History NightmareFuel / AreYouAfraidOfTheDark

For a children's series that had to go light on the gore, ''Are You Afraid Of The Dark?'' had more than a few legitimate scares that hold up to this day.

* The scorpions that swarm Hideo in the bathroom. That is all.

* In "The Tale of Apartment 214", young Stacey befriends Madeline, the lonely elderly occupant of the eponymous residence. On failing to visit on time as promised, Stacey, in the now bare apartment, is suddenly confronted by a despairing Madeline, who rails at having been abandoned on the [[DeadAllAlong anniversary of her death]], and [[VengefulGhost materialises throughout the deserted building]] to berate Stacey. The fury of the forlorn spirit is a horrifyingly relentless force, until Stacey [[MustMakeAmends explains and apologises]].

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* In "The Tale of Station 109.1," Chris's fascination with death leads him to visit the inside of a vacant hearse, whose radio suddenly receives a broadcast offering aid to lost souls. He finds and visits the station's address, where mostly elderly people await admittance to a huge set of cherub-engraved doors. These open to reveal a glowing blue void, into which two [[TheGrimReaper towering, black-cloaked and hooded]] wardens fling a horrified client. It's implied that [[NothingIsScarier whatever lies beyond]] will [[SelfInflictedHell parallel this man's earthly deeds]].

** In "The Tale of Station 109.1," Chris's fascination with death leads him to visit the inside of a vacant hearse, whose radio suddenly receives a broadcast offering aid to lost souls. He finds and visits the station's address, where mostly elderly people await admittance to a huge set of cherub-engraved doors. These open to reveal a glowing blue void, into which two [[TheGrimReaper towering, black-cloaked and hooded]] wardens fling a horrified client. It's implied that [[NothingIsScarier whatever lies beyond]] will [[SelfInflictedHell parallel this man's earthly deeds]].

** Wistful, softly-spoken Donna is, at least at first, subtly yet deeply unsettling: sudden [[OffscreenTeleportation arrival and disappearance]] of an unfamiliar girl to whom Johnny finds himself mysteriously drawn; who doesn't seem entirely aware of her surroundings, and who entreats him to accompany her somewhere, rouse Johnny to near-panicked fear of whatever ether this might be. The source of his fear turns out not to be Donna, but of his suppressed memory of the accident that killed them both. His and sister Erica's acceptance of this devastating truth succeed the chills with a potent combination of [[TearJerker poignancy]] and [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments tenderness]].

* In "The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle", Mike, tortured by the inability to save his friend Ricky from falling from a bridge and drowning, starts to see, in various, unexpected places, his dead friend. Bedraggled, silent and bleached ashen white, this ghostly iteration of Ricky is a very frightening example of CameBackWrong - later subverted, however, when Ricky more closely reaches Mike, [[Sugarwiki/HeartwarmingMoments thanks his friend for trying to save him]], and warns him of the imminent danger of Mike's brother Ben.

* "The Tale of Bigfoot Ridge" has to be one of the scariest latter-season episodes. A girl finds that her lost friend has been trapped in an isolated cabin where a creature called "The Umbra" resides. If you make eye contact with it, it'll drain your life, causing you to become older and older until you're nothing but a pile of dust and bones. Especially creepy given the setting: a perpetually dark, isolated cabin, in the middle of a snowstorm, littered with the skeletal remains of the creature's victims. [[SarcasmMode Nothing scary there.]]

* "The Tale of the Midnight Madness", where none other than [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Orlok]] himself comes out of the movie and starts coming after the kids. Fascinated by the old film, usher Pete, while watching it, dozes off. Onscreen, the film's climax unfolds as usual - and then, Nosferatu turns to stare at the screen. Slowly, he approaches - [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou until the monochrome figure bulges seamlessly from the screen]] in full colour, 3D glory. With his [[GhostlyGlide floating gate]], icy stare, reaching talons, deathly face and monstrous fangs, this [[RefugeeFromTVLand silent filmic phantasm]] seems virtually unstoppable. When Pete and Katie find the unconscious body of Mr Kristoph, with [[VampireHickey two bloody marks in his neck]], they find themselves up against a very real threat: the line between fact and fantasy has been horrifyingly breached.

[[\folder: Season 7]]
* "The Tale of Many Faces" - what the girls look like when Madame steals their faces. And they're forced to wear masks to cover themselves up, which is actually creepier.

* That [[GoshDangItToHeck gosh darned]] ghost from "The Tale of the Bookish Babysitter". His overall design, although pretty creepy, is also fairly typical (black robe, pale white face and hands -- you get the idea). What really makes him scary, though, is that ''[[HellIsThatNoise otherworldly, agonized wailing]]'' he makes. It ''will'' give you shivers when you see that bastard, coming at Ricky in the corridor. The way he extends his hands, as if begging for help, also add up to creepy factor.
** What appears to be Belinda, the titular babysitter, suddenly turns around with the carnivorous maw and demented screech of the witch mentioned in another of the books. This thing apparently wants to ''eat'' Ricky.
*** More disturbing is the way she melted and screech in agony after Ricky cuts her.
* “The Tale of the Wisdom Glass” has one of the most scary endings of the latter season episodes.
* “The Tale of the Zombie Dice” isn't nearly as scary as most of the entries on this list, but there is quite a bit of FridgeHorror when you stop to think of the premise. Kids who lose Mr. Click's game are shrunken down and [[HumanPet sold to wealthy buyers as pets.]] Imagine being one of those kids, having your freedom and future stripped away and being reduced to a giant's pet just because you made a bet. While the episode ends on a happy note with Mr. Click being shrunken himself and unable to kidnap any more kids, there are still probably dozens of kids out there trapped in their situation forever. Not to mention all of the kids who didn't survive the journey to their buyers.

