That's Pretty Dark: An '80s & '90s Nostalgia Podcast

The Law of the Jungle, ripples of consequence, and a childhood lost…or gained… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they STAMPEDE through a recap – and reevaluation – of Jumanji’s darkest truths, traipsing through the strange comfort and coping found in urban legend, the enduring-if-harmful performance of “masculinity,” and the unraveling of a town’s legacy…. Society’s games may have been established long ago, but if there’s anything this sentient tabletop teaches us, it’s that it’s our decision which ones to keep playing.

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Imposter syndrome, improbable illustrations, and Robin’s legacy… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for a JUNGLE of a time as they dig up long buried lore around Jumanji’s original author and its picture-book beginning, hit harrowing production highlights, and pay homage to one of the greatest comedians and thinkers the world has ever known. Like most good fiction, it turns out Jumanji was born from a reserved mind with a chaotic craving… A sense of wonder, a curious “what if…?”… a persistent itch only imagination – and a few million in special effects – could scra...

Bicycle independence, Blockbuster Fridays, and a revenant paradox… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these rusty ‘90s kids for a crash course through Christian’s favorite 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' tale, which thrusts us all into the golden, glowing nostalgia of a good ol’ fashioned bike ride, offers a snapshot of how the ‘90s handled PTSD, and chills with the poignant reminder that some friendships reach beyond the grave. Strap on your bike helmets, your fishing boots, and your most haunting “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve,” and meet us down at our bridge…. You know th...

Tower of Terror stories, the great Disney vs. Nickelodeon debate, and a look at modern horror conventions… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they continue to pick the brain of DJ MacHale, Co-Creator of Are You Afraid of the Dark, and get his thoughts on everything from his film projects, to his TV show with Lizzie McGuire producer Stan Rogow, to his honest thoughts on Goosebumps! It’s a far-reaching, nostalgic-as-ever episode culminating in some of DJ’s own worst fears… if you’re brave enough to hear ‘em!

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Nostalgic Nickelodeon, the schematics of fear, and D.J.’s own haunted house… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for their 100-episode-extravaganza! Here, they celebrate a cornerstone of children’s horror, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, WITH the mastermind behind its success. Together, they’ll share insights from the show’s conception and excavate societal and psychological ingredients that make up the DNA of AYAOTD. Honored, amazed, and as spooked as ever, your Ghost Hosts and their proverbial patron saint FINALLY get the chance to geek out about TPD’s most timeless themes… and re...

Campy dialogue, stucco surreality, and the history of the Pet Detective… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for a dose of tongue-in-cheek noir as their season binge takes them back to suburban xenophobia and the fascinating intersections of vampire and werewolf lore. Somewhere between after-school-special and self-aware ‘60s horror, it serves as a unique metaphor within the AYAOTD catalog - not only an early LGBTQ+ pride flag, but a reminder that we shouldn’t judge books by their covers…. Though we’d do well to keep our pets indoors.

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Fractured personalities, toilet humor, and reparenting your inner self… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they apply a heaping helping of psychology and personal reflection to the cringiest and most chaotic parts of adulthood. They get deep about the roles of mothers (and women) in society, pick at their own parental wounds, and thoroughly excavate this Jack-In-The-Box chocked full of everything you repressed... and everything you were socialized to believe….. or not to. 

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Snot faces, imaginary “friends”, and impending doom… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids to get into the history behind one of the deepest darkest…loudest and most obnoxious… corners of your childhood memory. If ever you (or your parents) wondered how the hell this film came to be, you’re in the right place. Clutch your pearls and hang on to your cobwebs as we find psychological through lines and open the doors for a deep dive into what it means to reparent oneself. We’ll be on our worst behavior, we promise!

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Man-handed crocodiles, moonshinin’ muskrats, and the building blocks of feminism… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids down on the bayou to examine everything from The Rescuers’ infectious hope and faith (and some real-life messages-in-bottles), to the film’s feminist slant and the ways it managed… or failed… to manifest. So many of these charming (and violent) southern frames have stayed tucked away in children’s minds decades over. It’s high time we hold them up to our flashlights, together in this shimmering swamp of nostalgia, and maybe even try to see them from a new angle o...

Tearful tributes, scandalous snafus, and the birth of Medusa… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids, returning in all their Movie Night glory, to regale you with the history behind this… gem… of a Disney classic. Bridging the gap between the studio’s famed Nine Old Men and a whole new class of animators that would eventually herald the Disney Renaissance, this murky production story, and the PR nightmare that followed, are sure to turn some heads.

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Generational grudges, queer-coded aunties, and home-owning horrors… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for one of Are You Afraid of the Dark?’s most chilling hauntings as they unpack the lasting impression of a singular phrase, raid the corners of the internet for “real” frozen ghost stories, and reminisce on the magical career of Melissa Joan Hart. The day might’ve been saved, but there are still plenty of dark conclusions to draw surrounding the disappearance of this little boy turned ghostly ‘90s icon.

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Possessed babysitters, Leap Day haunts, and a Black Parade… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids for a year-late Midnight Society meeting as they indulge millennial references and roadside ghost nostalgia, get the history behind one of the most notorious figures in capitalistic Americana, and connect the dots between many of the horror genre’s most enduring tropes. This liminal episode begs the question… What happens when the house itself does the haunting?

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Hot nerds, killer dinner parties, and disturbing duality… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids, and the Midnight Society, as they explore the complexities of the human experience through yet another surprisingly literary SNICK lens. Examine with them their own ties to societal norms, ponder the effects of rigidity vs. fluidity, and, at long last, learn fascinating truths behind the oft referenced Jekyll and Hyde. 

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Wrathful grapes, magnetoreception, and a crazy, psychopathic freak (affectionate)… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they get a crash course in the history of homing pigeons, reminisce on a time when the streetlights signaled THEM home, and let their jazzy, melancholy little hearts break for the misfits and outcasts. They’ll send a jolt of New Year inspiration to your hobbies and hyper-fixations, iterate the necessity of wonder, and remind Darkling-kind that we’re all a lot more alike than we are different – pizza toppings notwithstanding.

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Major life updates, nostalgic debates, and UNEDITED un-seriousness… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark as the sun has set on 2024! Join your '90s kid Ghost Hosts around the proverbial campfire to unpack their personal lives over the past year, answer some thoughtful listener questions, discuss plans for 2025 (we’re creeping up on episode 100!), and through their ramblings, ravings, and unscripted nonsense, continue to remind you how not-alone you are. Cheers to the new year!

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Foreign invaders, squirrelly stair lifts, and class consciousness… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they walk through the terrors, tropes, and stereotypes littering the Rockwellian landscape of Kingston Falls, appreciate unexpected parallels to current events, and have some… less-than-clean fun with this gutsy, gooey ‘80s horror. Its hyperbolic contrasts and reflections on societal ignorance truly hold up a mirror to moviegoers and ask what they might do when saddled with great responsibility, or perhaps more importantly, if they understand that the REAL enemies are entitlement, greed… and the ultra wealthy.

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Historical hijinks, mischievous miniatures, and the birth of the PG-13 rating… Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they learn how society’s need for a scapegoat evolved from imps and elves, took to the sky to vex the Royal Air Force in wartime, and eventually inspired a slapstick horror comedy… with some sticky parental guidance suggestions. Between Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus, its production story is a who’s who of ‘80s cinema blending behind the scenes serendipity and on-screen mayhem… To understand, one only has to listen.

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Undead appendages, backwoods suspense, and... Little Red Riding Hood?! Oh lawd, it's about to get pretty dark! Join these ‘90s kids as they get back to their roots with this southern gothic folktale turned childhood bookshelf staple. Trace with them the daunting heritage of a vengeful fictional critter and the strangely familiar motifs that accompany it, including but not limited to expressions of guilt, grief, grave robbing, swamp witches, and cannibalism. Luckily, we learn that these stories CAN empower folks, inevitable as the endings may be, and provide an avenue both to cope with our fears and mercilessly jump sc...

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… take a moment to ask yourself, if your words could project your ideas into the minds of others…...

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 proportions.

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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.

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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 life cycle that may have overstayed its welcome…

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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 criticism, and as always, some good old fashioned existentialism to taste. At least we still have one another…

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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 brand deals and production rumors that left generations of mouths watering.

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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 misfit, yourself… this episode proves once and for all, that even still, you’re never really alone.

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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 within it, but also its implications for the future…

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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 haunting core of the novel… what if the face staring back at you from the breakfast table was your o...

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 is a heavy one, Darklings, but it’s important, and your Ghost Hosts hope you enjoy it with all the same curiosity you’d bring to the Schol...

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…

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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 if one actually did?

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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 always be our saving grace in the face of…dun dun dun…reality.

Ema...

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 way.

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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 experiences, and the collective power, strength, and unity that comes from creating art for art’s sake.

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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, and Randy Newman.

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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 episode has something for every Darkling. Email us at thatsprettydarkpodcast@gmail.com

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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 print and theatrical lifetime, all the way to the mid ‘70s when the first...

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 plagues of locusts. Email us at thatsprettydarkpodcast@gmail.com

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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 greed can be, to the often necessary reminder that it’s okay to ask for help. Email us at thatsprettydarkpodcast@gmail.com

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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 us to cover? Email us at thatsprettydarkpodcast@gmail.com

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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 utter: "kiddie coffins."

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