Zeebo, the Silent Servant, the Ghastly Grinner, and that one very dreadful pool monster. These and other iconic things-that-go-bump-in-the-night haunted the dreams of anyone who grew up watching Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a classic horror anthology for young people. However, there was another side of this ’90s childhood staple that many fans don’t know about.
In addition to the TV series was an ancillary line of YA novels. Think Goosebumps, except here the show preceded the books. While most of the entries were original, there was the occasional novelization. Naturally, the intended audience is also young; however, these stories remain worthwhile reads, even if you’re well past the target age.
Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, here are ten Are You Afraid of the Dark? stories that can only be found in the books.
The Tale of the Shimmering Shell
In The Tale of the Shimmering Shell, written by David Cody Weiss and Bobby JG Weiss, Glynis is spending her summer at a beach house with her father, her stepmother, and her stepbrother. Early on, though, it’s made clear that Glynis is unhappy with this new family arrangement. So much so that she accidentally made everyone disappear; the strange shell she found granted her wish.
And little does Glynis know that same shell housed an evil entity: Typhon from Ancient Greek mythology. It’s only once Glynis works with her stepbrother, as well as the neighborly mermaid in charge of keeping Typhon imprisoned, that the old threat finally stays a thing of the past.
Midnight Society member Sam (played by Joanna Garcia in the series) served up this offering about wishes. Although, the wish part here is so small in the grand scheme of things. The Tale of the Shimmering Shell, like the majority of these books, ultimately has big ideas that would have never been feasible in the original TV show. This is a fantastical story that can only be told with the kind of production and effects that the classic Are You Afraid of the Dark? couldn’t provide.
The Tale of the Souvenir Shop
Betty Ann (Raine Pare-Coull) dropped this exciting slice of underworld horror. In Alice Eve Cohen‘s The Tale of the Souvenir Shop, Julianna, her parents, and her younger sister, Emily, stop at the worst tourist trap imaginable: the Self-Guided Volcanic Cave Tours. But while the parents get themselves lost for most of this tale, the daughters end up being sealed inside a giant snow globe, then sent to the story’s equivalent of Hell.
The culprit behind the snow-globing is the owner of the caves’ souvenir shop, although he’s been working under duress for the last ten-plus years. A bad deal with a subterranean society of modern yet cruel cyclopes, and the fact that he’s working to save his granddaughter, is why he involved Julianna and Emily. When the cyclopes refuse to make good on their end of the deal, though, it’s up to the two main characters, plus the granddaughter, to save themselves.
This adventurous tale boasts another high concept that would have required a lot of special effects. The last act alone has the three main characters escaping their one-eyed captors via a toy car!
The Tale of the Mogul Monster
In The Tale of the Mogul Monster (also written by the Weisses), snowboarder Dee was dealt a bad hand; he’s rich now only because his parents died. So even though he’ll never have to worry about student loans, having friends who actually like him, and not just his money, proves difficult. This issue plays out as Dee and two of his hangers-on get lost outdoors.
An off-course excursion at a snow resort leads to avalanches and injuries. Making matters worse, the main character then suspects he’s being followed by the Bigfoot-like monster said to live around these parts.
With one friend badly hurt, and another acting like a selfish coward, Dee’s odds of surviving the harsh and cold wilderness seem low. However, the pro shredder who went missing out here—turns out he rejected his fame and chose to live among these civilized Bigfeet—comes to his rescue.
One overlooked aspect of Are You Afraid of the Dark? is the characters. Yes, their designs are more simple than complex, but the writers were still decent about fleshing out these young protagonists in peril. The books do more of the same, albeit to a greater extent. They can afford to look beneath the surface a little longer.
The Tale of the Curious Cat
The Tale of the Curious Cat (written by Diana G. Gallagher) is a story from Betty Ann, and out of everything here, it feels the most like an episode of the show. A teen named Natalie is always giving in to her nagging curiosity and then not owning up to the consequences. Usually, though, her worst trait causes minimal damage. That is until she meets Wanda, a strange and rather vengeful merchant at the town fair.
Despite the “do not touch” sign put in plain sight, Natalie messed with Wanda’s enticing cat statuette. Except, it wasn’t the object that came to harm; Wanda’s real cat, Shadow, got scared by the girl and ran out in front of a moving car. This freak occurrence led to Shadow’s death, as well as the unrelenting curse placed upon Natalie, her young sister, and any others caught in the protagonist’s orbit.
This tale, like plenty of others in Are You Afraid of the Dark?, features a very harsh lesson that only the supernatural could deliver. From her sister withering to nonexistence to her friends nearly dying, Natalie gets an unmistakable message about her thoughtless behavior.
The Tale of the Restless House
John Peel a.k.a. “Nicholas Adams” provided the inspiration for 2024’s Tarot. He also wrote books for Doctor Who, Carmen Sandiego, Eerie, Indiana, and various Star Trek franchises. In his second-ever Are You Afraid of the Dark? contribution, Peel tossed a group of unsuspecting kids into a temporal anomaly.
