Truth or Scare was a horror-based children's program hosted by Michelle Trachtenberg. It aired from 2001 to 2003. The show originally ran on Discovery Kids, however reruns were ran on The Hub as well.
Truth or Scare was done in a format similar to Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. It had a focus on famous hauntings and supernatural phenomena.
This show contains examples of:
- Creepy Monotone: Michelle Trachtenberg speaks in this tone.
- Dracula: Got his own eponymous episode, which summarized the original novel's story while discussing various aspects of the character and the changes over the years.
- Edutainment Show: The show taught facts about supernatural fictional characters and supernatural-related historical events.
- Goth: Michelle was usually dressed in this aesthetic in order to fit the dark atmosphere of the show.
- Halloween Episode: Naturally. "The True Story of Halloween" look at the origins of the holiday, strange tales associated with the day, how it spread to America, and past and present customs.
- Haunted Castle: Four separate episodes featured this theme, with each devoted to spots in a particular area (England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales).
- Hell Hotel: "Haunted Hotels" offers a look at some hotels with a history of claims and stories of hauntings.
- Lighter and Softer: Most of the show was made of documentaries reformatted for a younger audience, similar to Prehistoric Planet in comparison to Walking with Dinosaurs.
- Stingy Jack: This was one of the topics in "The True Story of Halloween" as Trachtenberg discuses the origin on how Jack O' Lanterns were made and one of the Irish legend was about Jack. The legend is that Jack tricked the devil into climbing a tree, but the devil had the last laugh. After Jack died, his spirit was forced to wonder alone and the only thing that keeps him close is a curved turnip. When the Irish immigrated to the United States, they brought the legend to the country and use pumpkins as they are more easy to find.
- Stock Footage: Taken to the ludicrous due to, aside from the scenes involving Michelle Trachtenberg, it was made up of stock footage from other documentaries, which in turn sometimes featured stock footage themselves meaning it used stock footage using stock footage.
