Nickelodeon’s anthological fantasy series Are You Afraid of the Dark? scared the wits out of its younger audience during the program’s initial run from 1990 to 2000. Although it’s been over two decades since the show’s protagonists have put out their last ceremonial campfire, some of the spookiest tales they had shared still burn bright in the minds of fans today.
Are You Afraid of the Dark? began each episode with the pairing up of a group of teenagers, who dubbed themselves “The Midnight Society”. As they sat around a warm fire, following friendly banter or small talk, one member of the group would sprinkle a brown, powdery substance–called Midnight Dust–onto the fire, before sharing their allegorical tale for the evening. From laughing evil clowns to ghouls in swimming pools, these 10 Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes are here to terrorize viewers of today and yesteryear!
10 The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner
Ethan Wood, a struggling comic book artist, discovers a newly opened store in his town called “Comic Books Ink.”. When Ethan meets the mysterious owner, she gifts him with an ultra-rare comic book, titled The Ghastly Grinner, that unleashes evils beyond his wildest dreams.
As events unfold, the story’s blue-mouthed, maniacal court Jester causes everyone in town to become zombie-like sycophants who laugh uncontrollably while under his powerful influence (similar to The Joker’s copycats in the Arkham trilogy). For many, it was the visuals and chilling performance from the Ghastly Grinner himself who haunted viewers the most.
9 The Tale of the Night Shift
On a cold night at the United Hospital, a volunteer nurse named Amanda notices several of her peers have vanished, as some of her patients grow increasingly ill. As time passes, however, she begins to realize that the staff walking the halls are just regular orderlies–they are vampires.
Where the blood effects in this episode may have aged, by today’s standards, for some, it’s the premise of a hospital staffed by alluring vampires that haunt their psyche.
8 The Tale of the Quicksilver
When odd occurrences give brothers, Aaron and Doug, the creeps in their family’s new house, they begin to suspect that something wicked is afoot. The brothers are, soon after, rattled by the death of a classmate, before learning that a murderous demon is out for their souls next.
Serving as one of the more grim episodes in the show’s catalog, the make-up effects, eerie music cues, and shocking conclusion have kept fans talking about it for more than 25 years.
7 The Tale of the Doll Maker
During a weekend visit with her Aunt Sally and Uncle Pete, a teenage girl named Melissa yearns to kill boredom with her neighborhood friend, Susan Henderson. When going to Susan’s house to see her, she notices everyone is gone, but nothing inside.
Eventually, she lets herself inside and discovers a tiny dollhouse that closely resembles the Henderson family’s home. Moments later, a tiny door inside of the dollhouse slams, and the thrills begin. Presenting an unsettling premise and clever set design, this episode stands as one of few that have managed to scare fans well into entering adulthood when revisiting the show.
6 The Tale of the Dark Music
Harshly adjusting to his parent’s divorce, a young boy Andy Carr moves to a new neighborhood and quickly makes enemies with the local bully, a punk rock kid named Koda. One night, while doing the laundry in the basement of his new house, Andy discovers an old cellar with a wooden radio inside of it.
Seconds later, a deep, gravelly voice comes out of the radio, calling out to him from another plane of existence. While not many episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? focus on an evil protagonist, for some viewers, rooting for the bad guy is what makes this one a classic.
5 The Tale of the Many Faces
When a photo shoot doesn’t go as hoped for Emma, an aspiring model, she feels envy within herself as one of her peers becomes a new magazine cover girl. Moments after the audition, Emma is approached by a talent scout, where she is given the opportunity to meet a successful model named Madame Visage, who offers her a secret powder to make her face prettiest. The issue? Those who use the powder begin to lose their faces entirely.
This simply structured allegory about the woes of poor self-image gets under the skin of the viewer, and pulls them into about the beauty industry holds up as one of the bonafide classics among the series’s fanbase.
4 The Tale of the Lonely Ghost
Amanda Cameron has a sleepover at her tomentous cousin Beth’s house, Amanda learns that her only way to impress Beth and her cousin’s friends by going into a haunted house in the neighborhood (like a challenge on Phasmaphobia). When Amanda enters the deserted home, she learns that the spirit lurking within the walls isn’t just some evil poltergeist, but the somber ghost of a deaf girl who had previously died there.
This 28-year-old tale subverts the viewer’s expectations by beginning as a spooky ghost story while building toward a more heartfelt parable about love before it concludes.
3 The Tale of the Water Demons
When troubled adolescent, Shawn MacKenzie, and his cousin, Dean Wilson, go to make a coffee delivery to his cantankerous elderly neighbor, Captain Abraham Westchester. They discover a glass display case full of treasure, where Shawn takes the liberty of swiping a golden pocket watch. Later, he learns that the watch, along with all the other treasure, had been removed from the bones of dead sailors, when, soon enough, Shawn’s dreams are terrorized by their ghosts.
In the end, the message of this tale is to caution the audience about the importance of one’s own self-accountability; to admit one’s truth, regardless of what negative consequences it may bring. Diehard fans, in this regard, were always left with one of two takeaways–if the undead didn’t plague their minds at night, the lesson taught in this episode will later.
2 The Tale of the Deadman’s Float
40 years after a teenage boy’s mysterious death in a high school pool, a shy wiz-kid named Zeke Matthews tries to overcome his childhood fear of drowning with the help of his friend Clorice. While spending an evening together swimming, they are viciously attacked by an unknown creature that takes the skeletal shape of a zombie.
Providing some of the show’s best-known jump scares, the Deadman’s Float combines coming-of-age elements with horror for a beloved story about how one overcomes their own fears.
1 The Tale of Laughing in the Dark
When a timid high school boy named Josh is dared by his sister and her friends to swipe the red nose off of a clown (who shares a similar grin to Sweet Tooth in Twisted Metal) in a haunted funhouse, he quickly learns just how haunted the local attraction truly is the hard way.
Generation after generation in town spread the legend of a circus clown who had burned to death in an accident, after allegedly stealing the traveling act’s payroll, who becomes the foul spirit that haunts Josh. This story mostly stands out to fans with the way it centers around the theme of Coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) and the harsh realities of being a public entertainer.
As Nickelodeon poured the midnight dust on the original Are You Afraid of the Dark? series in 2000, the show eventually garnered a reboot, starting in 2019, that has brought both older and newer generations together. The first season received enough attention, that it is currently airing its second season today. It’s safe to say, that the dark tales of the Midnight Society aren’t yet done from being told.
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