The thing about kids? They're much more resilient than we think. Adults that fret over fiction that is too frightening for young children are neglecting one irrefutable truth: kids like to be scared. They're made of pretty strong stuff, and they enjoy the kind of cozy, insulated adrenaline rush that comes in the form of a scary book or movie, ghost stories or Halloween. When I was young, I used to actually lie in bed and try to scare myself ("That shadow...is a witch! And she's going to eat you, Meredith!") just to get my heart racing before I dropped off to sleep at night. Sure, kids will get nightmares, but they'll get over them just as quickly.
Adults are the ones who can't stand to be scared. Grown-ups like to be in control; we like to play it cool. Below are ten books that kids eat up that could creep out the most stoic adult.
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1. 'The Dollhouse Murders' by Betty Ren Wright
Twelve-year-old Amy discovers an antique dollhouse in the attic, an exact miniature replica of her aunt's spooky old house. At night, the dolls appear to move on their own, recreating a gruesome crime that once took place in the house: the murder of Amy's great-grandparents. The adults blame Amy's mentally disabled sister Louann, but Amy believes the dolls are moving of their own free will, trying to tell her something about that long unresolved crime.
Why it scares adults:
It's devastating to contemplate the unresolved murder of loved ones, and Aunt Clare long suspected that her late fiance was to blame for her grandparents' deaths. It would be heartbreaking to believe your long-dead husband-to-be murdered your family. Plus, dollhouses are creepy, and dolls moving on their own at night, recreating the scene of a tragic murder over and over? Major wiggins-giving. I get unnerved when I can't find my keys where I last left them.
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2. 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' by The Brothers Grimm
A collection of stories by those macabre bros, including such classics as "Rapunzel," "Hansel and Gretel," "Cinderella," "Little Snow White," "Little Briar Rose" and other stories co-opted and cleaned up by Walt Disney.
Why it scares adults:
Although Disney films have turned the concept of fairy tales into innocuous love stories filled with singing birds and happy endings, the Grimm Brothers were all about bleak moral lessons and cruel punishments for the wicked. It's somewhat disturbing to consider that these stories in which children are eaten, princesses are comatose, and hearts are devoured were written for kids.
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3. 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding
A plane carrying a group of schoolboys wrecks on an island during a nuclear war evacuation. At first they behave in a civilized manner guided by the peaceable Ralph, but as one loud dissenter named Jack begins to assert his daunting influence on the group, social niceties break down and havoc ensues.
Why it scares adults:
An island run by wild, dirty boys? Terrifying. Look at what happens when we leave boys to their own devices: ritual sacrifices, severed pigs heads, kids flattened by boulders. This is why we can't have nice things, boys!
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4) 'Remember Me' by Christopher Pike
Shari Cooper goes to a party, stands on a balcony, and wakes up dead. The police are saying she committed suicide, but she knows she didn't. And she's not going anywhere until she solves her murder and clears her name.
Why it scares adults:
Imagine leaving behind friends and family who believe you committed suicide when you didn't. That's pretty much the egoist's bleakest nightmare, right? Also, Shari's brother discovers the beautiful girlfriend he's been boning is not only Shari's murderer, but also his biological sister, baby-swapped at the hospital with Shari. Blurgh.
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5. 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' by Ray Bradbury
Jim and William are two young teens who live in Green Town, Illinois when one cold October night, a carnival rolls into town. Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show promises adventure and excitement, but William's father has a bad feeling about it - and he's right. Soon townspeople are under the lure of the carnival owner, Mr. Dark, who bears a tattoo for each person he has mysteriously compelled.
Why it scares adults:
Carnies, you guys. Carnies. And these carnies aren't just vaguely menacing and creepy like usual. They are legitimate malevolence come to town to steal your soul!
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6. 'Wait Till Helen Comes' by Mary Downing Hahn
Molly and Michael are young siblings who have just learned that their mother and step-father are moving them and their odd, alienating step-sister Heather to a huge house in the country. Heather is soon haunted by the ghost of a young girl named Helen, and when Molly and Michael try to reach out to her, she refuses their help and grows increasingly troubled.
Why it scares adults:
The book is about joining families and the stress that can drive apart new step-siblings. It's pretty much a newly married couple's nightmare that their kids won't get along. The ghost is the least troubling part of this equation.
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7. 'The Watcher In The Woods' by Florence Engel Randall
Fifteen-year-old Jan and seven-year-old Ellie move with their parents from Ohio to a big, isolated house in Massachusetts. The house is perfect, but Jan is never comfortable there, always sensing something amiss. She feels the presence of a "watcher" outside the house, and Ellie can hear the watcher, reverse-writing messages from beyond as broken mirrors and other mysterious events begin to escalate.
Why it scares adults:
It would be disappointing to invest a huge down payment on your dream home only to discover that your children are losing their minds there. Plus Ellie keeps breaking all the mirrors, and those things don't grow on trees. Kids are expensive.
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8. 'The Westing Game' by Ellen Raskin
Self-made millionaire Samuel Westing passes away, leaving behind sixteen potential heirs and a series of clues leading the eight teams of two on a merry chase to inherit his $200 million fortune.
Why it scares adults:
Posthumous chaos! This is why we make wills, people, so our funerals don't turn into that Michael J. Fox movie Greedy.
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9. 'Where The Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak
Little mischief-making Max is sent to bed without supper when a magical forest and sea grow in his room, carrying him to an island of his imagination, run by savage little beasts who throw a wild rumpus and crown Max king.
Why it scares adults:
See Lord of the Flies, above. Boys cannot be trusted to run things.
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10. 'The Witches' by Roald Dahl
A boy lives with his grandmother after his parents pass away, and the two travel to a fancy hotel on holiday only to discover that the hotel is the site of a convention of witches. The boy and his grandmother must team up to outsmart the diabolical crones.
Why it scares adults:
This hotel is overrun by mice - okay, mice that were once children before the witches potioned them into hairy little rodents. But still, a mouse infestation could ruin any luxury vacation. Plus, you know. Witches.
As an aside - why do the titles of so many creepy children's books begin with the letter "W"? The last five titles on this list are all W titles. Weird.
So speak up in the comments, friends. What kids' books spook you?
About the author
Meredith is a writer, editor and brewpub owner living in Houston, Texas. Her four most commonly used words are, "The book was better."
