Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990)
Summary
Perhaps no Nickelodeon show is more iconic to youngster who grew up in the 1990s thanAre You Afraid of the Dark ? , and some moments from the tiddler ’s horror show were so legitimately shivery that they stuck with the show ’s viewer well into adulthood . The original translation of theAre You Afraid of the Dark?anthology series ran for five season from 1992 - 1996 , and over the course of 13 instalment , each time of year play new , genuinely unsettling stories to its viewers . Some episodes are more famous than others , however .
Many of the show ’s best installment are marked by the villain;Are You Afraid of the Dark?has a rogues ' gallery of monsters , shade , and ghouls that are up there with any horror enfranchisement despite the 1990s connection TV - level effects . While not every sequence was predicated on jump scares or terrifying creatures , many of the most impactful episodes have specific moment that still give multitude the shivers . No matter if it ’s a child from the 1990s or an adult from the 2020s observance , some bit fromAre You Afraid of the Dark?are just downright chilling .
10Reed’s Dead Uncle Stalks From His Coffin - “The Tale Of The Dangerous Soup”
Season 3, episode 13
Not all the scariest consequence inAre You Afraid of the Dark?involve a teras . Sometimes the show attain into the basest fears that people share to raise a particularly spine - scary second , and the sequence " The Tale of the Dangerous Soup " is a perfect example . The installment features the infamous Dr. Vink ( " with a va - va - VA " ) as a restauranteur whose eatery is known for serve a toothsome soup ; it ’s revealed thatthe secret ingredient in the soup that make it so delicious is literally fear , which is take out from victim by an enchanted statue and distil into a liquid state .
Two of the eatery ’s employees ( including Neve Campbell in a guest spotlight ) accidentally let loose the statue , provide it free to torture people at will . It sets upon the employee Reed , and demonstrate him his deep fear : the unappeasable uncle he grew up with who conk when he was young . The illusory uncle ’s coffin is stand upright , andReed ’s ghostly uncle shuck out of the coffin towards him with dead eyes . It ’s a disturbing moment that resonate for anyone who is uncomfortable around casket or bodies , especially if it ’s a fear carried over from a traumatic puerility experience .
9Badge Impersonates Gwen’s Grandmother - “The Tale Of Badge”
Season 5, episode 13
While prey upon childhood injury was sure enough one of its greatest tools , Are You Afraid of the Dark?was more than capable of more traditional horror element , as was the case in " The Tale of Badge . " The sequence features a vernal woman , Gwen , who get wind that her family is creditworthy for keep a strikebreaker - faced goblin discover Badge at bay , and she unwittingly lets him loose upon her abode while her grandmother is expire .
Badge ’s appearance is some of the dependable makeup work that the gang ofAre You Afraid of the Dark?managed in the first variation of the show .
The scariest minute happens when Badge is first revealed . Gwen hears a smash at the front doorway , and it ’s her grandmother claiming she blank out her keys ; salvage , Gwen rushes to start the door , only for Badge to explode in and terrify her and her brother , who he later kidnaps . Badge ’s appearing is some of the skilful makeup work that the crowd ofAre You Afraid of the Dark?managed in the first version of the show , and the bait - and - switch with Gwen ’s granny made for a great jump panic .
8The Poltergeist Emerges From The Wall - “The Tale Of The Quicksilver”
Season 3, episode 11
" The Tale of the Quicksilver " thrust a fastball with its villain , providing a simple yet super creepy character in an episode that clearly has somePoltergeistinfluence to it . The walls of a mansion are possess by an vicious entity that appears in the class of a tail , and when it ’s conjured via ceremony , it ’s capable of physically manipulating the public around the somebody it haunts . Its appearance can disturb any adult who is n’t a horror buff , with its sallow skin , deep-set eye , and unsettling smile . His first appearance at the beginning of the episode will stick with anyone .
7The Lonely Ghost Appears In The Mirror - “The Tale Of The Lonely Ghost”
Season 1, episode 3
" The Tale of the Lonely Ghost " is one of therare episodes ofAre You Afraid of the Dark?that might actually get scarier the old a person experience . The episode follows the teenager Amanda , who pass the night in a haunt planetary house to deliver the goods the favorable reception of her bratty cousin and her friends . Amanda was told that the house used to belong to a young girl who was always bullied for being ineffective to speak . The girl went to the mansion to live with her grandmother .
