The best (and scariest) kids show ever 

How are they not showing this on Adult Swim at 4 in the morning.

3 things I like about this channel: - Interesting/novel content - Excellent interaction with the community - The fact that you are open to people questioning your arguments

All my favorite shows as a kid were horror inclined: Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ahhh! Real Monsters!, Big Wolf on Campus, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Invader Zim, Bump in the Night, Goosebumps, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and probably more I can't think of off the bat. There ARE horror series still being made for kids these days. There's newer Goosebump shows and movies (which I think the last commercial I saw had one of the kids from Modern Family in it); there's that House of Anubis, which I've never seen, but looks like a horror preteen drama in a spooky school; the Haunted Hathaways which I saw one episode of when I was babysitting which was schticky but involved ghosts; there's Gravity Falls which is Twin Peaks for kids (*SPOILERS*: One of the main characters even gets possesed by a demon--which is what they called him in the show and everything--named Bill *END SPOILERS*); there's Evermoor, which is another show I haven't seen, but what I've read of the synopsis is a mystery show and one plot involves someone's aunt being poisoned; My Babysitter is a Vampire, which I also haven't seen, but does involve vampires; Monster High, which involves teenage daughters of famous movie monsters (it's an online series, but I know there's some movie specials that play on TV). I also know there's some British kid shows, like Young Dracula (that ended in 2012, unfortunately), but never made it (or haven't) to America. And not to mention shows that AREN'T horror but have horror elements in it, like Adventure Time or Regular Show. That deer episode from Adventure Time was pretty scary, and that one Regular Show episode with the clocks in the microwave? What happen to Rigby? Damn. (It also has yearly Halloween shows, too.) While there might not be a lot of GOOD horror oriented shows for kids, there's plenty of horror out there. There could be MORE, IMO, but there's still a decent selection. What IS lacking, however, is Halloween movies. Like, every year when I was a kid, there were, like, 20 different made for TV Halloween movies playing from October 1st to 31st. I think there's, like, three now. What happened?

When next we meet in Frankenstone; Don't come alone.

I'm sorry to have to say this but...this show looks like a perfect show to get stoned to.

Guys, just incase anyone watching this in the future is epileptic, this video becomes seizure inducing from 1:11 to 1:40, and it occurs again from 2:48 to 2:57! Please skip those sections if you have to! He doesn't talk over them, so you're not missing anything! Please stay safe!

HAMILTON ONTARIO REPRESENT!

"A successful Canadian TV show, which basically never happens" - Does Ed, Edd & Eddy count?

This video rocks! I live in Hamilton Ontario, and grew up on this show. Billy Van was so underrated. I actually was on a game show shot in the studio where THHOF was filmed. Thanks man :)

The song when the wolf is dancing is sung by Three Dog Night and called "Mama told me not to come"

"It's a one gronk day if you know what I mean." I have no idea why but I lost my shit at that...

Yup. I watched that when I was a kid too. I don't think it ever scared me, it just struck me as deliberately camp, a winking, self-aware parody of adult horror that also featured post-Woodstock psychedelic music breaks. It wouldn't be until I was an adult until I realized that, A) Billy Van, whom I thought I was introduced to alongside Luba Goy through the TVO series Bits and Bytes (yeah, I was a geek), was actually all those characters on Frightenstein, and B) How the hell did tiny, indie little CHCH have the budget for actually quite good makeup effects, licensed music, _and_ Vincent Price when CTV couldn't even do the slightest bit of justice to top-flight sci-fi writers (who subsequently wanted their names expunged from the project) when they produced The Starlost? (There's a fun topic to explore for a future episode.) Anyway, loved Frightenstein, and, in retrospect, I do think it was the sort of show that served kids well to introduce them to scary-but-not-really concepts. And no, this sort of thing would _never_ be done today. Too many bubble-wrap parents would complain about such terrifying things on the idiot box.

I grew up in Buffalo, NY in the early 70s and this was my favorite show! I appreciate that the This Exists installments are actually really informative and give context to the subjects they explore. THANKS!

I remember watching the hilarious house of frightenstein back in 1975, I use to love that show

I grew up with the Struwwelpeter book. This was in the 80's and I'm not even German. At the time, I assumed most kids had that book.

You know you grew up in Canada in the 70s when you go, "Oh hell yeah! Loved this show as a kid!"

