And through the darkest zones there can be no guide. Authors such as Adam Gidwitz ( A Tale Dark and Grimm), whose middle-grade books pick up from where the Grimms left off, writes, “You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones. The consequences of these clashes weren’t always pretty, nor were the endings always happy-ever-after.Ĭontemporary authors, as well as TV producers, have seized on children’s familiarity with fairy tales. Our children are weaned on versions of the Brothers Grimm, whose medieval morality tales depended on beasts and innocents facing off in dark forests or malevolent castles. The first scary books most kids are exposed to are fairy tales. Scary stories are part of what makes us readers, and this adrenaline rush of seeking out danger and then stepping away is what makes us return for more. As a reader, I found a way to control how scared I wanted to be. What attracted me to a scary book is what continues to attract children of all ages to books that make them shiver and squirm: Fear, and the ability, through reading, to confront it and cast it aside. That bully at school is nothing compared to ghosts, monsters, or zombies.” You can channel your everyday stress and fears into something much scarier. I think for me (and maybe for others) there's definitely a thrill to reading scary books, that release of tension. Silverman, who is at work on a novel featuring zombies, says she’s been “obsessed with scary books since about the age of 8 or 9. (Middle school was scary, too, but for vastly different reasons.) In the daytime, things like haunted houses and restless spirits didn’t exist. Why did I put myself through that? I wanted to brag to my friends about how I was reading this terrifying book, but how I kept reading it anyway. I can’t remember much beyond the basic plot (haunted house wreaks havoc on unsuspecting family), but I do remember how scared I was, page after page. I don’t know what possessed me at age 12 - maybe a demon? - but I forced myself to read The Amityville Horror.

Do bully children play horror games