User reviews

Are You Afraid of the Dark was a favorite for anyone who was a kid aged between 5 or 6 to mid teens (maybe older even) when it was on starting in 1992. It served as a special point in the original SNICK Saturday night programming, as it was the last show to air before the channel reverted to TVLAND programming. Even when an episode didn't entirely work or was too goofy for its own good (and there were a few times, lets admit it fans), there was always a sense of excitement and anticipation to see where the next scary story would head next at that time of night before bed. Some of the essentials were the movie theater episode (Nosferatu, anyone? who hasn't wanted to go through the screen from this episode); the one that sticks quite prominently involving a clown in an amusement park (his nose!); ones with big doses of tongue-in-cheek (dark) humor like with the comic-book villain posed very much like the Joker; even a trippy one, like with the see-through glasses that featured figures of death ala Bergman.

There were many others, feeding directly into phobias and other ticks that held some kids in a panic, or at least interest, if presented right in the episode. And even the gimmick of the Midnight Society was not too old fashioned; having kids tell stories around a campfire, proving worth of the member based on how good the story could get, was essential to making this not only about how scary a story could get, but about the act of storytelling itself. Can a kid get rightfully engrossed and shaking in their shoes in half an hour? Would the cliffhangers give enough leverage to stay through the commercials? If memory serves me right, most of the episodes that were most effective stuck long after the episode ended, with little pieces of episodes still staying prevalent to this day nearly fifteen years later. And luckily, aside from a few glaring exceptions in fashion style (and a slightly different level of technology), the show is not dated either in seeing the same episodes again. For older audiences they aren't always spooky, which may make them all the better to hold onto for the next generation to scare the hell out of them.

At the least, it's worth seeing just for the opening titles; the first two shots look like they're out of a true horror movie, or a scary anti-drug ad.

This was can't miss TV for me as a child. I would look forward to watching this show on SNICK every week. I remember being genuinely scared at times, and my parents would even watch with me and apparently also garnered some enjoyment out of the episodes. Sure it had it's campy and cheesy moments(what early 90's shows didn't?), but some of the performances by the young actors in this series were pretty decent. Many stories were based on common horror lore and myth, but some of the others were pretty original and clever as well.

Recently I have started watching this show again on Amazon Prime instant video. I expected it to be horribly campy and unwatchable now as an adult, the warm nostalgic memories being the only reason I'd watch a few episodes and be done with it... but to my surprise I was still entertained, and dare I say it... slightly spooked. Unlike the TV version of Goosebumps (completely unwatchable as an adult))this still holds up pretty well to this day. I wouldn't recommend this to any adult who doesn't already have the fond memories of the original run, as it would make for a pretty rough watch. I would however, recommend anyone with children looking to have some light, spooky, family fun to give this show a shot.

This was my favorite childhood serial! I'd watch every episode of it, even though i was scared to hell. Those morbid yet meaningfull situations attracted me with an amazing power, it was simply deeper than the other pink glittery children show i could watch and surprisingly, i loved that. I just feel that the shows like this one and the first books i read as a kid, pretty much shaped the person i am today, and i am very thankful for that because i think i came out good.

Anyway, i'll never forget the episode with the clown, it appears it was called "The Tale of the Crimson Clown", because it was my worst nightmare for years, lol. I'm dying to watch this show all over again and see how i'll respond to it and compare with my past reactions!

In the late 1990's, when I was in my late 30's, I was a news junk. If the news was bad for the day, I would surf the channels. This Are You Afraid of the Dark show was awesome. Soon I was watching it everyday at around 5pm. What I liked most about the show was that each episode was unique and it kept you interested through the whole show. There was no real sex or violence, instead there was a really good story line and good acting-something that seems rare today. It was the type of show that you could watch with your kids and not feel ashamed. I really liked the way the story always seemed to wrap up on time at the end of the show and you felt good. Lots of famous and not so famous actors as well made it interesting time after time.

...There was "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" - a kid-friendly horror show revolving around a group of teenagers, called the Midnight Society, who sit around a campfire in the woods and tell ghost stories, and then we segued directly into each bone-chilling kid-friendly horror tale.

