Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a 1991 Nickelodeon horror anthology television franchise created by D. J. MacHale and Ned Kandel. The franchise itself that started The original series aired from 1990 to 1996. It led to two revival series, with the first airing from 1999 to 2000, and the second debuting in 2019. The franchise's plot leads to the each member of The Midnight Society from 1991 to 2022 has a distinct personality, and a notable trend in their randomized scary horror-styled storytelling. More likely the franchise also came in strong with a video game, a book series and a novel of their own right.
The franchise's Legacy[]
The show became a weekly staple for children and tweens in the 1990s. Kids “were old enough to stay up but not old enough to stay out, so [they] spent nearly every Saturday night huddled around television sets with friends or siblings, pretending not to be terrified by that week’s tale.” As written by Matt Melis,
“But there’s also a lot to admire in the care that went into trying to frighten us. We saw the protagonists encountering the creepy and supernatural in the same suburban settings we hailed from. They were remarkably vulnerable and insecure kids, too, ones with problems we could relate to; they were new kids, outcasts, rival siblings, and children experiencing rough patches like deaths in the family or parents filing for divorce.”
Said series co-creator D.J. MacHale, “I wanted stories about real kids who were facing challenges that had nothing to do with the supernatural situation they ended up in.” He added, “But I'd like to believe that by depicting kids taking charge of difficult situations, it opened up kid-viewers to the idea that they aren't powerless in their own lives.” The show has also been hailed for its diversity in characters and stories. “I write about kids who find themselves in challenging situations, and ultimately solve the problems themselves ... no matter their sex, race, or age. We wanted to depict a wide variety of stories, characters, and situations. It was all about diversity,” says MacHale. “We didn't play to stereotypes.” The series was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 1996. The show has also been seen as helping to create a generation of feminist horror fans, as it showed kids a world “where girls got to be the imperfect heroes as often as the boys did.” According to MacHale, “in the first season alone, half of the scripts focused on female characters and were written by female writers.”
Characters of the franchise[]
The list of the cast members of the Are You Afraid of the Dark? franchise shows The cast members are part of "The Midnight Society" during the series.
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990–1996) cast[]
| Actor | Character | Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Ross Hull | Gary | colspan="5" Main | ||||
| Jason Alisharan | Frank | colspan="4" Main | colspan="1" None | |||
| Rachel Blanchard | Kristen | colspan="2" Main | colspan="3" None | |||
| Nathaniel Moreau | David | colspan="2" Main | colspan="3" None | |||
| Raine Pare-Coull | Betty Ann | colspan="5" Main | ||||
| Jodie Resther | Kiki | colspan="5" Main | ||||
| Jacob Tierney | Eric | colspan="1" Main | colspan="4" None | |||
| Daniel DeSanto | Tucker | colspan="2" None | colspan="3" Main | |||
| Joanna García | Samantha | colspan="2" None | colspan="3" Main | |||
| Codie Lucas Wilbee | Stig | colspan="4" None | colspan="1" Main | |||
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1999–2000) cast[]
| Actor | Character | Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| Kareem Blackwell | Quinn | colspan="2" Main | ||||
| Elisha Cuthbert | Megan | colspan="2" Main | ||||
| Daniel DeSanto | Tucker | colspan="2" Main | ||||
| David Deveau | Andy | colspan="2" Main | ||||
| Vanessa Lengies | Vange | colspan="2" Main | ||||
| Ross Hull | Gary | colspan="1" None | colspan="1" Guest | |||
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019–2022) cast[]
| Actor | Character | Seasons | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Lyliana Wray | Rachel Carpeter | colspan="1" Main | colspan="2" None | |
| Miya Cech | Akiko Yamamto | colspan="1" Main | colspan="2" None | |
| Sam Ashe Arnold | Gavin Coscarelli | colspan="1" Main | colspan="2" None | |
| Jeremy Ray Taylor | Graham Raimi | colspan="1" Main | colspan="2" None | |
