Time for some nostalgic scares! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the spookiest, most inventive, and most memorable episodes from the popular ‘90s program that made us all wish we were a part of our very own Midnight Society.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 "That's where I get all my story ideas. There's all sorts of strange and foody and occult stuff in here."
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the spookiest, most inventive,
00:08 and most memorable episodes from the popular 90s program 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?'
00:13 that made us all wish we were a part of our very own midnight society.
00:16 "Sean? Sean? Don't do that, skate head!"
00:23 "Oh man, did you jump?"
00:24 Number 20 - The Tale of Station 109.1
00:28 Chris Leary is going through a macabre phase, wearing only black clothes,
00:32 staging pretend funerals, and saying ominous things on the reg.
00:35 "Hey, uh, whatcha playing?"
00:36 "Hangman... figures."
00:40 His parents are a bit weirded out, but his older brother Jamie,
00:43 played by a young Ryan Gosling, is mostly annoyed.
00:46 When Jamie plays a trick on his little bro involving a hearse,
00:50 the radio broadcasts Station 109.1.
00:53 "Sometimes you miss the chance to step over and need guidance."
00:57 Post-prank, Chris listens to the grim host and eventually visits the station in person,
01:02 where he finds himself in a Beetlejuice-esque afterlife waiting room
01:05 filled with dead and disoriented elderly people.
01:08 Gilbert Gottfried cameos as the temperamental DJ Roy,
01:11 who insists Chris is also deceased and must cross over.
01:15 This episode may be known for Gosling, but the story is still a spooky one.
01:19 "Did you hear what I said? These things drag you through the door,
01:22 and there's all this screaming coming from the other side!"
01:24 Number 19. The Tale of the Quicksilver.
01:27 When the Johnston family moves into a new house,
01:30 Aaron and his little brother Doug experience some haunted happenings
01:33 in their shared bedroom.
01:34 "Hey, cut it out!"
01:37 "It's not me!"
01:38 "Doug!"
01:39 "It's not me, I swear!"
01:42 But things go from weird to worse when Doug falls ill
01:46 and Aaron has a bizarre out-of-body vision of a girl
01:48 failing to capture a demon in an amulet.
01:51 Aaron recognizes her as Connie Turner, a girl he met at school.
01:54 "I command you, stay where you are!"
01:56 "Connie, look out!"
01:58 However, he learns that he actually saw her twin sister,
02:02 who died when they lived there.
02:04 Aaron asks Connie to help him redo Laura's ritual
02:07 to save his brother from meeting the same fate.
02:09 "My brother is sick, and I'm not going to let any ghost
02:14 or-or whatever hurt him."
02:16 With its focus on demon extraction and loving sibling relationships,
02:20 the tale of the Quicksilver is an interesting take
02:22 on the classic haunted house story.
02:24 Number 18, The Tale of the Twisted Claw.
02:28 Originally airing as a Halloween special,
02:30 this episode follows Kevin and Dougie as they wreak havoc
02:33 in the neighborhood the night before All Hallows' Eve.
02:35 They make the mistake of pranking suspected witch Miss Clove,
02:39 spraying shaving cream in her face,
02:41 causing her to stumble and knock over a vase that shatters on the floor.
02:45 [laughing]
02:53 But the cackling Miss Clove gets her revenge the next night
02:57 when the two boys have the audacity to trick-or-treat.
02:59 She presents them with a wish-granting vulture's claw
03:02 that brings Kevin and Dougie nothing but terror and misfortune all night.
03:06 "Every time we make a wish, something bad happens."
03:08 "Then do something!"
03:09 "I wish Grants were here. He'd know what to do."
03:12 The Tale is a fun take on W.W. Jacob's The Monkey's Paw
03:16 and a must-watch on Halloween.
03:18 Number 17, The Tale of the Night Shift.
03:22 After a full day of school, homework, and track practice,
03:25 Amanda volunteers for the night shift at United Hospital.
03:28 "I'm sorry I'm late. Mr. Cree won't take his meds. His roomie's got a fever."
