'Are You Afraid of the Dark' Movie News: Paramount Players Taps 'It' Writer Gary Dauberman
"Are You Afraid of the Dark," the Nickelodeon anthology series that originally aired in the '90s, is getting turned into a movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Players is developing the film and has tapped Gary Dauberman to write the script. Dauberman is known for writing horror films like "Annabelle: Creation" and "It," which recently made a huge splash in the film industry. Dauberman will also act as a producer.
"The show is about the shared experience of telling stories — especially scary ones," Dauberman told the publication. "We're going to celebrate that with this movie and honor the darker, scarier tone of the show, which was really groundbreaking for Nickelodeon at the time. I hope the Midnight Society approves."
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For those who are unaware, "Are You Afraid of the Dark" was a horror fantasy series that followed the Midnight Society, a group of teenagers who would meet regularly in the woods to tell scary stories around a campfire.
Each episode would feature a different story told by a member of the group. The episodes explore different themes and subjects, including the supernatural and paranormal like ghosts, demons, aliens, vampires, and werewolves. Before telling the story, the member of the group would open with a line, "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society," before introducing the title and throwing a handful of "midnight dust" into the flames.
The episodes would usually end with the lead member of the Midnight Society throwing a bucket of water to extinguish the flames as he says, "I declare this meeting of the Midnight Society closed." Most of the stories end with a resolution or a happy ending, though there have been some with bleaker conclusions.
Paramount Players is Paramount Pictures' new arm that takes from various brands owned by the company, including Nickelodeon, and develops them into feature films targeted towards young audiences. A "Dora the Explorer" movie is already in the works with Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes attached to produce.
A release date for "Are You Afraid of the Dark" has yet to be set.
