Nostalgia for Canadian kids who grew up in the 90s.
“Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story: The Tale of the Flashback”

Although I’m sure it aired in the United States as well as Canada. Filmed in British Columbia, Canada, the show is definitely Canadian not to mention all, or almost all the actors are Canadian. The show first aired on Halloween in 1991. It consisted of a group of kids, Gary, Kiki, Betty-Ann, Frank, and Tucker (characters filtered through a bit as the series went on, for example David: seasons 1&2, Kristen: seasons 1-3, Eric: season 1, Stig: season 5, Sam: seasons 3-5) who were part of the Midnight Society, who told scary tales around a campfire.

The very first episode showed the viewer how one gets into the society. They are blind folded to the secret location where they must tell a scary tale. After the tale, a unanimous vote lets the new member in or out. Frank was the first to join out of the original members, that’s what I call them, and here’s why:

• Gary, the leader of the group, has been carrying on the tradition. In season seven we learn  that this is 50 year tradition. Gary’s grandfather was the leader, and creator of the Midnight Society.
• Gary, Kiki, Betty-Ann, Frank, and Tucker (I’m adding Tucker because he was on it the longest, he’s Gary’s younger brother who joined in season 3, and continued on the tradition once Gary left) are the only ones who don’t filter out in the shows original run.

And those are my reasons.

The original run of the show was 1991-96. The show was later rebooted in 1999 for 2 seasons where Tucker brings a group of his friends to start up the society once more. Pop Crush did a great article that you can read about the cast and where they are now here.  

The show was filled with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and a whole lot more. Each week a member would get to tell their tale. Some were spookier than others, and some where a little on the cheesy side, but overall, even years later, the show still holds up as creepy.

Every episode would start right by that fire with the Midnight Society gathered around, and one of them would tell a story. One of my favourite reoccurring character’s is Mr. Sardo, “It’s Sardo, no mister, accent on the DOH!” (played by Richard Dumont). He was funny, and kinda clueless, but he’s one of the characters I remember most from my childhood.

Now what you might not know is there were a handful of actors who have made it big since their days on the show. Here’s my list that I noticed while watching. There is also this list that Mental Floss made up that you can check out.

Aaron Ashmore: He was on the show twice:

He was Billy in “The Tale of the Thirtieth Floor”

and then Jake in “The Tale of the Lunar Locusts”. Now Ashmore is known for being in plenty of movies, and TV shows, he’s currently on the new show Killjoys.

JoAnn Garcia: She played Sam, one of the Midnight Society members

Now she’s also been in movies and TV shows, her big role is in Reba as Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery. Now she plays Ariel on Once Upon a Time.

Jewel Staite. She’s currently known for her TV roles such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Firefly, and most recently The Killing.

She had two roles in AYAOTD,  “The Tale of the of the Watchers Woods” as Kelly, and Cody in “The Tale of the Unfinished Painting”

Ryan Gosling. I don’t think he needs an intro. He had one episode, “The Tale of Station 109.1”

Jay Baruchel, like Gosling needs no intro. Barauchel had quiet the run on AYAOTD, he had four episodes to his name. “The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float” as Joe, “The Tale of the Zombie Dice” as Alex, “The Tale of the Walking Shadow” as Ross Doyle, and Jason Midas in “The Tale of the Time Trap”

Adam MacDonald, known for a lot of TV roles, he’s currently on Rookie Blue. MacDonald got started in two episodes, “The Tale of the Misfortune Cookie” as Eddy West, and Bulldog in “The Tale of Highway 13”.

Charlotte Sullivan who is known for quite a bit of movies, but is also currently on Rookie Blue (she actually plays MacDonald’s sister on the show). She had one episode as Diana in “The Tale of The Hunted”.

Kyle Downes who is known for his role on Lizzie McGuire as Larry Trudgemen, had a role on AYAOTD. He played Nathaniel in “The Tale of the Forever Game” and Adder Carballo in “The Tale of Vampire Town”.

Gregory Smith- this one I didn’t see right away. Also currently on Rookie Blue, Smith had a role as Tim Williamson in “The Tale of Train Magic”.

Elisha Cuthbert. She played Megan as part of the rebooted Midnight Society. She got her big break starring in 24.  She’s also married to Dion Phaneuf, a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player. (I was very shocked to find that out, being a Leaf fan and all)

Eddie Kaye Thomas, known for his role as Paul Finch on American Pie, he also played a small role as Matt Dorney in “The Tale of the Curious Camera”. This was his first onscreen role.

Charlie Hofheimer is a known guest star actor, and known for roles like Mad Men and Private Practice, he had two roles on AYAOTD. Dean Wilson in “The Tale of the Water Demons” and Jeff in “The Tale of the Unexpected Visitors”

Laura Vandervoot, played Ashley Fox in “The Tale of the Laser Maze” from there she has broken out to be in quite a few things such as Smallville, V, and Ted just to name a few.

There are probably more that I didn’t recognize because the gust star list is huge, but this show was my childhood, and I sure had a great time re-watching it because it’s still as good as it was the first time you watch it.