By Cheryl Flanders
Have you noticed that even movies billed as kid flicks have some pretty scary moments? The flying monkeys carry off characters in The Wizard of Oz, Bambi loses his home to a fire and his mother is killed by a hunter, Frozen features a territorial ice monster, and Moana includes a fiery monster bent on hunting her down.
Whether the hero is being chased by a vengeful villain or a heroine’s parents die during a storm at sea, these plot lines can have a powerful effect on many young children, who may still be working to distinguish fiction life from real life. When these empathetic souls watch a film, even a cartoon, they view the movie’s story like it’s their own, and this can bring up childhood anxieties and fears: What if I were hunted down by a monster made of lava? What if I were separated from my parents?
Understandably, for these children, movies are just no fun to watch. In fact, they’re pretty stressful. So why on earth do kids’ movies feature this kind of scary content? Well, good versus evil is a plot line as old as time, for one. And evil isn’t all bad. According to the Children’s Media Foundation, being exposed to mildly frightening content lays a foundation for understanding that bad things can happen in life—and as they grow older, children will be ready for more adult content.
Whatever the reason, every child is different—some will be terrified, while others may barely bat an eyelid. While this can be partially attributed to temperament, Margee Kerr, a sociologist who studies fear, thinks there’s also a physical cause that’s entirely dependent on individual brain chemistry: “One of the main hormones released [when we’re scared] is dopamine, and it turns out some individuals may get more of a kick from this dopamine response than others do,” she notes in The Atlantic.
Dopamine is a chemical released by the brain that makes us feel good—so in other words, kids who have more of a dopamine rush are less likely to be overwhelmed by scary plot points.
Age is also a contributing factor. Kids between the ages of five and eight are still learning how to discern between fantasy and reality, and in movies, that line can become blurred for them. Children in this age range are especially prone to feeling anxious or uncomfortable if the story is too intense.
Here are some tips to help you navigate the sometimes-frightening waters of kids’ movies:
1. Do a Little Research About the Kids’ Movie First
Do your homework before heading to the theater by checking out Common Sense Media, which hosts a large library of children’s movie reviews, ratings, and summaries to help parents make smart media choices.
2. Avoid 3-D Movies for Younger Children
It’s true, 3-D makes the whole movie-watching experience much more real—but for children under the age of five, who are still learning what’s real and what isn’t, 3-D can turn into a frightening sensory overload.
3. Talk Through Scary Plot Twists Before They Happen
As you watch a movie together, let them know when something difficult is going to happen and then talk about it. Don’t worry about spoiling the movie—in case you forgot, young children love to watch movies over and over again.
4. Recognize Their Childhood Fears and Respect Them
If your child has a recurring nightmare, specific fears, or has experienced something that’s disturbed or saddened them, show consideration for their sensitivity and avoid movies with those themes, for now. For example, if your child has experienced the death of a pet, shelve Marley & Me and Charlotte’s Web for later. In time, they’ll be ready for them, and you can even have a pre-movie discussion to help them process this circle-of-life experience. But no need to rush—let them get there in their own time.
5. Validate Their Experiences
Avoid saying things like, “It’s not that scary, just watch it!” or even “Be brave!” Kids can assume from these kinds of phrases that their feelings aren’t okay, or that there’s something wrong with their reaction—and that can make their confidence drop quick. Acknowledging their point of view and offering a quick fix (“You’re right, that was a little scary. We can turn it off and come back to it later if you want!”) lets them know you’re on their side.
This is a topic of Which there is a huge body of work, circulating different theories of why Children are such a prevalent theme of horror, so its unlikely you will find a single comprehensive answer/theory, but there is one unifying reason that all parties are in agreement upon:
Kids are scary, yo.
Children are able to operate as Microcosm for social anxieties. They are largely denied 'a voice' (particularly if they are infants), or when they do have a 'voice' it is distorted by the 'inexperience of youth', and so something that should sound innocent can come across as sinister. Think of "They're here" from Poltergeist, "1 - 2 - Freddy's coming for you, 3 - 4 - Better lock your door.." from Elm Street and "I see Dead People" from The 6th Sense.... but there are plenty more.
As a personal aside (but a good example!) a friend of mine once told me that when he was tucking his son into bed, his 3 yr old son said "Goodbye". He said, "No, its Bedtime now, so we say "Goodnight". His son replied, "I know Dad, but this time its Goodbye"... He slept with the light on that night.
Children are something that are familiar, but still refracted through their own experiences; under-developed and 'alien'. There is no equivalent word in the English language for this apparent dichotomy, but the German word is 'Unheimlich', meaning un-homely (the opposite of what is familiar - or not right within the home, as a place of safety). This is to say the fear doesn't come from something being obviously sinister grotesque, but just slightly not right, but without being able to fully explain why.
