You’re in for a Scare!
Let me take you back a few years.
It’s a Tuesday in October of 2007, you’ve just got home from school. You’ve got some maths homework to get through, just revision for your basic facts quiz, nothing major.
You can afford the sit down. After your day, you NEED the sit down.
So, you jump on the couch and grab the remote, tuning into TV2. It’s 3:30, so you know what that means: SpongeBob SquarePants.
It’s amazing, you’re having a delightful time! And then –
Imagery like this can leave an impression on a child’s mind, especially when they’re not expecting it.
Even for an adult it can be a little disturbing. Why is it here, in SpongeBob of all places? If I’m being honest, the inclusion of these harrowingly real-looking images adds to the buffoonery of the show. It doesn’t make sense to begin with, so is it really a surprise when they suddenly appear? I wouldn’t necessarily call it horror. It’s more the art styles shift away from the show, partnered with the unexpectedness of it, which makes it scary. I will admit though, some of these images are pretty gnarly when viewed on their own.
It’s not a genre you expect to be aimed towards younger audiences. When I think horror, I think of Jason Vorhees’ blood-soaked hockey mask, the Alien bursting through John Hurt’s chest, Leon getting gruesomely beheaded by Salvador in Resi 4. I think of gore and extreme violence, jump scares, screetching and the like. But children’s horror has been around for seemingly ever. Growing up we had Goosebumps, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Are you Afraid of the Dark? and others media like them.
Children’s horror was very much present, and it’s still around today. It’s not just some macabre part of our youth that’s been dialled back or coddled. There’s a new Goosebumps series coming to Disney+ in the very near future, IPs like Adventure Time and Gravity Falls contained vast amounts of horror and thriller elements, and they were airing up until most of us were in high school. Each generation of youth has had something to be afraid of. Media constantly gives children content with the intention of making them wonder if there’s a monster in their closet.
Even things not initially intended for the young’uns has found itself catering more and more to that crowd, leaning into their newfound audience instead of trying to alienate them. Five Nights at Freddy’s had an exceptionally dark premise when the franchise first launched. Nearly a decade on, the latest release bills itself as being “family friendly survival horror”. Having played it myself, it literally feels like the latest Resident Evil games viewed through a kaleidoscope. Children enjoy being scared, that’s why they flock to CreepyPastas, books, and games which really aren’t intended for them. Thanks to fellow Massive staffer, Tui, I was informed about the concept of ‘risky play’ – a playstyle where children are given the freedom to leave their comfort zone, engaging in thrilling activities in an adult-supported environment. While the child risks being hurt or spooked, they learn to push through these feelings to get the sense of achievement. Tui posed that a great story can serve as a similar motivator for a child to reach the end of a potentially frightening piece of media. It helps to develop self-regulation further, allowing them to feel that fear in a safe environment and push through anyway.
The unexpected nature of the hyper-real jump scares in SpongeBob episodes could be seen as micro doses of horror. Purely me theorising here: what if these images had been placed in the show at their intervals to ignite some sort of anxiety response from the viewer? They’re gone as quickly as they arrive, giving the audience a small jump but then allowing them to return to the usually jovial nature of the episode.
Tui dropped some further wisdom which really resonated with me –
“Gothic influenced and frightening texts can also be great for the empowerment of young people. It’s empowering to select and choose to engage with media that pushes you. I’m sure you would’ve watched an episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog or something that freaked you out completely, but you were still brave enough to watch the next one. That’s courage.”
These images are similar, to a lesser extent than Courage, but still in the same vein. Not changing the channel, getting past the initial scare, it’s empowering. Again, me theorising – it shows a younger audience member that sometimes the world will have random, scary occurrences. Even when things are great, they might be unsettled for a second, but the status quo WILL be reestablished if you allow yourself to push through.
Aside from empowerment and development for an adolescent, children’s horror serves as a gateway to the medium.
When I was wee, one of my favourite books was The Most Haunted Places in The World; a compilation of "true” ghostly encounters and haunted places across the globe. It made me feel so anxious that I needed to hide it every night before bed. The tales it held, dubious in their truthfulness, drew me in like nothing else. It inspired a lifelong love of the supernatural, which has only grown as the years have gone on. Baby’s first ghost book led to me actively seeking out more grotesque and cosmic horror (side note – listen to The Magnus Archives please, it’s so good), further leading me to write my own horror and thriller stories. Because of the experiences I had in my youth, I have discovered my calling and started creating my own fiction. Without the R.L. Stine and Anthony Horowitz books I issued from the library, the scares catered to a person the age of twelve, I doubt I would be where I am today.
Children’s horror needs to be embraced; this audience needs to be catered to and encouraged to engage with scary texts. Older audience members should welcome the younger fans of their franchises, maybe usher them towards more age-appropriate spooks so they can foster their own love of the stuff. I’m not saying that we should show children Silence of the Lambs. What I am saying is that we shouldn’t push away those viewers outright. They need to be given their own media to discover this genre in a safe and constructive manner.