I grew up on this show and trust me, you should show it to your kids. It teaches kindness, patience, good manners and grammar on the side. The costumes and voices are fantastic and enjoyable for everyone, and it's really not scary. Your kids will love it, and they might learn something too. It still holds up.

The song that played when they danced in front of the green screen always plays where I work, I'll now see that when it plays. That'll make work a little better so thank you

Oh my god, fucking Struwwelpeter. I took german for four years in high school, and my teacher had a copy of that book that she'd always bust out for the folk and fairy tale unit. She thought it was horrific, while most of the class found it hilarious. On a side note, I definitely think horror has a place in children's media, though it's definitely not for every kid. For instance, I had a super overactive imagination as a kid, and even seeing an ad for a scary movie on tv would give me nightmares for weeks (ironically I love horror now). Kids like I was should be able to deal with horror in their own way and when they're ready, but when they are, they should have ways to explore it.

I remember this show on YTV early early morning at around 6am back in the 80's. It was awesome. Great video.

Trivia note for Canadian guitar fans; 1:19 you get to see a rare appearance of a Fury Guitars Starship model. Less than 20 were made by Fury, Canada's first electric guitar manufacturer.

Jim Henson believed that it wasn't healthy for children to never experience fear. That was one reason why he made The Dark Crystal.

OMFG YOU GAVE THIS SHOW BACK TO ME I HAD FORGOTTEN IT. IM FROM TORONTO AS WELL AND THIS WAS ON FOR A WHILE WHEN I WAS A KID. AHHHHHHHHH MY MIND. thank you very much

Was not expecting an episode on Hilarious House. Awesome!

RU-vid has taken this kind of idea too. I don't quite know if it was aimed at kids or adults but "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" has a child like atmosphere to it, slowly melting into a horror gore fest. It teaches you about life, censorship, and religion in the simplest terms albeit complicated as hell. It's pretty much like if you took Sesame Street and let a serial killer and the pope direct it.

My oma was very into those German stories and wives tales I grew up on it and I loved all the stories. Especially Hansel and Gretel. She used to tell it that the other children the witch had lured were baked into giant gingerbread men and that they were still inside of them.

one of my favourite episodes, I remember watching this as a kid in the seventies... could never remember it's name. thank you.

Just saw if you search on RU-vid for it, It's actually got FULL EPISODE'S uploaded !!!

I still vividly remember the first time I found this show on TV, I couldn't stop watching and I'm not sure if it was because I was entertained or just fascinated. You definitely aren't alone thinking stuff like this wouldn't come about today and I think that's a very sad thing.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK GERMANY? there are very few things that can scare me as a 18 year old male with a load of airsoft guns in reaching distance but the struwwelpeter IS HORRIFIC

I think House of Frightenstein would have a chance if it were being considered by tv networks today, considering how it's more campy and fun than shit your pants scary, but Struwelpeter is a different story. With all the mutilation, I just can't see that getting through any children's publisher. I also want to add that one really great example of children's horror is the book/movie Coraline. The story's by Neil Gaiman, and according to him, the entire reason he wrote it was because his daughter wanted to read a scary story, and he couldn't find any for her at the local bookstore, so he wrote one for her. It's terrifying, well written, and easy for kids to relate to. Mirrormask is pretty good too, though it's more of a surreal fantasy than horror story.

It's interesting how much television has changed. You had shows exploring horror on a minor level airing on a number of kid friendly networks back in the 90's. Jump forward to around 2010, and the focus becomes more a comedy/random type of show. It's good to see that shows like Gravity Falls are starting to sort of revert back to this more mature or grittier humor aimed towards children. I do somewhat wish the whole horror genre would be constructed into a number of different shows (instead of the many apocalyptic shows/zombies) nowadays. I just want another "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" or "Goosebumps".

oh my god!!!! you brought back my childhood!! love this! thank you so much! this was my first intro to horror and It brings back nothing but happiness.

This used to play on reruns when I was a kid, and it was awesome!

Great show. Used to watch @ 6am on weekends. There is at least one DVD set out there, but many of the episodes were lost when some of the master tapes we erased and sold. Some reruns also will not play the original wolfman songs because of licensing costs. The DVD I have is about 11 hours worth. Most of the intact episodes out there are from compiling sections from tapes gathered in from Syndicated stations. (YTV also re-ran the series for a while in the 90's).

Thanks for this. HHoF was my all time favourite show as a kid next to Dr. Snuggles.

