Though the aged episodes may seem dated and silly now, Nickelodeon’s 90s horror series Are You Afraid of the Dark? was must-see TV for many budding scary movie fans. Sure, in retrospect we can all admit it was never as scary as we remember but we have to acknowledge and commend Nickelodeon for attempting to bring horror to the youthful masses. It might not have been on the same level as, say, Tales From the Crypt or The Twilight Zone but what do you expect, it was for kids after all.
And now we have a trailer for the new limited-event series revival of Afraid, which is due to air on Nick during the spookiest month of the year: October. The trailer shows us a brand new Midnight Society and one hell of a haunting fair. For once, the carnies aren’t the scariest part of a fair.
Watch and enjoy:
I’m definitely not an Are You Afraid of the Dark? purist so I’m not upset about changes to the format of the series but, man, they’ve definitely flipped the script here. The original show featured a group of kids, The Midnight Society, as they sat around a campfire and told a creepy tale. The Midnight Society had limited air time, they just told the story and usually had a cute little moment at the beginning and end of each episode. This new mini-series reboot seems to make them the central characters IN the story. So they’re not just telling spooky yarns — they’re living in one!
The show is arriving at the perfect time. Nostalgia horror and sci-fi is very popular right now, mostly due to It and Stranger Things. This reboot will appeal to many adults who used to devour the original show when it aired in the 90s. Obviously Nickelodeon is hoping it’ll bring in new fans too, perhaps allowing for future installments or even a regularly returning show. But make no mistake, this show is going to be bringing in a lot of viewers in their late 20s and early 30s. Nostalgia is hard to resist!
I’m excited to try the show out and see if the bigger budget helps the content. I’ll always hold a soft spot in my heart for the original Are You Afraid of the Dark? but I’ll willfully admit that it lacked a certain something. It always felt cheap and you could just tell, even as a kid, that it wasn’t going to age well. But what it lacked in money, it made up for with bad fashion and poorly-hidden Canadian accents.
Are You Afraid of the Dark? will air on Nickelodeon over three nights in October: the 11th, the 18th and the 25th.
