Long before he was Ken, or a silent getaway driver, or dancing through the stars in La La Land, Ryan Gosling was just a kid in a flannel shirt trying to scare his little brother. It was 1995. The hair was floppy. The vibe was peak Canadian-cool. Most people remember him from the Mickey Mouse Club, but there’s this specific, fever-dream moment in 90s television history where he crossed paths with a legendary comedian and a hearse.
Honestly, if you grew up with a TV in the mid-90s, Are You Afraid of the Dark? was the ultimate ritual. You’d sit there, waiting for that match to strike—though fun fact, they usually started with the fire already lit because Nickelodeon didn't want kids playing with matches—and hope the story wasn't about clowns.
But for Ryan Gosling, this wasn't just another acting gig. It was part of a weirdly specific "horror phase" in his early career.
The Tale of Station 109.1 Explained
The episode is titled "The Tale of Station 109.1." It aired during Season 5, which was kind of a transitional period for the show. Gosling plays Jamie Leary. He’s the older brother to Chris, a kid who is—to put it lightly—totally obsessed with death. Chris wears black, hangs out in cemeteries, and basically makes life a bummer for everyone else.
Jamie is fed up. He’s the "cool" older brother who just wants his sibling to be normal. To teach Chris a lesson, Jamie decides to lock him in a hearse.
Yeah. A hearse.
It’s one of those classic 90s "parenting" moments that would never fly today. But in the world of the Midnight Society, it’s just a Tuesday. Jamie tells him to keep it down or he'll "wake the dead." It’s meant to be a prank, but because this is a horror show for kids, things go sideways almost immediately.
While Chris is trapped, he accidentally fumbles with the radio dial. He stumbles upon a frequency that shouldn't exist: Station 109.1. This isn't your local Top 40 station. It’s a radio station for the "dimensionally challenged."
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Basically? It’s a processing center for the dead.
Entering the Afterlife with Gilbert Gottfried
The real magic of Ryan Gosling Are You Afraid of the Dark isn't just seeing a baby-faced Gosling. It’s the fact that the DJ of this death-station is played by none other than the late, great Gilbert Gottfried.
Gottfried plays Roy, a frantic, loud, and strangely bureaucratic entity who helps souls transition to the "other side." When Chris shows up at the physical location of the station—which is a creepy, industrial building—Roy assumes he's just another soul who missed his exit.
The chemistry here is bizarre. You have this future Oscar nominee playing a concerned, slightly annoyed teen, and a comedy legend screaming about afterlife paperwork. It shouldn't work. But it’s iconic.
Why Does This Episode Still Matter?
Most child stars have a few "embarrassing" credits they’d rather forget. But Gosling has always seemed to embrace his weird Canadian TV roots. It’s a badge of honor. He wasn't just a face in the background; he carried the emotional weight of the "real world" half of the story.
It's also worth looking at the timeline.
- 1993-1995: The Mickey Mouse Club (The "Mouseketeer" era).
- 1995: Are You Afraid of the Dark? (The horror debut).
- 1996: Goosebumps - "Say Cheese and Die" (The horror peak).
- 1997: Breaker High (The teen heartthrob era).
You can see the trajectory. He was building this range. In "The Tale of Station 109.1," he has to play a kid who is genuinely worried he might have actually sent his brother to the grave. That’s a lot for a 14-year-old to sell while wearing a giant oversized sweater.
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Other Stars You Probably Missed
Gosling wasn't the only one. The show was a literal factory for future A-listers. If you go back and rewatch, it's like a game of "Spot the Celebrity."
Neve Campbell was in "The Tale of the Dangerous Soup" right before Scream made her a household name. Hayden Christensen—the future Anakin Skywalker—showed up in Season 6. Even Elisha Cuthbert was a series regular before she was fleeing mountain lions in 24.
But there is something specifically "Gosling" about Station 109.1. It has that offbeat, slightly melancholic tone that would eventually define his adult roles.
The Afterlife Bureaucracy
The episode actually touches on some pretty heavy themes for a kid's show. It’s not about a monster under the bed or a cursed toy. It’s about the fear of the unknown and the weirdness of death.
Roy (Gottfried) explains that sometimes people just get lost. They linger. They need a nudge. It’s almost like a junior version of Beetlejuice. When Jamie finally tracks down his brother at the station, he has to convince the "death DJ" that Chris is actually alive.
It ends with a classic "lesson learned" moment, but the imagery of that radio station—stacked with old gear and glowing lights—stuck with a whole generation of kids. It made the static between stations feel a little more dangerous.
How to Watch It Now
If you want to revisit this piece of history, you aren't stuck scouring eBay for VHS tapes. Most of Are You Afraid of the Dark? is available on Paramount+ or through digital retailers like Amazon and Apple TV.
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Search for Season 5, Episode 3.
Be warned: the special effects are... very 1995. The "afterlife" looks a bit like a low-budget music video. But the acting holds up. Gosling is undeniably Gosling, even then. He has that same smirk. That same way of looking slightly detached but also completely present.
What Most People Get Wrong
There’s a common misconception that Gosling was a member of the Midnight Society. He wasn't. He never sat around the campfire. He never threw the "midnight dust" (which was actually just non-dairy creamer) into the flames.
He was a "guest star."
He lived inside the story, not the framing device. This is actually better, because it means he got to play a character with an actual arc, rather than just being the kid who says, "I call this story..." every few weeks.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're feeling nostalgic, here is how to dive back into 90s Canadian horror:
- Watch the "Horror Duo": Pair "The Tale of Station 109.1" with the Goosebumps episode "Say Cheese and Die." It’s the ultimate Ryan Gosling double feature.
- Look for the Cameos: While you're on a 90s kick, check out Melissa Joan Hart in "The Tale of the Frozen Ghost." She was already famous for Clarissa Explains It All, but her guest spot is a classic.
- Check Out "Dead Man's Bones": If you want to see how this childhood horror stuff influenced the adult Ryan Gosling, listen to his band, Dead Man's Bones. It's a gothic, spooky indie-rock project with a children's choir. It feels like the musical spiritual successor to his time on Nickelodeon.
The 90s were a weird time for kids' TV, and Ryan Gosling was right in the middle of it. He survived the radio station of the dead, and somehow, he ended up in Barbie Land. Life is strange.