For this month’s installment of “TV Terrors” we revisit the short-lived, kid-friendly horror series “Deadtime Stories,” which aired on Nickelodeon from 2012-2014.
For many years in the aughts, after Nickelodeon brought “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” to a close, the channel spent a lot of time investing in teen comedies and sitcoms. But with the resurgence of horror television around 2012, Nickelodeon began trying their hand at the horror genre once again. “Deadtime Stories” was born, an anthology horror-fantasy television series written by Annette Cascone and based on the Scholastic book series of the same title, which was created by both Annette and Gina Cascone.
“Deadtime Stories” premiered on Nickelodeon shortly after Halloween in 2012. The series, despite its title, was geared primarily for the age 7-10 crowd, and it amounted to some good gateway horror for budding horror geeks. Directed mainly by Daniel Hillebrand, “Deadtime Stories” featured some interesting guest stars like Diane Ladd, horror icon Michael Berryman, Eric Roberts, and even a very young, pre-Disney Channel Jenna Ortega.
To add to the appeal, the show cast Jennifer Stone, the former “Wizards of Waverly Place” alum from the Disney Channel, to headline. Stone is the highlight of the series, as she plays the series narrator. Simply known as “The Babysitter,” she appears in every episode, babysitting a brand new slew of kids. With her patented “Deadtime Stories” book in tow, she garners their attention with the promise of scares. The episode doesn’t begin until the mysterious Babysitter cracks open her “Deadtime Stories,” and she always leaves her kids wanting more.
Some of the better episodes include “The Witching Game,” a fun riff on urban folklore centered on Lindsey and her friends, who play the wishing game “Bloody Mary” in front of a strange antique mirror that her parents purchased. One by one as their wishes start coming true, they learn the hard way about being careful what you wish for. In my favorite episode, “Grandpa’s Monster Movies,” after surviving a run in with a hungry monster on their farm, Catan and Lea discover their grandfather’s old home movies and learn that their family might know a lot more about their run in with the ravenous critter than they’re letting on. This is a fun, weird episode with a monster obviously inspired by the Krites and the Mogwais from Critters and Gremlins.
In “Revenge of the Goblins,” while looking for specimens for the science project, Nina and her friend Sammy come upon a creepy old tree in the woods. The tree has a peculiar door carved into its trunk. Curiosity takes over, and they find a little green statue inside holding a luminous ball. When Sammy foolishly removes the ball, he unknowingly opens the door to the goblin world. This is a pretty creative little tale about great powers coming with great responsibility. The ball allows Sammy to stop and start time, but every time things freeze, the goblins begin wreaking havoc.
“Deadtime Stories” only lasted a season with eleven episodes total and was never really re-aired after its run finished. Although it was branded a “Limited Series” I suspect that the lack of interest killed any chance at the show being renewed for more seasons. You really could never find it unless you looked hard, and Nickelodeon certainly never advertised it all that much. The first episode aired on November 2012, only for the second episode to air all the way in October of 2013. So I don’t think that they were in any rush to keep the momentum going, to say the least. The final episode, “Who’s Giggling Now?” didn’t even air on the channel.
While the show is not what I’d consider a top tier horror anthology, it’s a charming bit of gateway horror with some genuine Halloween flavor. And it’s a bummer that we never got more.
Is It On DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming? The entire eleven episode series can be streamed in full on the official “Deadtime Stories” YouTube channel. Alternately, all eleven episodes can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
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