to my former boss and told her the story about her ex accusing my nephew of egging his house, and she immediately picked up the phone to call her ex and told him that he owed my brother an apology because she was the person who egged his house. I couldn’t stop laughing. I was only 24 when the whole event occurred, and I thought my boss was so sophisticated, but we are all human.
bullettrain@reddit
I wouldn't say it's very common, but when I was growing up it certainly did happen
qu33nof5pad35@reddit
I’ve never seen TP on houses… but then again, I’ve only lived in apartments. But yes to egging, and it wasn’t just on Halloween. My cousin egged an apartment that was across from me on the other block and it went into the open window. Every year after that, our apartment has been egged since I’ve lived there.
northakbud@reddit
TP’d when I was a kid. Not eggs.
PurpleLilyEsq@reddit
Considering kids now get shot by homeowners for playing ding dong ditch, and parents get the cops called on them for letting kids walk to school alone in daylight, not so much anymore. But it was definitely a thing in the 90s and earlier.
Cocacola_Desierto@reddit
It was more common when everyone didn't have an on demand camera in their pocket or house cameras everywhere.
yellowdaisycoffee@reddit
Totally, but I don't think it's as common as it used to be, which sucks. I like the chaos.
Asparagus9000@reddit
Not as often anymore. Eggs are expensive now.
I still see TP occasionally.
At least in my experience it's more of a slumber party thing than a Halloween thing.
AveryDuchemansWife@reddit
Sometimes, but in my experience it was more often done during homecoming.
terrovek3@reddit
I never did TP any houses.
No comment on any alleged eggings....
mrpointyhorns@reddit
My friends, me and my sister, and my sister's friends would tp each other, but we didn't use eggs, and I dont think we did it on Halloween.
It stopped after one of my sister's friends put pads on the house and put refried beans on the pads. No one got in trouble, but the parents agreed not to allow that anymore.
Public_Ad_9578@reddit
I haven't seen this in years. Last time it was common to see in my area was the 80-90s.
Various_Summer_1536@reddit
Not anymore.
WangSupreme78@reddit
We did when I was a kid. This sort of thing was done on mischief night though, not Halloween.
bowman9@reddit
Oh yes, back in the 2000s, we did it on several Halloweens.
PrpleSparklyUnicrn13@reddit
Yep. I don’t see it so much anymore, but it was definitely a thing once upon a time.
ODonThis@reddit
Sounds like a normal Tuesday when i grew up
Drgonmite@reddit
Where I’m from it was common in my youth to cut trees across the roads around Halloween. Mountains area with miles and miles of trees. If you had to work on Halloween you carried a chainsaw with you that week . Also set tires on fire in the roads . A lot of stupid things was done back then by bored teenagers.
Penguin_Life_Now@reddit
Yes, last year it happened at a house 5 or 6 down the street from ours on Halloween night
lavasca@reddit
Don’t forget salting lawns!
JimBones31@reddit
They did in the 2000s and 2010s. I can't say I've seen it in the 2020s.
husky_whisperer@reddit
Yes but definitely not in Halloween. Too many witnesses.
The best time is when you know it’s gonna rain before anyone wakes up.
faxdontlie@reddit
I'm 38 and I did with my friends until I was 12 or 13. I can't remember. We usually found teachers houses or some adult in the area we pissed off and we got offended at them being angry at us lol
ThatGirl_Tasha@reddit
My mom said everyone did it when she grew up in the 40s and 50s. She said all the neighborhood out cleaning soap off their windows the next day was part of the tradition
AdelleDeWitt@reddit
I rarely see that anymore but you used to say see houses covered in TP frequently, but honestly not so much on Halloween. I think it's harder to be sneaky when everyone's outside.
SlamClick@reddit
I saw it occasionally growing up in the early-mid 90's. I haven't seen a tp'd house in more than 10 years.
Relevant_Elevator190@reddit
We never egged houses or peoples cars. We did egg each other and cops.
titianwasp@reddit
Definitely happened when I was a kid
msspider66@reddit
Back in the early 80s/late 70s we tended to egg each other instead of causing property damage.
A former colleague was married to a high school principal. The school’s tradition was to tp their house the night before homecoming. She found it funny. I don’t know who cleaned it up but I am guessing it wasn’t her.
Historical-Composer2@reddit
yes
Real-Psychology-4261@reddit
Sometimes, yes.
Opening-Ad-2769@reddit
Back in my day we did lol
Miserabull@reddit
Never happened in my neighborhood growing up and hasn't happened in the neighborhood I live and parent in now.
However there were some TP pranks in high school and at camp, but not on Halloween.
However there is a scary af clown with a horn that wonders around my neighborhood every Halloween and we all hide or run away when we hear his horn. It is clearly a lone male adult and he scares the shit out of me when I see him every year.
Big_Metal2470@reddit
Absolutely. But you pretty much have to earn it.
yozaner1324@reddit
I've never done it or seen it, but I'm sure it does happen.
Shytemagnet@reddit
More likely on Devil’s Night, but overall, yes.