Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are You Afraid of the Dark? is an American children's horror anthology television series created by D. J. MacHale and Ned Kandel. The original series aired on Nickelodeon in the United States from August 15, 1992, to February 3, 1996, and also on YTV in Canada. The pilot episode first aired as a Halloween special on October 25, 1991. It led to two revival series, with the first airing from February 6, 1999, to June 11, 2000, and the second airing from October 11, 2019, to August 13, 2022. Reruns would continue to air until October 31, 2002. Later, Nicktoons would air reruns of Are You Afraid of the Dark? from October 20 to 31, 2008.

The original series was picked up by Nickelodeon in 1992. MacHale, Kandel, and Nickelodeon teamed up with the Canadian company CINAR, and as a part of the deal the show was filmed primarily in Montreal, Quebec, with some additional filming taking place in Richmond, British Columbia. The production teams were respectively represented by the ACTRA and STCVQ (Syndicat des techniciens du cinéma et de la vidéo du Québec) labour unions. The pilot re-aired five days after its debut alongside Mystery Magical Special as part of a Halloween-oriented block called "The Haunting of Nickelodeon". It officially premiered as a series the following year on Nickelodeon's SNICK on August 15, 1992, and on Family Channel on September 2, 1992. The series moved from Family Channel to YTV on September 6, 1993. The original series ended on February 3, 1996.

In 1999, Are You Afraid of the Dark? was revived for two more seasons, bringing back a majority of the crew members who worked on the original series along with new directors, writers and cast, and was produced by Nickelodeon and aired on the SNICK block from February 6, 1999, to June 11, 2000, while in Canada the series was moved to the Family Channel, as YTV owned the rights to the original series. The only member from the original lineup to return for the first and second seasons of the revival was Tucker (Daniel DeSanto), although Gary (Ross Hull) returned for the concluding show.

On November 13, 2017, it was announced that Paramount Players would make a live-action feature film adaptation. However, the film was later removed from Paramount's schedule. On February 14, 2019, it was announced that the series would be rebooted for a limited series, which premiered on October 11, 2019. On February 19, 2020, this revival was renewed for a second season, titled Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Curse of the Shadows, which premiered on February 12, 2021, featuring a different cast. In March 2022, the revival was renewed for a third and final season, which premiered on July 30, 2022.

Background Are You Afraid of the Dark? was filmed in Montreal by CINAR and created by producer D. J. MacHale, an American television producer. The show is a co-production between Montreal-based CINAR Films and the U.S. Nickelodeon network. It had its American debut on Nickelodeon in the United States during August, while Canada's Family Channel had the series premiere in September 1992. By 1993, the series had moved from Family Channel to YTV.

Themes Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a children's horror anthology series revolving around the Midnight Society, a group of kids who meet around a campfire and tell a horror story. Its style has been compared to Dark Shadows, The Monkey’s Paw, The Twilight Zone, and works from Stephen King and George Orwell. A low-budget series, it is known for its use of practical effects. Every episode is set at a secret location in the woods at night, one member of the Midnight Society would tell a scary story to the group. The actual story, rather than the telling, was displayed to the television viewer. The story was shown between the group's arrival at the site and their departure.

Each storyteller would begin their story by saying "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story '(story name)'", at which point they would toss a handful of "midnight dust" (actually Coffee-Mate) from a leather pouch into a campfire to heighten the flames and produce an eerie white smoke.

MacHale wrote the line "submitted for the approval of" as a nod to The Twilight Zone, in which creator Rod Serling would, after introducing the episode, say "submitted for your approval." The storyteller would continue by announcing its title ("The Tale of..."). The themes of the stories usually revolve around a variety of paranormal phenomena, such as demons, ghosts, magic, haunted houses, magical curses, aliens, witches, vampires, werewolves, and the like coming into contact with average youths. Usually, the episodes were either filmed in the woods, in abandoned houses, or in public places like schools or libraries. Sources of these tales vary in different ways; many were adaptations of public domain fairy tales and short stories or urban legends. For example, the episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" is an adaptation of W. W. Jacobs' short story The Monkey's Paw.

Sometimes, the stories were inspired by a certain event in the life of the storyteller. In the episode "The Tale of the Crimson Clown," for instance, Tucker blackmailed with a love poem written for Samantha, prompting Gary to tell a cautionary tale about a naughty younger brother who is cruelly punished by a sinister toy clown for his misdeeds. At the end of the episode, Tucker gave the poem back to his brother. Similarly, in "The Tale of the Renegade Virus," Gary frames his story around a destructive entity invading a human host after arriving late to the clearing because Tucker planted a computer virus that deleted his homework. These framing narratives often conclude with a real-world resolution among the members once the campfire is extinguished. The majority of the horror stories on Are You Afraid of the Dark? had happy endings (or at least endings in which their characters were in decent places), while some had either bad endings or twist endings like "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost," "The Tale of the Dark Music," "The Tale of the Chameleons," "The Tale of Vampire Town," "The Tale of the Pinball Wizard" and "The Tale of the Dangerous Soup."

