Written by: Victoria Osborn
Are you a horror fan? Well, you must be if you are on this page. But sometimes you have to be responsible for young minds. Right? Exhausted from watching yet another family-friendly show that has no horror to it at all. So what are you to do? There may be a solution for you. In 1992 a series came out on Nickelodeon called “Are you afraid of the dark?”. This little nearly forgotten gem is a perfect solution to your dilemma. Amazingly talented young actors and actresses starred in this very spooky family-friendly horror series. A great series to introduce those young minds to the horror genre, without having to worry too much about peeing the bed terrifying nightmares. You get what you want, a little bit of horror while you are still being the responsible adult and enjoy some family time. It is surely a win/win.
This review is for “Are you afraid of the dark?” (AYAOTD) Season 1, Episode 3 ‘The Tale Of The Lonely Ghost’ written by Naomi Janzen. This episode stars Laura Levin, (who went on to be a teacher and an author) and none other than the amazingly talented Laura Bertram. You may recognize that name because later in 1993 she starred in ‘Ready or not’ and as an adult, she starred as Trance Gemini in ‘Andromeda’ among other works in her lifetime career.
The episode starts out like every episode on AYAOTD with the children gathering around the campfire and the storyteller (each episode is a different storyteller) saying, “Submitted for the approval of The Midnight Society, I call this story, ‘The Tale of the Lonely Ghost’ “, then he tosses a handful of “midnight dust” (which is actually just Coffee-Mate) from a leather pouch into a campfire to cause the flame to shoot up and give off an eerie white smoke. And the story begins…
The storyteller is still heard as it merges into the show. Spooky music sets the scene. A ‘for sale’ sign falls. Soon a car drives up and you are introduced to the main character of this story Amanda Cameron (Laura Bertram). The storyteller goes on to let us know that Amanda’s parents “were some kinda scientist” and Amanda was “shipped off” to stay with her aunt for the summer. It is leading up to why Amanda might not be too thrilled about being there and why Amanda might not fit in well with the kids in this area. The storyteller lets us know that Amanda and her cousin Beth (Laura Levin) do not have that great of a relationship and Amanda will be stuck with her for two months. Then suddenly Amanda hears a knocking sound coming from the abandoned house next door. You are introduced to Beth and immediately can discern that Beth is the typical ‘popular girl’ that does not approve of her nerdy cousin. Amanda, wanting to fit in, asks her what she can do to “not be a Zeeb” and Beth tells her among many things that she has to spend a night alone in the empty house next door. The haunted house. Next scene, you meet the nanny played by Sheena Larkin, who did a brilliant job with this role. Beth freaks out and tells Amanda to not even touch her. She is angry that she still needs a nanny and freaked out about her. She connects the “crazy” nanny to the house next door. In an effort to calm her cousin down, Amanda points out that she seems sad.
What is the connection between this nanny and the haunted house next door? Sorry no
spoilers of this treasure, you will need to watch it for yourself. You can find this episode on Vimeo. There is a real sense of ‘spook’ in this 24-minute episode almost immediately from the ‘for sale’ sign falling. This spooky feeling builds up as the story builds up. It is very well written and the acting is impeccable. Laura Bertram nailed her role as Amanda. You can really believe she was this young girl feeling out of place and trying so hard to fit in and later when she becomes terrified by what she sees in the house, Laura really made you truly believe that Amanda was genuinely scared.
Beth is the cliche over-the-top bratty girl that is rude, especially to the weird nanny with no place to go. Laura Levin delivers her lines very well and shows her talent as a young actress by making Beth very unlikable and making the ending truly remarkable.
This episode is sure to satisfy your horror itch, while not being too scary for the kiddos. This is a great show to introduce your youngins into the world of horror and pique their curiosity. You will not be disappointed.