Foreclosure Ghosts Haunt Halloween Nights in Detroit

Posted on October 29, 2009
Filed Under Repo Homes | 2 Comments

Darlene Banks is not happy as Halloween approaches – she is afraid of foreclosure ghosts that haunt her in Detroit. The wooden bungalow next to her residence has been vacant for long five years. Darlene is afraid that like another vacant house the so-called ghosts will set it on fire. 10 other neighbouring houses had been engulfed by it. It was a flaunting challenge against the city authorities trying to contain arson during Halloween celebrations. The Devil’s Night has become a day of confrontation between law enforcers and law breakers.

This year the situation has worsened as many have left the city in search of jobs elsewhere. The unemployment figure has reached 27%. Meanwhile Halloween is knocking. There are thousands of vacant houses and buildings. Recently 40,000 have become empty thanks to foreclosures. These will be sitting targets for Halloween devils.

Fires have caught many like Banks by surprise. She said that she was lucky her modest house did not get burnt.

Devil’s Night is also known as Mischief and Cabbage. It is a night of pranks when often eggs are hurled at houses. But recently the pranks have been taking on a sinister look. The city has a surfeit of empty houses and the devils know this. In 1984 there were 810 instances of fire during the three day of Halloween festivities. Flames lighting up the sky were caught on television cameras and broadcast across the globe.

The firefighters and the police have become stricter in patrolling particularly those streets that have whole rows of vacant houses. Volunteers have joined the law enforcing units and this anti-fire operation was named Angel’s Night in 1996. The policing have met with success. In 2008 136 fires broke out. Of these 94 are said to be caused intentionally. In 2007 there were 142 cases of fire outbreak. Of these 111 were under a cloud of suspicion.

In general the number of fire outbreaks fell from 2007 to 2008 according to the fire department of Detroit. In 2008 there were 32,351 calls – a reduction of 3% from the previous year. The number of arsons fell to 1,230 calculating to a decrease of 17%. But 11 units were burnt down within less than an hour on 11th October. This has made the authorities worried about the forthcoming Halloween festival. This year there are many more properties to keep a watch on.

Luther Keith of Arise Detroit said, “With the foreclosure issue and the abandoned homes, it becomes a temptation to some people. We know we have mischief makers. They don’t care about lighting the house that could destroy someone else’s property, or hurt or kill someone.”

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