9 Children's Books That Terrified Us | Claire Fallon

 

 It's a natural human urge to protect our kids from everything that could hurt them -- and it's an urge we seem to be indulging in more and more these days. They're being fed organic apple slices, having hand sanitizer smeared on them at every turn, and prevented from playing dodgeball. And it seems only right to us grown-ups that kids' books should be sweet, comforting, and so age-appropriate that nothing dark or concerning ever happens. But not all books can be Good Night Moon or Anne of Green Gables, and sometimes kids want -- or even need -- a jolt of fear to liven up their reading. 

While scary stories can seem like nothing more than a risk factor for nightmares, many writers and experts believe children actually benefit from reading stories that frighten or unsettle. Sam Leith argued in the Guardian that fear gives a story stakes that heighten the reading experience and make a book memorable. Some psychologists have suggested that children can learn to cope with the frightening realities of their world -- possible loss of parents, interpersonal conflict -- by exploring these darker facts of life in the safe, fictional world of a storybook.

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 9 Children's Books That Terrified Us | Claire Fallon: