Are You Afraid of the Dark?

*Are You Afraid of the Dark?*
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Developed by	Cinar Productions
Starring	Jacob Tierney; Raine Pare-Coull; Ross Hull; Jodie Resther; Jason Alisharan; Rachel Blanchard; Nathaniel Moreau; Daniel DeSanto; Joanna Garcia; Codie Lucas Wilbee; Kareem Blackwell; Elisha Cuthbert; David Deveau; Vanessa Lengies
Country of origin	Canada ; United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	91 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 mins/episode
Original release
Network	YTV ; Nickelodeon ; ITV1/Nickelodeon ; Nickelodeon
Release	January 16, 1992 –; June 11, 2000

Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a Sci-Fi/horror-themed television series. The original series was a joint production between the Canadian companies YTV and Cinar and the American company Nickelodeon. The episode "The Tale of the Phantom Cab" was aired as a pilot on the evening of October 31, 1991. The series was aired from January 16, 1992 to February 3, 1996 on Nickelodeon's SNICK. A revived series with new directors, writers, and cast was produced by Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000 and also played on SNICK. Reruns of the series have since been broadcast internationally, including airings in the United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, and the Czech Republic.

Background

Both series revolved around a group of adolescents who referred to themselves as the "Midnight Society". One night a week, at a secret location in the woods, one member would tell a scary story to the group. The actual story, rather than the telling, was displayed to the television viewer. The story was shown between the group's arrival at the site and their departure. Each storyteller would begin their story by saying "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story..." at which point he or she would toss birch bark powder into a campfire to heighten the flames and produce an eerie white smoke. The storyteller would continue by announcing its title (The Tale of...).

The themes of the stories usually revolved around paranormal phenomena, such as ghosts, magic, haunted houses, magical curses, aliens, witches and the like coming into contact with normal teenagers.

Sources of these tales varied; many were adaptations of public domain fairytales and short stories or urban legends. For example, "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" is considered to be an adaptation of W.W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw".

Some of the episodes' story lines are close to those of books written for the Goosebumps book series by R.L. Stine, intentionally or not, which was popular at roughly the same time as this show. Another episode, "The Tale of the Curious Camera," is an almost exact retelling of the Goosebumps book Say Cheese And Die, though both were likely inspired by "A Most Unusual Camera", an episode of the original Twilight Zone series. Indeed, Goosebumps spawned a TV series as well.

Cast Members

First Series (1992 – 1996)

Actor/Actress	Role	Years
Ross Hull	Gary	1992 – 1996
Jodie Resther	Kiki	1992 – 1996
Raine Pare-Coull	Betty Ann	1992 – 1996
Jason Alisharan	Frank	1992 – 1995
Daniel DeSanto	Tucker	1994 – 1996
Joanna Garcia	Samantha	1994 – 1996
Rachel Blanchard	Kristen	1992 – 1993
Nathaniel Moreau	David	1993 – 1994
Codie Lucas Wilbee	Stig	1995 – 1996
Jacob Tierney	Eric	1992

Second Series (1999 – 2000)

Actor/Actress	Role	Years
Kareem Blackwell	Quinn	1999 – 2000
Elisha Cuthbert	Megan	1999 – 2000
Vanessa Lengies	Vange	1999 – 2000
Daniel DeSanto	Tucker	1999 – 2000
David Deveau	Andy	1999 – 2000

Recurring characters

One of the more significant recurring characters was Sardo (Richard Dumont), owner of "Sardo's Magic Mansion" (a magic shop). He would often attempt to sell a character a "prized" item, rarely succeeding. He often had items in his shop that contained real properties of magic, yet did not know until it was revealed in the story. One of the most memorable recurring jokes in the series occurred when someone would address him as "Mr. Sardo". He would then get irritated and exclaim: "No 'mister'; accent on the 'doh'!" Although he rarely got what he wanted, he would often end up helping the characters, often intentionally. He appeared in Gary's stories.

Another recurring character was Dr. Vink (Aron Tager). He was a physically imposing man who would often appear as a mad scientist, sorcerer, and the like. He would also get his name mispronounced. When this happened, he would respond "Vink. With a va-va-va." Often, the protagonist would call him a "nutbag" behind his back, assuming he could not hear him, only to have him reply later, "... and I am not a nutbag." He appeared in Frank's stories. Aron Tager also played the carnival worker who stands in front of the Funhouse and invites people to go inside in "The Tale of the Laughing in the Dark".

Both of these characters appear in the double episode "The Tale of Cutter's Treasure", which was told by both Frank and Gary.

Episodes

Future

Executive Producer D.J. MacHale as well as award-winning director David Winning have been recently answering fan e-mails declaring they would be "game" to begin work on an eighth season of Are You Afraid of the Dark. However, both MacHale and Winning have made it clear that there is a serious dispute when it comes to the rights to the show. Nickelodeon and Cookie Jar Entertainment have apparently been embroiled in a long-term, silent struggle over the rights. Until this matter is ever worked out, there is no chance of reviving the franchise.

DVD Releases

Season Releases

DVD Name	Region	Release Date	# of Episodes	Bonus Features
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 1st Season	1	April 18, 2006	13	Episode Synopses
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 2nd Season	1	November 28, 2006	13	Episode Synopses
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 3rd Season	1	April 24, 2007	12	Episode Synopses

Compilations

DVD Name	Region	Release Date	# of Episodes	Bonus Features
Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Freaky Favorites	1	October 24,2006	8	Episode Synopses

References

External links

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