# Halloween violence **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948 "2017-10-27T04:18:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![randompariah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@randompariah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompariah)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/1 "2017-10-27T04:18:07Z")
Are there more stabbings on Halloween than any other day of the year? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/2 "2017-10-27T05:11:01Z")
Not that I’m aware of but, off-hand, I don’t have any statistics. The type of Halloween violence I associate the holiday with is petty vandalism that [occasionally escalates into arson in some of the more economically troubled areas of the U.S.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Night) As for increased stabbings, my hunch is that since Halloween has recently become a drinking holiday like St. Patrick’s Day and New Year’s Eve, the violence has more to do with alcohol than the day itself. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/3 "2017-10-27T05:29:46Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Not that I’m aware of but, off-hand, I don’t have any statistics. The type of Halloween violence I associate the holiday with is petty vandalism that [occasionally escalates into arson in some of the more economically troubled areas of the U.S.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Night) > > As for increased stabbings, my hunch is that since Halloween has recently become a drinking holiday like St. Patrick’s Day and New Year’s Eve, the violence has more to do with alcohol than the day itself. I don’t know about the stabbings, but I thought Halloween was always a drinking holiday. But then again, I used to think Tuesdays were a drinking holiday too.😃 But I’m feeling MUUUUCH better now. ( Night court reference)😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/4 "2017-10-27T13:03:58Z")
> [@randompariah](#): > > Are there more stabbings on Halloween than any other day of the year? Why would you think this? ---
**Author:** ![randompariah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@randompariah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompariah)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/5 "2017-10-27T19:04:53Z")
I was watching some budget horror and there was some accidental as well as intentional stabbing. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/6 "2017-10-27T19:11:46Z")
Horror movies are not documentaries. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/7 "2017-10-27T19:35:02Z")
> [@randompariah](#): > > I was watching some budget horror and there was some accidental as well as intentional stabbing. It’s probably best not to gather crime statistics from watching budget horror films. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/8 "2017-10-27T20:46:52Z")
I associate Halloween with random stabbings. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/9 "2017-10-27T21:05:44Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > I associate Halloween with random stabbings. That’s kinda silly. Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is the stabbin’ holiday. Halloween is more associated with burning people alive in big wicker cages. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/10 "2017-10-27T21:20:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Horror movies are not documentaries. Well, not all of them anyway. There are some that are very inaccurate documentaries, and some where we can’t ascertain their accuracy although it’s highly unlikely they are actually accurate. Some documentaries could be considered horror movies in themselves, an accurate Ed Geins doc that shows pictures of his creations could be considered that. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/11 "2017-10-28T00:25:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Why would you think this? Halloween is a social holiday that involves fake weapons and alcohol plus you tend to meet a lot of weird strangers. If that’s not stabbing conditions I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-violence/799948/12 "2017-10-28T01:31:13Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > That’s kinda silly. > > Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is the stabbin’ holiday. Halloween is more associated with burning people alive in big wicker cages. And Christmas is for spree killers: [Santa as Rage Killer - Think of the Children - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=499110) Ssshhh! Don’t wake the zombies. Their holiday is later. 😃