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/)
That one about the thing in the pool!
I can't remember the name of that one, but seriously, I think that episode is the reason I don't swim. Genuinely scary stuff for a kid!
I remember this show a little but it started after my childhood so not very much. The Goosebumps books were very popular then I remember but again after my time. In the 80s we had some shows that were a bit thrilling - Amazing Stories (Steven Spielberg) was one I remember quite well.
A show from the 70s which I still am very attached to is the original Planet of the Apes series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_the_Apes_(TV_series)
I watched all of these as a kid. While not "horror" they are definitely in the post apocalyptic genre and I do not think marketed to children yet I watched them after school on tv lol
Tales from the Crypt was a good show late 80s, into the 90s
Ohh I just remembered Joe Bob Briggs from Monstervision and Drive-In Theater on TMC haha. Did you ever see that? Well this guy from this blog sums up my feelings about Joe Bob pretty well: https://cameraviscera.com/2015/04/20/remembering-monstervision/
The Goosebumps book and show were probably the most popular of the two, but I could never get into them. Not sure why.
I've heard of Amazing Stories, but never seen it. I'll have to go hunt it down.
I saw Planet of the Apes as a kid, my dad was big into things like that. That and Airwolf, The Six Million Dollar Man and Swamp Thing were some of my favourites that we watched together.
Tales from the Crypt was sadly too much for me as a kid, and I've not tried watching it recently, I should. I did watch the film last year and really enjoyed it. Another good one is Tales of the Unexpected, oddly enough by Roald Dahl.
Nope! Never even heard of them. Just opened up that article and was taken by the opening line "I was raised by T.V." I can connect with that! I'll have to add those two to my list as well, I really enjoy going through the older shows.
Another one just came to mind, more recent and not kids, but Masters of Horror. They're more like short movies, but I think it's classed as a TV show. A really good episode to start with is "Cigarette Burns".
Wow thank you so much for this list! I'll have to check out Tales of the Unexpected because I do like Roald Dahl. I really wanted to see BFG when it was in theatres but missed it :(
You have me nostalgic now mentioning Six Million Dollar Man and Airwolf!
I do think Tales from the Crypt was too much for kids so you're right that wouldn't be included in this context. I lost focus haha
It's Roald Dahl, but not as you know it. The first few seasons are really good, but I think the later ones lost it a bit.
haha, me too! I feel like I need to watch Airwolf now, not that either of those class as horror but y'know. Got the theme tune stuck in my head now...
I'll get hold of a copy of Tales from the Crypt, but I've got vague memories now of there being an animated version for kids... Let's have a look. oh wow, yeah I was right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Cryptkeeper
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