That's Pretty Dark: An '80s & '90s Nostalgia Podcast

Tower of Terror stories, the great Disney vs. Nickelodeon debate, and a look at modern horror conventions… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they continue to pick the brain of DJ MacHale, Co-Creator of Are You Afraid of the Dark, and get his thoughts on everything from his film projects, to his TV show with Lizzie McGuire producer Stan Rogow, to his honest thoughts on...

Nostalgic Nickelodeon, the schematics of fear, and D.J.’s own haunted house… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for their 100-episode-extravaganza! Here, they celebrate a cornerstone of children’s horror, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, WITH the mastermind behind its success. Together, they’ll share insights from the show’s conception and excavate societal and psychological...

Campy dialogue, stucco surreality, and the history of the Pet Detective… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for a dose of tongue-in-cheek noir as their season binge takes them back to suburban xenophobia and the fascinating intersections of vampire and werewolf lore. Somewhere between after-school-special and self-aware ‘60s horror, it serves as a unique metaphor within t...

Fractured personalities, toilet humor, and reparenting your inner self… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they apply a heaping helping of psychology and personal reflection to the cringiest and most chaotic parts of adulthood. They get deep about the roles of mothers (and women) in society, pick at their own parental wounds, and thoroughly excavate this Jack-In-The-Bo...

Snot faces, imaginary “friends”, and impending doom… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids to get into the history behind one of the deepest darkest…loudest and most obnoxious… corners of your childhood memory. If ever you (or your parents) wondered how the hell this film came to be, you’re in the right place. Clutch your pearls and hang on to your cobwebs as we find psychol...

Man-handed crocodiles, moonshinin’ muskrats, and the building blocks of feminism… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids down on the bayou to examine everything from The Rescuers’ infectious hope and faith (and some real-life messages-in-bottles), to the film’s feminist slant and the ways it managed… or failed… to manifest. So many of these charming (and violent) southern fra...

Tearful tributes, scandalous snafus, and the birth of Medusa… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids, returning in all their Movie Night glory, to regale you with the history behind this… gem… of a Disney classic. Bridging the gap between the studio’s famed Nine Old Men and a whole new class of animators that would eventually herald the Disney Renaissance, this murky producti...

Generational grudges, queer-coded aunties, and home-owning horrors… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for one of Are You Afraid of the Dark?’s most chilling hauntings as they unpack the lasting impression of a singular phrase, raid the corners of the internet for “real” frozen ghost stories, and reminisce on the magical career of Melissa Joan Hart. The day might’ve been...

Possessed babysitters, Leap Day haunts, and a Black Parade… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for a year-late Midnight Society meeting as they indulge millennial references and roadside ghost nostalgia, get the history behind one of the most notorious figures in capitalistic Americana, and connect the dots between many of the horror genre’s most enduring tropes. This lim...

Hot nerds, killer dinner parties, and disturbing duality… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids, and the Midnight Society, as they explore the complexities of the human experience through yet another surprisingly literary SNICK lens. Examine with them their own ties to societal norms, ponder the effects of rigidity vs. fluidity, and, at long last, learn fascinating truths be...

Wrathful grapes, magnetoreception, and a crazy, psychopathic freak (affectionate)… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they get a crash course in the history of homing pigeons, reminisce on a time when the streetlights signaled THEM home, and let their jazzy, melancholy little hearts break for the misfits and outcasts. They’ll send a jolt of New Year inspiration to your...

Major life updates, nostalgic debates, and UNEDITED un-seriousness… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark as the sun has set on 2024! Join your '90s kid Ghost Hosts around the proverbial campfire to unpack their personal lives over the past year, answer some thoughtful listener questions, discuss plans for 2025 (we’re creeping up on episode 100!), and through their ramblings, ravings, and unscrip...

