Which was scarier?

AYAOTD. Goosebumps had some creepy moments but this show kept me up some nights as a kid!

AYAOTD. I think few would consider Goosebumps to be a scarier show, let alone a better one.

Don’t get me wrong, Goosebumps did creep me out a bit more as a kid. In retrospect, the show does have its more chilling (and quality) episodes, e.g. The Haunted Mask (up to par with the best of AYAOTD), Scarecrow Walks at Night, Welcome to Dead House, The Girl Who Cried Monster, My Best Friend is Invisible, Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, and a few others. A bunch of episodes, even the hammiest ones, also had a creepy and unsettling vibe throughout them. Plus, who could forget that intro! But for the most part, the classic R.L. Stine show was on the goofier side and not quite as effectively done as AYAOTD.

Now, one thing Goosebumps DID have over AYAOTD in the fright department, is nearly every episode had an ominous and unhappy ending. Aside from that though, AYAOTD felt more mature overall. And sure, while AYAOTD was definitely not without its cheesier moments and episodes, it felt like a genuinely more serious show - its mood and overall tone was consistently more chilling. Not to mention the show had better writing, the effects and make up were superior, and it often dealt with more mature themes than Goosebumps did. So I’m a fan of both, but AYAOTD wins this.

AYAOTD was definitely scarier, but Goosebumps was better written IMO.

Are You Afraid of The Dark was scarier by far to me.

Make that four for AYAOTD.

AYAOTD for sure. Most of Goosebumps stuff was just weird or unsettling to me. I guess it helps that I remember AYATOD closed out SNICK, 9:30 pm and right after I had to go to bed and make that walk through the dark house to my room as my folks were asleep right after a scary episode. Compare this with Goosebumps which aired in the morning for me, so it didn't have the same effect.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? didn't scare me one bit, and I rarely if ever watched Goosebumps. I didn't like the look of the books, and the few times I saw parts of the tv show was in passing or flipping through channels. They mostly just annoyed, bored, or disgusted me.

Goosebumps is a quality show and a fun watch, but I feel AYAOTD out-classed it in every way. Both were quite popular with kids of the 90s.