German Culture actually has a legacy of being slightly obsessed with the Unheimlich, and Freud wrote a great deal about it (claiming it is where our fear originates). The idea of a Doppelganger originates from the Unheimlich, and as such there are sinister connotations associated with twins. Twin Children, as in the Grady Twins of "The Shining", are perhaps the ultimate representation of Unheimlich.
Children are not governed by the norms of society, as they are not yet participants of it. As our general notions of safety are governed by our shared assumptions to 'play by these rules', and Children are outside of this, they are considered 'Unpredictable', which can create anxiety, often turning them into 'folk devils'.
As an opposing theory to this (Which is particularly pertinent to Horror) Children who have a supernatural or sociopathic understanding of the rules of normality but elect to disregard them are a classic origin of horror.
Damien from the Omen is an example of this type of fear, as he is considered the ultimate 'the Possessed' Child who demonstrates an awareness of and is complicit of his own evils. The book You're only Young Twice by theorist Tim Morris features a chapter 'Panic attacks: children as adults, adults as children in the movies' which explores the origin of Horror within these parameters, and will be able to provide you with a long history of terror being extracted from children in this way.
Film Theorist Mary Jackson identifies this films with their own nomenclature as a sub-genre 'Children as Horror', and identifies our fear of these 'Evil Children' as the representation of our societal fear of failing the younger, emergent generations:
‘Not surprisingly, in the run of child-as-monster films, frequently the real point is not the evil of children, often the victims of demonic possession themselves, but rather the ineffectiveness of the family, church, and state – America’s most highly valued institutions – to guard themselves against deception and impending destruction.’
Regan from the Exorcist is a similar case, although hers is a story of the corruption of innocence as penance for her mother's implied heresy/blasphemy/impiousness. Hers is a meta-religious allegory to the Angel of Death taking the children of the impious, but much more sinister: The devil 'takes them', but the terror is not through removal but through defilement.
The most obvious (perhaps) reason for Children being so numerous in Horror needs little explanation:
Children aren't supposed to be scary.
By subverting our expectations of Children as non-threatening entities, Horror is able to force doubt into our natural assumptions, which is a staple of effective horror.
Of course, it's become so common place for Children to be 'Evil' in Horror movies, and this genre tradition has become so entrenched, that its hard not to automatically consider children as the de-facto evil in a horror movie. Such is the way of postmodernism.
Coping with fear can help kids become more resilient, but thrillers aren't for everyone. So, when my sixth grader asked me if she could watch Stranger Things, a dark sci-fi series on Netflix, I immediately said no. "Are you kidding? It's way too scary," I told her. The latest season featured a monster so gruesome, that the visual effects team had to tone down the disgust factor.
In normal times, maybe I wouldn't have been so quick to tell my daughter she couldn't watch a scary series. But these aren't normal times. As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, a lot of kids are dealing with increased anxiety. I worried that adding a frightening show to the mix would only fuel more fear.
Getty ImagesThen I came across a study suggesting that fans of horror movies are faring better psychologically during the pandemic. "If things are scary in the world, for some people it seems to make sense to overcome something scary on a television show, video game, or book," says the study's lead author Coltan Scrivner, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of comparative human development at the University of Chicago.
The study's authors write, "One reason that horror use may correlate with less psychological distress is that horror fiction allows its audience to practice grappling with negative emotions in a safe setting." Does this mean shows like Stranger Things could be good for kids?
Scrivner's research focused on adults, so it's not clear whether kids who watch scary movies will experience the same psychological benefits. But from a developmental standpoint, learning to cope with fear does help children build resilience, says Shelli Dry, OTD, the director of clinical operations at Enable My Child, a pediatric therapy provider.
On Halloween, when kids dress as scary characters and go trick-or-treating, "that's kind of a healthy fear," says Dr. Dry. This experience "helps develop a little bit of resilience in the child because it lets them practice being scared and then recovering from being scared."
Watching a scary movie is another opportunity to feel fear and navigate through that emotion in a relatively controlled environment. It also enables us to practice empathy and perspective-taking, says Scrivner. When kids witness how fictional characters cope with frightening situations, they can learn to cultivate their own attitude of survivorship.
Another interesting note: "Part of developing resiliency is being able to identify the positives, and identify the coping strategies," says Dr. Dry. During quarantine, my kids and I ended up watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final—and objectively most frightening—installment in the Harry Potter movie series. The film has a horrifying villain and a lot of intense moments, but it also showcases the protagonists' bravery, friendship, and love.
