Top 20 Are You Afraid of the Dark? Episodes
#20: “The Tale of Station 109.1” (1995)
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Chris Leary is going through a macabre phase — wearing only black clothes, staging pretend funerals, and saying ominous things on the reg. His parents are a bit weirded out but his older brother Jamie, played by a young Ryan Gosling, is mostly annoyed. When Jamie plays a trick on his little bro involving a hearse, the radio broadcasts Station 109.1. Post-prank, Chris listens to the grim host and eventually visits the station in person where he finds himself in a “Beetlejuice”-esque afterlife waiting room filled with dead and disoriented elderly people. Gilbert Gottfried cameos as the temperamental DJ Roy, who insists Chris is also deceased and must crossover. This episode may be known for Gosling but the story is still a spooky one.
#19: “The Tale of the Quicksilver” (1994)
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When the Johnston family moves into a new house, Aaron and his little brother Doug experience some haunted happenings in their shared bedroom. But things go from weird to worse when Doug falls ill and Aaron has a bizarre out-of-body vision of a girl failing to capture a demon in an amulet. Aaron recognizes her as Connie Turner, a girl he met at school. However, he learns that he actually saw her twin sister who died when they lived there. Aaron asks Connie to help him redo Laura’s ritual to save his brother from meeting the same fate. With its focus on demon extraction and loving sibling relationships, “The Tale of the Quicksilver” is an interesting take on the classic haunted house story.
#18: “The Tale of the Twisted Claw” (1992)
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Originally airing as a Halloween special, this episode follows Kevin and Dougie as they wreak havoc in the neighborhood the night before All Hallow’s Eve. They make the mistake of pranking suspected witch Miss Clove, spraying shaving cream in her face, causing her to stumble and knock over a vase that shatters on the floor. But the cackling Miss Clove gets her revenge the next night when the two boys have the audacity to trick-or-treat. She presents them with a wish-granting vulture’s claw that brings Kevin and Dougie nothing but terror and misfortune all night. The tale is a fun take on W. W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw” and a must-watch on Halloween.
#17: “The Tale of the Night Shift” (1996)
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After a full day of school, homework, and track practice, Amanda volunteers for the night shift at United Hospital. The overachieving and overworked teenager stays booked and busy, much to Colin’s frustration. The two finally get the chance to spend some time together. Unfortunately, it’s the same night an ancient vampire is on the loose. Under different guises, mainly new volunteer Margot, the inexplicably green-skinned vamp feasts on the hospital’s blood supply, humans included. The recently drained staff and patients are left in a zombie-like state, except Felix who is in the process of becoming a vampire. It’s up to Amanda and Colin to save everyone and defeat the immortal being. From the nearly empty hospital to the grotesque puncture wounds, this bloody-sucking tale left us horrified.
#16: “The Tale of the Prom Queen” (1992)
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While on a ghost-hunting mission in the cemetery, Greg and Jam meet and scare Dede. They tell her the tragic story of Judy Larsen and Ricky Mitchell, a young couple who died on prom night in 1956. According to local lore, Judy’s spirit remains in the cemetery unable to rest. Intrigued, Dede joins them on their ghostly investigation, going to the library for necessary paranormal research, and later suggests performing a séance under the bridge where Ricky presumably perished. But her enthusiasm is more than just morbid curiosity… she has an unexpected connection to the story. We love a spooky twist! Plus, a Midnight Society tale that begins and ends in a graveyard has all the eerie atmosphere we could ask for.
#15: “The Tale of the Pinball Wizard” (1992)
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Ross Campbell desperately wants to work at Mr. Olson’s store in the mall but the grumpy man isn’t interested in hiring a young employee. In trying to prove he’s worthy of the job, Ross offers to watch the store during Olson’s lunch break. Within minutes he does exactly what he was just told not to do and starts playing pinball. But soon he finds himself inside of the game, except it looks like an empty mall. To collect the special items and save Princess Sophie, Ross goes up against a cackling witch, a genuinely terrifying executioner, and an evil sheriff. The episode’s excellent foreshadowing and unsettling premise make for a fun, cautionary tale. And it reminds us that not all stories have a happy ending.
