This '90s Kids Show Is Actually A Lesson In Scary Storytelling

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As a '90s kids, watching Goosebumps and Are You Afraid Of The Dark? was part of regular life. It was fun being freaked out by stories about everything from monsters and creatures to creepy apartments and librarians.

Now it feels sweet and fun to look back on these two shows, but it's also possible to break down each episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark? and see how these stories captivated fans and kept them coming back for more. Are You Afraid Of The Dark? takes a totally unique approach to telling scary stories, and people can appreciate a lot of things about this popular series, including its impressive storytelling.

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Out of the '90s kids shows people are nostalgic for, Are You Afraid Of The Dark? does a great job showing the art of storytelling. The very premise is all about how people tell scary stories, not just the content of those stories themselves. Fans know and love The Midnight Society, the group of kids who make a fire in the woods and share terrifying tales about apartment buildings where ghosts live or aliens running a boarding school. It's interesting that the show decided to have this type of set-up. Instead of being an anthology horror series with different stories in each episode, the show has characters introducing the tales and sitting around a campfire. This is a deliberate choice that sets the series apart and it's one reason why people love it so much.

Telling stories around a campfire is a tale as old as time. It's one of the most classic forms of storytelling and evokes images of people living in caves and entertaining each other. In a way, Are You Afraid Of The Dark? proves Marshall McLuhan's «the medium is the message» theory to be true.