I never really post about horror aimed specifically at kids because I don't have kids, so I never really think about it. But I figured since we're approaching Halloween, I would make a post about the Top 3 horror books, movies and TV shows for children. This is a very 80's/90's list. I have no idea what's out there for kids today. If anything. I feel like the 90's kind of treated kids like little adults, people weren't worried about scaring us. Whereas now...Things are a little different. The parents I know seem way more concerned about what their kids watch/read/eat/wear/etc. than my parents ever were. I mean, I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street when I was three years old. (And clearly, I'm a totally well-adjusted adult who consumes so much horror that I decided to start a blog about it and I decorate for Halloween in August. Completely. Normal.) Anyway. Here are some of my favorites from when I was a kid.
Top 3 Books:
The Scary Book by Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson
This is a great book for young readers who aren't quite ready for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The illustrations are cute and not likely to traumatize your children. The Scary Book is separated into several chapters, consisting or stories, poems, tricks/games and jokes.
Some of the stories included in this compilation are silly. The scariest story in this book, for sure, is Taily-po. And the only reason I say that is because I've read another version of Taily-po, as an adult, that absolutely terrified me. The version included here has a much happier ending.
The tricks and games chapter of the book would be a lot of fun if your kids are still kids by the time this pandemic is over and you're throwing a Halloween party for them. You're taught how to create a headless man, trick your friends into believing you found a severed finger in a box, make your friends believe they're being touched by a ghost and you learn how to play the Dead Man Game, which is where you make everyone close their eyes and touch things like peeled grapes and spaghetti while making them believe it's actually someone's eyes and brains.
Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
This series was the only thing thing I knew about the Dewey Decimal System until I started working in a library. 398.2 SCH is the area you're likely to find it around, in case you're ever looking for it. When I was a kid, I used to borrow these books from the library constantly. I would return them and then check them back out again. It was always Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Short & Shivery.
As with The Scary Book, some of the stories here are silly. But unlike The Scary Book, others are downright horrifying (I'm looking at you, Harold.) I think my fear of looking out my window at night actually stems from reading The Window as a child. There are times, to this day, when I'll have my window open on a rainy afternoon and I'll forget to close it before the sun sets and then I'm too afraid to close it because what will I see outside my window? There's a good mixture of folktales and urban legends in these collections. The stories aren't the selling point of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark though...
The illustrations are. The only way to read these books is with the original drawings. Several years back, the series was rereleased with new illustrations because the originals were too scary for kids. And I completely understand why. I still can't look at whatever that thing is from T-H-U-P-P-P-P-P-P-P. It's not even a scary story, it's supposed to be funny, but I'll be damned if that thing isn't one of the creepiest images I've ever seen. I remember being afraid to sleep with the lights off after I read that one as a kid. I urge you to really gauge your child's tolerance for horror before presenting them with these books because they probably won't sleep for days and then you're going to be stuck checking under their bed and in their closet and you never know what you'll find hiding there.
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
I was really into Goosebumps for about a year before I moved onto Fear Street. Originally, I wanted to include that series in this post, but I think Goosebumps is more appropriate.
This hit series from R.L. Stine has been around since the early 90's and kids still love these books today. There were several spinoffs, including Give Yourself Goosebumps (a Choose Your Own Adventure series), but the original books were the best. Some of the most popular titles were The Haunted Mask, Night of the Living Dummy, and my personal favorite, Say Cheese and Die! (a story about a camera that takes pictures of future misfortune.)
Goosebumps was so popular that it was even turned into a TV show and as recently as 2015, there was a film about the series, starring Jack Black as R.L. Stine. There was also a sequel released in 2018, which I have not seen, but the original film was cute and Jack Black makes anything better.
This is a fun series that probably isn't going to scare your kids too much. If they're too old for The Scary Book, but you don't think they're quite ready for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, give Goosebumps a try.
Top 3 Movies:
The Halloween Tree
This animated film is based on Ray Bradbury's novel of the same name. The movie is also narrated by him. It originally aired on ABC, but Cartoon Network added it to their lineup around Halloween.
I have a post about this movie already, if you want to read a bit more in depth about it, but I really enjoyed it. The movie takes place on Halloween night and follows four children who go on a journey to save their friend, Pip. They travel across the world (and time), where each of them learn the meaning behind their costumes, as well as the true meaning of Halloween. It also shows what people are willing to sacrifice for their friends.
