Horror in Childrens Tales and Stories - Essay Example

Horror in Children’s Tales and Stories A child’s very first step towards learning is the acquaintance s/he has with books and their characters. It is a medium through which a child comprehends what is human and what is not in their overactive imagination. The world of tales and stories are her dwelling for a long time to come and that is where a young mind explores his/her imagination and begins to understand oneself and the world as something over which control can be exercised. These stories give a certain sense of power and imagination to a young mind which the child moulds according to what s/he deems fit. The child realizes through these stories that they are other beings who feel and share some of the very concerns which they experience as well. Stories are a means which help children learn about life in all its various forms and from different views too. There are many genres of children’s literature but what each of it requires from a fundamental point of view are varied aspects; beginning with whether the book tells a good story and an interesting one, which is also well-written at that. The story should also be appropriate for the age group it caters to. The originality of the theme and the plot, the credibility of the characters and the illustrations all comprise and contribute towards the making of a good children’s book. The genres which have been explored come from a wide range of ideas and themes. The traditional stories of Mother Goose, fables, modern stories, fantasies, myths, science fiction, biblical, poetry, historical fiction and horror are a few of the primary and most read genres of children’s literature. Horror is being seen extensively in children’s literature of late thought the scary element has been incorporated in many a children’s book in the past. This genre stood on the thin line which drew across popularity and notoriety but since the late 70’s; it has seen a renaissance of sorts. The junior horror market seems to be insatiable and the local publishers are seen joining in the rat race. Even though many parents and people seek the answer to the quintessential question whether terror and scary elements are necessary in a children’s novel, it is still not stopping the modern day authors from churning them out. Christopher Pike is supposedly known as the “Stephen King” of teen fiction backed by Australian counterparts like Paul Jennings and Victor Kelleher. The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine is quite ubiquitous too in the junior horror market, which opened the floodgates for the horror genre in children’s literature. According to Robert Hood, co- author of children’s series of short novels, Creepers believes that “The word 'horror' itself, when used in a literary context, evokes varied responses. Often horror fiction is perceived as 'junk' fiction at best and, at worst, a danger to the hearts and minds of everyone concerned.” (Hood. R. A Playground for Fear: Horror Fiction for Children. Children's Book Council Conference .1997) Yet, he maintains that there have been widely known and popularly accepted horror classics like Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, Bram Stoker's “Dracula”, William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” or the all time favorite Dr.Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. He posits the use of scary elements in children’s stories by maintaining that it can achieve a lot of things especially by allowing them to face their fears and desires as well as allowing them to get away from the real world and escaping into a realm of fantasy and imagination. Horror stories can also be fun and entertaining, making one laugh at oneself. It encompasses all aspects of literature as well as the powerful use of language. But they can also be both heartening or leave one with an uneasy feeling. But it is not a new idea to evoke scary elements in children’s literature which is quite evident from traditional folklore and fairytales. There is no dearth of the gruesome in them such as Eventyn fortalte for Born, (Tales Told for Children) written by Hans Christen Anderson in 1835 contains stories like The Red Shoes, which dooms the main character to unceasing dance. The gist of the story leads her into breaking the Sabbath and the executioner cuts off her feet which again leads to her being haunted by it for the rest of her life. Even Anderson’s Little Match Girl has gory descriptions of death. “Perhaps the clearest indications that these stories were deliberately aiming for a horrific effect – and that our sensibilities about what is horrible have not simply changed -- are their morals.” (Article by Ward, K. Scaring the Children. Viewpoint vol 5, no 1, 1997) They commonly contain survival principles and detach the children that it is basically wrong to lie or steal for instance. These stories are very moralistic in nature and it is up to the readers how they take it. The original version of the classic fairytale conceptualized by Perrault has a very gruesome ending since the wolf gobbles up LRRH and the story ends there. Though the French children loved this version, the Brothers Grimm in their 1812 republication of the same story gave it a not so scary ending. In their version, a hunter skins the wolf and takes it home while LLRH says, “I will never again wander off into the forest as long as I live, when my mother forbids it."(Grimm. J & Grimm. W. Modern Library's Tales of Grimm and Andersen. 1812) The elementary principle which underlines the story is to scare the children or rather caution them against strangers as well as teach them a lesson regarding obeying their parents. Martin Gardner perceives this fable from a different point of view as well; that of a theologian. The story of the Little Red Riding Hood contains hidden meanings which are symbolic of the good and the evil. LLRH is the allegory for all that’s childlike and innocent in this world and the big, bad wolf is the evil force which finally kills her. (Gardner, M.The Little Red Riding Hood; Critical Essay .Skeptical Inquirer .Sept 2000) Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass also has some very scary elements for children especially the immortal nonsensical poem Jabberwocky. The poem’s protagonist is a boy who has been warned by his father that there is evil lurking near by, when a horrible three-headed monster attacks him that he slays bravely with his sword, earning his father’s praises. Fantasy is another genre which is widely used in children’s literature. It deals in