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Picture scene: it’s 1994, and you’re 11 or 12 years old. It was a little past bedtime. But Mom lets you sleep because your favorite TV show is on.
The opening credits roll – creepy music over the images of haunted swing planes and creepy-looking puppets – and you see a dark forest clearing full of children about ages. One of them – a tall man with glasses – takes a strange power out of a burlap bag, and tosses it into the fire, which flares up impressively. “Submitted for approval from the Midnight Society, I call this story…”
The show is Nickelodeon Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and I’m a man with glasses: Ross Hull, known to viewers around the world as Gary (not his last name). The series is a horror anthology made for children, in each episode the Midnight Society – a diverse collective of high school children – will gather in the forest to tell a scary story, which will make up many of the episodes. Because I was part of that framing device, I was in almost every episode of the original show — like the dank Keeper of the Crypt.
I started in modeling, TV, and theater at a fairly young age. My first gigs were unique compared to the “normal” stuff my friends were doing at school at the time: I modeled for Zellers, a Canadian discount store, and my first commercial for Duncan Hines cookies. There wasn’t a huge amount in Canada in the early nineties, but US shows would sometimes come out here – I fit the bill for one of them, and thought I’d give it a shot.
To my surprise, I got the part! Shooting for the pilot didn’t take long, as the Midnight Society scenes were all on one set. They built a fake forest area in the warehouse and captured all our scenes in one day – yes, I hate to break it to you, but the beautiful forest is just a series of backlots with some fake trees to decorate the plane. Hollywood magic, baby!
After the show was picked up, I became fast friends with my colleagues. That’s the way often with child actors – you’re in the trenches together, doing this long day, and you start to bond. It’s true even though we were different in age – I’m 17, but the youngest among us is only 12. Of course, there is a little mini-competition and jealousy over who has the most lines, or which character will be introduced. story of that week, but we have each end.
While people have a lot of nostalgia for Nickelodeon as a company, I know how that perception has changed in recent years, especially with the release of the documentary. Quiet in Set. I have nothing but love and sympathy for those whose experiences in the industry have been incredibly negative. Being a child star is hard enough – you’re asked to act like an adult, work 12 hours a day on set, stay professional while all your friends are just regular kids.
Knowing that there are people who have to deal with all of this, then also surrounded by people who do not care about their interests. I am very lucky that our set is always incredibly professional – me and the show creator DJ MacHale stay in touch to this day and the experience is one I will never forget for all the right reasons. I made lifelong friends, especially Daniel DeSanto, who played Tucker’s brother – he was like a brother to me.
It’s funny, known for something that doesn’t really exist anymore. I don’t just mean the show – that whole genre of “horror for kids” kind of died with the internet. Maybe the two are related – when television is a viewing appointment. The channel will have a marathon, and people have told me that they will invite their friends and make a night, fear together and fear.
Sometimes the content may have crossed the “horror” line – DJ MacHale really had trouble at the time, and told the producers that it would focus more on fairy tales than ghost stories – but that’s because the audience doesn’t have the choice they do now. , they are more likely to expose themselves to content they may not have been given the chance. Now you can stream anything you like, and organize everything for your specific interests. That’s great, but it also means you never know if that weird horror show could become one of your favorites. I’ve met directors and writers who are creating their own horror content now, who got into the genre because of our show.
I’m still happy to talk about the show whenever I can – I’ll do documentaries, conventions, and reunions anytime. But my current passion is my current work, as a meteorologist for Global News, a Canadian news network.
I know it sounds like a weird shaft, but when I go Student Body (Nineties another fantastic show), I decided to complete my education, and I have always had a real passion for broadcast journalism and science. An internship at a 24-hour weather network plunged me into the world of meteorology, and it has now become my life. I’ve been a meteorologist at Global News for 10 years, and it’s been an amazing experience like an acting gig. I even get to work with two dogs The Canadian Bros, who in exchange for some treats help me out with the forecast on-air!
That doesn’t mean I don’t think about going back. I love the process of creating art, but the audition process is something I will never do again. Who knows, maybe something is true? You don’t understand.
But for now, what I want to say is: I declare that the meeting of the Midnight Society is closed.
Ross Hull is a meteorologist for Global News
