The 25 Best Episodes Of The Original

The best Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes show why it sits alongside Goosebumps as one of the scariest television series geared mostly for kids in the 1990s. This anthology series actually premiered in 1990, three years before Goosebumps, and featured original horror stories. The series saw The Midnight Society gather together and, in each episode, one of them shared a new spooky story, hoping to win approval from the other kids in the group. The stories almost always focused on young teens who found themselves in supernatural and very scary situations.

Much like Goosebumps a few years later, these stories were geared toward a younger audience, offering a gateway to horror for pre-teens and young teens, possibly preparing them for a future as full-fledged horror movie fans. Despite being geared toward younger audiences, the Are You Afraid of the Dark? seasons contain creepy and often frightening stories, many with twists and turns that most viewers didn’t see coming. The original series lasted for five seasons, although there were two later seasons that arrived in 1999-2000. In all, the best Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes still stand up well today, albeit with some dated material.

25 The Tale Of The Captured Souls

Season 1, Episode 7

“The Tale of the Captured Souls” is a season 1 episode featuring a girl named Danny (Maria Taylor) whose parents go to a scary, run-down old hotel for a vacation. However, once Danny and her parents start to notice changes in their appearances. Danny learns there is a malevolent force in the hotel, sucking the life out of her and her parents, and she has to figure out a way to reverse the effects, or they could lose their souls.

The premise is based on the old beliefs that taking a photo of someone could suck their soul out of their body. The episode is creepy, thanks to the villain, Peter (Ethan Tobman), and while it wraps up quickly at the end, it was nevertheless a memorable early episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

24 The Tale Of The Frozen Ghost

Season 2, Episode 7

In “The Tale of the Frozen Ghost,” a spoiled kid named Charles (Andrew Henry) travels to his two aunts’ country home with his babysitter. While there, he wakes up the first night and sees a ghost outside his window who says he is cold. When he mentions it to his aunts, they tell the story of a boy who had frozen to death years before and now lives there as a ghost. It is then up to Charles to figure out what this ghostly boy wants and help him.

The story is a basic ghost story, but the entire atmosphere is so weird and creepy that it remains a memorable one for the show, and it has just enough strange moments to keep the viewer off balance until the end. While this tale doesn’t do much that’s innovative, it has a definite impact on younger viewers who perhaps aren’t as accustomed to the tropes of haunted house and ghost horror stories.

23 The Tale Of The Pinball Wizard

Season 1, Episode 13

Sometimes, the best Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes don’t let the kids off easily, and that is the case with “The Tale of the Pinball Wizard.” A teen named Ross (Joseph Posca) is at the mall, where he spends his time playing pinball and looking for quarters, so he can get more playing time in. He asks for a job at a store in the mall.

The owner says he will consider it if Ross watches his store while he is at lunch, but tells Ross he can’t play the pinball game in the back. Ross does anyway and ends up sucked into the game. The episode seems a bit dated when viewed today thanks to the incredibly 90s mall setting being integral to the plot, but the twist ending where Ross ends up punished for his dishonesty makes it all worth it.

22 The Tale Of The Wisdom Glass

Season 6, Episode 8

One of the scariest Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes, thanks mostly to the ending, was “The Tale of the Wisdom Glass.” In this episode, a rich kid named Allan (Tyler Kyte) meets Jimmy (Tyler Hynes), a kid from a lower-class family at a game store. When the owner of the store ridicules Jimmy for being poor, Allan takes up for him and pretends they are brothers to put the store owner in his place.

However, when Allan accidentally steals a game on the way out, the two boys end up transported to a magical world where both, including the innocent Jimmy, must stand trial for the crime. It is a true morality tale for kids who think they are above the law.

21 The Tale Of The Curious Camera

Season 3, Episode 9

In “The Tale of the Curious Camera,” Are You Afraid of the Dark? takes an interesting look at a bullied kid, but then turns the tables on him in the end. Matt (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is a high school student who is bullied constantly and can’t do anything about it. However, when a man offers him a camera, and Matt accepts it, he soon learns the camera is cursed.

At first, Matt learns that bad things happen to anything or anyone he takes a picture of, so he starts to get revenge on his bullies. However, when the camera starts taking pictures of Matt’s family, he has to find a way to stop it before he loses everyone he loves. It is a story of how revenge is not always for the best, and like many of the best Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episodes has a moral message intended for younger viewers behind it.

20 The Tale Of The Dangerous Soup

Season 3, Episode 13

What was perhaps the pinnacle of this colorful children’s program, season 3 of Are You Afraid Of The Dark? ended emphatically with one of the weirdest and most creative episodes. “The Tale of the Dangerous Soup” features the evil Dr. Vink, who conjures up a mysterious soup served to customers at his restaurant. But, since this is largely a horror show, Vink’s soup has a dark, sinister side effect — it induces visions of fear.