03:32 "Number seven's in pre-op for bright and early, and number five..."
03:35 "He can't eat!"
03:36 "...wants her mommy."
03:37 The overachieving and overworked teenager stays booked and busy,
03:41 much to Cullen's frustration.
03:43 The two finally get the chance to spend some time together.
03:46 Unfortunately, it's the same night an ancient vampire is on the loose.
03:50 Under different guises, mainly new volunteer Margo,
03:53 the inexplicably green-skinned vamp feasts on the hospital's blood supply, humans included.
03:58 The recently drained staff and patients are left in a zombie-like state,
04:02 except Felix, who is in the process of becoming a vampire.
04:05 It's up to Amanda and Cullen to save everyone and defeat the immortal being.
04:10 "We're gonna go upstairs."
04:11 "I don't think so. We haven't been properly introduced yet."
04:16 From the nearly empty hospital to the grotesque puncture wounds,
04:21 this blood-sucking tale left us horrified.
04:24 Number 16, The Tale of the Prom Queen.
04:28 While on a ghost-hunting mission in the cemetery, Greg and Jam meet and scare Dee Dee.
04:33 They tell her the tragic story of Judy Larson and Ricky Mitchell,
04:36 a young couple who died on prom night in 1956.
04:39 "Every year on prom night, the ghost of the girl comes back."
04:43 According to local lore, Judy's spirit remains in the cemetery, unable to rest.
04:48 Intrigued, Dee Dee joins them on their ghostly investigation,
04:52 going to the library for necessary paranormal research,
04:55 and later suggests performing a seance under the bridge where Ricky presumably perished.
05:00 But her enthusiasm is more than just morbid curiosity.
05:03 She has an unexpected connection to the story.
05:06 "I knew you'd be the ones from the moment I saw you.
05:09 You see, I couldn't leave the cemetery unless someone brought me with them."
05:14 We love a spooky twist.
05:16 Plus, a midnight society tale that begins and ends in a graveyard
05:20 has all the eerie atmosphere we could ask for.
05:23 Number 15, The Tale of the Pinball Wizard.
05:27 Ross Campbell desperately wants to work at Mr. Olsen's store in the mall,
05:30 but the grumpy man isn't interested in hiring a young employee.
05:34 "Come on, Mr. Olsen, I've worked cheap.
05:36 Besides, you could use a talented guy like me around here."
05:39 "To do what? Play pinball all day? It's the only talent you've shown me."
05:43 In trying to prove he's worthy of the job,
05:45 Ross offers to watch the store during Olsen's lunch break.
05:48 Within minutes, he does exactly what he was just told not to do and starts playing pinball.
05:53 But soon, he finds himself inside of the game, except it looks like an empty mall.
05:58 To collect the special items and save Princess Sophie,
06:01 Ross goes up against a cackling witch, a genuinely terrifying executioner,
06:06 and an evil sheriff.
06:07 "You shouldn't play the game, boy, unless you know the rules."
06:11 The episode's excellent foreshadowing and unsettling premise make for a fun cautionary tale,
06:16 and it reminds us that not all stories have a happy ending.
06:19 Number 14, The Tale of the Dream Girl.
06:23 Erica and her brother Johnny are very close and even work together at a bowling alley.
06:27 "Yeah! Perfect. As usual."
06:31 Aside from his sister, no one talks to Johnny,
06:33 and his manager certainly does not acknowledge his hard work.
06:36 After he gets a mysterious ring stuck on his finger,
06:39 the lonely teen laments to Erica about the ring's owner calling out to him in his dreams.
06:44 Johnny later learns that the beautiful mystery girl is, or was, Donna Maitland,
06:48 a high school student who died in an accident with her boyfriend.
06:51 While The Tale of the Dream Girl isn't exactly the scariest episode on this list,
06:56 the heartbreaking love story has one of the best twist endings in the series.
06:59 "Why didn't you just tell me?"
07:01 "Because you didn't remember!
07:02 You just came back from the accident and acted as if nothing had happened.