Personally, I do think this movie could be a bit scary for a younger audience, so keep that in mind if you know your children scare easily.
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
I know Looney Tunes has its issues. A lot of them. But I loved these cartoons as a kid and I especially loved Daffy Duck's Quackbusters.
In this film, Daffy Duck receives an inheritance and is forced to start a legitimate business where he treats his employees with caring and kindness. No, I'm not kidding. Every time he treats Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig badly, we see the money in his safe dwindling down until he starts behaving nicely again. Daffy's "legitimate" business is a group of paranormal investigators, tasked with everything from exorcisms to dealing with an abominable snowman. Fun shorts are strung together to create a full length movie.
Some of my favorite Looney Tunes shorts included in Quackbusters are Hyde and Go Tweet, Claws for Alarm and Transylvania 6-5000. This movie isn't scary at all and can be enjoyed by children of all ages.
The Monster Squad
Okay, parents. Be careful with this one, it's a bit inappropriate and extremely politically incorrect (it was released in 1987, if that tells you anything) and parts of it are frightening. If your children are under the age of 12, I would hold off on this one.
A group of young kids belong to a monster club and it's all fun and games until they realize monsters are actually real and Dracula is about to open a portal that will plunge the world into darkness. Featuring an all star monster cast of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy and "Gill-man" (aka The Creature from the Black Lagoon), this is the best monster mashup film since Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (also a great movie for kids).
There's one standout scene where the kids go to "Scary German Guy" for help translating Van Helsing's diary. Horace says, "You sure know a lot about monsters," to which the older man replies, "Now that you mention it, I suppose I do" while the camera is aimed at the numbers tattooed on his arm. It's a horrifying moment that I didn't understand when I was younger, but every time I see it now, I'm struck by it.
Top 3 TV Shows:
Tales from the Cryptkeeper
We've all heard of Tales from the Crypt, right? But did you know that in the 90's, there was an animated version for kids called Tales from the Cryptkeeper? I remember watching this on Saturday mornings (when I was actually home and not forced to go to religion classes and miss all the awesome cartoons that aired on Saturdays) and thinking it was the best cartoon ever. I still think it's one of the best animated series ever.
The premise is the same as the live action show, in each episode, the Cryptkeeper tells the audience a scary tale, but these ones are appropriate for younger viewers. There are all kinds of stories, ranging from people who are actually plants, monsters inside a mine and a train full of vampires.
My favorite Tales from the Cryptkeeper episode is Uncle Harry's House of Horrors. There's something so unsettling about carnivals, don't you think so? That's why so many horror movies and books take place there.
Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery
Say whatever you want, tell me Tiny Toon Adventures is a non-horror TV show and this was just a one time special and it doesn't count, but it's staying because it was awesome.
Inspired by Night Gallery (a horror anthology series), Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery features shorts inspired by classic horror tales and movies. It's not actually scary, but it is a lot of fun, especially when you know what each segment is referencing.
In this Halloween special, you'll find spoofs on The Tell-Tale Heart, Duel, The Devil and Daniel Webster and more, including one that references Abbott and Costello films like Hold That Ghost and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
And finally, I couldn't have written a post about horror for kids without talking about Are You Afraid of the Dark? at some point. This was a horror anthology show in the 90's and it's still so popular to this day, that Nickelodeon brought the show back (although now, instead of being an anthology series where different stories are told weekly, each season tells one long story). Each week, the members of the Midnight Society would sit around a campfire in the middle of the woods and one person would tell a scary story that they wrote.
As with any anthology series, some episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? were better than others. A couple of my favorites are The Tale of the Pinball Wizard (after ignoring a warning from his boss not to play a pinball machine, a boy is trapped inside it, where he has to battle zombies and a witch to save the princess) and The Tale of the Midnight Madness (a struggling movie theater receives a vampire film, from recurring character Dr. Vink, that's almost a little too real).
Again, I would say to use your judgment before letting your children watch this show. Some episodes are genuinely scary. I still have nightmares about my grandmother's basement and I'm convinced it's because of The Tale of the Dark Music. Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a fun show, but some episodes might be too much for younger viewers.
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