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ABSTRACT
The relationship between children and horror is fraught with tension, with children typically assumed to be vulnerable, impressionable, and in need of protection from horrific media lest they become "corrupted" by it. Despite this, a number of horror films intended specifically for the child demographic have been made since the 1980s. This article situates the children's horror subgenre in a generic and industrial context and addresses the key issues that its existence raises: the development of children's horror as a subgenre in Hollywood; how children's horror films, which, due to their target audience, must be inherently "less scary" than adult horror films, mediate their content, and negotiate issues of censorship in order to be recognizably of the horror genre while remaining "child-friendly"; and what pleasures the subgenre might serve its audience. The discussion concludes with analysis of the theme of "acceptance" in relation to the films ParaNorman (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), and Hotel Transylvania (2012): acceptance of monsters, of other people, and of the consumption of the horror genre as a valid children's pastime.
CHILDREN ARE TRADITIONALLY CONSIDERED INNOCENT, VULNERABLE, AND IMPRESSIONABLE beings. Horror, which is typically considered a genre for adults, is one particular area of the media from which children are often thought of as needing protection; however, research shows that children's enjoyment of horror films goes back to at least as early as the advent of sound cinema,1 and the number of horror films made specifically for the child demographic has been steadily increasing since the 1980s. In spite of this, scholarship dedicated to this rich and intriguing area is scarce. This article therefore situates horror for children in a generic and industrial context, asking how it is possible for such a subgenre to exist if the very things that make horror "horrifying" must be excluded, or significantly lessened, in order for these films to remain "child-friendly."
This article begins by establishing the tensions at work over the course of the twentieth century regarding the relationship between children and horrific media and charts the development of the children's horror subgenre in Hollywood. From there, the discussion turns to key critical work on "horror for adults" and genre theory, such as that by Noël Carroll, Robin Wood, Andrew Tudor, and Steve...