The Haunting Hour: The Series
A darker children's horror anthology from R.L. Stine.
R. L. Stine's *The Haunting Hour: The Series* is an American children's horror anthology show. It draws from two of Stine's short story collections: *The Haunting Hour: Chills in the Dead of Night* (2001) and *Nightmare Hour* (1999). The series first aired on The Hub Network (now Discovery Family) from October 29, 2010, to October 11, 2014. After that, the final seven episodes of its fourth season ran on Discovery Family from October 18, 2014, to November 29, 2014. Production companies included Front Street Pictures, The Hatchery, Incendo Films, and Endemol.
Only one story from *The Haunting Hour* collection—"My Imaginary Friend"—was adapted into an episode. The only story from *Nightmare Hour* not used was "Make Me a Witch." On July 9, 2012, the show was announced as one of four original Hub series to win the CINE Golden Eagle Award for high production quality and storytelling. On December 8, 2014, Stine confirmed via Twitter that Discovery Family had canceled the show after its four-season run.
Before the series aired, Stine noted on Twitter that *The Haunting Hour: The Series* was similar to his earlier show *Goosebumps*. Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia. In Canada, the show aired on Teletoon from 2011 to 2014, then moved to YTV, which broadcast reruns until 2017.
Like *Goosebumps*, each episode features a different cast facing a scary situation involving ghosts, aliens, witches, zombies, or monsters. However, the storylines are darker than its predecessor, and some episodes serve as very dark morality tales. Unlike *Goosebumps*, the threat of death is not implied but is clear and permanent. Death is not limited to antagonists or minor characters; some stories end with the main protagonist being killed. Some episodes have twist endings, while others have happy endings similar to many episodes of *Are You Afraid of the Dark?*.
American actress Debby Ryan recorded the song "Made of Matches" for the episode "Wrong Number," in which she appears as a singer. Ryan wrote and produced the song. A music video, directed by Neill Fearnley and featuring scenes from the episode, premiered on The Hub on February 4, 2011.
In 2001, Stine released *The Haunting Hour: Chills in the Dead of Night*, a collection of ten short stories with illustrations by various artists.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Horror / Science fiction / Supernatural / Dark fantasy / Comedy drama
- Based On
- The Haunting Hour: Chills in the Dead of Night and Nightmare Hour · R.L. Stine
- Executive Producer
- Dan Angel / Kim Arnott / Billy Brown / Harvey Kahn
- Theme Music Composer
- John Sereda / Paul Michael Thomas
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Cinematography
- Micheael Balfry
- Num Seasons
- 4
- Num Episodes
- 76
- List Episodes
- List of The Haunting Hour: The Series episodes
- Network
- Hub Network / (2010–2014) · Discovery Family / (2014)
- Company
- The Hatchery / Incendo Films / Front Street Pictures
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The series was created by R.L. Stine, who noted via Twitter prior to broadcast that it was similar to his previous series Goosebumps. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show featured a different cast in each episode, involving ghosts, aliens, witches, zombies, and monsters. Storylines were much darker than Goosebumps, with death being clear and permanent, sometimes even killing the main protagonist. Some episodes had twist endings, while others had happy endings similar to Are You Afraid of the Dark?.
Reader's Guide
The Haunting Hour: The Series is significant as a successor to Goosebumps, offering a darker tone that distinguished it from its predecessor. It won the CINE Golden Eagle Award for high quality production and storytelling in 2012, one of four original series from The Hub to do so. The series adapted only one story from The Haunting Hour anthology ('My Imaginary Friend') and left one story from Nightmare Hour unused ('Make Me a Witch'). It aired on Teletoon in Canada from 2011–2014 before moving to YTV, which aired reruns until 2017. The show was cancelled after four seasons, confirmed by Stine via Twitter on December 8, 2014.
Did You Know?
- The only story taken from The Haunting Hour anthology was 'My Imaginary Friend'.
- The only story unused from Nightmare Hour was 'Make Me a Witch'.
- The series won the CINE Golden Eagle Award on July 9, 2012.
More in American children's fantasy television series 1-24
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