** "The Tale of the Crimson Clown": That god damn Crimson Clown that won't go away until the younger brother vows to be good. It first appears as a [[CreepyDoll lurid doll]] in a slightly creepy ornament shop. On learning younger brother Sam to have stolen the money with which Mike planned to buy their mother a birthday present, Sam warns that misbehaviour may incur the vengeance of the Crimson Clown. Sam scoffs - and sees the doll's eyes flash blue. At home, he finds it to have [[OffscreenTeleportation instantaneously appeared]] by his bed, only to suddenly vanish again.

** That night, Sam dreams of being trapped in the ornament shop. The shopkeeper approaches. His head has been replaced by a huge white spherical clown head, from which issues a deep, gloating growl. A purple ribbon then flies into place around Sam, wrapping him up. He wakes in bed, to find himself tied to the be with the ribbon. In Mike's bed, he finds a huge white balloon, again in the likeness of the Crimson Clown, accompanied by the deep, disembodied voice. Finally, a life-size version of the Crimson Clown corners Sam in bed. This thing is a chilling hybrid of MonsterClown and CreepyDoll: a looming, lumbering figure whose huge, spherical head is [[UncannyValley painted with a scornfully laughing clown face, and issues a disembodied growling voice]]. And just what had it planned to ''do'' to the kid? Judging by Sam's dream, the Clown [[FridgeHorror may have had in mind]] [[TakenForGranite some kind of imprisonment in the ornament shop]]...

** In "The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle", Mike, tortured by the inability to save his friend Ricky from falling from a bridge and drowning, starts to see, in various, unexpected places, his dead friend. Bedraggled, silent and bleached ashen white, this ghostly iteration of Ricky is a very frightening example of CameBackWrong - later subverted, however, when Ricky more closely reaches Mike, [[Sugarwiki/HeartwarmingMoments thanks his friend for trying to save him]], and warns him of the imminent danger of Mike's brother Ben.

* "The Tale of the Midnight Madness", where none other than [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Orlok]] himself comes out of the movie and starts coming after the kids. Fascinated by the old film, usher Pete, while watching it, dozes off. Onscreen, the film's climax unfolds as usual - and then, Nosferatu turns to stare at the screen. Slowly, he approaches - [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou until the monochrome figure bulges seamlessly from the screen]] in full colour, 3D glory. With his [[GhostlyGlide floating gate]], icy stare, reaching talons, deathly face and monstrous fangs, this [[RefugeeFromTVLand silent filmic phantasm]] seems virtually unstoppable. When Pete and Katie find the unconscious body of Mr Kristoph, with [[VampireHickey two bloody marks in his neck]], they find themselves to be up against a very real threat: the line between fact and fantasy has been horrifyingly breached.

* "The Tale of the Midnight Madness", where none other than [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Orlok]] himself comes out of the movie and starts coming after the kids. Fascinated with the mesmerising old film, usher Pete, while watching it, dozes off. Onscreen, the film's climax unfolds as usual - and then, Nosferatu turns to stare at the screen. Slowly, he approaches - [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou until the monochrome figure bulges seamlessly from the screen]] in full colour, 3D glory. With his [[GhostlyGlide floating gate]], icy stare, reaching talons, deathly face and monstrous fangs, this [[RefugeeFromTVLand silent filmic phantasm]] seems virtually unstoppable.

* "The Tale of the Crimson Clown": That god damn Crimson Clown that won't go away until the younger brother vows to be good.

* "The Tale of the Midnight Madness", where none other than [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Orlok]] himself comes out of the movie and starts coming after the kids. Fascinated with the mesmerising old film, usher Pete, while watching it, dozes off. Onscreen, the film's climax unfolds as usual - and then, Nosferatu turns to stare at the screen. Slowly, he approaches - [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou until the monochrome figure bulges seamlessly from the screen]] in full colour, 3d glory. With his [[GhostlyGlide floating gate]], icy stare, reaching talons, deathly face and monstrous fangs, this [[RefugeeFromTVLand silent filmic phantasm]] seems virtually unstoppable.

** The sheer inscrutability of the otherwise unnamed "Boogeyman in the Basement." In response to music on the basement radio, the root cellar door rattles ominously, and opens to reveal, in a patch of concentrated darkness, two glowing [[RedEyesTaleWarning red eyes]], with a [[VoiceOfTheLegion thunderously echoing voice]]. In response to any form of music, it conjures such phantasms as that of a thriving carnival, whose Barker, after offering Andy such delights as popcorn and prizes, turns into a skeleton and tries to suck him in: the Root Cellar initially seems undecided whether to use Andy as a means to get more prey, or just to eat him. It otherwise manifests as an either red or blue glow, and has the power to conjure any solid item, such as a new bike, in exchange for prey. Just what ''is'' this thing?