The harshness and tragedy behind the story of the Lonely Ghost make it much harder to brook as an adult .
While there , she was chased into her room by some bullies who locked her in long enough that she choke ( either from thirst or thirst , as it ’s implied ) . The girl ’s first appearance in the blackness of the mirror that Amanda sees her in is terrifying given her unsettling visual aspect , but the catastrophe behind her story makes it much harder to stomach as an adult . Adults understand the consequences of intimidation , andunderstand the concern and pain the missy must have endured at her last . It ’s a unfeignedly upsetting episode , and the small girl ’s first appearance is the exclamation point .
Custom image by Yeider Chacon
6The Computer Virus Chair Swivel - “The Tale Of The Renegade Virus”
Season 4, episode 1
The conception at play in " The Tale of the Renegade Virus " is far less entertaining nowadays , but at the metre it was exploring the then - barely - scratched surface of practical reality and computer technology . A apostate computer computer virus can lame business organisation , the thriftiness , and literally cost life , yield how reliant upon computer technology our modern society is . Therefore , seeing a computer virus as a terrifying sentient beingisn’t that far a stretch .
What really elevates the musical theme is the literal appearance of the virus in the installment . Once again theAre You Afraid of the Dark?makeup bunch was on their A - game , asthe carmine - eyed , ash grey - skinned creature with an divulge brain and deep , crunch voiceis up there with any creature the show grow . They use the bait - and - switch outspoken magic again here to great effect , with the principal character Evan approaching his daddy ’s berth desk chair only to have the chair swivel and discover the gruesome virus portray his Father of the Church .
5Nosferatu Traps Katie In The Projection Room - “The Tale Of The Midnight Madness”
Season 2, episode 2
" The Tale of the Midnight Madness " is buoy by a tremendous performance from the iconic thespian Christopher Heyerdahl , who portrays the real - globe rendering of Count Orlok fromNosferatu . Dr. Vink is once again in the admixture , this time as a moviemaker peddling his picture to a local theater of operations on its last legs . He promises his plastic film ( which is revealed to be a version of the classic lamia filmNosferatu ) will invigorate the theatre , which it of course does . However , the horror on the screen does n’t end when the light go up .
Christopher Heyerdahl also played Leonid , the alien from the time of year 2 instalment " The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor . "
Nosferatu is able-bodied to give the screen and enter the existent world once the theatre is empty , and the two employee chance on it only after Nosferatu attacks their boss . As he follow up on them around the field of operations , he manages to pin one of them , Katie , in the projection way above the main theatre . The moment when the doorway unfold and he is fully revealed , complete with grotesquely - veined white pelt and unsettlingly long finger , is the hooey of nightmares , and the fact that Katie is trapped in a small room with her assailant elevates the scare even more .
Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a spooky anthology series for kids that recounts ghost stories told by the young members of the Midnight Society as they gather around a campfire. Members of the Midnight Society tell a terrifying tale of the Carnival of Doom and its evil ringmaster, Mr. Tophat, only to witness the shocking story come frightfully to life. The new series is an update of the 1990s Nickelodeon series of the same name, which lasted five seasons.
4The Real Zeebo Laughs In The Dark - “The Tale Of Laughing In The Dark”
Season 1, episode 2
For most of the appearance that Zeebo the Clown makes in " The Tale of Laughing in the Dark " , he ’s an oversized carnival ride decoration – creepy , but not the poppycock of nightmare . However , when Josh proceed into the funhouse to show that it is n’t ghost by an actual cigar - smoking specter of a carnival buffoon , he encounters more than just a carnival medal . For the briefest of view , Josh looks into a funhouse mirror and is greeted bythe stack of the real version of the deranged clown that Zeebo is base on . Coulrophobics unite , because it does n’t get scarier than this .