In another Sam-narrated story, a prank on an unpopular classmate goes terribly wrong. Kendra and her pals tricked Adam into going into the creepiest place in the neighborhood: the old Hawkins House. In due time, they embark on a trip that defies all logic. The characters are trapped inside this living house, which punishes them whenever they try to leave, or rewards them whenever they accept their fate. In their travels across time, they encounter saber-toothed cats, dinosaurs, and trigger-happy Revolutionary War soldiers.
The supposed scaredy-cat of the group isn’t the nerdy Adam, but rather his would-be pranksters. All except Kendra, who realizes her friends are losers and Adam is actually pretty cool. Finally, once they all understand the house is alive and is simply trying to make friends in its own weird way, the group finds a way back to their time. Oddly enough, Adam and Kendra step foot back inside, even though they’re free, and befriend the not-so-malevolent Hawkins House. That way, there should be no more incidents like this one.
The Tale of the Stalking Shadow
The Tale of Stalking Shadow unearthed the tragic history of one town. In this other Sam story, Vailmonton owes a lifetime of gratitude to Mrs. Vailmon, hence the residents always going out of their way to help her. If not for that old woman’s philanthropy, the town wouldn’t have survived its hardships.
An old caregiving program for Mrs. Vailmon was recently reinstated, and Hadley jumped at the opportunity to sign up. Mind you, her motives aren’t entirely altruistic; she wants comfort and answers that only this old woman can provide. But as she digs into the town’s origins, Hadley reveals a disturbing truth. There’s also the monstrous shadow creature that has manifested from Mrs. Vailmon’s years’ worth of guilt.
While the Weisses’ morality tale doesn’t absolve Vailmon of her wrongdoing, they do grant her some leniency in the end. Most of which comes from Hadley, a girl who contemplated all sides of the story.
The Tale of the Ghost Riders
John Vornholt didn’t write the scariest story, but at the same time, The Tale of the Ghost Riders centers on grief and anger. Both of those feelings are frightful and confusing for any young person. Here, one boy is given a second chance after nearly losing his soul.
According to narrator Gary (Ross Hull), Josh has a lot to be mad about. His older brother and his father are dead, and his family farm now belongs to the town baron, Henry Akers. Josh, along with his friend Carlos, then uses the local legend of the Ghost Riders to scare Akers. The only problem is, the Ghost Riders are real—and they’re prepared to add Josh to their herd, so long as he continues to act out and go down the same road as his late brother.
The stereotype of Native Americans as mystical beings is in use here, yet the story’s key message is still worth some consideration.
The Tale of the Virtual Nightmare
This spin on the body snatcher idea, courtesy of Ted Pedersen, has a computer geek learning the importance of screen time management. In The Tale of the Virtual Nightmare, Gary warned of what might happen if someone became too reliant on technology.
Sam (no, not that Sam) loves computer games, and his latest obsession almost culminates in a total invasion. It all began with Sam acting differently; he’s cleaned up, more social, and generally not the Sam who Cady had come to know and care about. Yet once Cady looks into her bestie’s bizarre behavior, she discovers the source of that sudden switch.
Cady learns that Sam has been replaced with a cyber version of himself, and this impostor plans on doing the same process to everyone else at school. It’s only once Cady enters the computer world and joins forces with the real Sam that the villains return to the virtual realm, at least for the time being.
The Tale of the Deadly Diary
Brad and Barbara Strickland thought up a story that would have also been prime material for a screen adaptation. In Betty Ann’s The Tale of the Deadly Diary, Beth is, like many kids her age, fed up with her little sister. Not only does Beth despise Karen’s constant snooping, but she blames her for their parents’ divorce. After Karen leaks the embarrassing details of her big sis’ diary to the whole school, albeit inadvertently, Beth tears up what she once considered her best friend.
Soon enough, Beth wanders into that mysterious shop run by a recurring character from Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Dr. Vink “with a vuh-vuh-vuh“! He gives Beth a brand-new personalized diary that makes its entries come true. Unfortunately for everyone, a made-up story intended to scare the prying Karen becomes too real; Beth wills horrible goblins into existence.
The Tale of the Deadly Diary neither goes as far with the manifesting diary concept as it could have, nor does it quite resolve the tension between the siblings, but it does boast a notably sinister appearance from fan-favorite villain Dr. Vink.
The Tale of the Sinister Statues
In that first novel, The Tale of the Sinister Statues, Gary kicked things off with a story that may as well have come from the TV series. Here we have Brianne and Dustin, siblings who don’t get along, on account of their very different attitudes. While Brianne likes to joke around with her friend, Tim, Dustin is more uptight. He has to be with a sister like his.
At the museum, Tim’s immaturity gets him in trouble—this time with the ominous curator named Dr. Stone. To avoid any legal action, Stone has Tim stay behind to work off his punishment. That was the last time he was also seen. Pretty soon, Brianne and Dustin uncover what Stone has been doing at the museum; he’s using people’s energy to make inanimate things, like statues of a gargoyle and Anubis, come to life. Luckily, Anubis is a judge of what’s right and wrong, and he turns on Dr. Stone. The Egyptian god then sets everything straight, including returning Tim to his normal form.
What it lacks in potential body horror, The Tale of the Sinister Statues makes up for in weird science. The final product indeed becomes less and less scary, due to its overexplained story, but it’s also never dull. It’s a good way to begin one’s journey into the Are You Afraid of the Dark? books.