Are You Afraid of the Dark? | |
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Genre |
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Created by |
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Directed by | David Winning |
Starring | (See list of cast) |
Theme music composer | |
Country of origin | Canada |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 91 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 22–25 minutes |
Production company(s) | |
Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network |
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Original release |
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External links | |
Website | www |
Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a Canadian horror fantasy-themed anthology television series. The original series was created by D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel, and was picked up by Nickelodeon in 1991. MacHale, Kandel, and Nickelodeon teamed up with the Canadian company Cinar, and as a part of the deal the show was filmed in Richmond, British Columbia and in the Greater Montreal area of Quebec, including their suburbs.
The series premiered with the episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" as a pilot on Halloween 1990 on the Canadian television network YTV and it aired until June 11, 2000. The show then premiered on Nickelodeon's SNICK on August 15, 1992 and aired until April 20, 1996. The show was both a critical and commercial success, garnering numerous awards as the series progressed.
A revival series with new directors, writers, and cast was produced by Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000 and also aired on SNICK. The sole member from the original lineup to return for the sixth and seventh seasons was Tucker (Daniel DeSanto), although Gary (Ross Hull) returned for the concluding show, which notably broke from the show's established format by blurring the line between story and "reality".
Both series of Are You Afraid of the Dark? revolved around a group of teenagers 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 his story by saying "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story..." at which point he or she would toss a handful of "midnight dust" from a leather pouch into a campfire to heighten the flames and produce an eerie white smoke. Creator MacHale wrote the line "submitted for the approval of" as a nod to the show The Twilight Zone, in which creator Rod Serling would, after introducing the episode, say "submitted for your approval." The storyteller would continue by announcing its title (The Tale of...).