What prompted this sudden review and stroll down memory lane is that one of Nickelodeon's adjunct cable networks is airing reruns of this great kid-friendly horror show that was most popular during the original Nickelodeon's hey-day back in the early 1990s. I was about 9 or 10 in '93 and '94, respectively, when "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" was at its peak. I remember that on Saturday nights, it was the fourth and final show (the other three were "Doug," "Rugrats," and "The Ren & Stimpy Show" - in that order) on Nick's "Snick" two-hour block. Boy, those were the good ol' days.

Like those other great shows, Nickelodeon quickly descended into idiocy (and continues doing so as I write this, although some credibility has been restored with "Avatar: The Last Airbender") when it began taking many of its greatest shows off the air for reasons unknown and replacing them with the likes of "Spongebob Squarepants" and other idiotic, mindless crap.

"Are You Afraid of the Dark?" was one of Nickelodeon's earliest and best shows. It was actually scary, but fun, and horror made just for kids. The ghost stories themselves were mostly typical good-vs.-evil-type stuff. Some episodes pushed the limits of its "kid-friendly horror" label (which, ironically enough, may have led to the show's early demise). A lot of famous teen actors (and film veterans) from the time made guest appearances in a number of different episodes, including Tatyana Ali (from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"), Danny Cooksey (from another great Nick show canceled way before its time, "Salute Your Shorts"), Melissa Joan Hart (from "Clarissa Explains it All"), Tia and Tamera Mowry (from "Sister, Sister"), Danny Tamborelli ("The Adventures of Pete & Pete"), and veteran film actor Charles S. Dutton.

Of course, problems began to arise with "Are You Afraid of the Dark" due to several unfriendly cast shake-ups both early on and later in the series, and Nickelodeon tried unsuccessfully to revive the show in 1999. Also, the episodes' content seemed to get watered-down later on in the series, thus loosing that teenage horror "edge" that made it great during its early run. Another factor was that author R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" titles may have also had a hand in "Are You Afraid of the Dark's?" demise in the mid-'90s. But thankfully, nostalgia, and possibly incessant fan demand, or the upcoming Halloween season, have allowed this great kid-friendly horror show to see the light of cable network television just one more time.

So, now you know one of Nickelodeon's best shows from its hey-day, and one of my personal favorite shows from its hey-day. Halloween is just around the corner, and so now it's great to go back to a time when this once-great cable network had an ounce of decency and honor and common sense left in its tank.

10/10

the best and last horror show of early 90's

during the 90's a lot of things were either horrible or stupid. I'm talking about TV shows. Are you afraid of the dark? is the only show where every saturday night kids get scared. The show was fun until the people of nickelodeon decided to take it off the air and now nickelodeon is one of the stupidest networks ever. The best thing about the show whenever Dr. Vink or Mr. Sardo came along. The best episodes were the tale of laughing in the dark; the tale of dark music; the tale of the prom queen; the tale of the quiet libriain; the tale of the midnight madness; the tale of cutter's treasure; the tale of the pinball machine; the tale of the nightly neighbors and the tale of the whispering walls.

"Vink's the name. Dr. Vink" "Dr. Fink?" "Vink! With a V-V-V!"

There is always something exciting and fun about telling horror stories around a campfire. Whether it's the good company, the fire, or simply the fact that you are outside in the dark, surrounded by the woods which is pretty unsettling, each of the stories we hear are always unsettling because they fueled our imaginations and feed off of our fear and fascination with the unknown.

This show is my third favorite anthology horror and it's one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I really put this show high in my book because this is another childhood gem of mine, I've seen this show when I was about 10 years old. At the time I wasn't really into scary stories let alone wasn't even a fan of the horror genre. Nor was I even familiar with anthology horror. But this show was a pleasant surprise, it was scary at least from a kid's prospective but it was also fascinating and fun because with each story and episode it was always something different, you just never knew what to expect which I loved because finding that good or great episode/story that sticks with you was like finding buried treasure.

I really love the format of the show, from how it starts out where it's a campfire with an ensemble cast of kids and each of them had a story to tell and threw magic dust on the fire to start us off. This sequence in a way got the whole stories in the campfire trend going again as some of my friends late at night would go out on the weekend and listen or tell horror stories by the fire. But the ensemble of kids were solid, despite all horror hosts by their nature, each of the kids actually had a distinctive persona's which kinda make them all stick out but also shows they have different styles to their story telling.