#14: “The Tale of the Dream Girl” (1994)
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Erica Angelli and her brother Johnny are very close and even work together at a bowling alley. Aside from his sister, no one talks to Johnny, and his manager certainly doesn’t acknowledge his hard work. After he gets a mysterious ring stuck on his finger, the lonely teen laments to Erica about the ring’s owner calling out to him in his dreams. Johnny later learns that the beautiful mystery girl is, or was, Donna Maitland, a high school student who died in an accident with her boyfriend. While “The Tale of the Dream Girl” isn’t exactly the scariest episode on this list, the heartbreaking love story has one of the best twist endings in the series.
#13: “The Tale of the Crimson Clown” (1994)
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Between Pennywise and the Joker, several people undoubtedly developed a fear of clowns as kids. And this menacing clown-centric episode inspired many a nightmare as well. Mike and Sam go shopping for a birthday present for their mother. But Sam, being the typical snotty little brother that he is, steals Mike’s money and uses it to buy a video game next door. Mike is upset that he can’t get anything for his mom and decides to scare Sam for being selfish, warning him that the terrifying Crimson Clown comes for bad kids like him. Sam soon regrets his devious actions when the titular clown threatens him. It doesn’t take long for him to beg for a second chance, and in the end, he learns his lesson.
#12: “The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle” (1993)
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Mike Buckley and his best friend Ricky Hagerty were taking a break from riding their bikes. The fence Ricky leaned against broke, and despite his best efforts, Mike wasn’t able to pull him back up. Five years later, Mike is haunted by guilt, literally. When he starts seeing visions of Ricky and his red bicycle, everyone thinks Mike is sleep-deprived. However, Ricky’s spectral presence gives him a chance at redemption and is instrumental in Mike saving his brother Leo from drowning in the same river. Some of the scariest stories involve monsters and magic. But “The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle” proves that there’s nothing more horrifying than dealing with real-life trauma.
#11: “The Tale of the Frozen Ghost” (1993)
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“Are You Afraid of the Dark?” loves a ghost story and “The Tale of the Frozen Ghost” is one of the show’s most chilling, pun intended. Charles and his babysitter Daphne, played by Melissa Joan Hart, go to visit his Aunt Gretta and Aunt Maylene. The two immediately get eerie vibes but chalk it up to them just being weird old ladies living in a spooky old house. Unsurprisingly, the grounds are haunted but the spirit isn’t evil. Charles hears the boy before he sees him, only repeating two words, “I’m cold.” Creepy kids and whispering ghosts are each scary in their own right but put those two things together, plus the tragic story of a boy dying from hypothermia, and we’re sure to get nightmares.
#10: “The Tale of the Dark Music” (1992)
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After his mother inherited a house from her uncle, Andy, his mom, and his annoying little sister move in. He hopes that things will be better for them in the new town, but soon he runs afoul of the local bully while out on his paper route. The bully tells him that everyone was happy when his great-uncle died, and that he was happened to be a creep and a lunatic. The episode works on the creep factor for sure, with Andy slowly uncovering what else his great-uncle left to his family. The kicker comes at the end, when Andy, who we’ve been rooting for, shows himself to be perhaps more sinister than we thought.
#9: “The Tale of the Silver Sight” (2000)
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After a hiatus of a few years, the members of the Midnight Society grew up and changed. This very meta series of episodes (which we count as one episode) sees the return of Gary, the beloved original president and most iconic member of the campfire horror stories club, and his brother Tucker. The beginning of the final season kicked off with this three-parter, as Gary and Tucker track down an evil object connected with the death of their grandfather. Not only do the episodes provide an original origin story, but bringing back the familiar faces makes them some of the most memorable episodes from the end of the series.
#8: “The Tale of Watcher's Woods” (1994)
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At Camp Grindlestone, Sarah and Kelly seem to be very different. Where Sarah wants to earn every badge she can, Kelly couldn’t care less. It’s a normal camp, except for the warning: "Never enter Watcher's Woods; ever!" Apparently, 75 years earlier, three girls went missing – and they weren’t the only ones. On an orienteering trip, Kelly and Sarah are partnered up. They get lost, and come across an old campsite, home to three old hags – the girls who went missing. Trapped in the Watcher’s Woods, they think Kelly is the girl who stole their whistles and got them lost, and they want revenge. “Watcher’s Woods” is a ghost, witch, and classic camp story rolled into one.