thematic plots with a supernatural and magical inclination. This genre is also associated with horror fiction as well as being in contrast with the same. One finds a lot of the fantastic and radically scary elements of life and nature in this genre. The perfect example of a modern day fantasy work is that of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The series is based on the life and problems of a boy called Harry Potter who attends the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is an orphaned boy of parents who practiced “white magic” and were killed by Lord Voldemort who is evil and knows the “dark arts”. The author of the series who is British is quite familiar with such practices of occult and Celtic arts with philosophies derived from all such quarters which even include the druids, paganism and Satanism. The name Potter itself is supposed to be a Pagan witch . Babylon’s female goddess who created human beings from clay is what she signifies. God is also supposed to have tried to copy the potter because of his inabilities to give birth. Witchcraft is a feminine occult which perceives the process of child birth as well the female form as very important chapters in the new life. That is what Harry Potter signifies in the changes he goes through from his inner self to the higher lengths of magic and the supernatural. It is completely against Christian beliefs and blasphemies everything which God has laid down. Even Harry’s father appears to him as a horned god which is a goat, symbolic of the Devil. There are many other scary elements in this fantastic narrative of wizardry, witchcraft, the dark arts and even hints at human sacrifice sometimes. According to Caryl Matrisciana , the part in Book Four where Lord Voldemort takes Harry’s blood for his own veins so that he can be resurrected into having a body of his own is a typical example of human sacrifice as its goriest. (Caryl Matrisciana in Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged © 2001, Jeremiah Films). Some critics emphasize that the Harry Potter series is not fantasy but a sinful and scary reality. Like Caryl maintains that J.K.Rowling has produced her books and her narratives after a huge amount of research . All her representations that of the dark arts, witchcraft and even magic is very accurate which is the reason why none of the witches in the nation are crying hoax or blaming her for not representing their craft in its true light. Caryl states that despite such evident proof , people still think her books to be idle fantasy and nothing harmful especially in light of children. But that is exactly what underlines the sinister aspect in the series; the fact that they are coated in such beautiful language with the right amount of humor followed by very tempting reading style, lures the children into rushing for the next volume available. She says that is the most dangerous aspect of the series. Christians all over the world are opposing this series which they claim is going against the word of the Lord. But then, there are other critics who find the series harmless and only fantastical. Judy Blume of the New York Times writes that even though she saw it coming, she’s surprised that it took so long for the zealots to ban it in the pretext of protecting their children from so-called evil. She says that evil can be found everywhere these days and moreover; the children actually love this book. She says the only reason why children enjoy this series so much is the suspect element that is in abundance. She condemns what people say about the book in terms of blaming it for teaching sorcery and paganism to the children. She remembers a time when she used to read the Oz series by L.Frank Baum and enjoy reading it, along with the wizards and the witches which they had in ample. Taking R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps as another example of the horror genre in children’s books, lovers of the series argue that kids love to be scared and love scary situations as well. The series is an enormous hit the junior horror market since its first publication 1992. There is no continuation in the characters of his books and they live only for the plot. It certainly is not great reading but something which children do enjoy and will eventually grow out of, some parents argue. There are also some critics who think his work to be quite low-level that only aims at hooking the readers with nothing substantial as such in reading material value. Stine is said to have engaged his readers on only a single plane of horror. The video adaptations of his books are even more gruesome. They achieve nothing constructive for the child’s mind, rather they weaken it. (Article. Should kids read Goosebumps? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3617/is_199710/ai_n8780997/pg_2) The basic idea of scaring kids in these books is to build on elaborate ideas and fantasies. Horror comes with the idea of frightening and not anything else. Arguments opposing this genre have always maintained that children’s literature should have something educational as well as contain moral values. But children seem to love these books, even the ones who have an aversion towards reading are drawn in by the lure of these mysterious fables. Even the look of the books plays a big part in attracting children towards them since most of them are essentially glossy and bright. But at the end of the day, it is only the reader who can actually tell the degree of horror one felt while reading those books. Australian author of children’s books Margaret Clark says that everything depends on the structure and is based on one fundamental idea. Kayla Ward states that horror stories go by a formula. They turn a normal, everyday situation into an unfamiliar one where there are a number of people leading the victim along. The gist of the formula is to not let the person escape which does provide a substantial element of fear towards the end. (Article by Kyla Ward. Scaring the Children. Viewpoint vol 5, no 1, 1997) But the fact is that children are being exposed to negativity and dangerous situations which could have a harmful effect on them. The truth of the matter is that this kind of material frightens the children since they are the ones who are prone to nightmares more than adults. They have wilder imaginations which these books only evoke more, resulting in a state of mind that is warped. The children tend to get so involved in these situations and images that they can come out in their behavior, drawings, writings or even dreams. The state of the situation are