I even really like that opening and the end theme song which is one of my favorite theme songs of all time. That opening is still one of the creepiest and scariest openings I've ever seen, it's just as creepy as the opening for the TV show "Tales from the Darkside" You just see a lot of random items all in the darkness along with some eerie tune which just adds to your chills because in each image your completely in the dark (no pun intended) from a swing that is still slightly swings is it a gust of wind or is there a ghost. Down to a key hole with some light coming out and possibly hearing footsteps, is there a sinister presence coming near.

It's true the only bad thing about the show is some effects aren't that good, but hey the show was done on a modest budget and it's a prime time kids show so they had to work with it. However what really gives this show fire is in the stories themselves and most of them are great and memorable. And most of these stories had minimum effects and also there is no gore not just because this was a kids show but because it didn't need it because it was using atmosphere, mood, and content to deliver the scares, and that's fine by me it is once again an example showing that horror doesn't have to rely on gore to be good and scary.

To me this show was sort of modern day Brothers Grimm and Folklore, most of those stories despite being in the realm of fantasy all also contained elements of horror, but also for a few morality. Four of my favorites are "The Pinball Wizard" that one was a fun one, it was pretty much similar to "The Biship of Battle" tale from the 80's film "Nightmares" just like in that tale, the protagonists had a gaming addiction and unfortunately has to play for keeps as the game comes to life. It was just awesome how the mall was used as a battle ground like in the film "Dawn of the Dead".

Another of course is "The Prom Queen" which is a modern take on an urban legend, in a way it could of been an episode of "Koljak the Night Stalker" as this story had investigative intrigue.

Third is "The Dark Dragon" which is kinda a dark version of Cinderella, this almost looked like the kind of tale Croninberg could've directed as we see some bodily horror, the make up effects are really on par.

And my favorite "Tale of the Dream Girl" which is emotional and like the film "Angel Heart" will have a twist you won't see coming.

I even like the fact that some of the story's had a reoccurring character or two from the creepy but blackly funny Dr. Fink but my favorite one is Sardo whom is kinda an colorful, eccentric and gay magician (or he just seemed that way). It was an interesting ploy for me and is something most anthology rarely do (except for the film "Trick or Treat") by interconnect characters and just showing how most of the tales are taking place in the same universe.

So for kids that want to get into horror this is a good place to start, and for the adult for the kid inside it's a great nostalgic ride. Just like an eternal flame, this show's fire still burns bright.

Rating: 4 stars

One of the best show ever put out by Nickelodeon was Are You Afraid of the Dark. This show was part of the Saturday night line know as Snick it was cater to teen something for them to watch on Saturday nights. This show was about a group of kids who were know as the Midnight Society, they would tell spooking stories taking turns each week with a different story. This show was a lot of fun, it was one of my favorite shows when I was growing up the story telling was great it ran from 1992-1996 when it was canceled then two years later was brought back with a new cast of kids an ran from 1999-2000 so all together it ran for 7 season & they were all great season even thought this show isn't on TV anymore it will always have a place in my heart & will always be one of the greatest shows ever in the HISTORY OF TELEVISION, you can find this show of DVD but it is really hard to find so if you get lucky to find it on DVD I recommend you pick up you will love it & it might bring back some fond memories.

Hello everyone who grew up in the 90s by far one of the greatest decades ever. During the 90s there were a lot of great shows on TV. Well one of the best shows that were on during the 90s was Are You Afraid of the Dark, which ran from 1991-1995. It was a show about a group of kids that called themselves the Midnight Sociaty, they would sit around the camp fire telling scary stories. The show was part of my childhood & I will always remember it, I wish it was still on in reruns. I was just at this Horror Convention in Orlando, FL where I found this show on DVD. It is a pretty hard show to find on DVD I think you can also get it online but I am not sure. When I started watching it, I remembered it right off the bat. I was bring memories from my childhood it was the first time I have seen its since it got canceled in 1995. The show was brought back again in 1999 & ran for two more seasons, but it wasn't as good as the first run. Well for all you guys who grew up in the 1990s hope you never forget about this really great show.

When I was a kid, there was a "Bala Dili" program on ANS TV and they were giving episodes from this series. Even if we watched it with Azerbaijani dubbing, we were very afraid then.

