Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990 - 1996)

Many a millennial horror lover have a special place in their heart for this Canadian and American co-production filmed in Richmond, B.C. and Montreal. For the uninitiated, Are you Afraid of the Dark? is an anthology series featuring a variety of scary stories and legends about all things that go bump in the night that featured very young future stars such as Ryan Gosling, Neve Campbell, Elisha Cuthbert, Hayden Christensen and Jay Baruchel among others.

Each episode begins with The Midnight Society meeting around a campfire in a secret location deep in the woods, a group that shares little in common other than their love of a good fright, and they take us along for the ghostly ride. After a handful of non-descript spooky dust is thrown onto the flames to make them crackle extra loud, the art of scary storytelling takes centre stage and we’re regaled with tales that have since become common lore for many viewers. A vampire inhabits an old theatre and hides in the shadows until it wants to be seen, a jockey suit has a life and mind of its own, and a harmless trek in the woods takes a wrong turn as daytime leads to night, complete with everything that lurks in the dark. The rag-tag group of kids on screen join together to lead us through each episode packed with creaky floorboards, jump scares and plenty of fake fog, recounting tales that were designed to make our sleep a little less restful.