07:06 Johnny, I was the only one who could see you."
07:10 Number 13, The Tale of the Crimson Clown.
07:13 Between Pennywise and the Joker, several people undoubtedly developed a fear of clowns as kids,
07:18 and this menacing clown-centric episode inspired many a nightmare as well.
07:23 Mike and Sam go shopping for a birthday present for their mother.
07:26 But Sam, being the typical snotty little brother that he is,
07:29 steals Mike's money and uses it to buy a video game next door.
07:32 "You stole my money.
07:33 Let's consider it a loan."
07:36 "Sam, that money was for mom's birthday gift."
07:39 Mike is upset that he can't get anything for his mom,
07:42 and decides to scare Sam for being selfish,
07:44 warning him that the terrifying crimson clown comes for bad kids like him.
07:48 Sam soon regrets his devious actions when the titular clown threatens him.
07:53 "Tell Sam, you're next."
08:02 It doesn't take long for him to beg for a second chance,
08:04 and in the end, he learns his lesson.
08:07 Number 12, The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle.
08:10 Mike Buckley and his best friend Ricky Haggerty were taking a break from riding their bikes.
08:15 The fence Ricky leaned against broke,
08:17 and despite his best efforts, Mike wasn't able to pull him back up.
08:21 Five years later, Mike is haunted by guilt, literally.
08:24 When he starts seeing visions of Ricky and his red bicycle,
08:27 everyone thinks Mike is sleep-deprived.
08:29 "I'm gonna let you go home early today.
08:31 I think you don't feel well because of these nightmares and lack of sleep."
08:35 However, Ricky's spectral presence gives him a chance at redemption,
08:39 and is instrumental in Mike saving his brother Leo from drowning in the same river.
08:44 Some of the scariest stories involve monsters and magic,
08:47 but The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle proves there's nothing more horrifying
08:51 than dealing with real-life trauma.
08:53 "You're alright, Mike. Okay?"
08:55 "Thanks, Mike."
08:59 Number 11, The Tale of the Frozen Ghost.
09:02 Are You Afraid of the Dark loves a ghost story,
09:05 and The Tale of the Frozen Ghost is one of the show's most chilling, pun intended.
09:10 Charles and his babysitter Daphne, played by Melissa Joan Hart,
09:13 go to visit his Aunt Greta and Aunt Maylene.
09:15 "Little Charlie."
09:16 "Is that our little Charlie?"
09:19 "I don't believe it, we haven't seen you since you were a baby."
09:22 The two immediately get eerie vibes,
09:26 but chalk it up to them just being weird old ladies living in a spooky old house.
09:30 Unsurprisingly, the grounds are haunted, but the spirit isn't evil.
09:34 Charles hears the boy before he sees him, only repeating two words.
09:38 Creepy kids and whispering ghosts are each scary in their own right,
09:44 but put those two things together,
09:46 plus the tragic story of a boy dying from hypothermia,
09:49 and we are sure to get nightmares.
09:51 "My boy!"
09:53 "It's the latch for the stovepipe, that's why it never worked properly."
09:56 Number 10, The Tale of the Dark Music.
09:59 After his mother inherited a house from her uncle,
10:06 Andy, his mom, and his annoying little sister move in.
10:09 He hopes that things will be better for them in the new town,
10:12 but soon he runs afoul of the local meanie while out on his paper route.
10:16 The jerk tells him that everyone was happy when his great uncle died,
10:20 and that he happened to be a creep and a lunatic.
10:22 "Look, everybody was glad when your nutbag uncle kicked,
10:25 then you had to show up. Hey, I never even met the guy!"
10:28 The episode works on the creep factor for sure,
10:30 with Andy slowly uncovering what else his great uncle left to his family.
10:34 "Hello, Andy. Come on in."
10:41 The kicker comes at the end, when Andy, who we've been rooting for,
10:45 shows himself to be perhaps more sinister than we thought.
10:49 "It's yours, Andy. I'll give you anything you want."
10:54 Number 9, The Tale of the Silver Sight.
