sometimes Nickelodeon likes to get pretty scary spooky and dark when it comes to their programming
more so back in the day than now but nevertheless the network had its fair share of programming that
will make you want to turn off the TV flip on the lights and not sleep for a few days at one point
they made what could be considered their darkest program yet no I'm not talking about Invader Zim
I see the comments before they happen and I understand where you're coming from but we're
talking about are You Afraid of the Dark the '90s were the wild west of testing out new shows with
fun weird and different content steps which could also include making something darker than you'd
find on a kid's Channel these days Nickelodeon decided to co-produce a series with Canadian
production compy sonar who originally came up with it what it would be was an anthology show
filled with a new tale of horror each episode that could be weird but most often times would
be dark to make you feel uneasy and frightened think of it as your early introduction at a young
age to the horror genre and it wouldn't be overly toned down for that fact the show genuinely left
you feeling some type of way by the end of each tale told and for some reason I was drawn back
to this show and thinking on some of the memories I had from watching it you know the episodes that
left a lifelong impact on my psyche and now I'm here to unpack this trauma with you as we take
a stroll in the woods pull up to a campfire and tell the tale of Nickelodeon's darkest show Are
You Afraid of the Dark well are you cuz I'm not I am really Brave after all and you should admire
that fact about me ah I can't see where are the lights there they are see nothing to worry about
[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the original pilot for the series premiered in
Canada on YTV in 1990 with Nickelodeon stepping in to fully co-produce the series and bring it to
the us as the pilot would play on the network in 1991 thanks to DJ male and Ned kandle outreaching
the distribution of it and Nickelodeon wanting to team up in general officially another year
later Are You Afraid of the Dark would premier on Nickelodeon August 15th 1992 and you were
presented with the format of the series a group of teens would all come together at night somewhere
at a secret undisclosed location in the woods and sit around a campfire they were dubbed the
Midnight Society as whoever is presenting the story that episode starts things off by saying
submitted for approval of the Midnight Society before midnight dust was tossed into the flames
and our visual aid for the taale would begin it was our intro vessel to the journey about
to happen and you never know what you were going to get only the teen reading the title of the tale
before we get into it it's a very basic yet effective storytelling device it's been used
across many genres to begin a story but this felt so relatable hanging out with your friends trying
to scare each other with a spooky story that has you on edge if you hear a branch snap in
the distance of the dark woods around you the tales themselves wouldn't just be read to you
instead you received what would feel like a short film with a new story to experience every episode
that would suck you in and leave you feeling different by the time it's over You Afraid
of the Dark will rise to sneak again and now to Snick with Are You Afraid of the Dark something I
find quite Charming about the show is the group in the Midnight Society in general having their own
characteristics and moments outside of the stories told that give you some external lore making it
feel like a more realistic group of friends that have their own interest or personal experiences
that can drive the type of stories that they tell for example Gary is the original founder of this
version of him and his friends midnight society and has running themes throughout his tales he'll
have the reoccurring character of sardo who runs a shop that will often lead to these magical or
Enchanted items being brought into his stories so that people who get them learn quickly of the
problems that they can cause in their lives the group had a fun Dynamic and it really added this
extra layer that made the show enjoyable mix this with the campy nature of how the stories would be
filmed where some episodes can feel like it was made by kids using their father's newly
purchased but oversized camcorder to shoot an amateur short film on and that's not to
be disparaging I I think it's genuinely Charming it's stuff I did with friends when I was younger
but seriously the show had so many moments of actual horror that was effective in giving the
Nickelodeon audience real frights it would be like a game that you'd play where you'd watch
to prove that it didn't bother you and nothing scares you but secretly you'd be freaked out
sometimes and want to not finish the episode now there are some episodes that I grew up watching
that have some truly memorable moments that have stuck with me since I originally saw them the tale
of the super specs is a great example of when the series wouldn't shy away from ending things
off with a darker ending rather than getting a conclusion where it calms things back down lets
the evils disappear and for the most part could be considered happy and hey maybe even a lesson
is learned but that's not really the case here as this episode not only has the constant buildup of
a girl putting on and taking off these special glasses where every time they're on she sees
these creepy silhouetted figures that at one point lead to this dark lady figure pointing at her as
these figures start moving towards her but by the end of it it opens up this parallel Dark World to
our world to where the figure ear can now be seen without the glasses and the dark lady is revealed
as this powerful Phantom who ends up telling our characters that the two universes cannot exist
on the same plane blaming them for messing with the cosmic seal and she's trying to restore the
balance of it all casting a spell that at first makes it seem that everything is okay again but
in reality we're seeing the alternate side of things where the Phantom and the alternate
versions of the kids saw our protagonists as the invading problem just as much as our view
into it from our initial perspective was trying to get rid of them and then ending the episode
with our three characters now shown trapped in a crystal ball all screaming for help and that's a
solid not happy ending on its own but then to end the campfire telling of the story the same
type of glasses were handed out to everyone as when they're put on they all see a dark figure
appear and run screaming which is pretty great and scary on its own but what makes it even better is
that it was just a prank that some of the teens put together as an April Fool's joke on everyone
else a great way to leave you on a slightly fun and and cheer your note after a fateful end to
our story and clowns are something that frighten a lot of people and Are You Afraid of the Dark
surely wanted to play into that and to add on to that similar mold fusing that fear with that of a
court jester the episode The Tale of the ghastly grinner brings us an episode that really set out
to leave you scared a young artist who wants to eventually become a comic book artist finds
himself receiving a special invitation to the opening of a new comic shop and when he arrives
