Friday, October 30, 2015

Devil's Night house in Detroit

At 7343 Churchill Street in Detroit is a sprawling abandoned home that was built in 1914.


Okay, as far as vacant houses, this one isn't particularly remarkable. But stick with me on this one.

On the left side of the porch you'll see a sign.


Every year on October 30--which is known as Devil's Night in Detroit and the rest of southeastern Michigan--barbarians and insurance fraudsters burn down abandoned buildings. The festivities often begin on the evening of the 29th, although the other 363 days of the year are hardly arson-free. Detroit averages over ten arson fires a day.

Community leaders responded with Angel's Night in the 1990s to control the mayhem, which has been somewhat successful. Signs such as this one, which reads, "This building is being watched, stop Halloween arson," are being utilized for Devil's Night 2015. And there is a curfew for anyone 17-and-under in Detroit until Halloween is over.


Here's what else is amazing about that house--it's not in the Detroit empty wastelands such the area surrounding the Packard Plant, it is just two blocks from the Motown Museum and a half-mile from the prestigious Henry Ford Hospital. Urban ruins are always nearby in the Motor City, which is a sightseeing tip that you won't see in a tourist brochure.


The Devil's Night house has something else going for it--apples that can be picked right off of the tree. And there aren't attack dogs there anymore.

At one time there was a trick and a treat here.

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