I love how this Canadian show teaches a German like myself about German pop culture. I read Struwwelpeter as a kid, but I never knew that there was an animated version of it. If I had seen that I would have had nightmares, for sure. The stories of "Max und Moritz" by Wilhelm Busch are in the same vein as Struwwelpeter. They are two nasty kids who basically end up in the foodchain.

Yo I loved shows that had horror themes when I was a kid! And yea I think you captured the reasoning perfectly, though I want to add that people's interests don't change much as they grow older, they just mature. As a kid I liked superhero cartoons and creepy/horror themed stuff. As an adult I am a superhero nerd and a horror fan. The kid versions are just that: kid friendly versions of the horror genre so that young horror fans have something that's age appropriate.

The wolfman's shuffling is on point 👌

There was a show made in the 2000's in the UK called Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids that had loads of horror elements, such as children being ground up into cider or being eaten alive by spiders, and I think a new series was made recently too. It's something of a classic amongst kids who watched it at the time.

when I was young I watched Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. It was sooo scary to me, yet I couldnt stop watching it every day.

man i loved this show my dad showed it to me 8 years ago on some channel around 7 in the morning so he just recorded as many episode as he could for me

This was an EXCELLENT episode! BRAVO!!!

Good luck getting your kids to sleep whit German bed stories :O Excellent show as always :D

Peanutbutter Solution! I had nearly forgotten about that! It sort of scared me as a kid too. I have some hippy friends from Buffalo who had VHS tapes of Hilarious House of Frankenstein. They were able to get Hamilton stations. Here in St. Lawrence Co., some of my neighbors remember the 1979 local broadcasts of You Can't Do That on Television from Ottawa. Ottawa is about 40 minute drive from my house. Looking back, all the best shows are from Canada, especially Are You Afraid of the Dark? I'm surprised you didn't mention Are You Afraid of the Dark. Thank God I'm close enough to get Canadian radio stations. I just got into the band Token because a local radio station has a Toronto band night. Ayria sucks though, even though I met them when they opened for VNV Nation.

The castle lights are growing dim..there's no one left but me and him....

I've heard a lot of people ask why Scooby Doo never goes away when it is so ridiculous. This video explains why. It is a safe way for children to explore something scary. The monsters are always unmasked as normal people at the end. My son loves it, and I love that he can explore that scary and darker side in a safe space.

I think it's incredibly important to have at creepy/frightening things in kids entertainment! For example, so many people see the movie Coraline and say "OMG I would NEVER show that to my child!!" But kids watch it, and although it may frighten them, they see it as more of an adventure than anything else. When I was a kid some of my all time favorite movies were Hocus Pocus and Ghostbusters. I think it helps as you grow up to be able to appreciate the weird movies and shows.

This was my favorite show when I was a kid! Thanks for this!

oh my god i remember struwwelpeter! i had that when i was growing up in germany, and let me tell you that shit was the realest

So I'm reading the Wikipedia article and it mentions that "Count Frightenstein was the thirteenth son of Count Dracula and was exiled to Castle Frightenstein in Frankenstone, Canada". An exiled son of Dracula? I'm imagining Frightenstein and Castlevania's Alucard sitting at a table, their suspicious gazes making it obvious they both think the other guy is the weird one.

I have an odd story to share that I find relevant... I've got a cousin I'm not particularly close to that raised her kids in a way that was so void of the suggestion of "spooky things" that they had pretty much no concept of monsters or anything like that before they went to school. The kids, psychologically somehow found their own way to be afraid of things, one of them had nightmares about kangaroos. Likewise, I have another pair of cousins that grew up without television. One was relatively normal growing up, but the other was prone to nightmares who was terrified of the Grinch and couldn't watch any more of the second Pokemon movie after Lugia's eyes flashed early on. Explaining that it was the good guy didn't help much. I'm not saying horror is a cure or necessary or anything, I'm just saying that psychology is a complex thing and if someone is prone to being fearful, their mind is going to find a way to bring it to fruition. There are no real adverse effects to minor spookiness, in fact, horror is just a natural facet of human creativity. It can even be therapeutic in much the same way as crying or laughing. But, I should mention that suddenly exposing a child to something that is a bit more extreme on the horror scale can cause some problems... but Scooby Doo, Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark, etc. etc. are alright. I think it was Don Bluth, the director of some great films like "The Secret of NIMH," "All Dogs go to Heaven," and "The Land Before Time" said that you can pretty much show anything to kids as long as it has a happy ending. Perhaps not 100% true, but generally, yeah, fairly accurate.

