Last fall saw the debut of an all-new take on Are You Afraid of the Dark?, with the three-episode series set to land on DVD on August 11th. Making the set even more exciting is that it will include three episodes from the original run of the series, serving as a great opportunity to introduce fans of the new reboot to the original program that made it all possible. While last year’s reboot was considered a “limited series event,” Nickelodeon confirmed earlier this year that a second season of the program would be moving forward, though it’s unclear if it will be a new limited series or a continuation of the previous reboot.
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In the reboot, “The members of the Midnight Society tell a terrifying tale of the Carnival of Doom and its evil ringmaster, Mr. Top Hat, only to witness the shocking story come frightfully to life and prepare for an adventure beyond their wildest nightmares.”
The special features include the following episodes from the original series:
- Season One, Episode Two: “The Tale of Laughing in the Dark”
- Season Four, Episode Eight: “The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner”
- Season Five, Episode One: “The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float”
The original run of the series featured the Midnight Society gathering around a campfire each week to tell each other unsettling stories. While this reboot did feature vignettes of terrifying tales, it largely reimagined the concept and found a way to not only honor the spirit of the original while also taking it in a new directions.
“The thing you remember, always, was the opening credits and that is so amazing,” showrunner BenDavid Grabinski shared with ComicBook.com last year. “It’s like my introduction to a lifelong horror obsession was Are You Afraid of the Dark? and something, I don’t know if I’m technically allowed to mention, called ‘Goosebumps.’ I don’t know if we’re actually rivals. You could act like it’s Coke vs. Pepsi. I loved all of it as a kid. If someone came along and said, ‘Hey do you want to do a Goosebumps show?’ I probably would have jumped at that. I personally prefer Are You Afraid of the Dark?, so whatever happened really worked out for me.”
He added, “I have this memory of watching the show and wishing I got invited to join that group. The idea of having a group of kids who liked horror that much and all seemed to like each other. I’m filling in a lot of subtext and things in there but that desire to join the group, I think, was my emotional way into telling the story because that’s how I made it personal, was tapping into that feeling of loneliness and thinking, if you found other people who understood your weird interests that things would change.”
Grab the reboot of Are You Afraid of the Dark? on DVD on August 11th.
Will you be adding the set to your collection? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!