I really don't know why everybody likes this show; I used to watch it when I was a kid and till know, I'm interested in nothing except for the theme song and good acting. There isn't a single episode I watched from this show and liked. Some episodes and I tell you SOME, when they start they seem to be good, but after some minutes their boring. I'm not saying that I liked any episode from this show, but eariler seasons and if they were bad, their not compared to how bad the later seasons appeared to be. The other thing I liked about this show is the acting; even though the acting in the earlier episodes wasn't that good, but it developed nicely by the time. Otherwise, almost all of the story lines were boring and if they weren't, the writing for the episodes itself is boring. But even though, I have to admit that this show not matter how bad it is, it's still not worser then 'Goosebumps'.

This show was a must see for Snick on Saturday nights when I was growing up. Some episodes actually scared me. I loved it and still would like to see it. Better than some of the crap they have on tv for kids now. Everybody remembers this show and loves it. Silly and campy as it was, it was good.

I still love this series dearly, it's such a retro 90's dream to me. Like most fans I first ever saw it when I was a kid at school, and being a big fan of horror movies and stories and stuff like that I was immediately hooked and it made a big impression on me and really captured my young imagination. It was so cool and fun seeing a group of kids around a campfire in the dark sharing scary stories. My favourite group was from the first season, there's something especially special about those earliest episodes to me. There isn't any throughout the series that quite manage to shake that 'safe' feeling that children's programming provides, but there's certainly a brilliant variety to them. There's occasionally some real imagination behind the goofy veneer, and some of the directors were able to be very creative with what they were given and managed to make their episodes stand out. They go from genuinely creepy tales like "Dark Music", "Laughing in the Dark" and "The Dollmaker", to more poignant and moving yarns like "Apartment 214" "Shiny Red Bicycle" and "Dream Girl". There were also the odd seriously whacked-out episodes like "The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner." But man, when they were bad they weren't kidding, and there's a fair amount of lame episodes where the cheesiness positively oozes from every frame and the acting is so gloriously bad that it's liable to leave you feeling a bit light-headed! We were all children when we loved it the most, but there's still loads of fun to be had from the show to this day. Maybe to some not in the most flattering light, but I think it holds up just the same, it's the greatest children's anthology show there ever was. I try to take it as seriously as possible even if the episode sure isn't making it easy. I don't enjoy it purely as a goof, like I'm not only deriving enjoyment by laughing at it, I don't believe I'd be a true fan if that were the case. I feel a tremendous loyalty towards this show, watching the eerie intro sequence and hearing the theme tune always gives me a warm nostalgic feeling inside that makes me smile. It will always be classic and great to me. From the bottom of my heart I thank every one of the different directors, producers and all of the creative minds that gave life to Are You Afraid of the Dark, you people gave many a childhood an extra touch of spooky magic!

I loved this show, every night after school i used to watch it with my little brother, it scared the life out of me but it was brilliant! My favourite episode was the one where they had to cut down this tree, as everyone who entered became part of a game, which was to kill the others. it was really scary and put me off going into any woods! I cant remember what the episode was called as i was only small, but i remember the boy in the tree was "Larry Tudgeman" in Lizzie McGuire and i was soo chuffed when i saw him in it, it brought flooding back all those memories! I loved the candle at the beginning where it is blown out and all of the writing goes blue. Oh and at the end of each story, they threw the bucket of water over the fire to put it out! I haven't seen if for at least 10 years. Oh how i wish Nickeldeon would bring it back!

This show was a huge part of my childhood; each episode is so nostalgic! I'd love to say "I wish they would bring it back", but it wouldn't be the same. The simplicity of the '90's is something I miss and this show brings back that feeling. Thankfully I have the series on DVD! Now my daughter can enjoy these episodes with me.

the show r u afraid of the dark is the best t.v series for children. i think that it should be an adults show. sum of the episodes in this series r so scary.i bought myself a copy of ebay Australia which was imported from America and it was the best $30 i spent. i got 78 episodes of the series and that is not the complete collection. does anyone know where i can get the rest of the series because i really want it. My overall rating for this show if 10/10 i recommend it for anyone that is anyone. 10/10 if anyone knows where to get the rest of the series please tell me. *** are you afraid of the dark?*** *blake* blablablablabla