It is a fascinating and mind-bending concept that one would expect to find in Twilight Zone or Night Gallery, and it makes for an entertaining premise to explore. The acting is quite adept for a children’s show, thanks in part to the appearance of Neve Campbell and the over-the-top villainous Vink.

19 The Tale Of Station 109.1

Season 5, Episode 3

This season 5 episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark? features a surprising cast, with both Gilbert Gottfried as DJ Roy and Ryan Gosling as Jamie. This episode takes on something of a cartoonish Tim Burton vibe with a touch of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Gottfried delivers an amusing performance, as he broadcasts an ominous message to the dead while the protagonist is washing a hearse. From there, things only get stranger. This is a strange, thought-provoking episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark? thanks to its supernatural elements and Gottfried one-liners.

18 The Tale Of Vampire Town

Season 6, Episode 11

One of the swan songs for Are You Afraid of the Dark?, this season 6 episode comes with all sorts of fun elements that set the stage for a memorable watch — amusing, over-the-top performances, some imaginative, atmospheric settings, and even some vampires. The protagonist, Adder (Kyle Downes), gets in a bit too deep when he decides to visit a town rumored to be the residence of vampires and seeks out the coffin of the legendary creature Dreyfus. In an amusing plot twist, the hunter becomes the hunted as the town eventually begins to suspect Adder himself of being a vampire. This is both a gripping and unsettling episode to watch, especially for younger viewers.

17 The Tale Of C7

Season 5, Episode 7

“The Tale of C7” has a ghost story premise that feels both familiar and creative in its approach. Rather than lean too heavily on tropes, however, the Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episode features a haunted ancient jukebox that acts as a sort of summoner of ghostly apparitions. Specifically, the music box brings forth the memories of a fallen soldier whose soul cannot rest until reunited with his lost love. The odd, ambiguous title of this episode refers to the track number that the kids discover they must play to end the curse that plagues their eerie house on the lake. It manages to feel somewhat like The Shining, with a more kid-friendly twist.

16 The Tale Of The Vacant Lot

Season 5, Episode 10

The shy Catherine is willing to sell her soul to achieve popularity in this Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episode, a decision she regrets as this episode escalates. Like many Nickelodeon shows, this is great because of both its gripping plot, and of the morals it conveys to children. The lesson learned by young viewers is to be unapologetically unique without worrying about “fitting in.” It is also a cautionary tale about greed, and perhaps a warning to steer clear of shady-looking merchants claiming to offer magical shoes that can grant anything a person wants.

15 The Tale Of The Super Specs

Season 1, Episode 6

“The Tale of the Super Specs” is an Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode that shows a prank gone wrong. In this episode, Weeds (Eugene Byrd) is a teenager who takes his girlfriend to a magic store to buy some magic dust for April Fool’s Day. While Marybeth (Graidhne Lelieveld-Amiero) is annoyed, things get really bad when Weeds sprinkles the dust on some sunglasses.

Suddenly, they can see figures dressed in black from head to toe when they view the world through the glasses, only for those figures to vanished when the shades are removed. When Marybeth starts to see more things that aren’t there, things get horrifying in a tale of a multiverse, where two parallel worlds exist and only one can survive. It is an early multiverse story for younger viewers, and a scary one at that.

14 The Tale Of Locker 22

Season 2, Episode 3

In “The Tale of Locker 22,” Julie (Karen Elkin) is a transfer student arriving in Canada from Paris, France, and she realizes she is struggling to fit in. She gets her new school locker and soon realizes that it is haunted by the spirit of a woman from the 1960s. When she confides in one student, he tells others and her bullying intensifies. She soon finds a necklace that allows her to time-travel back to 1965 and into the body of Candy Warren (Jennifer Irwin). T

his is an interesting episode because it is more of a mystery with Julie and her friend Chris having to find out what happened to Candy, so they can save her. It is a rare Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episode with a happy ending, which was a refreshing change of pace.

13 The Tale Of Apartment 214

Season 3, Episode 2

It seems like a lot of Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes focus on people feeling out of place in their new society. This is the story from “The Tale of Apartment 214,” where a girl named Stacy (Lea-Helen Weir) and her mother move into a new apartment building with strange things happening in apartment 214, down the hall. This is when Stacy meets a kind older woman living in that apartment, soon realizing that she is a ghost. However, when Stacy breaks a promise to the ghost, things get very scary, very fast. This episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? was especially memorable due to the kindly ghost played by Madeline Koegel who flips and becomes a terrifying specter when she doesn’t get her way.

