Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a children's horror anthology television series created by D. J. MacHale and Ned Kandel. The original series aired on Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1996; the pilot episode aired respectively on YTV and Nickelodeon in 1990 and 1991. It led to two revival series, with the first airing from 1999 to 2000, and the second airing from 2019 to 2022.

The original series was distributed worldwide by D. J. MacHale and Ned Kandel and was picked up by Nickelodeon in 1991. MacHale, Kandel, and Nickelodeon teamed up with the Canadian company Cinar (now known as WildBrain), and as a part of the deal the show was filmed primarily in Montreal, Quebec, with some additional filming taking place in Richmond, British Columbia. The production teams were respectively represented by the ACTRA and SCTVQ (Syndicat des techniciens du cinéma et de la vidéo du Québec) labour unions. It premiered with the episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" as a pilot on October 31, 1990, on the Canadian television network YTV. The pilot aired on Nickelodeon on October 25, 1991, as a Halloween special. The series premiered the following year on Nickelodeon's SNICK on August 15, 1992, and on Family Channel on September 2, 1992. The series moved from Family Channel to YTV on September 6, 1993. The original series ended on April 20, 1996.

The first revival series, with new directors, writers, and a cast, was produced by Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000 and also aired on the SNICK block. The only member from the original lineup to return for the first and second seasons of the revival was Tucker (Daniel DeSanto), although Gary (Ross Hull) returned for the concluding show, which notably broke from the show's established format by blurring the line between story and "reality".On November 13, 2017, it was announced that Paramount Players would make a live-action feature film adaptation. However, the film was later removed from Paramount's schedule. On February 14, 2019, it was announced that the series would be revived again for a limited series, which premiered on October 11, 2019. On February 19, 2020, this revival was renewed for a second season, titled Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Curse of the Shadows, which premiered on February 12, 2021, featuring a different cast. In March 2022, the revival was renewed for a third season, which premiered on July 30, 2022.