How to Watch Horror Movies with Kids

My daughter loves horror films. She’ll watch anything with a creepy vibe and frequently wants to talk about movies she hasn’t seen. However, she’s only 11. So, as she begs to watch The Shining or It or Alien, I’m regularly reminded just how hard it is to be a young person excited about horror movies when the most-discussed and revered films are frequently too bloody or nightmare-inducing for kids.

Our annual October horror movie marathon is tricky to plot out. Sure, she enjoys the atmospheric kid movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas, but she craves something with a little more bite. As the years roll along, it starts to feel like there’s a barren desert between “all ages” fare and, like,Terrifier.

To make matters more complicated, her younger siblings — 6 and 8 — want in on the fun. So, we have to include a movie or two they can watch with us. We also have to earmark one to watch with my horror movie-hating, classics-loving wife. Now, we need a list of horror movies that a.) we haven’t seen b.) are age-appropriate c.) includes one for a pair of elementary school boys and d.) includes a classic that isn’t too scary to watch with mom. 

I’ve had to dig deep to find options. It can get tricky because ratings can be almost meaningless. For instance, both Paranorman and Poltergeist are PG. And even with more recent films, there can be a big gap between what PG-13 means from movie to movie. Even beyond practical matters, both of us have to be interested in the picks. So, while I’m lobbying for Robert Wise’s The Haunting, she’s more likely to suggest A Quiet Place: Day One and follow it with some audacious comment. (She recently told me The Sixth Sense is “a really, really old movie.”)

To help others in a similar bind, these are some favorite horror movies, broken out into five top-level  categories, because different kids can handle different amounts of the scary stuff.A quick breakdown: The categories are “for everyone” (movies that have a horror atmosphere but aren’t really horror), “a slight step up” (still family-friendly, but with horror plots), “soft(er) horror” (PG-13 horror and horror-adjacent movies that rely on tension rather than striking violence), and “movies that genuinely scare” (PG-13 movies that are fully horror films, but are still light on gore), as well as a group of classics that are pretty suitable for most audiences. 

FOR EVERYONE

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Nick Park’s creations have always been special because of his dedication to filming stop motion as though it was live action, packed with homages to great films. (They’re also just really funny.) I’d argue there haven’t been any bad Wallace and Gromit excursions, but there’s something special about Were-Rabbit. It builds tension in ways that many films aimed at children never do. The Nightmare Before Christmas is great (more on that shortly), but it’s more about crafting a haunted atmosphere than using horror film techniques to create an ultimately silly facsimile of the genre.

Paranorman (2012)

Paranorman belongs in a pile of spooky animated family films like Coraline and 9. But Paranorman sets itself apart by not just having a deliciously haunted atmosphere, but by being surprisingly sweet. The setup is familiar: A boy has a secret that causes him to be rejected and bullied by a community that doesn’t view his ability to see ghosts as a gift. (Nor do they believe it’s true.) But Norman doesn’t lie or attempt to hide his truth. Instead, he openly talks about his sixth sense, even if he appears to feel some shame every time it’s brought up. Paranorman has an eerie atmosphere, fantastic animation, and a story worth revisiting.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Is it a Christmas movie? Is it a Halloween movie? Let’s call it a year-round movie. Nightmare is a beautifully creepy film that perfectly captures Tim Burton’s aesthetic. (Though, Henry Selick would like to remind you that he was the director, not Burton.) The movie has both Burton and Selick in their wheelhouse, crafting emotionally uplifting stories set in a deeply creepy world. (See: The Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands, and the next film on this list.)

Coraline (2009)

Coraline is another family-friendly movie with a familiar plot. Coraline’s family moves into an old house. She’s neglected by her family and bored out of her mind. But a hidden door offers a passage into a parallel universe where everyone has buttons for eyes. Less the button eyes, it’s a description that fits The Chronicles of Narnia and other stories. While Coraline’s haunting and vibrant animation is wonderful, what sets it apart is the worldbuilding that feels true to the lived experience of kids. It embodies the powerlessness that can be felt when families make big decisions, the directionless anger, and the need for independence. Her discovery seems like a great escape until she’s invited to stay forever by her Other Mother. The story gets sinister, but it’s consistently engaging, and its haunting elements are memorable.

