Scare the Kids, for Their Own Good!
What is so fascinating about fear?
Some paren'ts avoid reading scary stories to young children, but this genre can actually benefit a young reader’s development. Experiencing fear in a safe and contained setting, like reading a ghost story in bed, might help kids build the confidence required to take on real-life scary situations. Some children feel proud of plodding through scary scenes and can better understand their own fears through spooky literature. Here’s hoping that nobody loses any sleep.
Many kids enter the horror genre through classic short stories, such as Alvin Schwartz’s The Green Ribbon, then progress to ghostly books like R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps, Pat Hancock’s Haunted Canada, or titles by Neil Gaiman. Here are titles that work equally well for horror devotees or apprehensive readers:
Five of the TD Summer Reading Club’s eerie Canadian tales:
- The Ferryland Visitor by Charis Cotter (Ages 9-13)
In a lighthouse in 1970s Newfoundland, an unexpected guest comes to call on the Squires family.
- Flickers by Arthur Slade (Ages 8-12)
Weaving history and horror, Slade’s book tells a suspenseful tale of twin girls in 1920s Alberta.
- An Old Man’s Winter Night by Tom Dawe (Ages 9-12)
Mysterious omens, hauntings and ghosts are waiting to be discovered in this short story collection.
- The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter (Ages 9-12)
Two neighbours become fast friends and explore a haunted house, investigate a curse and uncover a family secret, all in 1960s Toronto.
- Those That Cause Fear by Neil Christopher, Illustrated by Germaine Arnaktauyok (Ages 7-9)
An introduction to the giants, spirits and monsters in Inuit mythology with accompanying illustrations.
9 thoughts on “Scare the Kids, for Their Own Good!”
I’ve always liked Sarah and the People of Sand River, by W.D. Valgardson. It’s about a young girl in trouble and how she is rescued by the spirits of an indigenous community her family had once helped. Nice post!
Spooky post. So glad to see R L Stine make the list.
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Always gave me a fright as a lad.
Thanks very much, Claire. I’ve included a link to your recommendation, set on Lake Winnipeg: http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM433677&R=433677
Definitely a fright-fest, Rory. I suppose that lots of us will be picking up Stephen King in light of some new movies.
Sorry but this post offers scanty evidence for the extremely suspect/click bait-y premise that paren’ts should deliberately read scary stories to children, especially at bedtime. And yes, I read the articles you linked to and found more pseudoscience about kids learning self-confidence from “surviving” the experience of being scared. What about the health implications of raising a child’s coritsol levels before sleep? What about the effect of fearful thoughts on the ability to relax and sleep? We routinely hear that we shouldn’t read the news before bed, and that we should turn off our screens and just rest… but scaring kids is good for them?
If anyone thinks it’s their duty to scare kids for their own good, I would strongly recommend reading “For Your Own Good” by Alice Miller as well as her other groundbreaking work, “The Drama of the Gifted Child” before playing such creepy power games with a child.
Interesting comment Benita. I completely agree that having proper sleep is important to children and adults alike.
However, I don’t think the books listed will cause the type of trauma and harm that you are suggesting. These are not horrific real life stories of the Russian gulag.
The genre exists and is popular for a reason. My group of friends in grade school class read them for the trill of it.
I would think that intentionally reading a scary book at home, in a safe space where you can explain and talk about any fears is a good choice.
A very thoughtful comment, Benita. Thank you. There’s a problem if kids are being forced to read books that are too scary for them or purposefully intended to keep them awake at night and worrying. This research can only suggest that we consider new information, not prove something to be true for every child. I deliberately linked to the Lifehacker click bait-y article because I feel that it suits the spirit of this post: reading books fore pleasure in the summer, ghost stories around the campfire, that kind of thing. I think that this suggestion of benefit may help people understand why many kids are drawn to scary books in the first place. It also helps to legitimize the horror genre; the books above are well-written Canadian titles that offer more than entertainment. There is no doubt that a healthy routine is imperative. We must also consider that more kids are reading on screens and screen time before bed is strongly discouraged, some science that I think we can both get behind. I appreciate the titles that you suggested and am glad that people care about the same thing that I do: healthy, happy kids.
Hi, Rory —
Thanks for your reply. Now I finally understand why my Scenes From The Gulag picture book series never found a publisher.
😉
Thanks for your reply, Jennifer. I appreciate it. I think my comment might have come across more po-faced than intended.
You and Rory bring up a good point about kids naturally being interested in creepy, scary or even “merely” suspenseful books — no disagreement from me on that one. And kids find that genre on their own and enjoy it: I loved Lois Duncan’s novels as a tween, ditto Ghosts I Have Known, and even James Thurber’s story “The Night the Ghost Got In”, which I read as a child, had some mildly and pleasingly spooky elements.
My issue — at the risk of belabouring the point — is that it seems like the linked article gives tacit permission to paren’ts to wield a certain emotional control over their kids in the name of making them hardier or more confident. I know that’s not where you say you’re coming from but it still oogs me out to see it passed off as good paren’ting advice, regardless of its source.
Thank you both for disagreeing with such civility! There’s hope for us yet.