MIDNIGHT SOCIETY
Membership: Gary, Betty Ann, Kiki, Eric, Frank, Tucker, Samantha ("Sam"), Kristen, David, "Stig," (Second Version) Tucker, Quinn, Evangeline ("Vange"), Andy, Megan, (last names unrevealed)
Purpose: Entertainment
Base of Operations: Ross Heights, Toronto, Ontario
First Appearance: Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1991 - 2000)
History: The Midnight Society was a group of creative-minded teenagers with a fondness for creative and original light-hearted stories bordering on the paranormal and the supernatural, usually but not limited to stories about ghosts, witches and curses. Joined together by their common school, the group met on a weekly basis at a secret campsite in the woods near their residential homes to gather and talk, culminating in a story one member would tell to the members of the group. Only one story was ever told for each gathering, but every story began with the approval phrase by saying "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story..." at which point they would toss out a handful of regular sugar (referred to as "midnight dust") from a leather pouch into a campfire to heighten the flames and produce an eerie white smoke. The storyteller would continue by announcing its title in a specific title format incorporating the words, "The Tale of...," such as "The Tale of the Bookish Babysitter" or "The Tale of the Shivering Ghost."
The requirements of entering and becoming a member of the group are unrevealed. The group accepted anyone interested in joining, and all members told a story as their turn came, although it seems they rarely stayed true to this format; anyone could tell a story if they had one. New members were inducted through the strength or quality of their stories. No reading aloud was permitted; all stories were oral on the spot. The themes of the stories usually revolved around a variety of paranormal phenomena, such as ghosts, haunted houses, magical curses, witches, vampires, curses and magic happening to regular individuals, usually other kids. They were especially creative and often did not pay attention to detail, such as the traits and lore of vampires or typical haunted house activity. Although reading was not allowed, some of their stories were based on or ran loosely similar to known fiction, such as Washington Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" or the W.W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw." It is possible but unconfirmed the members took ideas or repeated stories from actual paranormal cases that influenced them. In some cases, stories were based on events from their personal lives.
The Midnight Society was founded by Gary, a bookish young man who attended school with the club members. Fascinated by magic, he was joined by Betty Ann whose interests were more into the bizarre, such as aliens and strange forces. A tomboy named Kiki joined them and told stories with a more cautionary lesson about being careless. Frank's stories involved problems with authority and featured a recurring villain named Dr. Vink. Gary's stepbrother, Tucker, who was much younger than him, joined the Midnight Society sometime afterward with stories about sibling relationships and familial support. Antagonistic to his new step-brother, Tucker was once warned with a story about blackmail by Gary to curb his youthful insolence. A late member of the group was Samantha, a loner who told stories about love transcending the afterlife.
Other members who joined were Kristen, an attractive girl with a fondness for ghost stories and fairy tales and an introvert named David. Kristen developed a crush on David in the group. Stig was the last new member to the group. It is believed "Stig" was a nick name; his real name is unrevealed. Another member is Eric, an Irish-American boy who stopped appearing sometime after he joined.
The society fell apart as the members grew up and went off to college, leaving Tucker as the youngest member to try and keep it going. He gathered a new group of friends from school named Quinn, Evangeline, Andy and Megan to keep the Midnight Society, but Megan being of of a more upper income family preferred more comfortable surroundings more in tune with her pampered lifestyle. Less adherent to his brother's rules, Tucker supplied the group with old sofas to sit around the campfire. Quinn and Evangeline were also known for good-naturedly teasing Andy for being a slow-thinker.
Tucker's group was the last incarnation of the Midnight Society.
Case Files: Unrevealed
Source/Comments: The Midnight Society is a fictional story-telling group who "hosted" a series based on stories with both horror and fantasy elements; similar to the format of the earlier "Twilight Zone" and "Tales From The Dark Side" anthology TV shows.
In the series, Ross Hull played Gary, Raine Pare-Coull played Betty Ann, Jodie Resther played Kiki, Jason Alisharan played Frank, Daniel DeSanto played Tucker, Joanna García played Samantha, Rachel Blanchard played Kristen, Nathaniel Moreau played David, Codie Wilbee played Stig and Jacob Tierney played Eric.
In the 1999-2000 Season, Kareem Blackwell played Quinn, Elisha Cuthbert played Megan, Vanessa Lengies played Vange and David DeVeau played Andy. Daniel DeSanto returned as Tucker, the sole remaining member of the original cast.
Elisha Cuthbert also starred in the movie "House of Wax" (2005)
The actual hometown of the Midnight Society is unrevealed; "Ross Heights" is named for Ross Hull, the actor who played Gary, the creator of the group.