During the 90's, the cable television station Nickelodeon hosted a 2-hour Saturday evening program block of half-hour shows known as "Snick" (Saturday Night Nickelodeon). Airing from 8 PM to 10 PM, Snick featured shows geared to a (slightly) older audience in the preteen demographic by airing programs featuring more mature themes then the daytime programs. From season to season most shows risked being moved/canceled in their 8 to 9:30 slots, but the 9:30 slot stayed the same for a record of 5 seasons (from 1991 to 1996). That show was known as "Are You Afraid Of The Dark?" AYAOTD was a program featuring a cast of preteens who called themselves "The Midnight Society", a group of friends who gathered weekly in a forest campfire setting to tell spooky tales of ghosts, goblins, and anything within the supernatural and paranormal realms. A simple introduction into each weekly story began as "submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story..." following a title for the episode ("The Tale of the Dead Man's Float", "The Tale of Apartment 214", etc). Seasons to season, members of the society were changed, replaced, but the stories never got stale.

What made AYAOTD revolutionary for its generation was within its story structure: the show avoided criticism that normal sitcoms and shows face because it avoided cliché formatting. The show never lost its spirit because each week featured new characters and scenarios, keeping the show fresh and appealing. It was an "X-Files" or, even closer, "Tales from the Crypt", for a younger audience.

But the show can still be appreciated at an older age: AYAOTD did truly deliver for its genre. To assume the show couldn't deliver scares because it targeted such a young age group is false because the show certainly did. Its demographic allowed more focus on creating natural suspense and fear rather than artificially supplying it in the forms of over-excessive gore, violence, and language. Because the show avoided those clichés, it used strong mood lighting, clever camera-work and omniscient music in order to heighten the tension and fear. AYAOTD's writers were sharp enough to create scary tales that tapped into primal fears and childhood nightmares. The stories covered every type of unnatural force possible but somehow spun them into its own creative style. In its first season alone, AYAOTD covered topics such as clowns, ghosts, possession, vampires, creatures lurking in basements, and things hiding in the dark. It also knew its strengths and weaknesses: it was good at making the things that needed to scary scary, but strong dialogue was an apparent flaw. The acting was at best B-material, but in itself it shows the appeal of AYAOTD: the show was a light horror pop confection that took itself just serious enough to make your pulse race and your breath to shorten.

10 out of 10 is a grade that shouldn't be given out like candy, and I abide by that opinion. In essence, AYAOTD deserves a 10/10 because it accomplishes the primary requirement: to entertain. AYAOTD accomplishes this effortlessly, even in its later seasons, because it applied a format that allowed for fresh new ideas every week, never tiring the storyline or the viewer. AYAOTD told its last tale in 1996 when it was sadly canceled. But its popularity and fan-base was so strong that the show was remade with an all-new cast in the 99-00 season. Sadly, while it sounded like a good idea to bring back such a favored show, it just wasn't the same without the original Midnight Society and was quickly canceled after its first season. AYAOTD is not a television show to scares your pants off if you're above the age of 10, but even if you are older, you can't help but feel your spine tingle at the thought of what may be lurking within each episode. And if that isn't entertainment, I don't know what is.

This is getting a lot of love and I really don't know why. Most of it has to be nostalgia. Or maybe it could be a cultural thing, like maybe it's the people on the coasts that really liked this show. Or maybe it could just be like a city thing, I've been living in the city for about 15 years now and people praise it.

Anyway, when I was a a kid, it came out when I was about 10, and it was kind of summarized as a scary show for kids that isn't really scary.

It's like the kids that showed up to school with a Goosebumps novel, and were so brutally mocked that learned never to do it again, and came back with Stephen King like everyone else.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? kind of had that feel. The kinds that went to Kindercare and weren't latch-key watched it and were terrified by it. Everyone else just thought it was lame and watched Tales From the Crypt instead.

Occasionally it was watched, mostly it was sampled and then ignored. But, yeah, when it first came out I remember giving it an actual chance.

When I was a kid, I loved this show. It scared me all the time, and I probably lost a lot of sleep because of it, but it was worth it to see all of these stories told by regular kids. It sparked my love for horror. The absolute scariest episode for me was "The Night Shift" where vampires invade a hospital. I can still remember parts, and they still scare me. One of these days I'm going to start my own Midnight Society...in broad daylight...with soap operas...and cheese fondue. Pretty scary, huh?

One of my favorite tv shows from my childhood!!! Sometimes I watch one of my favorite episodes and trust me, worth to watch!!! A TV series from the 90's scary and interesting!! If you don't watch it yet, I suggest you do now