The Tale of the Captured Souls

Description: Season 1, Episode 7

Story Teller: Kiki

Plot Summary: A girl and her parents spend their summer at a creepy hotel with a mysterious caretaker.

Review: This is on the lamer side of episodes due to the ludicrous nature of the premise. On the surface, this could have worked with a crazed scientist stealing the youth from others to stay young forever. However, the way in which this scheme is implemented is too stupid to be real even by kid show standards. Likewise, the gimmick with the camera is wasted since it wouldn't make any sense that a guy using technology to stay young would still appear old to cameras; that's a plot line suited more to the magical and mystical.

So what exactly is going on here? Danny and her parents are staying at some hotel for summer vacation. The place is run by this immortal scientist, Peter, who uses mirrors to siphon the energy from his guests. There are some interesting ideas here since it's fully implied Peter has been killing people for, like, 80 years or so. This is a bit darker compared to what we've seen thus far from AYAOTD. Furthermore, Peter semi-flirting with Danny is probably the creepiest part since she's, what, 12 or 13?! Yeah, sure, he's kept himself immortal as a teenager, but he's clearly depicted as an old man underneath. So we have a murderous hebephile on our hands. Fantastic.

In a way, I could have accepted this cornball plot, which is quite Twilight Zone-ish, if maybe it were a secluded, forgotten part of Americana where Peter could go unnoticed for nearly a century. BUT he has neighbors, and we see boats on the water which would demonstrate Peter is in a normal town. No one has noticed this guy not dying or aging? The cops haven't wondered why so many people go missing there? I mean, Peter has a damn advertisement to come visit the hotel for fuck's sake! In the end, Peter is defeated unbelievably easy and the family carries on as if nothing ever happened. Wowwee.

Am I overthinking this? Probably, but these kind of shenanigans are what separates the shit episodes from the greatest hits. While I do like a couple of the ideas, and the music is cool, this is an otherwise dud of an episode. I think the heart of the story could have worked--with an immortal scientist--but the scheme at hand is too implausible as presented.

The Tale of the Super Specs

Description: Season 1, Episode 6

Story Teller: Gary

Plot Summary: A prankster and his girlfriend inadvertently see into a different dimension with the help of gimmicky glasses.

Review: After the terrible "Hungry Hounds" episode, "Super Specs" helps to put things back on track in a big way. Not only is this a solid episode--one of the best really--but it's on the scarier side by kid standards. This is also our first story from Gary, and we get another look into the lives of the Midnight Society members. Gary's dad owns a magic shop which we get a glimpse of when he's hanging out with Kristen. Finally, I like the involvement of David in a gag that pays off at the end of the episode when Kristen mentions other members are saying Gary's stories haven't been scary lately.

So for this tale we get a prankster stocking up for April Fool's Day while his girlfriend tags along. At the same magic shop from Gary's real life, this prankster meets Sardo, a cheapskate scammer and wannabe magician; Sardo is another reoccurring character throughout the series. The prankster casts a spell on the super specs, the equivalent of x-ray glasses, and his girlfriend which allows both in conjunction to see into another dimension. From the girlfriend's perspective, when wearing the super specs, the people appear as shadowy figures that both exist in our world and not. Realistically, it's just actors wearing all black clothes, but it's handled in a creepy manner with POV of the super specs.

The woman in black. Pretty effective for a simple costume.

As the prankster runs around trying to mess with people with some magic powder, the girlfriend tries to get Sardo to help stop whatever is happening. The three characters eventually perform a spell to close the gateway between our dimension and the one with the shadow people. Of course, with the idiocy of Sardo, they fail miserably and our dimension becomes locked away while the shadow people prevail. It's kinda cool too, because they have actors who look similar playing the shadow versions of the leads. This episode is the first to have a bad ending which I think enhances the scare factor for the kiddies. Typically you expect the leads to win, but, by all intense and purposes, you could argue they ended up dying even. Last, that final gag with David and the super specs was the icing on the cake to wrap things up.

Overall, I think this episode works on all levels. It gives us that Midnight Society goodness coupled with a scary and fun story. We get the first appearance of Sardo and a shift in tone with the first unhappy ending. I would add this episode certainly felt Twilight Zone-ish without a doubt as the characters being kids was incidental to the ideas presented.

The Tale of the Hungry Hounds

Description: Season 1, Episode 5

Storyteller: Kristen

Plot Summary: Two cousins spending the summer together experience ghostly shenanigans.