3The Vampire On The Roof - “The Tale Of The Night Shift”
Season 5, episode 11
In " The Tale of the Night Shift " , a nurse at a downtown hospital name Amanda ( played by a young Emmanuelle Chriqui ) gradually divulge that the hospital and all of its employees and patient are being slow fed upon by a unripe - skinned vampire . The ancient immorality disguises himself as different phallus of the infirmary ’s populacein parliamentary procedure to entice his victims , which guide to pot of creepy-crawly second . However , nothing is quite as scary as the fear trifecta that the episode hits in good order at the end .
From hot - action show like goose pimple to animated ones such as Beetlejuice , Are You Afraid of the Dark ? fans have class - well-disposed fabric to enjoy .
Amanda flees to the rooftop to break loose the lamia , who follows her up and trap her on the ledge overlooking a surely fateful fall . The creature dangles her over the ledge and threatens to drop her and " solve up what ’s left " , which stands as one of the lineage it ’s hard to consider was allow in a show rated TV - Y7 . He is about to sink his teeth in when two other survivor push his casket into the incinerator , which causes him to split into fire and fall off the ceiling . Horrifying lamia ? Check . Dizzying high ? Check . soundbox soak up in flames ? determine . That inclination gives plenteousness of adults the willies .
2The Ghastly Grinner In The Comic Book Shop - “The Tale Of The Ghastly Grinner”
Season 4, episode 9
The Ghastly Grinner is widely regarded as the most memorable villain fromAre You Afraid of the Dark?and for good reason . The blue - and - yellow fool is a amusing account book villainwho pull off to leap from the Sir Frederick Handley Page to the real world thanks to a microwave ( really ) , and while his appearing is sure enough mad , it ’s the aftermath of his encounters that turns up the terror . The Ghastly Grinner reduces everyone he comes across into a babbling , giggling , disheveled version of themselves , complete with bubbling gamy drool to match his .
The Grinner does n’t actually appear until around halfway through the episode , but when he does , he makes an shock . He looms over the main characters atop a comic book standpoint and grab the employee / exposition machine by the throat , laughing evilly and cat risque drool from his lip . The Ghastly Grinner in truth depicts the face of insanity , and gives off a vibration that ’s uncomfortable and disconcerting . The top - notch makeup and acting combine to create the series ' most diabolic phantom , and any fan of the series sure as shooting remember him in adulthood .
1The Corpse Emerges From The Pool - “The Tale Of The Dead Man’s Float”
Season 5, episode 1
The Ghastly Grinner may be the " serious " villain , butthe scary one has to be " The Corpse " from " The Tale of the Dead Man ’s Float . “The instalment features a secret puddle in the cellar of a high school day , which was shut away away for years after a young boy swim in it . Once the pool is reopened , the reason for his drowning is let loose : a rotten , blood - red monster that is a remnant of the ancient burial ground the pool was built upon .
The young male child who drown at the beginning of the episode is actually a new Jay Baruchel ( This Is The death , She ’s Out Of My League ) , and he would go on to star in three episodes of the show ’s revival in 1999 .
The episode plays out almost asthe aspiration for Blumhouse’sNight Swim , with the creature able to result the urine to track down its victims . Its initial exit from the pool , where its full form is break , is one of the scariest bit in the totality ofAre You Afraid of the Dark?.The moment is especially scary consider thatit spigot into the primeval fear of the H2O that is prolific in humanity . While some are more comfortable in water than others , the dark depths of any consistency of piss could be hiding something that grab at your ankles – even a gamey school puddle .
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Are You Afraid of the Dark ? is a spooky anthology series for kids that tell touch narration say by the immature members of the Midnight Society as they cumulate around a campfire . Members of the Midnight Society tell a terrifying tarradiddle of the Carnival of Doom and its evil ringmaster , Mr. Tophat , only to witness the shocking story come frightfully to life . The newfangled series is an update of the 1990s Nickelodeon series of the same name , which last five seasons .
Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a spooky anthology series for kids that recounts ghost stories told by the young members of the Midnight Society as they gather around a campfire. Members of the Midnight Society tell a terrifying tale of the Carnival of Doom and its evil ringmaster, Mr. Tophat, only to witness the shocking story come frightfully to life. The new series is an update of the 1990s Nickelodeon series of the same name, which lasted five seasons.