So should you cue up that classic horror movie for your child this Halloween? The answer will differ for every family.
Parents first need to consider their family's values, says Dr. Dry. Are scary movies something you allow and enjoy watching in your household? If the answer is yes, evaluate your child's readiness. While there is no absolute age at which scary movies are appropriate, Dr. Dry recommends not introducing them to very young children because of the potential to create long-term anxiety. Around age 4, kids are figuring out how to manage fears that naturally develop in childhood, and layering scary movies on top of that could be overwhelming.
Next, consider your child's personality and interests. "Some children are pretty good at saying, 'That's not real,' and they're pretty matter-of-fact," says Dr. Dry. Others are more sensitive and take longer to recover from viewing something scary. Recognize, too, that what one child finds scary may not bother another. A film about cats or bees could be delightful or terrifying depending on who is watching.
With my own children, I've noticed different attitudes toward scary media. When my kids asked to see a picture of the Demogorgon—the sinister, faceless monster from Stranger Things—I pulled up an image on my phone. My 11-year-old recoiled in disgust, but my 9-year-old seemed unperturbed and commented that the creature looked like a weird flower. Their reactions offered clues about whether they were ready to watch the show or if we should wait a bit longer.
We can't predict how our kids will react to a scary movie, but we can increase the likelihood it will be a positive experience.
Preview or at least be familiar with the movie your child wants to watch, so you have a sense of whether it might be too much. If the horror genre is new for your child, both Scrivner and Dr. Dry suggest starting with a film that's not too scary and watching it with your child. This could be a cartoon or animated film like The Nightmare Before Christmas or Monsters, Inc. You can even watch the movie during daylight hours to reduce the fear factor.
During the movie, acknowledge when something scares you and share with your child how you cope. "The parents' reaction and how they handle that is so important," says Dr. Dry. There's no need to be overly emotional, but don't feel you have to be stoic, either. My kids have seen me cover my eyes or look away during grisly Harry Potter scenes, so they know that adults experience fear during movies, too—and that's OK.
Whether you're viewing the movie with your child or not, remind kids they always have the option to leave the room, or turn the show off. Be prepared to talk about the film with your kids afterward to help them deconstruct any elements that were disturbing or intense.
How can you tell if a movie is too scary for your child? An increase in nightmares or night terrors, trouble falling asleep, and fear of strangers, the dark, or being left alone are red flags, particularly if your child did not exhibit these behaviors before seeing the movie, according to Dr. Dry.
Most often, this anxiety is short-term and will resolve, but it indicates the child might not be ready for scary movies just yet. "You do have to know your child and know when to say, 'OK, this is too early for you. We can try this again when you're a little bit older,'" says Dr. Dry.
Are there any horror movies that are totally off-limits for children? If a film still terrifies you as an adult, it's probably not a good choice for your kids. With that in mind, I won't be introducing The Exorcist or The Ring to my tweens. But if they want to watch when they're much older, I might join them—with my eyes half-covered.
Want to try watching horror movies with your kids? From animated films to 1980s favorites, here are some options to consider, ranging from mildly spooky to extremely creepy.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: In this animated film, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, decides he's bored with Halloween and wants to be Santa Claus—and chaos ensues.
Labyrinth: Sarah resents her baby stepbrother, but when he's kidnapped by the Goblin King, she makes up her mind to save him.
The Goonies: To save the neighborhood from foreclosure, a group of kids hunts for a legendary treasure, confronting some creepy characters along the way.
Goosebumps: In this movie, based on the middle-grade horror books by R.L. Stine, teenagers unearth mysterious manuscripts and accidentally let monsters loose in the real world.
Coraline: When her family moves to a new home, Coraline uncovers a passage to an exciting world, but its inhabitants aren't as benevolent as they initially seem.
Gremlins: After Billy's father brings him a new, exotic pet, Billy learns the cute creatures have a sinister side.
Beetlejuice: A deceased husband and wife seek help from a mischievous demon in order to reclaim their house from the residents who want to remodel it.
Harry Potter Series: Based on the books about a boy who discovers he's a wizard, the series features eight movies that become progressively darker and more intense.
The Sixth Sense: A boy has a frightening secret: He can see dead people. But a gifted psychologist wants to help him.
Watching scary movies can help build resiliency, but not every kid is ready for them. Consider how easily your child gets spooked—every kid is different despite their age—in order to decide what level of horror they can take if any. And pay attention to changes in behavior after watching scary movies, like nightmares or fear of the dark, which indicate it was probably too scary for your little one.
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