Picture the scenario: it’s a Saturday night during the 1990s, and you and your friends can be found gathered around your giant TV while the members of the Midnight Society gather around their campfire. It’s time for another chilling episode of the Nickelodeon favorite, Are You Afraid of the Dark?. With a spooky story, a bowl of popcorn, and a cozy blanket wrapped securely around you, yes it was a simpler time, but that was small comfort once the show started because with twisted tales of ghosts, ghouls, and even alien invasions, this show had us all reaching for the lights. So join us if you dare for a trip down memory lane, as we snap back to the days of Snick and recount the 10 most spine-tingling Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes ever!
10. The Tale of The Hungry Hounds- Season 1, Episode 5
“The Tale of the Hungry Hounds” tells the story of two cousins who couldn’t be more different. Amy the city slicker and her country cousin Pam search for information on their long-dead aunt Dora. The girls know her tragic death centered around a horseback riding incident yet the rest was shrouded in mystery. Then one day the girl’s rummaging goes a little too far when Pam puts on her dead aunts riding jacket and magically morphs into her ghost. On a mission she heads out to the barn, revealing to Amy the reason she could never rest peacefully.
Long story short, she forgot to feed the hounds before the hunt and they had been cooling on their heels in the barn for a few years. The girls head to the barn to feed the ghost dogs and hear the tragic tale of their aunt’s death. She had released the fox for the hunt too soon and gone chasing off after it on horseback when the horse spooked and she fell to her death. Finally with the hounds fed and the truth revealed the aunt rides away into the afterlife, and the next day Pam’s mother magically changed her mind about her taking riding lessons. It has a nice ending but the eerie howls of the hounds are something that follows you long after the episode is over.
9. The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor- Season 2, Episode 4
“Tale of the Thirteenth Floor” focuses on brother and sister pair Billy and Karen as they use the 13th floor of their apartment building as their own personal play space. Before long there are some new tenants moving in, and they are just a little bit different. Not only do they wear very 90’s jumpsuits, talk like robots, and say creepy things, but they invite Karen to test out their new toy line. Just Karen, not Billy, who tags along anyway much to the chagrin of this odd group of toy manufacturers.
As the day wears on and Billy wears out, Karen learns the truth behind the strange visitors: they are here for more than just children’s toys, they are here for her! Karen learns she had been accidentally left behind years ago by this galactic clan. Suddenly her adoption, the reason she always felt so different, and her strange dreams all make sense. Karen isn’t quite ready to leave her new planet and brother behind so she ends up escaping, but not before the truth about her is revealed. What really creeps in the mind about this episode is the question of how much we really know ourselves and our past. How much do we really know and how much do we just assume? Could there be more to us than even we know? Duh-duh-duh!
8. The Tale of the Room For Rent-Season 4, Episode 8
We all know that our past can haunt us, but “The Tale of the Room for Rent” takes that concept to a whole new level. Young tween Jessie is none too happy when her grandfather decides to rent out the spare room in their house, but when he accidentally rents it to a ghost, well that really doesn’t go over well. Jessie can’t be sure but she gets the distinct feeling the ghost is not just there for a friendly visit, so she and her friend Alex ask the neighbor, Sara Simpson, for help.
Sara realizes the friendly neighborhood ghost she conjured is a little extra friendly. In fact, it turns out to be her ex-fiance who died in the war. The girls learn that Jessie’s grandfather was actually the one who sent the ghost to his death and that he and Sara were lovers! The ghost had returned to claim his bride and exact revenge on Jessie’s Grandpa for taking his life. The ghost tries to take over Grandpa’s body and the truth is finally exposed. Turns out Grandpa had actually been trying to save the man’s life and it had all been a big misunderstanding. The ghost leaves, Sara and Grandpa patch things up and Jessie gets her house back. The idea that the mistakes of our past catching up to our future, is one that haunts us long after the TV is switched off, which is why this episode snags our number 8 spot.
7. The Tale Of The Prom Queen – Season 1, Episode 12
The chilling episode “The Tale of the Prom Queen” centres on two friends Greg and Jam visiting a cemetery looking for a little excitement and the grave of an urban legend. Instead, they find Dede, a cute girl visiting from ‘far away’. Little did they know how far away she was actually from. The two boys tell Dede the urban legend of a prom queen that appears once a year, waiting for her ride that never came. Dede is intrigued so the three set off on an adventure to see if it’s true.
