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Also, raise hell or the devil. Behave in a rowdy or disruptive way, as in He said he'd raise Cain if they wouldn't give him a refund, or The gang was out to raise hell that night, or The wind raised the devil with our picnic. The first term alludes to the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother, Abel. It was first recorded in the St. Louis Daily Pennant (May 2, 1840): "Why have we every reason to believe that Adam and Eve were both rowdies? Because . . . they both raised Cain." This statement makes a pun on raise, meaning "bring up" or "nurturing." The two variants, alluding to bringing hell or the devil up to this world, are older, the first from about 1700, the second from about 1800.
American Heritage Idioms
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Phrase(s): raise Cain
to make a lot of trouble; to raise hell. (A Biblical reference, from Genesis 4.) • Fred was really raising Cain about the whole matter. • Let’s stop raising Cain.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs