Hunt for haunted clues

Hey kids, if investigating the 1992 disappearance and possible drowning of a young boy at summer camp sounds like a fun warmup for Halloween, Nickelodeon has just the show for you.

“Scaredy Camp,” a five-part series premiering Sunday at 8:30 p.m., uses this dubious premise to create what turns out to be a rather entertaining show that mixes “Survivor”-type team competition with some “Blair Witch” spookiness. It’s all geared to the youthful Nick audience, of course, so other than that rather unsavory premise, things don’t get too out of hand.

The series opens by citing what it calls “an actual legend”: On July 26, 1992, a boy named Dennis Williams vanished from Camp Lindenwood without a trace, and some claim he has haunted the place ever since. And now two teams -- one of three boys, the other of three girls -- will spend the next four days and five nights at the camp vying to solve the mystery so they can put Dennis’ spirit to rest.

Each morning, there are contests of skill and strategy to determine which team will return late that night for the chance to solve a piece of the puzzle.

In searching for clues, team members must decipher a message written on toilet paper, inspect a bathtub filled with murky water and stumble around a campground bathroom in total darkness (now that’s scary).

Hosting the show is Emma Wilson, the daughter of former “Weakest Link” host Anne Robinson. Wilson has the English accent, but if she inherited her mom’s nasty streak, she managed to keep it under wraps.

“Scaredy Camp,” kicking off a week of Halloween programming for Nickelodeon, will air half-hour episodes for four consecutive nights beginning Sunday, with the series finale scheduled for Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.