# The Nightmare Room

The Nightmare Room is an American children's horror anthology television series that aired on Kids' WB. The series was based on the short-lived children's book series that went by the same title created by Goosebumps author, R. L. Stine. The Nightmare Room originally aired in the United States from August 31, 2001, to March 16, 2002.

## Premise

The Nightmare Room is based on fears that children have, such as ghosts and monsters, which normally ended with comments by the narrator whose final words always ended with the words "the nightmare room", then a door with The Nightmare Room logo appeared, closing. In many instances, the series resembled the television series The Twilight Zone with teens taking the role as the main characters, many of whom portrayed the characters were popular child and teen actors at the time, including Amanda Bynes, Frankie Muniz, Justin Berfield, Drake Bell, Brenda Song, Lindsay Felton, Shia LaBeouf, Kaley Cuoco, Dylan and Cole Sprouse. In addition, David Naughton, Robert Englund (famously known as Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street films), Betsy Randle, Tippi Hedren, David Carradine, and Angus Scrimm also worked on some episodes.
The Nightmare Room is one of the only two live-action shows (the other being Brats of the Lost Nebula) that ever aired on Kids' WB. The show was produced by Parachute Entertainment, Tollin/Robbins Productions, and Warner Bros. Television.

## Book titles and summaries

* Don't Forget Me: Danielle Warner, and her brother Peter, move into a house where the basement is haunted by the ghosts of children who have been forgotten by their friends and families. And lure living children in by making their friends and families forget about them.
* Locker 13: Superstitious Luke Green gets assigned Locker #13 on his first day of school and tries to quell the bad luck that goes along with it by finding a good-luck charm. But the good-luck charm has a twisted secret of its own.
* My Name is Evil: A carnival fortune teller accuses Maggie of being evil. Maggie brushes it off as a joke — until accidents occur in school and all signs point to Maggie as a suspect.
* Liar, Liar: Years of lying suddenly catch up with Ross when he finds himself in a parallel world where an evil twin tells him that he will die in two days.
* Dear Diary, I'm Dead: Alex Smith discovers a diary in a desk that predicts the future, leading to disastrous consequences.
* They Call Me Creature: Laura must find out why the animals she cares for are attacking her - and discovers a horrible creature living in her father's shed.
* The Howler: Self-proclaimed electronics geek Spencer Turner buys a machine called "The Howler" that lets humans communicate with the dead... and summons three ghosts that want to possess Spencer and his friends.
* Shadow Girl: A bored girl named Selena discovers that she's really a superheroine named Shadow Girl, and, like all superheroes, has an arch-enemy who wants her dead.
* Camp Nowhere: At summer camp, Russell rows over Forbidden Falls — and finds himself in a summer camp haunted by the ghost of an evil Native spirit.
* Full Moon Halloween: It's a frightful Halloween night as a teacher gets four of his students and tries to discover that one of them may be a werewolf.
* Scare School: Sam is haunted by an imp at his new school that preys on new students.
* Visitors: UFO enthusiast Ben Shipley discovers that aliens are covertly invading Earth.

### The Nightmare Room Thrillogy

* Fear Games: Twelve kids with special abilities have been selected to take part in a reality show called Life Games, set on an island haunted by a psychotic witch.
* What Scares You the Most?: April (one of the contestants) is stranded on the island and must fight her biggest fears in order to escape.
* No Survivors: After her escape in What Scares You the Most?, April must return to the haunted island in order to rid it of the witch's spirits.

