R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour

I love horror anthology shows.  I really love 'em.  I used to watch Tales from the Darkside, and I remember that my dad didn't have a problem with it.  (He did have a problem with the movie though, because there was some cursing.  It never occurred to me how strange that was.)

     Anyway, I gave R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour a chance, since it was available for free on Netflix.  I figured it would be kind of like Are You Afraid of the Dark?  I had tried revisiting that show, and it really didn't age well.  It was just too lighthearted, too wacky, and not enough material that seemed like it could legitimately creep kids out.  Plus, it was aimed too squarely at kids, while also making kids look like idiots.  That's always a problem.

     I was pleased to find that The Haunting Hour was generally really good.  Really good.  Like any anthology, there are a few misses, but I'm very happy with this show.  Episodes are usually paced well, they involve some fairly creepy stuff.  They don't shy away from bleak endings, and I really love that.

     In addition, the acting quality is actually pretty good.  It's hard to find child actors that aren't annoying.

    To make things better... the budget is good!  It's not spectacular, but the effects work is fairly good, and the direction does a great job of working around effects.

    Notable episodes...
From the first season...

The Perfect Brother - A kid's perfect brother starts breaking down, and is revealed to be a robot.  Then things get weirder.  A dark ending, and I like that they were willing to go that far.

Catching Cold - A jerk of a kid becomes obsessed with locating a specific ice cream truck that carries some spectacular ice cream.  Another dark ending, but he earned it.

Afraid of Clowns - The obligatory clown episode.  An ending I didn't quite anticipate.

The Dead Body - A kid finds a friend willing to stand up to some bullies.  The friend pushes things further than the other kid is willing to go.

From the second season...

Flight - A kid on an airplane is convinced that a lady is the grim reaper.  This episode isn't actually that great, but it plays like a Twilight Zone.  It's much more introspective than I expect from a show aimed at kids.

Sick - A kid is home, sick.  Things get very strange, and it isn't clear if it's just his illness, or if he's actually dealing with a monster in the house.  A surprisingly puzzling episode.

Mascot - Two kids want to get a better mascot for their school, and attempt to fire the existing one.  This is weird, and memorable for the great design of the mascot.  It's also got a really dark ending.

Scarecrow - A rural girl accepts a scarecrow from a weird guy, leading to much weirder things.  This is a very dark story.  By the end, it seems like it could have been adapted from a Stephen King story.

The Return of Lilly D - A continuation of what happens to the evil doll that appeared in the first episodes of this series.  This is really remarkable.  It's rare that an anthology series creates an internal continuity, but they did this well.  There's a recurring character, but what's most interesting is that they made a story that stands by itself, but is also enriched by knowing the first episodes.


     I can't say that the show is always great, but they do an excellent job of making a horror series for kids that doesn't pander.  The show tackles concerns of younger kids very well, while also treating them respectfully.  I'm really happy with this series, and I look forward to watching more episodes.  Hopefully, Netflix will get around to adding the third season soon.