Foreign invaders, squirrelly stair lifts, and class consciousness… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they walk through the terrors, tropes, and stereotypes littering the Rockwellian landscape of Kingston Falls, appreciate unexpected parallels to current events, and have some… less-than-clean fun with this gutsy, gooey ‘80s horror. Its hyperbolic contrasts and reflecti...

Historical hijinks, mischievous miniatures, and the birth of the PG-13 rating… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they learn how society’s need for a scapegoat evolved from imps and elves, took to the sky to vex the Royal Air Force in wartime, and eventually inspired a slapstick horror comedy… with some sticky parental guidance suggestions. Between Steven Spielberg and...

Undead appendages, backwoods suspense, and... Little Red Riding Hood?! Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they get back to their roots with this southern gothic folktale turned childhood bookshelf staple. Trace with them the daunting heritage of a vengeful fictional critter and the strangely familiar motifs that accompany it, including but not limited to expressions of...

Glowing typewriters, bathroom snacks, and gaping wide graves… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they gather ‘round the SNICK campfire to honor words, the most basic of elements bringing metaphors, musings, and stories to life. It’s no secret that these magical shapes and sounds have immense power. Power to bring us that much closer to ourselves, and one another, or po...

Soul bargains, Samhain sensationalism, and the language of the gargoyles… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they explore even more cultural celebrations and institutions found in Ray Bradbury’s expressive pages including witchy wonders, creepy cathedrals, and deep, dark Mexican catacombs. Some of the show’s darkest revelations yet, like, y’know, children making deals...

Poetic peril, classic costumes, and the crisp air of autumn… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for their journey into the Undiscovered Country and parse out the wistful nostalgia found among the twirly, twisty branches of Halloween’s history. Buckle in as Ray Bradbury’s aching, heavy-handed prose guides us all on a dream-like quest to capture the essence of humanity’s bi...

Horrific house parties, sensual feasting, and Boris Karloff… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for a bloodcurdling bash as they recount the fascinating and frightful origins of everyone’s favorite Halloween novelty track, spooking its way into society amidst an upswing of mid-century dance fads and crazes. Get down as your Ghost Hosts get scientific with memetic theory a...

Grizzly reapers, manic moral commentary, and sneaky snozzberries… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for their THREE YEAR anniversary extravaganza as they theorize and fantasize their way through the darkest corners of Wonka’s (okay, mostly Roald Dahl’s) potentially not-so-pure imagination - complete with haunting real world racial implications. Oompa Loompa doompity DO c...

Everlasting literary quips, Bavarian asteroids, and Pure Imagination… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they take you on your very own Golden Ticket tour behind the scenes of one of the pillars of the “Pretty Dark” genre and learn a little more about two of its founding fathers: Roald Dahl and Gene Wilder. Get a taste of everything you’ve ever wondered about the film’...

Recurring cosmic phenomena, terrible toy testing, and triskaidekaphobia… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they settle into Are You Afraid of the Dark?’s second season by discussing society’s denial of the proverbial and literal “thirteenth floor,” the potential for intergalactic adoptive trauma, and the coming-of-age drama behind morphing into your “final form.” If y...

Birthday curses, chem lab terror, and rejection sensitive dysphoria… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for another round of Midnight Society mayhem as they get groovy with ‘60s slang, walk the graffitied hallways of their childhood, and even uncover some reported high school hauntings from this side of the TV screen. This episode will have you spiraling into the 30 year...

Identity crises, lactose intolerance, and the Hare Krishna… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids in the back-to-school spirit for a good old fashioned mingling of history lesson and book report where they’ll investigate a well-meaning, if dark phenomenon that swept the country in the ‘80s – milk carton kids – via a controversial young adult novel born from it by Caroline B....

Sploosh, supernatural serendipity, and the “Troubled Teen" Industry… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids to celebrate and unpack what is, arguably, one of the best book-to-film adaptions ever created. This time, they’ll revel in magical, mystical romance, wax poetic about generational curses and cycles, plus build character while exploring deeper themes of abuse in teen “r...