Review: The hot streak AYAOTD had going is promptly put to an end with "The Hungry Hounds." Not only does this episode suck, but I'd probably rank it among the worst in the series. I hated this episode even as a kid, and it has aged like milk. The story is simply stupid and nonsensical on all levels. It wants to be a serious ghost tale, yet, it's too incoherent and casual with its idiocy to succeed. I get why it was placed toward the center of the season since it's an obvious dud. It's nigh impossible to create an anthology series with all hits so this is to be expected.

At first, the premise isn't too bad with cousins having a boring summer together and looking for something to do. We get some backstory about a dead aunt and antics with a ouija board that establish, admittedly, a decent setup. Unfortunately, the momentum is quickly destroyed by a goofy possession story line with the most nonchalant reaction to the supernatural. I mean, one minute the cousins are in their attic during the day and then a gateway to, I'm guessing, Kayako-land opens up and the cousin just rolls with it. And what is even the point to this possession? So that the dead aunt can feed ghost doggies or something. Whaaaat? I mean, this is the point in a good story where we should learn some crazy revelation about the aunt's death or something. But there is no payoff whatsoever. The family in the past was planning a foxhunt, but the aunt let the fox out. When running after the fox, the aunt died moronically. This then led to the dogs starving to death...I guess...and some groundskeeper to have a heart attack. Well, okaaay, thanks for letting us know. It's not like this shit was kept secret or at least that's not the way the story presents the material. Finally, the ghost hounds are fed their damn food but chase after the ghost fox instead. And then that's it--the girls go back to normal and leave Kayako-land. Even the Midnight Society members kind of look around at each other like "what the fuck was that, Kristen?!"

Dude, what was happening here? I've met people who claim to like this episode, and I give them a funny look. Look, this story is stupid no matter how you spin it. The stakes are beyond low, the backstory is more interesting than the actual main plot, there is zero payoff, and the way these characters died in the past was cartoonish. Maybe this isn't the worst episode in the series since my recollection of the first reboot series is hazy, HOWEVER, I can say, with certainty, this is the worst episode of season 1!

The Tale of the Twisted Claw

Description: Season 1, Episode 4

Storyteller: David

Plot Summary: Two kids are given a vulture's claw that grants whatever they wish for but at a steep cost.

Review: There are a few items worth mentioning with this episode. First, this episode would have also served as a better premiere than "The Phantom Cab." However, I have read sources saying this episode was the original first episode in Canada the year prior. I really can't say how true that is since the kids don't really look that much older in the series proper. This leads to my next point--David is the storyteller yet again, and the characters emphasize that he hasn't told a tale in a long time. You mean like last week?! This rearranging of the episodes could explain the discrepancy, BUT this won't be the last time that a storyteller has two stories back to back. Last, I want to acknowledge that this is AYAOTD's obligatory Halloween episode; it's not the only one though. I mean, you can't do a show for kids without a Halloween episode, can you?!

 We seriously had this mask at home when I was a kid! We made my dad where it one year too.

In essence, this is the kiddie version of "The Monkey's Paw" with a Halloween twist added for good measure. Due to the countless times this tale has been retold and tweaked, I think everyone on the planet is familiar with this be-careful-what-you-wish-for setup. In this instance, the source of the wishing is altered to the claw of a vulture, and the supplier is an alleged witch that the main characters prank on Mischief Night. As one would expect, the kids make innocuous wishes at first that usually end badly. For example, one wishes that they would, basically, stop trick-or-treating, and then punks mess with them and steal their candy. Eventually, the wishes escalate into more dangerous territory that follows the format of the original story where you end up wishing someone back from the dead; this wish is usually a staple. By the end, one of the kids wishes to undo the prank that set everything into motion which undoes all of the wishes. The witch leaves the kids a present, but this wraps up in a kid-friendly manner nonetheless.

Overall, I'd rank this among the better episodes, but with a slightly lower score due to its lack of originality. It is a shame that we never get whatever the story Eric was telling at the beginning, but I think this is another instance where the interactions with the Midnight Society worked to complement the tale at hand. Of course, having this as a Halloween episode added some spice into the mix too.

The Tale of the Lonely Ghost

 

 

 

Description: Season 1, Episode 3

 

Storyteller: David

Plot Summary: A girl staying with her cousin for the summer discovers the house next door is haunted.

