When I started exploring topics for 2019 a topic that came up on more than one occasion from friends and followers was on the topic of introducing kids to horror. As a parent of 11-year-old fraternal twins that runs a horror and Halloween website, people were curious about how I navigated introducing my kids to horror, so I decided since we’re coming up on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day I’d put together a series of posts that explores the topic with some perspective of my own, as well as others in the industry.
The first thing I want everyone to be aware of is that with my kids being 11, I am very much early on in the journey of introducing my kids to horror. In fact, we just started to break the surface of true horror films last year, so this is all still really new. I also want to point out that every child is different, so my kids and my experience might be drastically different than yours, but
Know Your Child’s Limits
This might seem like a no-brainer, but the most important thing you can do as a parent when introducing your child to horror movies is to understand their limits and try to stay within those limits. When I started thinking about what horror movies might be good introductions to the genre, I was conscious of the things I knew my child already had nightmares about or feared. If the film featured something I felt might trigger those fears or nightmares, I tried to shy away from those films.
For instance, the 1990 version of IT is fairly tame and you could likely get away with showing it to a younger viewer, but if your kid already has a fear of clowns, this likely isn’t a film you’d want to introduce them to the genre with.
Knowing your child’s limits also applies to whether or not you make them watch something. When we first started talking about the genre with my kids one of the first titles that surfaced was JAWS. In fact, after I read them the synopsis of the film, they were both on board with it. That is until it was time to watch it. When it came time to sit down and watch the movie a few days later, both kids refused. When we tried again about a week later, my daughter still wasn’t up for watching it and I recognized then that there was something about the film that still bothered her and so we opted to skip JAWS as a gateway horror movie.
I think the best thing you can do as a parent when it comes to introducing your kids to horror is letting them have the power to decide what they ultimately watch. This doesn’t mean they get to decide what content is appropriate for them, but it gives them the choice to say yes or no to the movies you present them with.
Most kids who discover horror either do so because they watch it when they’re not supposed to or they ask a parent and a parent lets them. In both of these scenarios, the child is choosing to watch the material at their own accord. While in these instances it can sometimes result in being too soon, or too much for the child,
Finally, when it comes to knowing your child also consider any physical, emotional, or other limitations that may need to be considered. My daughter is on the autism spectrum. I knew
Revisit the Material
If you’re reading this, you’re likely a horror fan. And as a proud horror fan, you likely think you remember every horror movie, every scene, every detail. Now let me humble you. You don’t. If you’re considering a title for your child, I’d recommend revisiting it. My kids’ gateway horror film wound up being Poltergeist, a movie I had seen probably half a dozen times before and had even caught in theaters a few Halloween seasons ago. I remembered the tree. I remembered the clown. I remembered the poltergeists. I remembered the skeletons in the pool. I forgot about the face peeling scene.
From a gore standpoint, this is fairly mild. However, it was still a bit more intense than I was initially planning on when it came to showing my kids their first horror film. As the steak started making its way across the counter it dawned on me what was coming up. It wound up being ok in the end, but I was a bit wary at first since my son has a serious aversion to blood, gore and the like.
Before you pick the films you are considering letting your kids watch, I would highly recommend you revisit the film and make sure there is nothing in the film that could trigger a negative experience for your child based on some of the things I’ve outlined above.
Talk About What You Watch
As I mentioned previously, when we were exploring movie options I read to my kids, or let my kids read the synopsis of the films we were considering. They also got to look at the DVD or Bluray art if was something we weren’t streaming so that they could get a sense of what they would experience in the film. I also gave them a sense of what things may happen in the movie that may scare them, but let them know that I personally felt they could handle it.
Maybe even more important than discussing the film before watching it is making sure you’re open to discussing it with your kids after they watch it. Just because your child is ok with a movie doesn’t
Consider Genre Adjacent or Classic Films
If you’ve read all of the above and you’re still unsure what to show your kids, consider genre adjacent films as a way to get your kids’ feet wet. As a lover of horror and Halloween, my kids were exposed to things related to the genre really early on and were always curious, but were obviously not yet at an age where I felt they were old enough to watch actual horror films. To satisfy their curiosity I made sure to introduce them to films that wouldn’t terrify them but had some creepy elements.
At their earliest stages, probably between the ages of three and five, my wife and I introduced them to animated movies like A Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Monster House, Corpse Bride, ParaNorman, Frankenweenie, the Scary Godmother films from Cartoon Network, and the like.
As they got older we moved on from animated films to things like Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, The Addams Family, and The Monster Squad. Films that aren’t necessarily pure horror, but share horror film elements or themes.
Another route to consider is classic horror films. By today’s standards, most classic horror films aren’t scary, but they can still have a spooky factor for younger kids and they’re a great way to introduce kids to the genre early on. Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy and The Creature from the Black Lagoon were my personal gateways to horror. While I didn’t see the actual classic Universal films early on, I did experience the films through Crestwood House’s Monster books in the early ’80s via my school library. The classic films are on my “to-do” list for my kids, but they have some serious beef with watching things in black and white.
Not All Kids Are Horror Kids
As much as we want our kids to enjoy and appreciate the things we do, that simply isn’t always going to be the case. I mentioned early on that my son hates gore, blood, and the like. His distaste for horror and all things creepy goes deeper than that. In fact, the family joke is that he’s the Marilyn in our “Munsters” clan because he simply isn’t
My daughter, on the other hand, fell in love with it. She gravitated toward all things spooky and over time is asking us to expose her to more scary content as well as bring her along to some of the Halloween and horror events we attend.
The fact that my son doesn’t like the same stuff as the rest of us is ok. We exposed him to it, he appreciated it for what it was, but ultimately it wasn’t his cup of tea, and that’s totally fine.
As I said in the beginning, every child is different and your situation may vary. I think the key to enjoying horror as a family is to make sure your child is ready. If you force it and traumatize them or make them resent the genre, the fun is lost. But if you’re patient and pay attention to their cues, you might just set the foundation for a lifelong fan of horror.
Looking to introduce your own kids to horror? Be sure to check out this entire series below, which features members of the horror community and how they introduced their kids to horror:
- How ‘Tales For A HalloweeNight’ Writer James Ninness Introduced His Kids to the Horror Genre
- How Witchy Kitchen’s Carrie Scott Introduced Her Kids to the Horror Genre
- How ‘You Might Be The Killer’ Director Brett Simmons Introduced His Son to the Horror Genre
- How Horror Movie Analyst and Writer Anya Stanley Introduced Her Kids To Horror
