Are You Afraid of the Dark?

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Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Format	Children's Series Horror Sci-Fi
Created by	D.J. MacHale
Developed by	Cinar Productions
Directed by	David Winning
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
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	91 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	D.J. MacHale
Running time	22 mins/episode
Broadcast
Original channel	YTV Radio-Canada in Quebec Nickelodeon ITV/Nickelodeon Nickelodeon
Original run	October 31, 1990 – June 11, 2000
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a science fiction/horror-themed children's television series. The original series was a joint production between the Canadian companies YTV and Cinar, and the American company Nickelodeon. The show was filmed in Montreal, Quebec. The episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" was aired as a pilot on the evening of October 31, 1990. The series was aired from January 16, 1991 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. SciFi veteran David Winning directed ten episodes, including "Tale of the Dream Girl", "Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle" and "Tale of the Long Ago Locket".

Contents 1 Background 2 Cast members 2.1 The Midnight Society (1990 – 1996) 2.2 The New Midnight Society (1999 – 2000) 3 Recurring characters 4 Episodes 5 DVD Releases 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Background

Both series revolved around a group of adolescents who referred to themselves as "The Midnight Society". Every 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 plain sugar 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. Usually, the episodes were either filmed in the woods, in abandoned houses, or in public places like schools or libraries.

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".

Many of the horror stories had somewhat "happy" endings; for example, in the episode "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost", a dead child and her elderly mother were reunited. Nearly every story focused on ending with a resolution and the main character's safe escape.

At the end of every episode (with the exception of "The Tale of the Crimson Clown", "The Tale of the Mystical Mirror", "The Tale of the Night Shift", "The Tale Of The Zombie Dice", and "The Tale of the Silver Sight (Part 1)") one character would throw a red bucket of water onto the fire, and the group would leave the campsite.

[edit] Cast members

[edit] The Midnight Society (1990 – 1996)

Actor/Actress	Role	Years
Ross Hull	Gary	1990 – 1996
Raine Pare-Coull	Betty Ann	1990 – 1996
Jodie Resther	Kiki	1990 – 1996
Jason Alisharan	Frank	1990 – 1994
Daniel DeSanto	Tucker	1992 – 1996
Joanna Garcia	Samantha	1994 – 1996
Rachel Blanchard	Kristen	1990 – 1992
Nathaniel Moreau	David	1990 – 1992
Codie Lucas Wilbee	Stig	1995 – 1996
Jacob Tierney	Eric	1990 – 1991

[edit] The New Midnight Society (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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes

[edit] 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	13	Episode Synopses
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 4th Season	1	November 13, 2007[1]	13	Episode Synopses
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 5th Season	1	February 26, 2008[2]	13	Episode Synopses
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 6th Season	1	April 29, 2008[3]	13	Episode Synopses, Season 6 Photo Gallery

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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Are You Afraid of the Dark? (first series) at the Internet Movie Database
• Are You Afraid of the Dark? (second series) at the Internet Movie Database
• David Winning (director) official web site
• Are You Afraid of the Dark? on TV.com

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