At the end of most episodes, one character (usually Gary in the first run and Tucker in the second run of the show) would throw a red bucket of water onto the fire, stating, "I declare this meeting of the Midnight Society closed," and the group would leave the campsite, thus ending the storytelling. Sometimes, the story would be related to an event (e.g. in "The Tale of Laughing in the Dark," Kristen, who was afraid of clowns, ran off when Eric put on a clown mask. Then, everyone chased after her). This would cause either Gary or Tucker to hurriedly dump the water on the fire, and the Midnight Society would run off to wherever they go after meetings.

Episodes

Characters and cast

Each member of the Midnight Society from 1992 to 1996 has a distinct personality, and a notable trend in their storytelling. Though not all of their stories have similar styles and plots, in many of the stories, each character carries a unique aspect that reflects the nature of the storyteller, and what they find to be the most important to themselves. In the second generation, the characters derive their stories more from events that happen during the days leading up to the society meetings instead of from their personal interests and views. Many of the later episodes were simply given to a random society member to tell.

Role Actor/Actress Year(s) NotesThe Midnight Society (1992–1996) Gary Ross Hull 1992–1996 Originally played by Shane Smythe in the 1991 pilot.Appeared in "The Tale of the Silver Sight", 3 episodes, in 2000. Betty Ann Raine Pare-Coull Originally played by Marisa Rossy in the 1991 pilot. Kiki Jodie Resther Originally played by Bethanny Nurse in the 1991 pilot. Frank Moore Jason Alisharan 1992–1995 Originally played by Hasani Paris-Crooks in the 1991 pilot. Tucker Daniel DeSanto 1994–1996 Samantha JoAnna Garcia Kristen Rachel Blanchard 1992–1993 Originally played by Robin McKenna in the 1991 pilot. David Nathaniel Moreau Originally played by Ross Hull in the 1991 pilot. Stig Codie Wilbee 1995–1996 Eric Jacob Tierney 1992 Originally played by Mark Bigney in the 1991 pilot.The Midnight Society (1999–2000) Quinn Kareem Blackwell 1999–2000 Megan Elisha Cuthbert Vange Vanessa Lengies Tucker Daniel DeSanto DeSanto reprises his role from the 1992–1996 series. Andy David DeveauThe Midnight Society (2019) Rachel Carpenter Lyliana Wray 2019 Gavin Coscarelli Sam Ashe Arnold Akiko Yamato Miya Cech Graham Raimi Jeremy Ray Taylor Louise Fulci Tamara SmartThe Midnight Society (2021) Luke McCoy Bryce Gheisar 2021 Hanna Romero Beatrice Kitsos Gabby Lewis Malia Baker Jai Malya Arjun Athalye Seth Romero Dominic Mariche Connor Stevens Parker QueenanThe Midnight Society (2022) Kayla King Telci Huynh 2022 Max Matheson Conor Sherry Leo B. Stoker Luca Padovan Summer DaCosta Dior Goodjohn PorterAshby Gentry Ferris Poe Chance Hurstfield

Original Gary: An unassuming, bookish-looking boy and the founder of this generation of the Midnight Society. Gary has a distinct fascination with magic, especially where the magician Houdini is concerned. His stories tend to revolve around cursed or enchanted objects with supernatural properties, and how – in the wrong hands – they can cause disaster, for both the holder and those around them. His stories have the recurring character "Sardo" in them; most of his stories have the main character buying an enchanted item from Sardo's shop. In the 3-part episode, "The Tale of the Silver Sight", Gary reveals that his grandfather was the founder of the Midnight Society and that it was his grandfather's stories that inspired him to recreate the group. Betty Ann: A vibrant girl who has an open and eager passion for the bizarre and twisted. Her stories often include themes where an alien or supernatural force is either trying to break into the world of the characters, or else trying to drag them into their own unnatural realms. Her stories tend to have twists reminiscent of Twilight Zone episodes, hinting that even after the protagonists of her stories manage to defeat the antagonists, they have yet to fully escape danger by the end. Kiki: A spunky, tomboyish girl who often makes fun of others. Many of her stories involve plots where the danger of carelessness or deceitfulness, as well as the danger of the past, repeats itself. Also notable is that a large number of the characters in her stories are also of African descent (likely due to Kiki herself being African-Canadian), though the trend dies off later on in the series. One story she came up with had to be read by Gary due to her suffering from laryngitis at the time. Frank: A punkish teenager with an in-your-face attitude. Though his stories do not often have a running theme, they do often have the recurring character Dr. Vink appear as the villain, or at least, the creator of the story's antagonist. The first episode of the series has Frank attempting to impress the Midnight Society with a story to be allowed membership, which he does with "The Tale of the Phantom Cab". In season five, he and his family moved away, and he was replaced in the group by Stig. Tucker: Gary's younger brother and the youngest member of the Midnight Society. Due to his age, he is often portrayed as youthfully obnoxious. His stories tend to involve family relationships that are at first sour but grow in strength in the face of adversity, possibly reflecting his relationship with his brother Gary. There is also a running theme of the characters accidentally unleashing evil upon their world. After Gary left, he took over his place as the president of the Midnight Society. Once Tucker is in charge, he is less of a brat and more of a serious leader like his older brother. He is the only character to appear in both generations of the Midnight Society.