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 power to split us apart. Whether dreaming of your crush or envisioning something more nightmarish…...

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 with Death to maintain their friend’s very existence, accompany this spooky swirl of historic...

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 biggest questions… and the customs that help us answer them. Email us...

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 and follow these crypt-kicking tunes (including new imaginings and parodies) all the way through 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 come with us and you’ll be in a world of simultaneous whimsical escape, satirical, societal...

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’s storied history, fantastical sets, and legendary performances, plus unwrap the details on the...

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 you’ve ever thought your sibling might be from another planet… or maybe felt more like a faceless...

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 pop culture cycle, seeing not only its stamp on the present and our (increasingly obsolete) place...

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. Cooney. They’ll bust some myths, pay homage to the devastating realities, and get to the...

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 “rehabilitation” programs, and America’s dark history with segregation and racial prejudice. This...

Holey euphemisms, storyboard solidarity, and... Donnie Darko?!? Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids in the dusty desert of Camp Green Lake (21 years later!) where they dig up all kinds of exposition including production stories you’ve always wondered about, details on the cast and crew, and the importance of empowering children’s literature… Email us at [email protected] Give to our Patreon for extra content: patreon.com/tpdpodcast Follow us on...

Flashlight flasks, Bram Stoker’s widow, and Dr. Nosferatu… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids in another Midnight Society flashback where they reminisce on theatrical magic and “Fright Nights” gone by, revel in the glory (and grief) of early Germanic horror, and uncover every disturbing detail available about the legend of the Pied Piper. Sometimes, movie monsters are so terrifying they seem like they might just step out of the screen and into our very lives…but what...

Eye boogers, bedside weapons, and iron nests on the moon… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they gather ‘round the Midnight Society campfire to laud and applaud some of the darkest forgotten Grimm tales, get cozy with Jekyll and Hyde’s originator, and learn the eye-popping lore behind everyone’s favorite nighttime visitor…The Sandman. Growing up is hard to do, and despite enormous pressure to give up our whimsy, it’s nice to know imagination is, was, and will...

Haunted islands, dreadful pennies, and idiotic scheming… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for a Saturday back in Hey Arnold!’s Hillwood as they break down one of Gerald’s true-blue urban legends involving a phlegm-hacking murderous figure and counterfeit buried treasure. Kalyn and Christian join Arnold and the gang, flashlights and jellybeans in tow, to make some Goonies and Scooby Doo connections and unravel a few real-world examples of spooky islands along the...

A Big and Loud villain, misremembered footprints, and the horrors of the Hayes Code… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids to unravel some of Hollywood’s best and brightest landmarks…and its darker chapters of censorship, racial tension, and child-star trauma. Laughing their way through one of the wittiest scripts they’ve discussed yet, they’ll explore how its allegories and core themes all point back to the importance of inspiration, humanity’s shared  artistic...

Backlot kitties, Gene Kelly, and studio-executive dysfunction… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they swing into the 1930s (by way of 1997) to understand the storied studio history and production lore that brought this musical mainstay into existence. Learn with them how, while times at Turner Feature Animation were tough, a 28-year-old director pulled off the impossible with the help of a talented team of animators-turned-storytellers, a cast list for the ages,...

Dreamland predators, great expectations, and the rise and fall of the Nightmare King… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these punch-drunk ‘90s kids as they wrap up their journey into Slumberland/Nightmareland and the revolving door of creatives involved in its production throughout the 1980s – including the famed Sherman Brothers. From the earliest inklings of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata’s most beloved titles, to coming-of-age uncertainty, to Freudian nightmare analysis, this...

Quiet On Set, flashy circus ads, and the dark side of animation history… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they confront some harsh realities and trace the origins of one of their most requested Movie Nights back through the late 19th and early 20th centuries via its creator – the dream-obsessed (and problematic) Winsor McKay – and his plight as one of the founding fathers of modern animation. Follow along as they plot the path of Nemo as a character through his...

Mummified curses, the infamous Big Toe bandit, and lessons in Egyptology… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they seek to “return the slab” by unpacking some of Courage’s most talked-about and seemingly sinister segments. They’ll dive into ancient omens and confounding cases that brought Egyptian history to the Western world, look back at old Hollywood legends that led to the modern heist trope, and probably tell you far more than you ever expected to know about...

Grabby shadows, psychic hotline hi-jinx, and emotional alien encounters… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids in the land of Nowhere once again as they traipse through extra-terrestrial lore surrounding tractor beams and alien abDUCKtions, enjoy television psychic tropes, and explore the anti-hero elements present in so many Courage the Cowardly Dog antagonists. These episodes showcase the show’s uncanny ability to layer in lessons, from commentary on how isolating...

Narcissistic ne’er-do-wells, supposed Southern expressions, and makeshift northern lights… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for the final leg of their Balto-thon where they trek through voice-cast trivia and unpack every ounce of jaw-dropping peril, malignant personality disorders, and innocuous innuendo that made Balto one of the foremost millennial favorites they’ve explored to date. Have a frightfully nostalgic memory to share or a pretty dark topic you'd like...

Spielberg surreality, old-Hollywood caricatures, and blatantly honest lies… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Come along as these ‘90s kids get within one degree of Kevin Bacon by hanging with two of the legendary writers behind Balto (and a dozen other mind-blowing millennial favorites). Hear their origin stories, explore their shiniest memories of Balto’s inception, and listen in as they recount their involvement with THAT scene… y’know…only some of the darkest words we’ve ever had to...

Questionable motives, an early American media frenzy, and Governor Bone… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Returning from an unexpected hiatus, these ‘90s kids are eager to get back in your ears recounting the true-life tale that served as inspiration behind Balto, the heroic 1925 Serum Run of Nome. Prepare your warmest blankets as they begin to sled (ha!) light on how the Hollywood version came to be, and regale you with every bit of outbreak, heartbreak, triumph, and controversy...

Hiatus explanations, a holiday recap, and some watch recommendations… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark as the sun sets on 2023! As has become tradition, join your 90’s kid Ghost Hosts around the proverbial campfire to unpack where they’ve been this holiday season, discuss plans for 2024, and remind you how not-alone you are. Have a frightfully nostalgic memory to share or a pretty dark topic you'd like us to cover? Email us at [email protected] Give to our Patreon for...