This Classic Horror TV Show Episode Is A Creepy Love Letter To Comic Books

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Horror comics are incredibly popular and a great fit for the medium – it’s a natural combination! But surprisingly, there aren’t many horror stories about comic books themselves. Those stories do exist, but they’re often hidden gems, known only to dedicated fans. And those fans are likely to be particularly excited about…

The popular series, originally shown on Nickelodeon in the early 1990s and created by Ned Kandel and D.J. McHale, was like a kid-friendly version of The Twilight Zone. Each episode featured scary stories supposedly told by members of The Midnight Society around a campfire. Like many classic horror anthology shows, these stories often included a lesson about important values like friendship or the dangers of dishonesty. However, one particularly memorable episode, “The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner,” offers a unique lesson – it reveals a lot about the power and appeal of comic books.

The Tale Of The Ghastly Grinner Is Told From A Comic Book Fan’s Perspective

The fourth season’s ninth episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? starts with Frank grabbing a comic book from Tucker, but Betty Ann quickly takes it, planning to use it to help tell her story to The Midnight Society. Her story, titled “The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner,” is about Ethan Wood, a talented young artist who keeps getting rejected by comic book publishers. However, a local comic book store owner named Frankie does notice his work.

Throughout an episode, Frankie playfully refers to Ethan as “Cakes” and gifts him the sole existing copy of an unfinished comic book series called The Ghastly Grinner, created by the famous Sylvester Uncas. Ethan is captivated by the cover’s villain – a yellow-skinned jester who spits blue saliva – and brings the comic home. He quickly realizes, however, that the villain has magically come to life. Teaming up with his classmate, Hooper Picalarro (played by Heidi Burbela), Ethan rushes to recapture the Grinner (Neil Kroetsch) and prevent him from turning everyone in town into mindless laughers.

This episode centers around comic books, and it’s presented with a visual style reminiscent of the 1960s Batman TV show. While it does feature dramatic camera angles and a somewhat over-the-top musical score, don’t let that mislead you – “The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner” can still be a surprisingly impactful story.

The Ghastly Grinner Might Be The Scariest Are You Afraid Of The Dark? Villain

A big reason why ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ remains so memorable for people who grew up in the ’90s is the show’s consistently creepy villains. From Zeebo the Clown in ‘The Tale of the Laughing in the Dark’ to the terrifying creature from ‘The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float,’ and even a take on the classic vampire Count Orlok in ‘The Tale of the Midnight Madness,’ the show always delivered scares. But the monster in ‘The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner’ might be the most frightening of them all.

It’s true that the Ghastly Grinner isn’t the most original villain – there are already several comic book characters with a similar creepy, clown-like theme, like the Joker. However, the character’s disturbing appearance and Neil Kroetsch’s excellent performance elevate it above other frightening clowns and make this story particularly memorable.

Okay, so even before you actually see the Ghastly Grinner – he shows up about halfway through the game – you just feel his creepiness everywhere. And when you finally witness what his powers do to people? Seriously unsettling. He turns normal folks into these laughing, mindless drones, all spewing this weird blue goo. There’s this one part with a bus driver – his head does a full-on Exorcist spin to stare at you and your buddy, then starts cackling and… well, you get the picture. It’s the kind of thing you definitely wouldn’t see in a kids’ show these days!

The Story Is A Celebration Of Comics Disguised As A Cautionary Tale

Those familiar with psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham and his controversial 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent, might see “The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner” as another criticism of comics, suggesting they’re addictive and can cause young readers to have unrealistic thoughts. However, the villain, the Grinner, isn’t actually meant to represent the supposed dangers of comic books at all. In fact, he’s probably the least interesting part of the story.

In this episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Betty Ann introduces a story that asks if comic books could be more than just fantasy – what if they were actually maps to other worlds? The story features the “Uncansian Theory,” developed by Sylvester Uncas, which proposes that comics can be portals to different dimensions, like the one where the Ghastly Grinner comes from. But the episode’s enduring appeal goes beyond this simple idea; there’s a deeper meaning that makes it a classic.

In a surprising twist at the story’s end, mirroring a scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Ethan discovers he can pull himself and his opponent into the world of the Ghastly Grinner comic book. There, he finally defeats the villain. This scene seems to highlight how completely engaging comic books can be—how words and pictures together can bring endless stories to life. Ultimately, Ethan uses his imagination and artistic skills to stop the Ghastly Grinner, achieve his dream job, and transform what began as a scary story into a celebration of creative passion.

Most horror anthology shows feature entirely new characters each episode, but Are You Afraid of the Dark? had a few recurring faces beyond the Midnight Society. These included Sardo, a magician with a shop full of genuine magical objects (who famously corrected people by saying, “No mister, accent on the do!”), and the villainous Dr. Vink. The Ghastly Grinner also appeared more than once – his comic book showed up in the episodes “The Tale of C7” and “The Tale of the Manaha,” and the character was referenced in the 2021 reboot series, Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Curse of the Shadows.

Will Are You Afraid of the Dark? ever get another reboot with a new Midnight Society to tell spooky stories? And if it does, might we see more of The Ghastly Grinner? Even if not, it would be great to have a scary tale that features comic books somehow.

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2025-10-25 04:12