Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a super spooky, live-action TV show that aired on Nickelodeon from 1990 through 1996, then from 1999 through 2000. For people that grew up in the 1990s, this series was probably both a source of entertainment as well as terror. The episodes had a pretty simple premise: friends, known as "The Midnight Society" come together to tell scary stories around the campfire.
Each episode features a different story told by a member of The Midnight Society and tend to be pretty terrifying. In 2019, a miniseries revival of the show premiered and aired three episodes on October. Although the miniseries was definitely exciting for people that grew up with the show, it's hard to deny that the original series is definitely the best one as far as terrifying tales go.
To see 10 of the scariest episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, keep reading!
The Tale Of The Laughing In The Dark
Move over, Stephen King. Although IT's miniseries and then movie definitely gave us all a good reason to be scared of clowns, Pennywise isn't the only creepy clown out there. In "The Tale of the Laughing In the Dark", episode two of the first season of the series, a young boy named Josh goes through a funhouse that is in an amusement park known as Playland. According to myths and legends, Playland is haunted by a cigar smoking clown known as Zeebo.
On a dare, Josh goes into the funhouse and steals the nose from the clown prop located in the funhouse. Josh quickly learns that this was a huge mistake when he finds himself being haunted by a mysterious force.
The Tale Of The Hungry Hounds
"The Tale of the Hungry Hounds" is the fifth episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? and is a story that proves that dogs aren't always as cuddly and cute as we may think they are. This episode's story is set at a home in the country where a teenager named Pam and her cousin Amy go up to the attic of their grandparents' house and start going through the boxes of old stuff.
After Pam puts on her aunt's old clothes, she starts to take on a completely different personality and has a whole new set of memories. Amy realizes quickly that she's been possessed by the spirit of her aunt, Dora, who died in a horse riding accident. Unfortunately, Dora's determination to make sure that her family's hunting hounds are fed didn't die with her.
The Tale Of The Phantom Cab
"The Tale of the Phantom Cab" was the very first episode of the show. This episode is particularly creepy for anyone that has ever found themselves lost out in the woods.
In this episode, a pair of brothers are out for a walk in the woods but find themselves lost when the compass malfunctions. They're directed to the cabin of a strange man who claims to be a scientist who can help them out, but only if they can solve a riddle. Unfortunately, when they can't solve the riddle, they're taken away by a ghostly cab driver who reveals to them that they're not going to make it home alive.
The Tale Of The Whispering Walls
"The Tale of the Whispering Walls" aired during season two of the series. The story takes place on a special day for The Midnight Society: a full moon and Leap Day, a day that one member of the group claims has some special paranormal significance.
This episode is easily one of the scariest in the series and, to make things even scarier, it features a reference to Zeebo the Clown from "The Tale of the Laughing In the Dark". In this episode, a babysitter named Louise takes the kids she's watching into a mansion for help after their car breaks down. Unfortunately for all of them, this terrifying mansion is not what it seems and far from the best place to stop to use the phone.
The Tale Of The Nightly Neighbors
Although wholesome, even attractive vampires became popular in works of young adult fiction and film with series like the Twilight series, those vampires are a far cry from the creepy creatures that are the focus of "The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors".
In this episode, a pair of siblings become suspicious that their neighborhood has become overrun by creatures of the night. This seems totally ridiculous, right? Vampires don't exist and definitely can't just be wandering around in a suburban neighborhood... Right? The twist in the end of this episode makes the entire eerie story so scary.
The Tale Of The Ghastly Grinner
"The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner" is an episode from the fourth season of the series. The face of the character from this episode has become pretty iconic and easily one of the most memorable from the show. Considering how scary this episode was, it's really not hard to see why this jester stuck with so many of us.
In this episode, a comic book villain has come to life. Unfortunately, the characters in this world don't have a superhero to save them. This villain, known as the Ghastly Grinner, was originally created by an illustrator who realized pretty quickly that his creation was evil. Unfortunately, it didn't matter because he still climbed out of the pages and started messing with the minds of people in the real world.
The Tale Of The Dollmaker
Dolls are undeniably creepy. There's a reason that there's been so many creepy stories and movies based on scary dolls and this episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? made it easy to see what the appeal is. "The Tale of the Dollmaker" is an episode that aired during the third season of the series.
In this episode, a young girl named Melissa realizes that her friend Susan has just disappeared somehow. In order to try to figure out what happened to her BFF, Melissa goes up to Susan's family's home and starts snooping through the attic where she finds a dollhouse replica of their home. It only gets scarier from there.
The Tale Of The Crimson Clown
Zeebo in "The Tale of the Laughing In the Dark" isn't the only scary clown that ever made an appearance in Are You Afraid of the Dark?
In this episode, a boy named Sam steals some money from his brother. In order to get revenge, Sam's brother tells him a story about a clown that hunts down naughty children to get them back for their bad behavior. Little do Sam and his brother know, this clown is very real.
The Tale Of The Super Specs
The idea of buying a pair of haunted goggles may seem like a pretty silly premise for an episode, but anyone who remembers "The Tale of the Super Specs" will know that this episode was totally terrifying.
In this episode, a teenager named Mary Beth heads to Sardo's magic shop and picks up a pair of mysterious glasses. Although they may look cool, they give her a pretty terrifying ability. With these glasses on Mary Beth can see scary, cloaked figures that no one else can see. Yikes!
The Tale Of The Midnight Madness
In the second season of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, we're taken to a movie theater that's struggling to bring in the customers. But, when Dr. Vink comes and promises to pack the house every night, so long as the theater plays his films, it seems like things might turn around for this business.
Unfortunately, the theater employees turn their backs on Dr. Vink and quickly stop playing his flicks, but keep taking money from the customers he sent. In order to get revenge on them, Dr. Vink brings Nosferatu off the silver screen and sends him to terrorize the employees.