extreme but those are the repercussions of the horror genre, claim some experts. The scenario is very complicated, and definitely a lot more so than the fact that exposure to these gory and scary images and books corrupts normal, healthy kids. To be able to draw a line between what is safe for the children and what is not would have been the most comforting thought in the world of parents and teachers. Eventually it all boils down to what the adult thinks is bad and the decision is not left upon the kid to figure out. But the authors of such books and narratives must at least give some amount of moral thought to what is fair and especially where to draw the line. Robert Hood is one those who are willing to give it a try. He thinks that children get the same thing out of horror that adults do. He says that it does not emerge from a serious or a moral thought, rather it doesn’t happen on a conscious level at all. He thinks that horror is a part of what defines each of us as human beings; horror is that tread into the unknown because the human being has always feared the unknown. It is the most basic of all emotional elements that define us as human beings and from horror stories, one gets to exorcise that fear in safe manner. It is something which one delves into and after the book is shut, it’s forgotten. He says that children experience the same situation. They do not rationalize it or try to give it any kind of reason. It is just another part of the growing up fascination. The main purpose of writing such stories for children is to scare them primarily since Hood maintains that there is nothing wrong in scaring kids or being scared. It also helps them figure out their innermost fears and insecurities. They feel a kind of exhilaration at being scared which is a challenge to mortality without danger of the actual kind. It gives kids a look at the scary side of life and its possibilities which includes fear or loss. Playing with these emotions give them a certain kind of power over them. Hood says that he doesn’t claim that anything from the horror fiction genre would save society or mankind from inevitable doom but it’s a platform for kids to examine these ills and fears to find a safe outcome to all of them. Horror fiction is not just found in modern children’s literature but has been around since ages in the form of traditional folklore, urban legends and fairy tales like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or even Cinderella which both have the scary and evil stepmother. Snow White constitutes the wicked witch tale as well as the concept of poisoning someone vis a vis the apple which the witch, who is actually her stepmother in disguise, offers her. Humor is another aspect of this particular literature that becomes more important in very horrific narrative. There are limits too, which should be exercised. It is important to not portray horrors realistically lest it might scare the young one reading it to a traumatic level and becomes an aspect of his everyday life. But at the same time; too much humor at the monsters would kill the entire essence of the narrative. The juggling is fragile and intricate but it is considered fun by many authors. Though horror is not a revolutionary genre which doesn’t claim to bring about social changes, it is far better than the violence one sees in movies these days. These scary stories allow the kids to explore their active minds and imaginations in a safe way as well as to test their limits. It allows them to be naughty in a safe way hence it is permissive, says Rob Hood. Another author of scary stories who is still widely read is Roald Dahl of the Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory fame. The James and the Giant Peach (1961) tale tells of two evil aunts who are crushed to death. Matilda (1988) is the tale of a nice girl who has selfish parents but the one that takes the cake is Willie Wonka who punishes unpleasant kids in the nastiest ways. He also gives his villains very ugly physical attributes. He was one of the authors who though children perceived adults as intimidating and overbearing creatures, a fact that he loved to play on. But even though most of his characters may not meet with an adult’s approval, the children are known to be in love with them to the extent of finding them hilarious. But his violent narrative is made subtle by Quentin Blake’s amazing sketches though even he was sometimes unnerved by the horrific elements in Dahl’s writings. But he admired the man immensely for the visual writer he was.“Dahl was eager to give children more of what they craved: more pictures; more fantasies of mastery; more sly mockery of grouchy, boring adults; more visions of dizzying enjoyment.” (Article by Talbot, M. A Critic at Large: The Candy Man. 2005) There is also an element of magic and fear in the Cinderella story which has far too many versions. The fairy Godmother, the pumpkin’s transformation into a splendid carriage, like wise the mice and the birds all speak of magic and fantasy. People have interpreted this classic fairy tale from a widely ranging perspective including that of the submissive female in dire surroundings. The protagonist has been held as a complicated social manifesto in many criticisms. But children only seem to enjoy it as a simple and enjoyable fairy tale like any other. There have been instances when children do act out of the ordinary as a result of these scary stories and might even indulge in anti social behavior. Some even become story tellers them selves weaving very phantasmagorical tales which are sometimes quite undesirable. But the truth of the matter is that the phenomenon of the emergence of horror tales has multiplied by huge numbers. In comparison to the old folk tales and fairy tales which only insinuated at such elements, the modern children’s literature of recent times have explored this genre thoroughly and extensively; and it looks like it’s here to stay. Bibliography (Article by Talbot, M. A Critic at Large: The Candy Man. 2005) (Article by Kyla Ward. Scaring the Children. Viewpoint vol 5, no 1, 1997) (Article. Should kids read Goosebumps? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3617/is_199710/ai_n8780997/pg_2) Caryl Matrisciana in Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged © 2001, Jeremiah Films (Gardner, M.The Little Red Riding Hood; Critical Essay .Skeptical Inquirer .Sept 2000) Grimm. J & Grimm. W. Modern Library's Tales of Grimm and Andersen. 1812 Hood. R. A Playground for Fear: Horror Fiction for Children. Children's Book Council Conference .1997 Read More