#7: “The Tale of the Dollmaker” (1994)
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Melissa loves to visit her aunt and uncle each year, mostly because her best friend Susan lives next door. But one day, when she shows up, she’s dismayed to learn that Susan went missing, and her distraught parents moved, leaving the house abandoned. When Melissa thinks she sees Susan in the attic of the house next door, she goes to investigate. Locating a small door in the back of the attic, she thinks she’s found her friend. But. . . she’s changed. Trapped in the dollhouse, Melissa realizes that she is changing too. With its dizzying shifts in reality, this one is not only creepy but mind-bending.
#6: “The Tale of the Midnight Madness” (1993)
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Who doesn’t love a scary movie? The Rialto theatre is a classic old movie house, and plays exclusively old classic movies. But charming as it is, with no one showing up, they’ll have to close shop for good. Enter Dr. Vink – one of the show’s only recurring characters. He says he has a movie that will really bring life to the old place. For a while, it does! The old vampire flick with a twist, is a huge hit. However, the two ushers slowly learn that there is something not quite right about the film, or the bargain they made, and that the scary movie is more life-like than they imagined.
#5: “The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner” (1994)
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Ethan is a young comic book artist just getting his start. His parents don’t believe in him, but with some encouragement from the girl at the comic book store, he decides to give it a real shot. She shows him a comic that was apparently too scary for the creator to finish, and gives it to him as a gift. Word to wise: if your comics get wet, don’t microwave them, it’s just a fire hazard. Worse for Ethan, he unwittingly releases the Grinner, who turns his victims into blue goo-drooling idiots. It may not sound like it, but this one falls into the category of indescribably scary for the kids who saw it. That face!
#4: “The Tale of Laughing in the Dark” (1992)
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The second episode of the series brought out that perennial terror: Clowns. A couple of kids visit an amusement park, and come across an old spook house “Laughing in the Dark.” They learn of its dark past: in 1924 a clown tried to steal the payroll, got trapped inside, and burned to death when it caught fire. Zeebo, the clown, was said to haunt it, still. On a dare, one of the boys, Josh, steals the nose of the clown figure inside. Soon afterwards, he is plagued by strange noises, smells, and calls, cautioned by an unseen force to “give it back.” We sure weren’t laughing by the end of this one.
#3: “The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor” (1993)
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Billy and Karin like to play on the thirteenth floor, the unoccupied space in the apartment building having become their arena. Karin wishes she was as good at sports as Billy, but – as she’s adopted – blames her genetics for her lack of skills. One day, they find that the floor has been taking over by a bunch of strange people, and Karin begins to have bizarre dreams that her television is talking to her. The scares in this one seem to be upfront, as the people on the thirteenth floor turn out not to be people at all. But it’s the twist at the very end that really gives this one impact.
#2: “The Tale of the Lonely Ghost” (1992)
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Amanda just wants to be friends with her mean cousin, Beth, but her snob of a relative will only let her hang out if she cleans her room, and spends a night in a haunted house. She tells her how next door, a little mute girl starved to death years earlier when some girls locked her in a room; and unable to call for help, she died. In the house, Amanda hears scratching, only to find the ghost, who has scrawled “Help Me” backwards all over the walls of the room she was trapped in. Subtle and atmospheric, this episode helped to launch the program, establishing it as one of the most haunting shows on TV.
#1: “The Tale of the Dead Man's Float” (1995)
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After uncovering an abandoned swimming pool, hidden away through the boy’s locker room, geeky Zeke cannot wait to show it to Clorice, a girl from biology class and member of the swim team. Together, they get the school to refurbish the pool, and at first all is well. However, they soon discover that there was a reason it was abandoned. The episode plays out with considerable atmosphere, with past and present storylines to scare the pants, or bathing suits, off any viewer. The episode also dishes out some of the best costuming/practical effects of the entire show’s run. The lead-up to the reveal is tense, and the outcome is terrifying and unforgettable, even all these years later.
