Dark Programmes for Creepy Kids Resurrecting Millennial Children’s Horror Television in Australia

Horror television made for children has historically been dismissed as ‘trash’. Debates about horror and television in psychology and popular discourse have often focused on shielding children from potentially harmful content, marking horror content for children as a kind of misguided mission. However, during the 1990s and early 2000s, children’s horror television flourished. This book argues that children’s horror television is a distinct subgenre that has had a lasting impact on viewers. Departing from comedic children’s horror series such as The Trap Door (1986–1990) and Scooby Doo: Where Are You! (1969–1970), children’s programs in the 1990s and 2000s were not afraid to frighten young viewers, including anthology series such as Goosebumps (1995–1998) and Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990–2000). Despite these programs’ longevity and enduring popularity, they remain under-researched. Focusing on children’s horror television that aired in Australia during this period, this book employs a combination of ethnographic audience research about adults' memories of the tv shows they watched as kids, textual analysis, and reception studies to analyse these programs’ unique characteristics and the meanings they have for fans and former viewers. Merinda Staubli argues that children's horror TV invites child viewers to confront and perhaps overcome their fears within thrilling, age-appropriate horror story worlds, and that depictions of the monstrous and strange in children’s programming can promote acceptance of difference.