10:56 "It's cool. I'm Tucker's brother. I used to run these meetings."
11:00 After a hiatus of a few years,
11:02 the members of the Midnight Society grew up and changed.
11:05 This very meta series of episodes, which we count as one episode,
11:08 sees the return of Gary, the beloved original president
11:11 and most iconic member of the Campfire Horror Stories Club,
11:14 and his brother, Tucker.
11:16 The beginning of the final season kicked off with this three-parter,
11:19 as Gary and Tucker track down an evil object
11:22 connected with the death of their grandfather.
11:24 "He climbed up to fix a cable,
11:28 slipped, and he fell."
11:33 Not only do the episodes provide an original origin story,
11:36 but bringing back the familiar faces
11:38 makes them some of the most memorable episodes from the end of the series.
11:41 "It's like the more people touch it, the more it responds."
11:45 Number 8, The Tale of Watcher's Woods.
11:48 "I'm Sarah. It's my first time here. I'm thrilled."
11:51 At Camp Grindelstone, Sarah and Kelly seem to be very different.
11:55 Where Sarah wants to earn every badge she can,
11:58 Kelly could not care less.
12:00 It's a normal camp, except for the warning,
12:03 "Never enter Watcher's Woods. Ever."
12:05 Apparently, 75 years earlier, three girls went missing,
12:09 and they weren't the only ones.
12:11 On an orienteering trip, Kelly and Sarah are partnered up.
12:14 They get lost and come across an old campsite,
12:17 home to three old hags, the girls who went missing.
12:21 "It took us 75 years, but finally we've got you."
12:25 Trapped in the Watcher's Woods,
12:27 they think Kelly is the girl who stole their whistles and got them lost,
12:31 and they want revenge.
12:33 Watcher's Woods is a ghost, witch, and classic camp story rolled into one.
12:38 Number 7, The Tale of the Dollmaker.
12:45 "Susan Henderson, remember? We hung out all the time."
12:48 Melissa loves to visit her aunt and uncle each year,
12:51 mostly because her best friend Susan lives next door.
12:54 But one day when she shows up,
12:56 she's dismayed to learn that Susan went missing,
12:58 and her distraught parents moved, leaving the house abandoned.
13:02 When Melissa thinks she sees Susan in the attic of the house next door,
13:06 she goes to investigate.
13:07 Locating a small door in the back of the attic,
13:09 she thinks she's found her friend, but she's changed.
13:13 "Susan, you're going the wrong way!"
13:15 "Melissa?"
13:18 Trapped in the dollhouse, Melissa realizes that she is changing too.
13:23 With its dizzying shifts in reality,
13:25 this one is not only creepy, but also mind-bending.
13:29 "My hands!"
13:30 "There's gotta be another way out of here."
13:34 Number 6, The Tale of the Midnight Madness.
13:37 Who doesn't love a scary movie?
13:42 The Rialto Theatre is a classic old movie house,
13:44 and plays exclusively old classic movies.
13:47 But charming as it is, with no one showing up,
13:50 they'll have to close up shop for good.
13:52 Enter Dr. Vink, one of the show's only recurring characters.
13:55 "Who are you?"
13:58 "Vink's the name. Dr. Vink."
14:00 He says he has a movie that will really bring life to the old place,
14:04 and for a while it does.
14:05 The old vampire flick with a twist is a huge hit.
14:08 However, the two ushers slowly learn that there's something not quite right about the film,
14:13 or the bargain they made,
14:14 and that the scary movie is more lifelike than they had imagined.
14:18 Number 5, The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner.
14:27 (Gunfire)
14:29 Ethan is a young comic book artist just getting his start.
14:32 His parents don't believe in him,
14:34 but with some encouragement from the girl at the comic book store,
14:36 he decides to give it a real shot.
14:38 She shows him a comic that was apparently too scary for the creator to finish,
14:42 and gives it to him as a gift.
14:44 Word to the wise, if your comics get wet, don't microwave them.
14:48 It's just a fire hazard.