Review: As you can see, once you get past the first episode, AYAOTD seriously comes out swinging with these followup episodes. In this instance, The Lonely Ghost is one of the best in the series. It had a lot of scary elements that could have been too frightening if the creators wished it. I mean, the ghost is creepy as is, but they could have made her significantly scarier with more makeup. This is similar to how downplayed Zeebo is when he could have been presented as significantly scarier.

Not gonna lie, if I saw her in a mirror today it would be scary.

So The Lonely Ghost has a lot going for it. Scary ghost we understand, but there is also a heartfelt story under the surface. The main character, Amanda, is staying with her cousin for the summer, and the cousin is a big bitch. This bitch cousin tries to boss Amanda around and won't let her have a normal summer unless she does the bitch's bidding. There is a (implied) single mom realtor which seems to be AYAOTD's go to explanation for kids being alone in these stories. Under these circumstances a haunted house next door does add to the context of the story so it can slide this time around. In order for Amanda to hang out with the bitch and her friends, they want her to stay the night in this haunted house. Surprise, Amanda comes face to face with this creepy ghost hanging out in the mirror. I do want to note that the actress playing Amanda, Laura Bertram, will be one of the few faces to reappear more than once including the most recent mini-series

On the peripheral, the bitch has a live-in nanny who is sad and broken...which makes sense given she has to take care of such a '90s bitch! However, there's more to it than that as we learn her daughter died years ago. It's a kids show which means the ghost is that of the nanny's daughter wanting to reunite with her mom. When cleaning up the ghost's messages of "help me" written backwards all over the walls, the bitch is sucked into the mirror allowing the ghost to come out in an especially disturbing scene. Amanda understands what she wants and manages to reunite the nanny and the ghost daughter whereby both go into the mirror--off to Kayako-land I suppose--to live(?) happily ever after. As for Amanda, she manages to get the bitch under control and have a normal summer.

Overall, this episode hits all the right beats. The scares are impressive, Amanda is likable, and the resolution to the story felt satisfying. True, I am still wondering how one proves they're not a "zeeb," but that doesn't change the fact that this episode is awesome.

The Tale of Laughing in the Dark

Description: Season 1, Episode 2

Storyteller: Betty Ann

Plot Summary: A kid attempts to prove how brave he is when entering an allegedly haunted amusement park.

Review: Well, only the second episode into the series and we've reached my favorite already. I LOVE this episode! The title alone is so badass, and the Zeebo character leaves a big impact on the series as a whole. I'd also rank this fairly high among the scariest episodes as well since there is a true sense of terror. In fact, my theory for years has been that they downplayed Zeebo since he's such a creepy bastard the couple of frames we see the real him. Instead, the episode opts for the amusement park prop in all other scenes. I mean, if the real Zeebo were running around the whole episode it would probably be more on par with an adult show. It's also worth acknowledging that Aron Tager, the same guy playing Dr. Vink, plays Zeebo. Finally, in a way, this episode serves as a litmus test for the potential kids viewing the show. If the parents see they can handle this episode then it's a safe bet most of the show will be okay with them. If this scares them, then maybe they're not ready yet.

 Prop Zeebo

Now, I would be remiss to ignore my girl Betty Ann telling the story. She was always my favorite member of the Midnight Society and was another '90s crush. In this instance, I liked the back and forth with the actual story and the Midnight Society--Kristen having a case of "bozophobia" as it were and Betty Ann trying to keep going. These interludes with the Midnight Society were always so fun and usually enhanced an episode further.

 Real Zeebo. See the big ass difference?

As for the meat and potatoes of the story, Josh is clearly a scaredy-cat trying to be tough in front of his friends. To appear brave he goes into a haunted amusement park attraction, appropriately titled, Laughing the Dark. This haunted house is home to the ghost of Zeebo the clown, a crook who was burned to death when trying to steal money from his circus in the '20s. Josh bets he can steal the nose off the prop Zeebo that was added to enhance the lore of the amusement park. Josh does manage to get the nose, but quickly finds himself stalked by Zeebo's angry ghost. After coming clean about being a wimp, Josh relents and returns the nose to the amusement park along with a box of cigars he pulled from his ass. Seriously, how the hell did Josh get a box of cigars? Satisfied with this gesture, Zeebo lets Josh go where we come to realize that the guy running the haunted house was Zeebo too.