Monster House (2006)

Monster House has arguably not gotten enough attention since it was released nearly two decades ago. The movie follows a kid and his friend who dig into the mysteries of a haunted house across the street after the grouchy old man who lived there dies in his yard. It might feel like routine kid fare on the surface, but it’s a heartwarming story that flips haunted house conventions on their head. It’s not ghosts haunting a house, but a house itself haunting the living.

Further viewing: 9 (2009), Hotel Transylvania (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021), Halloweentown (1998), The Corpse Bride (2005), The Pagemaster (1994), Orion and the Dark (2024)

A SLIGHT STEP UP

Gremlins (1984)

The films in this category either amplify the spooky atmosphere or have more intentional horror rather than simply horror elements infused into their world. Gremlins is silly, but unquestionably contains creepy designs, jump scares, and more tension than the entries above. It’s surprisingly palatable for younger viewers, though, with any terror offset by Gizmo’s undeniable cuteness and the movie’s general goofiness. Even beyond the overtly silly stuff, the whole plot is absurd. Don’t eat after midnight is a major plot point for a horror film? Yeah. Silly.

The Addams Family (1991)

The original TV series is excellent, but Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1991 reboot captures everything great about Charles Addams’ creation. It’s a nice next step for kids because it’s not a frightening movie, but the creepy aura is pervasive. It introduces the trappings of horror movies without attempting to scare. Plus, it’s worth revisiting as an adult if only to recall how great Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia were as Morticia and Gomez. The follow-up, Addams Family Values, and the 2019 animated film could also fit in this category. However, they don’t come close to the heights of the 1991 story of a long lost and possibly fake Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) returning to the Addams family mansion in a plot to rob them for all they’re worth.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Other films here certainly introduce the idea that there’s a lot of overlap between comedy and horror, but few here (outside of a couple in the final category) lean into comedy as overtly as Young Frankenstein. For kids who are beginning to explore horror films, it’s fun to discover that intersection, and the catharsis that laughing a little can bring in the midst of fear, even if Young Frankenstein doesn’t attempt to balance the horror and comedy like Shaun of the Dead or Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil. Other movies in the genre offer something similar, but Mel Brooks’ doesn’t make you sit next to your kid through Ghostbusters’ ghost sex scene. Plus, isn’t that Willy Wonka?

The Witches (1990)

Nicolas Roeg’s film captures the idiosyncratic narration, distinctive story, and palpable tension of Roald Dahl’s book about a boy who stumbles into a hotel witch convention and is transformed into a mouse. Importantly, it also retains Dahl’s tendency to never talk down to kids, treating them as humans capable of handling complex emotions and the darkness that kids inevitably see in the world. The 2020 remake, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Anne Hathaway, doesn’t do too bad on that front, either. 

Further viewing: Little Monsters (1989), The House With a Clock in the Walls (2018), Goosebumps (2015), Hocus Pocus (1993), Casper (1995), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), Return to Oz (1985), Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998), Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1983)

SOFT(ER) HORROR

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The movie that made M. Night Shyamalan a major director has an ominous tone, ghosts, and twists that will thrill burgeoning horror fans, even if the film’s ubiquity might make it easy for them to see what’s coming. The Sixth Sense is an easy step into PG-13 movies for younger viewers since it’s decidedly adult, but devoid of gore and other nightmare-inducing genre hallmarks. The same could be said for a handful of Shyamalan’s films, including The Village, Old, or the debut feature from his daughter, Ishana Shyamalan, The Watchers.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

The many versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers are a great set-up for young horror fans because there’s an implicit horror to the scenario, but the “body snatching” isn’t violent or bloody. The best of them is the 1978 version starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and Leonard Nimoy. There’s an almost impossible amount of tension right up until that iconic final shot.