Growing up in Guelph, Ontario. CHCH TV 11 was one of the few channels we could get with out tv antenna. I loved this show. It was right up there with The Friendly Giant, Mr. Dressup, and Mr. Roger's Neighbourhood as my top favorite children's programs. Oh, yeah, and I nearly forgot The Electric Company.

Struwwelpeter will haunt my nightmares forever.

I should add that the wide appeal of "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein" isn't a single, isolated phenomenon. We've had a number of hits like this; local programs, birthed in small markets, that eventually went on to worldwide popularity. Hamilton's CHCH-TV spawned another cult comedy hit with Steve Smith's "The Red Green Show". Similar-sized markets in Southern Ontario and Alberta gave "SCTV" what they needed to flourish and gain a following. "Frightenstein" had a format that "Red Green" would later borrow - an overarching story interspersed with regular, short skits and "drop-in" gags. Altogether, it played like Sesame Street meets SCTV meets Laugh-In, all wrapped up as a zany "monster movie". The show didn't talk down to its key audience, educated with a casual touch (the Grammar Slammer Bammer, Dr. Pet Vet), and contained plenty of creepy comedy and hippy-dippy antics that all ages could get into and enjoy. Ask any Canadian between the ages of 30-50 to imitate the horn that "Frightenstein" used as a rimshot, and you'll hear them give a dead-on accurate "WRONK! WROOOONK!" Canadian programs like "Frightenstein" and many more have been translated and beamed around the world, and have won many fans and much acclaim. It's one of the main reasons I love and am proud of my country and its creative people. And Billy Van is one of our most prodigious talents, having shouldered so much of the work in "Frightenstein" by playing nearly every role!

Im from Hamilton, and im so proud that we made this.

4:46 Oh my gosh! Maybe that's the reason why I liked Invader Zim so much! It freaked me out and confused me a lot and I would always have to watch something else right after watching it or else I'd have a nightmare. But I loved everything about it and couldn't stop watching it.

THIS USED TO BE MY FAVORITE THING! I would watch it before I would go to school everyday. I can still recite the intro and exit Vincent Price pieces..

Woo, still love reruns of that show.

I hated the intro of 'Les Bubblies' when I was a kid (about 3 years old at the time). The intro tune still haunts me. I think I still got it on VHS somewhere.

I love your videos and this one sounded really interesting, but I'm epileptic and wish there had been a seizure warning for the Wolfman scene.

I just remember as a kid those terrifying illustrations in the scary story books. Anyone else remember those things? I don't remember the stories themselves anymore, but the pictures stick with me.

Okay, but you’re wrong about Peanut Butter Solution. It’s still terrifying now. As one of the few Americans to see that gem in the 1980s, it still gives me the creeps now. And what happens to Connie’s hair??? No closure???Super frightening. Newish to this channel and love it! Thanks for the awesome videos!

I am German and i read the original book Strubelpeter very often as a kind, i never thought that it was scary but in the segment in the video were it was animated with that creepy song i almost shit my pants holy shit and it doesn't help that i watch this in the middle of the night.....

I REMEMBER WATCHING THIS AS A KID GROWING UP IN NIAGARA FALLS, NY! We could get Canadian stations. And yes, The Wolfman was awesome! ....and Vincent Price and Billy Van's many roles. Along with "Mini Count" and "Superhippie" they also had a legitimate scientist as another non-Billy Van character. Physicist Dr. Julius Sumner Miller as a "The Professor"....a kooky old "mad scientist"-sort of guy who would do some "Mister Wizard"-type science demonstration.

I definitely don't think they would be made today. I never even heard of these show and will definitely have to look them up to watch them. I would of loved that as a kid.

Monsters, gross shit, and assorted other horror-related things was my childhood. I loved (and still love) Halloween, checked Scary Storys to Tell in the Dark out of the school library any chance I could just to look at the illustrations, and had my father wake me up at 3 in the morning when he got home from work if there was a late night horror flick running on TV. I would say it definitely prepared me for the real world. I learned earlier than most that the world isn't a nice place and that sometimes bad things happen to good people with little or no reason. As a result, I like to believe I'm more apt to respond rationally in a crisis situation or in the face of something truly awful like a car accident or particularly gory workplace injury than the average person.

