The magic of cinema can transport viewers to captivating worlds, but its impacts may leave a scarier impression on the youth.
As we inch closer to Halloween, scary movies dominate television screens and help us enter the spooky spirit. However, the dark themes and chilling scenes that are found in some films are enough to keep young ones awake at night.
My lack of enthusiasm for horror movies possibly started when I was seven years old, watching a movie that still gives me the creeps today — “Coraline.”
Released in 2009, the film is rated PG and classified as a family movie, but it also falls under the horror category. It follows the main character — Coraline — who moves to a new house and discovers a sinister alternate dimension that has an “Other Mother” and an “Other Father.” These distorted parental figures promise her a better life, but this other world seems quite peculiar.
Not to mention that everyone in this dimension has buttons sewn in for eyes.
The movie is unsettling in many aspects, and with all the slightly jerky movements, the stop-motion production only adds to it. I have vivid memories of lying awake at night as a child in fear that my own Other Mother would capture me. It may seem juvenile, but my worries, no matter how silly they were, felt terrifyingly real.
Films like “Coraline” emphasize the deeper effects that children’s movies can have on adolescence. According to clinical psychologist Natalie Scanlon, children are not developmentally ready to view scary images.
“When kids are exposed to excessively scary movies, images or even haunted houses, they tend to have some of the symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Scanlon said.
While my case isn’t too severe, it may explain my aversion to horror and just spooky films in general.
A University of Michigan study found long-term effects on children who watched movies or television shows with disturbing content. They were found to carry into adulthood and result in residual anxiety.
The study showed that one in four college students experience lingering effects of a frightful movie or show experience from childhood. They included difficulties sleeping, trembling, nausea and obsessive thinking.
Children watching scary movies can have significant impacts that go beyond a simple crying spell that a parent might disregard as immature.
“Given that very young children may not yet know what types of stimuli frighten them most…they are in special need of protection from exposure to such scary stimuli before coping strategies are necessary,” researcher Kristen Harrison said in the study.
These findings apply to several disturbing children’s movies. The film “Monster House” is about a house that terrorizes its neighborhood and eats kids, especially on Halloween. The movie is also rated PG, but it left an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
“ParaNorman” is another PG-rated movie that stands out in my memory. A town that is about to experience a witch’s curse and rising zombies sounds intriguing, but it paralyzed my young mind.
These horror-classified children’s movies have the potential to leave negative, long-lasting impacts on youth, and it’s important to consider the implications.
So, parents, a scary film may deliver a thrill-seeking experience to children, but don’t let it haunt the rest of their lives.
This story was written by Rachel Lopera. She can be reached at r[email protected]