They dive into the local archives and begin to unwind the tragic story of the accident that killed the prom queen and her boyfriend who was unaware she had been waiting for him. In a fit of despair upon hearing about the accident, he then drove off a bridge. Two tragedies in one night.
he three set back out to the graveyard to see if they can reunite the two lost lovers, andnd it works! The ghost car approaches and then–Dede climbs in! Before the boy’s eyes, she morphs into the dead prom queen, thanks the boys for their help in unraveling the mystery, and drives off with her boyfriend to the prom night of their dreams, and the boy’s nightmares. With a creepy plot, lots of twists and turns along the way, and it all culminating in one finale you don’t see coming, this episode is definitely one for the archives.
6. The Tale of Station 109.1-Season 5 Episode 2
To call the outside world, dial 9. To get ahold of the afterlife, dial 109.1 “The Tale of Station” follows the story of big brother Jamie and his quirky, death-obsessed little brother Chris. Oh and surprise Jamie is played by a young Ryan Gosling, we mean very young, like age 13! Actually, his role in this episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark is his first role–ever!
Jamie locks his little brother in a hearse which sets off an unfortunate chain of events, leaving his brother in a real lurch. While stuck in the hearse, Chris finds a radio station unlike any he has ever seen before, dialed directly into the afterlife. After his release from the hearse, he decides to see if he can find the source of the bizarre radio to the dead. Although the radio station is said to be closed down he decides to visit it anyway and runs into none other than the gatekeeper of the afterlife Roy, played by Gilbert Gottfried, the bumbling gatekeeper who in a mix up thinks Chris is next in line to cross over. He gives Chris a bracelet that doubles as a tracking device and even though Chris escapes, he only escapes into a world where no one can see him. Gottfried sends his goons to bring Chris in and it’s a real pickle until young Ryan aka Jamie discovers what is going on. Finally seconds before Chris is thrown into the great beyond, they are able to clear up the mix-up. While the story has a happy ending, the concept of the afterlife trying to reach us through the radio, lives on in our minds and nightmares. Save us, Ryan Gosling, save us!
5. The Tale of the Guardian’s Curse- Season 3, Episode 8
The walking dead takes on a whole new meaning in our next episode, “The Tale of the Guardian’s Curse”. The story follows workaholic archaeologist James Dugan as he tries and fails to achieve a work/life balance with his two kids Cleo and Josh.
We join the struggling family at the crux of a letdown, as Mr. Dugan decides to forgo the family ski trip to work on a new mummy that was discovered. The kids are disappointed, especially young Josh played by none other than Danny Cooksley, aka Bobby Budnick from Nickelodeon show Salute Your Shorts. The disgruntled kids only grow more disgruntled when their father sends them back to the museum on an errand that brings them face to face with the mummy. Clumsy Josh trips over the coffin and reveals a secret compartment that contains the Ring of Eternity and the Elixir of Life. The elixir brings the mummy back to life and causes Mr. Dugan’s boss to begin hunting down the kids. A greedy boss and a half-dead mummy recently awoken from a several century slumber is a lot to deal with. Finally, the small family is cornered. The kids give the boss the ring which turns him into stone and give the mummy the elixir which brings her fully back to life as Mina. Mr. Dugan can’t help but notice that fully formed Mina is actually kind of cute.
The two hit it off and Mr. Dugan finally gets the girlfriend of his dreams, achieves the perfect work/life balance, and bonds with his kids. Win. Win. Except for us, because seeing those long, dead mummy fingers wrapped around doorframes is not something we will soon forget.
4. The Tale of the Dollmaker-Season 3 Episode 5
“The Tale of the Dollmaker” follows the story of young Melissa, who upon visiting her aunt and uncle in the country, comes to find out her best friend who used to live next door, Susan, has moved. When Melissa sees a young girl in the window of Susan’s old house, Melissa isn’t too sure Susan isn’t still hanging around.
Upon investigation, Melissa finds a dollhouse in the attic, an exact replica of the house itself. Even more shocking, a door inside the dollhouse, suddenly closes on its own! Before Melissa can find the cause of the unexplained door, her aunt finds her and forbids her from entering the house again. She then learns the truth about Susan: she never moved at all, she simply vanished.
Convinced now that it was Susan she saw in the window, Melissa continues her search. She finds that by opening the attic door, she can shrink down into the dollhouse, but what she finds was not worth the trip inside. Susan has turned into the most creepy of dolls, and surprise, she tells Melissa that’s what entering the dollhouse will do to her too. Melissa finally figures out a plan and is able to rescue herself and Susan before it is too late, just as her own skin had begun taking on a porcelain sheen. She rescues Susan, they reunite her with her family and destroy the dollhouse. All’s well that ends well, but something tells us we haven’t seen the last of that creepy doll image. Yes, we are willing to bet we will be seeing it in our nightmares for many years to come.