A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinki’s film is a good pick for the same reasons as Invasion of the Body Snatchers. A Quiet Place is built on a slowly mounting tension. While the deaths — including that of a small child — are undeniably sad, they aren’t on-screen or violent. Of course, it comes with the caveat that it may not be for all kids if the pervasive silence and subtitles won’t hold their attention. Nonetheless, if they can get past that small barrier, it’s a somewhat rare high-concept film where the concept isn’t so intricate that it’ll go over the heads of young viewers.

The Birds (1963)

There’s quite a bit of Alfred Hitchcock’s output that could work in this category. He made relatively few true horror films, but when you’re looking for genre pics for a younger audience, tension and horror kind of become a bit interchangeable. Because the Hitchcock films that are appropriate for kids tend to be thrillers, and because Psycho is awfully intense, The Birds is a nice October pick. While the effects haven’t held up all that well, to put it kindly, Hitchcock was, you may have heard, a master of suspense. The horror may be diminished by cheesy birds, but the tension is not.

The Mummy (1999)

In case you’d dismissed The Mummy because of a misguided assessment of Brendan Fraser’s talent or allowed the original to be tarnished by follow-ups like The Scorpion King, it’s worth remembering that the first film in this series is a great action movie. Sure, there are scares, guns, and violence, but it’s not bloody and the mystical horrors are pretty tepid. It’s really an action film based around a horror set-up. There are balling-up-the-blanket moments as stampeding scarabs devour treasure hunters or when the skeletal and not-yet-human Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) attacks victims with the help of that dastardly Beni (Kevin J. O’Connor), but the violence is largely unseen.

Further viewing: The Haunting (1963), Jaws (1975), Beetlejuice (1998), Tremors (1990), Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Spirited Away (2001), Dark Shadows (2012), Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988), Werewolf By Night (2022)

MOVIES THAT GENUINELY SCARE (PG-13)

Poltergeist (1982)

The movies in this section aren’t for everyone. They’re mostly PG-13 but bring real scares. Poltergeist is the poster child for how ratings can mislead. At the time of its release, there was no PG-13 rating. So, the producers fought to get the PG rating it would never get today. The haunted house story — the movie’s paranormal investigators say it’s not technically a haunted house, but it’s a haunted house — has children in danger, ghosts, unexplainable happenings, and those inevitable horror moments where you can’t help but scream at the screen about the bad decisions being made. (WHY WON’T YOU GET THE KIDS OUT OF THE HOUSE!?)

World War Z (2013)

No, it’s not one of the great zombie movies despite coming from beloved source material. (To be fair, it’s hard to adapt the book’s epistolary style.) Nonetheless, World War Z is better than you probably remember, and it’s a rare zombie movie that is palatable for kids. (You know, outside the Disney Zombie stuff.) The Brad Pitt vehicle has all the hallmarks of the subgenre — the undead mysteriously rise, they’re attracted by sound, they want your brrrraaaaiiiins — without gory sequences of zombies turning chest cavities into a bowl of intestine spaghetti. It also doesn’t spend time lingering on sallow-skinned zombies whose bodies are gruesomely falling apart a la George Romero.

The Ring (2002)

The Ring (and, to a lesser extent, The Others) is a perfect film for this category. It’s capable of giving parents nightmares, but its success isn’t the result of bloody terror. It’s the pervasive tension, creepy atmosphere, and, yes, the deeply haunting Samara that made the American adaptation of Ringu into a franchise. This is just about as scary as horror films get without ever dipping a toe into sex, gore, and other elements that could bump it up a rating.