it seems great but he soon realizes that he's the only one there aside from the owner of the
shop after speaking for a bit she brings up if he's ever heard of the ghastly grinner revealing
a kept away comic book about a court jester who was this evil terrifying villain there is only
one issue of the comic as the Creator even found it too much for himself to handle the ghastly
grinner was too scary apparently and the Creator disappeared after making this one issue the owner
ends up giving it to the kid for free for coming to the opening and he begins spending time reading
it in appropriate places like in class of course where he gets caught and the teacher takes it from
him before she drops the one-of aind or in the teacher words now a none OFA kind comic in the
fish tank ruining it later at home he now tries to continue reading it but needs to dry it out
a bit so he gets the brilliant idea of putting it in the microwave and here's just a warning
for you don't do this eventually an explosion happens in the kitchen and the microwave opens
up to a flash of light and smoke with the comic seemingly being good as new well aside from the
hole in the middle of it and now there's a gesture shaped hole in the wall with laughter filling the
Ambiance of what's going on then his parents start smiling extra wide oozing blue slime from their
mouths and beginning to laugh maniacally from this point the episode goes off the rails as Ethan here
has unleashed the ghastly Griner onto the world and it's affecting people left and right turning
them into these blue liquid dripping zombie-like versions of themselves at one point it happens
to the bus driver when they're riding the bus as his head then spins around and he tries to cause
an accident with the bus eventually to fight off and take on the Gastly grinner Ethan along with
his friend and the comic book shop owner have to come up with a plan to end his story something the
original Creator tried to do after seeing how horrifying of a character he made was but was
captured by the Gastly grinner before completing the second volume called the death of the Gastly
grinner the only way to do so is having Ethan use his art skills to finish the comic and
end the story it's a really creative episode The nonsensical aspects of a comic character coming to
life through the power of microwave technology and all that doesn't need to have the most scientific
explanation because of how good everything else is the scares and frights are some of the best if not
the best in the series the design of the Gastly grinner is creepy and what he does to people is
visually horrific there are so many really cool tense and Thriller esque moments throughout the
episode that elevate the journey Ethan goes on also when the ghastly grinner says this no
what happened to the last guy who tried to stop me let's just say that his subscription was cancelled
that's the perfect amount of cheese for a oneliner I love it afraid of the dark will rise to sneak
again and now to snake with Are You Afraid of the Dark the ending as well really seals the deal of
why this episode is Iconic it brings both Ethan the shop owner and the Gastly grinner into the
comic itself leaving Ethan's friend alone with the comic to view the results of what happened
in comic book fashion it's a funny end to how they defeat the ghastly grinner and he's all like
microwaves no as our trapped Heroes now question how to get out of the comic the story wasn't over
though as the ghastly grinner returns and the only way to stop him from hurting everyone in
the comic is for an eraser to remove the ghastly grin's face so he becomes powerless in turning
his victims Into the Blue drooling smiling zombies and magically our heroes are freed and the day is
saved it's overall a happy ending but everything in execution here was so well done that I don't
think I'll ever forget it I also vividly remember the episode of the tale of the Dead Man's float
which would play into the fear of something being underneath the water when you were in the pool as
we get to see one kid dragged down into the secret pool pool that some kids discovered as
then a horrifying Blood and Guts covered zombie creature comes out of the pool and for this being
a kids show on Nickelodeon this was the scariest and most disturbing thing to see at the time today
looking back on it I really appreciate the level of detail that went into the character design of
the evil water Menace here it really shows the use of some great practical effects and it plays into
a fear that many kids have about just being in a pool or enclosed body of water albeit most times
those fears come from oh no what if there's a shark somehow in this water rather than this
Zombie thing but the right tone was set here and I feel like I could literally sit here all
day and list off a bunch more but I truly was affected by these episodes growing up luckily
none of them turned into a long life lasting fear of clowns or what's underneath the water in a pool
so there's the bright side I love that I got to grow up with media like this that never went too
far overboard that it became inappropriate for a younger audience to watch but definitely push the
opening for what else was out there to enjoy it's also cool seeing early AC ing performances from
Young Canadian actors that turn out to be people like Ryan Gosling he's so much more than just Ken
I give a lot of credit to Are You Afraid of the Dark for getting me into the genre of horror and
for my love of it now as an adult for some reason there is comfort in feeling uncomfortable when
watching shows or films or even playing games that fall into horror that really bring out a
real sense of adrenaline spatial awareness and for some like me fun like no other type can I
really enjoy revisiting some of these iconic episodes that really freaked me out when when
I was younger and I really appreciate how they were made and how effective they were back in the
day after the first five seasons of the show Are You Afraid of the Dark took a brief Hiatus where
Nickelodeon would end up producing the series to keep it going for another two seasons from 1999
until 2000 from there the property laid dormant for quite some time where after 17 years it was
announced that it would be coming back but as a special movie until that went radio silent and it
eventually came back around as a limited series in 2019 with the subtitle of Carnival of of Doom
and really it was a three episode Special this did well enough or had Nickelodeon interested enough
to keep the limited series going with a follow-up six episode series subtitled curse of the Shadows
in 2021 and even a third series a year later in 2022 subtitled ghost Island now I've never
looked into these aside from checking out some clips of them so I can't really speak on their
quality how they compared to the original series or any of that so maybe if there's interest next
Halloween season we can dive into them and see what they're all about so let me know also let me
know your thoughts on Are You Afraid of the Dark did this series affect you when you were younger
or if you were born after the series ended what are your thoughts on this classic 90s show if you
went back to watch it and of course which episodes were your favorite or scared you the most tell me
in the comments I've been Jordan Fringe thanks so much for watching like And subscribe [Music]
later
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