My dad who grew up in Oshawa showed me and my brother this show. I was probably 12 at the time. Next time when I visit my dad we'll probably watch an episode or two. Thanks for reminding me

I STILL LOVE THIS SHOW

I loved this show as a child. I wish they would put it back on tv or at least release more episodes of the show

I'll turn 40 this coming spring and you just talked about my entire childhood. Seriously.

Horror is important to children's entertainment my favorite movies when I was a kid either scared me or made me sad, The Land Before Time and The Secret of Nimh respectively.

Fear or at least the mildly-macabre is healthy to a kid to an extent. Depending on what type of horror outcome there is may also being some horror to a child appropriate level such as a heroic triumph over the horror element pulling some message of perseverance message compared to the horror element winning and giving the child a dose of exaggerated reality with a "you don't always get what you want" message. Another note is that kids like to be scared to a small degree from a haunted house ride at the carnival to a cartoon with some weird shit going on. Fear can also spur interests in an odd way, hell from the time I was 8 up until I turned 13, I was scared to death of sharks I then became fascinated by the things and studied them rather extensively and learned quite a bit in the process.

I remember seeing bits of Frightenstein when I was a kid.

Horror shows for children are still shown on major networks from what I can tell. Most of the ones I see are older ones that are simply being rerun for the newer audience that never saw their original run, but shows like Courage the Cowardly Dog and Invader Zim deal with some rather morbid and horrific subjects, and both were recently rerun in their entirety on their respective networks, being Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything made recently that constitutes itself as a "horror children's show," but I have a feeling that if someone pitched a good enough show to a major network it would have little trouble getting put into production.

They still played re runs of Hilarious House of Frankenstein in the early 2000s. I had no idea it was Canadian though.

I have the German children's book of Struwwelpeter somewhere. If I find it I'll post some pictures and a translation of some of the other stories in the book. There is one where two kids (Max & Morris or something like that) hide from a miller in a pile of grain and get ground and turned to bread by accident. Some pretty crazy stuff lol.

I remember being somewhat afraid of an Australian series called 'Round the Twist' that aired on CBBC. It was about a family who lived in a lighthouse - I think it was a haunted lighthouse cause lots of scary stuff happened, like when they were attacked by a possessed scarecrow or something.

holy shit!! i watched this show every morning for years before going toschool....starring ....billy van billy van billy van the librarian gave me nightmares for some reason!!! i loved this show!!

I remember this show, back when the showed re-runs on Space.

Cracking vid this week

I live in the town Hilarious House of Frightenstein originates from. The channel that produced it, CHCH, was purchased by a conglomerate for a whopping $12 Canadian.

The interesting things about this episode is, when condensed to a biopic of how life actually was in the 70's it gives a chilling viewpoint of the endurance children of that era had for disturbing programming, especially when you take into account that scary movies nowadays seem to be completely ridiculous so they are easily dismissed as "just a movie". it makes you wonder what our life would be like if children knew the actual grimm fairy tales, or the genuine hans christian anderson. scaring children into making wise decisions is probably one of the oldest form of "entertainment" there is.

Holy crap never knew this was filmed where I live!?!? :D

yup, loved it! didnt know it was canadian. but we always give (presumed) credit to others for our "master pieces" lol lol

thanks for this

That werewolf Three Dog Night scene has me seriously sad I didn't grow up with this show.

Shrimpenstein from the mid 1960s was it for me, though it wasn't preserved nearly as well as House of Frightenstein. This is the first I've heard of that one...

I just got an ad of this host before watching a video with that host from the ad in the video

Struwwlpeter was also the inspiration for the game series Clock Tower

And then Sonic the Hedgehog (or SatAM, as some people know it as) introduced kids to war. Not kidding, the first 13 episodes or so of that shit was fucking dark for a kids' show.

1:23 Did I take drugs on accident and not realize it?

WHY DO I REMEMBER THIS SHOW?

Used to watch this show all the time! It was great!

"Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure" was the scariest mindfuck that I ever saw as a kid. I still have bad dreams.

I also learned where German's most popular Letsplayer got his name from.

What song is this

If you don't think that there is enough horror in kids shows these days, just watch any episode of Adventure Time with the Lich in it.

+This Exists I loved this show when I was a kid. My older brother introduced me to it. I would love to see something like tHHoF be made for this generation!

The thumbs getting cut off is probably too extreme, but I do agree that kids should watch scary-ish stuff like Goosebumps and Nightmare Before Christmas.