Are You Afraid of the Dark Returns with a Reboot

The submission to the Midnight Society has been approved. The nightmare fuel of 90’s kids is making a return with an Are You Afraid of The Dark reboot.

Are You Afraid of The Dark was a children’s themed horror show produced by Nickelodeon that premiered in the 1990s. The original series ran from 1990-1996 with a short revival in 1999 that ran till 2000. The show followed a group of teenagers dubbed The Midnight Society that sat around a campfire at night telling scary stories. Each episode was a different horror-themed story told by one of the members of the Midnight Society. Therefore, it was a Twilight Zone-esque series for a younger audience. However, the show was still creepy and horrific in its own right.

The original Are You Afraid of the Dark series featured stories about vampires, ghost, and killer clowns. The episode “The Tale of Laughing in the Dark” gave plenty of children some nightmares in its time. That episode was about Zeebo a clown that stalked and tormented a child for stealing his nose at a haunted funhouse. Zeebo remained a reoccurring character and series staple ever since.

Just in time for spooky season, the Are You Afraid of the Dark reboot is set to premiere October 11^th  at 7:00 p.m. EST. The new series will have three parts all focusing around one central story. Therefore, the original Are You Afraid of The Dark formula is being changed for the reboot. The Midnight Society tells a story about a creepy carnival. Another major difference in the reboot is the inclusion of The Midnight Society in the haunting. The member that told the story was never actually featured in the stories, the story and the storytellers remained separate.  However, in the reboot, the story comes to life. Everything told in the story becomes part of The Midnight Society’s world and they themselves have to figure out what’s going on.

Will The Are You Afraid of The Dark reboot give a whole generation new nightmares?  Or are there too many changes to the original for it to work? Let us know in the comments.

Mark Sethi

Hi, I’m Mark freelance writer and pen for hire. I am the author of “Rexdale Tales.” And in the immortal words of Kawhi Leonard I’ma fun guy.