14:49 "Mom, the kitchen just blew up."
14:54 Worse for Ethan, he unwittingly releases the Grinner,
14:57 who turns his victims into blue goo drooling idiots.
15:01 It may not sound like it,
15:02 but this one falls into the category of indescribably scary for the kids who saw it.
15:06 Number 4, The Tale of Laughing in the Dark.
15:14 "And he's in there alright. Just waiting."
15:19 The second episode of the series brought out that perennial terror, clowns.
15:23 A couple of kids visit an amusement park,
15:25 and come across an old spook house laughing in the dark.
15:28 They learn of its dark past.
15:30 In 1924, a clown tried to steal the payroll,
15:34 got trapped inside, and burned to death when it caught fire.
15:37 Zeebo, the clown, was said to haunt it still.
15:40 On a dare, one of the boys, Josh, steals the nose of the clown figure inside.
15:49 Soon afterwards, he's plagued by strange noises, smells, and calls.
15:53 Cautioned by an unseen force to "give it back".
15:57 We sure weren't laughing by the end of this one.
15:59 "If you don't give it back, I'll come up and get it."
16:04 Number 3, The Tale of the 13th Floor.
16:07 "Be careful now. Remember what happened to the last people who lived up here."
16:12 Billy and Karen like to play on the 13th floor,
16:14 the unoccupied space in the apartment building having become their arena.
16:18 Karen wishes she were as good at sports as Billy,
16:20 but, as she's adopted, blames her genetics for her lack of skills.
16:25 One day, they find that the floor has been taken over by a bunch of strange people,
16:29 and Karen begins to have bizarre dreams that her television is talking to her.
16:33 "It wouldn't be the same without you. Say you'll come."
16:38 The scares in this one seem to be up front,
16:40 as the people on the 13th floor turn out not to be people at all.
16:43 But it's the twist at the very end that really gives this one impact.
16:48 "What you talking about? Is this a joke or what?"
16:50 Number 2, The Tale of the Lonely Ghost
16:56 "Beth, lovey, your cousin Amanda's here."
16:59 Amanda just wants to be friends with her mean cousin Beth,
17:02 but her snob of a relative will only let her hang out if she cleans her room,
17:07 and spends the night in the haunted house.
17:09 "You can't come unless you go through the initiation."
17:11 "The night in the haunted house?"
17:13 "You got it. Tomorrow night."
17:15 She tells her how next door, a little girl who was deaf starved to death years earlier
17:20 when some girls locked her in a room, and unable to call for help, she died.
17:24 In the house, Amanda hears scratching, only to find the ghost,
17:32 who has scrawled "help me" backwards all over the walls of the room she was trapped in.
17:37 Subtle and atmospheric, this episode helped to launch the program,
17:41 establishing it as one of the most haunting shows on TV.
17:44 "Someone help! Someone let me out! No! Leave me alone!"
17:49 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
17:52 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
17:55 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
17:59 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
18:03 Number 1, The Tale of the Dead Man's Float
18:08 "Hi, Clarice. You're on the swim team, right?"
18:11 After uncovering an abandoned swimming pool, hidden away through the boys' locker room,
18:16 geeky Zeke cannot wait to show it to Clarice,
18:19 a girl from biology class and a member of the swim team.
18:22 Together, they get the school to refurbish the pool, and at first, all is well.
18:27 However, they soon discover that there was a reason it was abandoned.
18:30 The episode plays out with considerable atmosphere,
18:37 with past and present storylines to scare the pants or bathing suits off any viewer.
18:42 "Okay, put your hand in again."
18:44 The episode also dishes out some of the best costuming
18:47 and practical effects of the entire show's run.
18:49 The lead-up to the reveal is tense, and the outcome is terrifying and unforgettable,
18:55 even all these years later.
18:57 "Clarice, it's coming! Swim! Get out of there! Swim!"
19:02 What's your favorite Midnight Society tale?
19:04 Share the scares in the comments below.
19:06 "Come on, who says love isn't scary?"
19:09 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
19:13 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
19:17 [Music]