12 The Tale Of The Phone Police

Season 3, Episode 4

“The Tale of the Phone Police” is an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? that shows its age, but it remains an effective horror story despite it relying on 1990s technology. Two boys, Jake (Marcus Turner) and Chris (Ryan Kent), like to prank call people in the days of landlines and the lack of caller ID. When Jake’s sister catches them, she tells them the story of the Phone Police, who come and take away kids who prank call people too much.

In a shocking yet — in hindsight — expected twist, it turns out the Phone Police are real. When the Phone Police capture and lock away Jake, it is up to Chris to save him. This was a cautionary tale obviously to dissuade kids from making prank calls, but it is also a creepy tale of an authoritarian society with dark forces behind the curtain.

11 The Tale Of The Nightly Neighbors

Season 1, Episode 8

“The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors” is one of the Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes that play with the ideas of superstitions and then throws it all on its head at the end with a twist that really has nothing to do with the actual story. A Romanian family moves into the same neighborhood as Emma (Suzanna Shebib), and soon her family and soon everyone in the neighborhood starts getting sick.

Because the family is Romanian, and they always wear black, Emma decides they are vampires and sets out to prove it. The episode had many elements of a traditional whodunit, as Emma assembles the proof she needs, and then learns she was far too hasty in her assumption. That is, until the ending when she turns out to be partially right.

10 The Tale Of Laughing In The Dark

Season 1, Episode 2

“The Tale of Laughing in the Dark” takes the fear of clowns and mixes in a scary carnival for what was a pretty frightening episode, especially for the children it was aimed to scare. The movie features three kids — Josh (Christian Tessier), Weegee (Daniel Finestone), and Kathy (Tamar Kozlov) — who go visit a haunted house at a carnival. The spooky place is supposed to really be haunted by the ghost of Zeebo the Clown, and soon the kids learn those rumors are true.

This story is another Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episode with a moral message behind it. When Josh makes fun of the other two for being scared, and he ends up having to face his fears as a result. Between the terrifying clown and the equally creepy man who runs the house, this is a scary episode for anyone scared of clowns.

9 The Tale Of The Night Shift

Season 5, Episode 12

In “The Tale Of The Night Shift,” Amanda (Emmanuelle Chriqui) works the night shift at a dark, lonely hospital with a creepy vampire roaming the halls and infecting patients. Despite being a late season 5 episode, this chilling episode shows viewers that Are You Afraid of the Dark? still had some spooky tricks up its sleeve. “The Tale of the Night Shift” stands out not just as one of the more creative episodes, but one of the darker ones. This is thanks to some creepily realistic vampiric makeup, solid performances, and a bit more violence than one would expect from this children’s show.

8 The Tale Of The Midnight Madness

Season 2, Episode 2

The always-entertaining recurring villain, Dr. Vink, is back, this time as a filmmaker of old horror classics. An old movie theater is in danger of shutting down, but Vink has other plans to keep the public’s interest. In a plot that feels almost like a child-friendly version of The Ring, a scorned Vink decides to unleash his fictional movie monster, a Nosferatu-like vampire, from his black-and-white film into the real world, terrorizing those in his wake. Thanks to some elaborate, ghoulish makeup, and a dynamic performance by Christopher Heyerdahl, the movie monster is the star of the show, making for a particularly creepy episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark?.

7 The Tale Of The Dollmaker

Season 3, Episode 5

“The Tale of the Dollmaker” is an Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode that plays on the common fear of dolls. Melissa (Maia Filar) is a girl who spends time in the country with her aunt and uncle, where she meets a girl named Susan (Amanda Walsh), and they become friends. One summer, she arrived and Susan’s family moved away after Susan disappeared without a trace.

When Melissa sneaks into Susan’s old house, she finds a dollhouse in the attic and ends up trapped inside it with Susan. They have to find a way out before they both become porcelain dolls. It is a story of friendship and how far one would go to save that friend. However, it is Susan and Melissa having to race against the clock to avoid a harrowing fate that makes this an incredibly tense and memorable episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

6 The Tale Of The Quiet Librarian

Season 4, Episode 4

The question asked in “The Tale of the Quiet Librarian” is what would happen if someone created total silence, where nothing could make a noise at all. This leads the story to the one place where silence is expected, a library. Inside this library is a quiet room where kids who go inside end up with their voices taken away before they disappear. The main characters are two kids from the local school asked to work together, only to end up in the quiet room of the library after closing, where they face one of the scariest ghosts in the series — a creepy librarian ghost who collects young children who make too much noise.