For many of us who grew up in the 90s, Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? was our first introduction to the horror genre. It was like The Twilight Zone but for kids, although I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it's just as enjoyable today as it was 20+ years ago. If that intro doesn't shake up some childhood memories, this post probably isn't for you.
In the early 90s, there were a few kids anthology series to choose from, but the two biggest were undoubtedly Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. For me at least, the clear winner was the AYAotD (that's so much easier to type out) and I'll tell you why. It was the group of kids who told the stories, known as the Midnight Society, that really made the show. Every episode, at a secret location in the woods, one member would tell a scary story to the group. The overarching story was shown between the group's arrival at the site and their departure and each storyteller would begin their story by saying "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story...", at which point he or she would toss a handful of "midnight dust" from a leather pouch into a campfire to heighten the flames and produce an eerie white smoke while the title of the story would appear over the top. I wanted to be a member of the Midnight Society so bad growing up, even if the initiation was a bit sketchy.
Earlier I said this was like the Twilight Zone for kids, and it really was. The shows creator, D.J. McHale wrote the line "submitted for the approval..." as a direct nod to the line for the Twilight Zone; "Submitted for your approval...". The stories themselves were, for the first two season at least, really good. Some were genuinely terrifying as a small kid, it's the only horror thing I've ever had to switch off in my life. It's only recently that I began to notice just how much this show had influenced my life, taste and so on. I serendipitously found the first season for 50p at a local DVD and music shop, and gleefully watched every episode, even being able to quote it word for word at parts. That's not something I can usually do with shows, so it highlights how often I would watch and rewatch this show as a kid.
You can find the Season 1 premiere episode on YouTube, but to be honest it's possibly one of the weakest episodes. Maybe try "The Tale of Laughing in the Dark", "The Tale of the Dark Music" or"The Tale of the Hatching" if you fancy trying this old show out. There is also going to be a full feature length movie released in cinemas next year, now being written by the same writer as the recent Stephen King's IT. Awesome.
Did you watch Are You Afraid of the Dark? back in the day? Were there any defining shows during your childhood? Let me know your thoughts and feelings down in the comment section, and as always make sure to follow me for the latest Cryptocurrency, Technology, Internet and Pop Culture updates. If you're a fan of strange YouTube videos, you might want to follow me on Twitter.
Oh, and as a side note, I'm trying to get a new tag started; #tvdiscovery so if you write posts about shows you enjoy and others might too, then add the #tvdiscovery tag to your posts. I often find the #TV tag to be a bit cluttered. Until we meet again, take it easy!
Sources:
Are You Afraid of the Dark? on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_You_Afraid_of_the_Dark%3F)
Are You Afraid of the Dark? Film Gets Stephen King's IT Writer (https://nerdist.com/are-you-afraid-of-the-dark-movie-screenwriter-stephen-king-it/)