MovieChat Forums > Eerie, Indiana (1991) Discussion > What the Hell happened to horror themed ...

What the Hell happened to horror themed kids shows?!

posted 12 years ago by johnyanks326
16 replies | jump to latest

I was born in '92 (I'm now almost 20) and I grew up watching (and reading) Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Animorphs (not really "horror" but I'm throwing it in for the sci-fi spin) and I just recently watched the entire Eerie, Indiana series on Netflix. These shows were my favorites back in the day (and still hold a special place in my dark little heart) and I would wait every week just to be able to turn on the TV and get my scary kid show fix.

The issue I'm bringing up now though is... Shows like these don't exist anymore! With the exception of RL Stine's The Haunting Hour, there's NOTHING on TV nowadays that can compare to those shows. And, I mean, I know it's obvious, times do in fact change, but since when do kids not enjoy a little scare now and again? Are kids that soft now? Are studios too afraid to put something on a children's network that might give them a nightmare? There's definitely a market for it... Someone should pitch a decent horror themed kids show already!

Y'know what, though? I think I might just put my head to the test and try to come up with something now...

"Well, I'm not a bad guy. If looks, brains and personality don't count." - Miller's Crossing

[–] BrainGremlin 12 years ago

I was also born '92! On the second day of that year, in fact (so I'm already 20).

I only recall watching this and Goosebumps. Especially the latter. I remember a friend of mine being over one time while I was watching it. Unless I'm mistaken, I had to go do something else with him because he was afraid to watch it. Ah... I certainly do agree with you. I thought it was fun to be a little scared. It's just some harmless horror! I think most kids would only be excited about it.

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I hear his theme music, he's around here somewhere...

[–] Cold_In_Space 12 years ago

Born in '94 and grew up with 90's shows until they took most of them off the air. I still prefer those shows with few exceptions. Eerie is just as awesome today as it was back then.

- Gothamite #4

I've learned that it's OK to be flawed - Winona Ryder

[–] BrainGremlin 12 years ago

I haven't even bothered watching most recent shows. Things have changed so much and I really dislike where kids' shows are heading (but to be fair, they had started heading this way before I stopped watching them). Things are far too dandy nowadays. Hmph, even Courage the Cowardly Dog is darker than most shows today. This generation of children will grow up thinking the world is perfect, only to have the truth hit them all the harder. Of course, it doesn't have to be at all gritty. But I think this "honky-doriness" in many cases gets to the quality of shows. Things are just ridiculous and stupid.

And Goddamn. You '94s turn 18 this year, don't you? Oh, how time flies.

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I hear his theme music, he's around here somewhere...

[–] Cold_In_Space 12 years ago

Oh yeah, 18 already. And I remember watching the finale of the Spider-Man show like yesterday

- Gothamite #4

I've learned that it's OK to be flawed - Winona Ryder

[–] cjd-9 12 years ago

Quiz: How many Brain Gremlins does it take to s*** a d***?

One! You! Have fun!

[–] BrainGremlin 12 years ago

Apparently I got myself a stalker, everybody! This guy is following me around and insulting me. Let it be known: he's an absolute loser.

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I hear his theme music, he's around here somewhere...

[–] johnyanks326 12 years ago

Nice! Haha glad to see someone else my age roaming these boards. But yes, it's gotten seriously ridiculous these days. Everything is all blind love and perpetual happiness, it seems. When, in actuality, life is totally different animal. Hopefully these kids know reality and TV are two separate things, or else they're sure to be in for a heartily grim surprise...

I'm actually already on my way to completing my proposed Are You Afraid of the Dark? comeback pilot. Who knows, maybe Teen Nick'll smarten up and decide to bring one of these shows back, with all this newfound 90's nostalgia that's suddenly burst onto the scene out of nowhere..

"Well, I'm not a bad guy. If looks, brains and personality don't count." - Miller's Crossing

[–] decrepitmonkey 12 years ago

You guys make me feel so old... I was born in 1985!

[–] keeleevoncupcake 12 years ago

I'm so glad The Haunting Hour was mentioned. While it may not have as much competition on the air, I think it is better on so many levels than all its children's horror TV show predecessors. (Not that I don't love Goosebumps, Eerie, Afraid of the Dark, etc, but THH is really something special.)

[–] heelmaster2000 11 years ago

I recommend Scooby Doo Mystery Inc. It was a fantastic horror show for young adults.

[–] RussianRoulette 10 years ago

I know, right? I was born in 1988 and I was *very* young when these shows were on.
These posters must have watched them when they were in syndication or online.

And I agree with the OP, we really need some good horror kid shows on TV like Goosebumps and Eerie, Indiana. I also really miss the old horror anthology series like Are You Afraid of the Dark (my personal favorite), or -- for an older audience -- Tales from the Crypt and Tales from the Darkside.

"Be me a little."
- Eli, Låt den Rätte Komma In.

[–] shred-com 10 years ago

I was born in 1988, and yes I watched all these shows too, and still watch alot of them today. However people list like 5 shows from a whole decade like there was a whole ton, and ignore that the 2000's had like 5 similar shows itself. Some of them weren't as popular though. People have to actually watch these horror shows when they come on tv.

[–] WeirdRaptor 10 years ago

The Hub's recent Spooksville is showing promise.

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you." -Gandalf

[–] generationofswine 9 years ago

Take it from an old man that was 11 when this first aired the problem is what we think you young people are able of handling.

Eerie, Indiana was created as a nonviolent kids show, you know, because at the time they thought GI Joe was too much for kids.

Watching GI Joe was going to turn me into a gun totting spree killer. So was the A-Team.

The same thing happened a generation before me, when Scooby-Doo came out because the Blue Falcon & Batman were too violent for kids to process.

Now, however, kids horror shows are too frightening for kids to process.

Look at family movies now. Rewind back to Gen-X, to my childhood, Gremlins, Indiana Jones, & Ghost Busters were all family films. Today The Avengers is made for teenagers & up, not really movies that it's approved to take your little kids to see.

They had to rape the last Indiana Jones to keep it's family film persona.

Shows like this, for kids, are disappearing because of decades of molly coddling that suggest that children can only handle rainbows & puppy dogs & cute anamorphic animals that whistle Zippidy-Doo-Da out their a$$ holes.

You want to know why shows like this aren't made any longer? It all dates back to the Comic Code:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority

This is was the start of treating children like they are too dumb to handle anything above The Care Bears.

[–] CountOroku01 9 years ago

Can someone please mention the tv thing implemented 20 years ago.

Guess there really are people who act worse than 12 year olds.

[–] Son_Of_A_Bitch_Must_Pay 8 years ago

The Haunting Hour on The Hub was pretty good with some dark episodes but its cancelled now, Nick has something called "The Haunted Hathaways" which prob is just a lame tweenie show

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