Childhood
Why Must We Scare Our Children?
The obsession with terrifying our little ones
Think back to your childhood. You’ll have all sorts of memories, some good and some bad. I can guarantee you one thing though, you’ll have several recollections of being absolutely horrified.
Now, I’m not talking of abuse here, I think we can all agree how terrible that is. I’m speaking of various content that, although deliberately and specifically designed for children, was aimed at scaring the living daylights out of us.
Scary books, campfire ghost stories, creepy cartoons and heartbreaking Disney movies all seemed to exist just to destroy us emotionally. But why? Where exactly does this obsession come from?
My Own Experience
I was probably the worst child to have ever existed. Frankly, I was scared of everything. You didn't need to go out of your way to terrify me. In fact, all you really had to do was tell me that we were going to have to get on a train or that you were taking me to a theme park. I’d have been bawling my little eyes out.
So then, it stands to reason that anyone going out of their way to deliberately instill fear into my fragile little heart would have a very easy time doing so.
I remember one English teacher in particular. To be honest with you, he was a fantastic educator and in hindsight, I wish he had stuck around longer. He was a rare breed, incredibly passionate about the English language and yet somehow not unbearably arrogant about it. You know how literature nerds can be. He was patient, wise and an excellent storyteller. A little too good in fact.
Problem was, he had a particular fondness for scary stories. The other kids loved these terrifying tales and begged him for more. I, however, started to dread the otherwise excellent English classes.
As he would regale us with gruesome stories of Vlad the impaler and ghostly old ladies in the mist, I would sit there and desperately try and retreat to my happy place.
One day he started the lesson by informing us of the scariest story he had ever heard; ‘The Story Of The Old Empty Barn’.
Naturally, the other children implored him to tell us this story whilst I stayed silent, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t. Eventually, he told us all that he thought the story was simply too scary to tell right now but maybe if we were good, he would tell us at the end of the lesson.
As the class drew to an end he finally announced that he would tell us the story. He warned us how scary it would be and said that if anybody wished to leave, he would allow it. I wanted nothing more than to walk out the door, but I knew I would never live such cowardly actions down. So I sat, sweaty-palmed, and listened.
“This is the story of the old empty barn — there was nothing in it.”
The bell rang, he had fooled us. I was the most relieved I had ever been. An hour of horrifying anticipation was finally over, I had escaped.
Why Do We Scare Our Children?
As far as I can tell, from my extensive googling and limited common sense, we scare our children in order to keep them safe and well behaved. At least, that seems to be from where this strange practice originates.
It goes back millennia. We would tell our children tales of monsters in the trees to keep them from wandering in the woods because wandering in the woods as a child is a great way to get yourself killed.
We tell freaky tales of strangers to keep our children from walking off with nefarious weirdos.
We even tell children the scariest story of all. We tell them that Santa will not bring their precious toys at Christmas if they do not do as we say. A fate worse than death.
That last one, I can only assume, is to give the parents an easier life.
Is It Time To Stop?
Listen, hopefully, you know your child a lot better than I do. Some kids enjoy the spooky stories and for some, it’s simply too much. Not all kids are nervous wimps like I was, but for some little ones, maybe an honest and sincere conversation is better than countless nights of bad dreams.
It might even give you a better night’s sleep. You won’t have to deal with quite so many nightmares.