## Opening narration

At the beginning of each episode, R. L. Stine gives an opening monologue of sorts –in a manner very similar to Rod Serling's iconic opening narration for The Twilight Zone– that acts somewhat like a theme song for the series.
   When the lights fade and the moon rises, anything can happen. The world becomes a carnival of shocks and chills. A whirling merry-go-round that never stops, spinning faster and faster, taking you on a frightening ride. I'm R. L. Stine, don't fall asleep... or you might find yourself in The Nightmare Room.
Despite the claim of being R. L. Stine, the narration was provided by James Avery of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fame. Avery also did the closing narration for each episode.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
| 1 | "Don't Forget Me" | David Jackson | Teleplay by : Paul Bernbaum | August 31, 2001 (2001-08-31) | 003 |
| Danielle Warner (Amanda Bynes) along with her brother Peter (Daniel Hansen) and the rest of her family (Jim Meskimen and Romy Windsor), have just moved into a new house where the basement is haunted by the ghosts of children who have been forgotten by their friends and families — and lure living children in by making their friends and families forget about them. ||||||
| 2 | "Scareful What You Wish For" | Anson Williams | Naomi Janzen | August 31, 2001 (2001-08-31) | 008 |
| While packing away all of the toys from his childhood days before his 14th birthday, Dylan Pierce (Shia LaBeouf) is haunted by a strange little boy (played alternately by Dylan and Cole Sprouse) who turns out to be Dylan's favorite childhood doll come to life thanks to a seemingly fake spell from a birthday magician (Brian Jacobs) — and not willing to let his human friend go. Also starring Tania Raymonde, Marcus T. Paulk, and Betsy Randle. ||||||
| 3 | "The Howler" | Steve Dubin | Teleplay by : Scott Murphy | September 29, 2001 (2001-09-29) | 006 |
| Three kids Vanessa (Cara DeLizia), Spencer (Jeremy Ray Valdez) and Charlie (Jermaine Williams) find a strange machine called "The Howler" that lets them communicate with ghosts, but the ghosts that come out need three human bodies to possess. Also starring Robert Englund. ||||||
| 4 | "Tangled Web" | Ron Oliver | Paul Bernbaum | October 6, 2001 (2001-10-06) | 005 |
| An incorrigible liar named Josh (Justin Berfield) suddenly finds all his tall tales are coming true after his substitute teacher (David Carradine) tells him he believes everything he says. Also starring David Naughton, Steve "Sting" Borden, Conni Marie Brazelton, Erik Audé, and Briana Cuoco. ||||||
| 5 | "Fear Games" | Ron Oliver | Story by : Paul Bernbaum Teleplay by : Richard Rossner | October 13, 2001 (2001-10-13) | 009 |
| Five teenagers (Lindsay Felton, Hunter Ritter, Eric "Ty" Hodges II, Lena Cardwell, and Lauren Petty) on a Survivor-esque reality game show called "Life Games" hosted by Don Marks (Roger Lodge) must compete in island challenges on Tranquility Island — and fight a psychotic witch (Tippi Hedren) who haunts the island. Note: Based on the first book of The Nightmare Room Thrillogy called "Fear Games". ||||||
| 6 | "School Spirit" | Rich Correll | Scott Murphy | October 20, 2001 (2001-10-20) | 011 |
| A group of students (Keiko Agena, Michael Galeota, George O. Gore II, Jeffrey Licon, and Madeline Zima) serving detention must help the ghost of a teacher (James Karen) whose contributions are being buried and forgotten. Also starring Jenny Gago. ||||||
| 7 | "Full Moon Halloween" | Rich Correll | Teleplay by : Naomi Janzen | October 27, 2001 (2001-10-27) | 010 |
| In a connection with "School Spirit," Janet, Todd, Freddy, Dex and Alexis grow suspicious of one another when a werewolf is heard to be on the loose in their town on Halloween. ||||||
| 8 | "Four Eyes" | Brian Robbins & Michael B. Negrin | Scott Murphy | December 1, 2001 (2001-12-01) | 001 |
| In this homage to the cult horror satire They Live, Jeremy Clark (Josh Zuckerman) receives glasses from his eye doctor (John C. McGinley) while in the company of his friend Cindy (Lynsey Bartilson). He discovers that his new glasses gives him the power to see aliens secretly living among humans and ready to take over the world. ||||||
| 9 | "Locker 13" | Ron Oliver | Teleplay by : Richard Rossner | December 8, 2001 (2001-12-08) | 007 |
| Luke Greene (Brandon Gilberstadt), a superstitious boy is terrified of the consequences when his school assigns him Locker #13, a locker rumored to give the owner eternal bad luck. When he finds a good luck charm in the locker, good things happen to him until he has an encounter with a being named the Fatemaster (Angus Scrimm) who says that he must repay the luck with his own life. Also starring E.J. De La Pena, Boris Cabrera, Mary Stein, and Ken Foree. ||||||
| 10 | "Dear Diary, I'm Dead" | Steve Dubin | Teleplay by : Paul Bernbaum | February 2, 2002 (2002-02-02) | 004 |
| Alex Sanders (Drake Bell) discovers a diary in his new desk that predicts the future — including his death. Also starring A. J. Trauth, Brenda Song, Percy Daggs III, Kerrie Keane, and Sam Lloyd. ||||||
| 11 | "My Name is Evil" | Anson Williams | Teleplay by : Lee Goldberg & Bill Rabkin | February 23, 2002 (2002-02-23) | 002 |
| On his birthday, the good-natured Morgan Gray (Marco Gould) is made a fool by Kristin (Kaley Cuoco) and has an encounter with a carnival fortune teller (Pamela Gordon) who claims that he's evil. This leads to a chain of disasters that may or may not be turning him evil. Also starring Audrey Wasilewski and Beth Broderick. ||||||
| 12 | "Camp Nowhere" (Part 1)" | James Marshall | Teleplay by : Paul Bernbaum | March 9, 2002 (2002-03-09) | 012 |
| Russell (Sam Jones III), Charlotte (Allison Mack), Dave (Kyle Gibson), and Erin (Kathy Wagner) are at summer camp and find themselves in another camp that's been suspended in time thanks to a Native American spirit. Also starring Brandon Quinn and Danielle Fishel. ||||||
| 13 | "Camp Nowhere" (Part 2)" | James Marshall | Teleplay by : Paul Bernbaum | March 16, 2002 (2002-03-16) | 013 |
| Russell, Charlotte, Dave and Erin must contend with Native American spirits that have captured the kids of Camp Hawkwood. Also starring Dan Byrd, Kevin Meaney, and Frankie Muniz. ||||||

## Releases

On August 20, 2002, 8 episodes were released on 2 DVD volumes. 5 episodes remain unreleased.
| Name | Release Date | Episodes | Region | Additional Information |
| Camp Nowhere | August 20, 2002 | 4 | 1 | Episodes include: "Camp Nowhere, Parts 1 & 2", "Don't Forget Me", "Full Moon Halloween" Bonus Features include: The Nightmare Is Yours: Shrink or Swim, Do You Dare?, The Nightmare Files, Trailers. |
| Scareful What You Wish For | August 20, 2002 | 4 | 1 | Episodes include: "My Name Is Evil", "Scareful What You Wish For", "Tangled Web", "Fear Games". Bonus Features include: The Nightmare Is Yours: Haunted Cave, Do You Dare?, The Nightmare Files, Trailers. |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
| 2002 | Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing | Michael C. Gutierrez, James L. Pearson, Tony Torretto, Susan Welsh, and Debby Ruby-Winsberg |