| Tamara Smart | Louise Fulci | colspan="1" Main | colspan="2" None | |
| Bryce Gheisar | Luke McCoy | colspan="1" None | colspan="1" Main | colspan="1" None |
| Malia Baker | Gabby Lewis | colspan="1" None | colspan="1" Main | colspan="1" None |
| Beatrice Kitsos | Hanna Romero | colspan="1" None | colspan="1" Main | colspan="1" None |
| Parker Queenan | Connor Stevens | colspan="1" None | colspan="1" Main | colspan="1" None |
| Arjun Athalye | Jai Malya | colspan="1" None | colspan="1" Main | colspan="1" None |
| Dominic Mariche | Seth Romero | colspan="1" None | colspan="1" Main | colspan="1" None |
| Telci Huynh | Kayla | colspan="2" None | colspan="1" Main | |
| Conor Sherry | Max | colspan="2" None | colspan="1" Main | |
| Luca Padovan | Leo | colspan="2" None | colspan="1" Main | |
| Dior Goodjohn | Summer | colspan="2" None | colspan="1" Main | |
| Chance Hurstfield | Ferris | colspan="2" None | colspan="1" Main | |
Media[]
Television pilot[]
:Main article: "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" (Are You Afraid of the Dark?)
Right before the main tv series began, The series premiered with the episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" as a pilot on October 31, 1990, on the Canadian television network YTV. The pilot aired on Nickelodeon on October 25, 1991, as part of a Halloween special.
Television series[]
- Main article: Are You Afraid of the Dark?
After finishing "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" tv-pilot. As the 1991 Nickelodeon television series, Are You Afraid of the Dark? was filmed in Montreal by CINAR and created by producer D. J. MacHale, an American television producer. The show is a co-production between Montreal-based CINAR Films and the U.S. Nickelodeon network. It had its American debut on Nickelodeon in the United States during August, while Canada's Family Channel had the series premiere in September 1992. By 1993, the series had moved from Family Channel to YTV.
The tv show itself was the only children's horror anthology series that can rival a tv series with a similar Canadian ideas like Scholastic's Goosebumps tv show for example.
Television film[]
- Main article: Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Carnival of Doom
The Carnival of Doom is the one-&-only television film to be appear as the eighth season of the television show itself with 3-part storylines.
Video game[]
- Main article: Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Tales of Orpheo's Curse
The 1994 video game made for DOS and Macintosh, developed by Viacom New Media. It is based on the TV show Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and has been described as a Myst clone with Myst-like graphics. Producers from the network behind the brand collaborated with developers and oversaw the games.
Book series[]
Main article: Are You Afraid of the Dark? (book series)
A 1995 book series based on the television series was released and written by John Peel, who later wrote three more books in the series.
Novel[]
Main article: Are You Afraid of the Dark? (novel)
A 2004 novel based on the television series was made by the bestselling thriller writer Sidney Sheldon. This is the last novel to be published by William Morrow.
Other media[]
A music video with the horror-themed dance song “Feel the Fear” was aired on Nickelodeon and included as a bonus feature on VHS tapes. The television series also spawned multiple licensed products. A PC game based on the show titled Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Tale of Orpheo's Curse was released in 1994. A board game titled Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Game was also released. They also released a series of audio cassettes entitled Are You Afraid of the Dark?: More Tales From The Midnight Society which were narrated and voiced by actors from the show who reprised their respective characters. Perhaps the most prominent of products from the franchise's merchandising was a series of books written by various authors between 1995 and 1998.
On November 13, 2017, it was announced that a film adaptation of the series was in the works at Paramount Players. It writer Gary Dauberman was set to write the screenplay with Matt Kaplan producing and D.J. Caruso directing. The film was scheduled to be released on October 4, 2019. However, on February 27, 2019, Paramount removed the film from their schedule.
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