3. The Tale of The Frozen Ghost-Season 2 Episode 8
The chilling phrase “I’m Cold” being quietly repeated over and over by a creepy translucent white ghost boy doesn’t leave the memory easily. While that scene alone could award this episode our number 3 spot. there are plenty more where it came from peppered throughout the episode.
But while the creepy little boy may send chills up your spine, there is one surprise that will warm your heart, Melissa Joan Hart is featured in the episode! We are guessing Pre- Sabrina the Teenage Witch but probably right around the Clarissa Explains It All era. Melissa plays the rebellious, negligent, and kind of mean teenage babysitter, Daphne, whose ward ‘Young Charles’, as she likes to call him, is not exactly a rough and tumble kind of kid, and when his two aunts tell him about the haunted woods, he does not take to the news well. After seeing the ghost boy come to his window at night, Charlie wants nothing more to do with those woods.
Daphne finally drags him out with her to chop wood and the mysterious ghost boy re-appears continuing his mournful wail of “I’m cold”. The two finally figure out it is a jacket stuck in a log the boy is after, and once he is reunited with his jacket, he moves on, leaving behind a large key. The two bring the key back to the house and finally learn the whole story behind the boy’s death, the key, and the tale of the robbers hiding gold in the house. We won’t spoil the entire ending but needless to say this is an episode we do not recommend watching alone. It still is giving us the shivers.
2. The Tale of the Crimson Clown-Season 3, Episode 8
“The Tale of the Crimson Clown” focuses on Mike and Sam, two brothers that were basically the embodiment of the Cain and Abel archetype. Mike worked hard and saved his money so that he could buy their mother a birthday gift. Meanwhile, twerpy Sam saved nothing and could have cared less about their mother’s big day. When the two find themselves in an antique store, Sam stumbles across something that is going to give him back what he’s been giving, in a big way.
Mike finds the perfect gift for their mother in the store, but when he goes to buy it, he realizes all his money is gone and Sam mysteriously has a new video game from next door. It turns out Sam has stolen all of Mike’s money and used it to buy the video game! When Mike forces him to try to return it the store is closed. All of this is watched by a creepy clown in the corner of the antique store.
Then to make matters worse, when the two get home late from dealing with the debacle of the video game, Sam lies to their mother and claims it is all Mike’s fault. The clown has had enough and begins exacting its revenge on Sam, hiding under his bed, coming out of the TV, laughing maniacally the entire time. It’s horrifying. Sam eventually learns his lesson and realizes the error of his ways, but not before the rest of us are scarred for life. Finally, Sam apologizes and repents, and he and Mike are able to buy their mother the present and Sam promises to never return to his twerpy ways. “The Tale of the Crimson Clown” is a truly spooky story about what happens when we get back what we give out and that is why it has crept its way to our number 2 spot. We can only hope that title appeases the Crimson Clown enough that it won’t pay us any visits.
1. The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float- Season 5 Episode 1
“The Tale of the Deadman’s Float” begins in 1954, when a young lifeguard and his girlfriend sneak off into the back room for a little smooch, while her little brother swims in the pool alone. Soon things go awry and the little boy is mysteriously pulled down into the water. The lifeguard dives in to save him but it’s too late.
Cut to the present day 1994. Class geek Zeke blows up a volcano much to the amusement and disdain of his classmates, but none is more full of contempt than his classmate Clorice. Convinced of his nerd status. she is not amused when her friend drags her over, claiming Zeke is cute, “like a little puppy’. Clorice is not so sure. She is even less sure when Zeke offers to show her something after school.
Finally, she agrees and Zeke shows her an abandoned pool behind the lockers in the boy’s bathroom. As a member of the swim team, Clorice has a vested interest in seeing the pool re-opened and she and Zeke convince the school. Clorice is still not convinced about Zeke. When she needs help with her chemistry homework she changes her tune. Zeke, however, wants something in exchange. In return for his help, he asks Clorice to teach him how to swim and she agrees.
The same invisible monster that lurked in the pool in the 50s, however, has returned. The only telltale sign of his presence is a gross smell. Zeke puts his chemistry skills to good use and figures out a way to see the creature, although he quickly wishes he hasn’t. The thing is a rotting body. The janitor shows up, reveals his secret identity as the lifeguard, and fills in the gaps in the story. He explains the pool was built on a burial ground and they must have missed a body. The thing chases the trio for the better part of the episode until they use their chemistry prowess one more time to explode the thing. It’s a relief for us all, because a malevolent skeleton with tufts of skin hanging off of it, that lives at the bottom of a pool and moves through the plumbing is not something we want to look at any longer than we have to. And that is exactly why the “Tale of the Deadman’s Float” has taken our number one spot, and our ability to sleep through the night.