What an episode. They sure managed to pack a lot of story into one episode considering this had a fair amount of cutaways to the Midnight Society. But that's just part of why this episode is so awesome and beloved by the fan base. We get a tightly paced, horror-packed tale with great ideas and an interesting final twist to boot. The drama with the Midnight Society members further enhances the main story which allows this episode to function on all cylinders. It's crafted together perfectly with the right level of frights to not scare off the kiddies but still intense enough for adults. And, as I alluded to, had they gone with the non-prop form of Zeebo for the whole sequence this would have been ten times scarier!

While I've reached my favorite episode early on in this 90+ episode run, it doesn't mean there aren't plenty more fantastic tales to come. There are still non-scary episodes on the horizon that are written excellently as well as a few episodes some might say are even scarier than this one.

The Tale of the Phantom Cab

 

Description: Season 1, Episode 1

Storyteller: Frank

Description: Two brothers lost in the woods stumble across a mad scientist.

Review: So kicking things off is one of the more average episodes in the greater context of the series. The main highlight is the initiation of Frank into the group which gives the audience a glimpse of the Midnight Society as a whole. No one really says or does anything in particular, but each character is given a line or two in order to establish their personality. Despite surface level things like showing Frank to be a hothead, or that Gary is balanced, it's still a respectable tactic to convey to the audience how the characters would be when not telling the stories. We will see more initiations in the future so we will revisit this idea down the line.

As for the tale itself, it's workable but on the cornball side of the spectrum. To be fair, it did have the pressure of being the opening act to the franchise so I do cut it some slack. It's also worth mentioning that this is the first appearance of the Dr. Vink character. Anyway, the story involves two brothers hiking(?) in the woods and become lost. The two don't get along which begs the question further of what these two are even doing in the first place? My main gripe has always been the bad acting of the little brother; his line delivery is way off. Beyond this, the idea of a crazy doctor living in a cabin, asking riddles, and then killing people or taking their organs and limbs...it clashes with this notion of a ghostly taxicab roaming the woods. On some level I appreciate the weirdness, but, on the other hand, things feel rushed and with little context; they utilize a character to explain all the exposition in one conversation since we wouldn't know why anything was happening otherwise. The riddle itself that was perplexing the characters was clever enough though.

Maybe I've been quoting the riddles for too many years, because I think the next three episodes of the show all would have served better as the first story than The Phantom Cab. Nonetheless, this is still a decent episode for what it is, and the spinning head part was scary for the era and audience. As far as setting a proper tone for things to come, I do think The Phantom cab fared (that pun, baby!) well in that regard.

An Introduction

    It would definitely be safe to say "Are You Afraid of the Dark" was the kids show equivalent of "The Twilight Zone." The use of "submitted for approval" marks the obvious inspiration, although that was only ever said in TZ maybe twice. However, it's not that both were simply anthology shows but more the caliber of writing and ingenuity that creates the correlation between the two shows. TZ revolutionized anthology storytelling and AYAOTD attempted to do the same but with a kid-oriented approach. And sure enough, they succeeded. In fact, AYAOTD has stood up so well over the years that it is continuing to produce content nearly 30 years after premiering. A big part of this is due to the timeless writing and general tone and style to the presentation. While the clothes of the characters will look dated, the story elements have aged like wine. And despite the target demographic being, roughly, 10-12 year olds, these are surprisingly mature and, often times, deep tales that will challenge kids and adults alike.

    My experience with the show goes back to the beginning of the "Snick" run. I remember watching the first episode premiere and actually being psyched by the commercials that aired in anticipation. Man, I wanted to start my own Midnight Society so bad. The episodes were fantastic to say the least, and season 1 was one helluva lineup! This included my favorite episode in the series, a bunch of top 10 favorites, and many that I would rank as the scariest among the entire show's run. And even when the episodes would get cheesy over the years, they never ceased to be entertaining and imaginative. That was the power of this show--able to tell fresh and original stories or at least spin existing ideas in a way that added the lens of a kid's view.

    I have no idea how long it will take me to completely review this series, but I will get to all of them without a doubt! This, of course, will include the original 5 seasons, the first revival show, the newer mini-series, and this newly announced second revival show. Hopefully I'll be done with all existing material before this new show begins that way I can add reviews for those episodes as they air. With that said, I hope you will rejoin me in this journey of going back over the show and appreciating its greatness. Or, if this is your first experience, this blog will serve as a guide to get you started. So let's get into this!