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

This one is a fun revisit for parents who haven’t seen it since its release. On the heels of the Spider-Man trilogy, Sam Raimi returned to the genre where he started. It’s a straight supernatural horror film, but it’s also loaded with campy moments that almost feel like an obligatory nod to his Evil Dead roots. (When Alison Lohman uses an ice skate to cut a rope holding an anvil suspended over her attacker? Looney Tunes stuff.) Drag Me to Hell follows a loan officer (Lohman) who has been cursed to have her soul taken to hell by a Lamia. There are some more intense visuals here than others on this list, including someone vomiting bugs, a toothless old woman gnawing on a face, and, as the title suggests, a demon dragging people to hell.

Arachnophobia (1990)

Similar to the other films in this category, Arachnophobia has plenty of horror without getting too gruesome. Of course, it may also cause a deep fear of spiders. The movie has a strange opening, spending 17 minutes in South America before getting to Jeff Daniels and his family moving to a small town. But it’s a novel approach that makes the spider the main character in many ways. It also does a nice job of lightening the terror through humor when John Goodman surfaces in the third act.

Further viewing: M3gan (2022), The Others (2001), Happy Death Day (2017), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Cloverfield (2008), The Grudge (2004), Dark Water (2002)

HORROR CLASSICS

House of Wax (1953)

“Classics” — a notoriously fraught label — get their own category because older films aren’t always an easy sell for kids who can get hung up on black-and-white cinematography, grainy prints, outdated effects, and over-the-top performances. If they can handle it, they’ll be rewarded with gems like House of Wax, the film that changed Vincent Price’s career trajectory and turned him into a horror icon. Unlike Dracula or Frankenstein, House of Wax is a classic whose story is likely to be unfamiliar to younger audiences, allowing them to still be surprised and haunted by the story of a vengeful wax museum artist. Just look out for that paddleball coming through the screen.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Really, Bride of Frankenstein is a stand-in for any of the top-tier Universal Monster movies. It’s a whole category worth exploring. Though, Bride of Frankenstein is certainly one of the best. It’s a sensible pick because it’s a twist on lore with which kids are already familiar, not just the original Frankenstein story they probably already know.  It’s also devoid of some of the loveable cheesiness found in other Universal monster movies like The Invisible Man or Creature From the Black Lagoon. Other good Universal monster movie picks include Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Wolf Man (1941), The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943).

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Add this to the list of Universal monster movies above. It was a later entry when Universal was looking to breathe new life into its horror franchises. It did so by combining its superstar comedy team with iconic horror characters played by the actors who made them famous. Bela Lugosi returned as Dracula for the first time since 1931, and Lon Chaney, Jr. reprised the Wolf Man. It’s not scary, but there’s tension as Lugosi, Chaney, and Glenn Strange (who previously played The Monster in House of Dracula and House of Frankenstein) all play their monsters straight despite the delightful (and occasionally dated) absurdity of Abbott and Costello.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1993/1962)

The suggestion here is really just Mystery Science Theater rather than any single episode. However, this episode is an excellent one from early in the Mike Nelson era. It picks up speed throughout the episode, and The Brain the Wouldn’t Die is the perfect B-movie to be ridiculed by a pair of robots and a man stranded in space. MST3K is a fun way to introduce kids to B-movies, bringing more modern humor into the experience and showing that there isn’t one right way to enjoy movies. Plus, you might accidentally find yourself enjoying something like Gamera, Hobgoblins, or Santo in The Treasure of Dracula.

Godzilla (1954)

The original Godzilla is a giant among monster movies. It’s exciting, sad, and, even to the eyes of kids, about something. It’s possible younger audiences might have more trouble getting into it if their expectation is to find the same monster that populates the Monsterverse. Godzilla isn’t an action flick in the mold of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It’s much more of a horror film than the modern American versions. (Though, Japanese releases like Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One still embody that original sense of horror.) Nonetheless, the original remains one of the best Godzilla movies and it may be the essential introduction to the monster movie subgenre.

Further viewing: Nosferatu (1922), House on Haunted Hill (1959), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Cat People (1942), The Haunting (1963), The Mummy (1959)