Do you share scary stories to kids? Tell me about it.
A full moon.
A wolf howling.
Eerie fog.
Scary bats.
A haunted house.
And five kids went inside to investigate for whatever reasons.
In the first place, it sounds like your typical spooky stories for kids under 10 years old, right?
In like manner, don’t we all love scary stories? When we were children, we have campfires or night-overs where we huddle and share true ghost stories.
Despite its scary factor, we couldn’t resist hearing one, right? As a matter of fact, the thrill of scary stories makes us more excited to hear it!
Storytelling of terrifying tales?
July 21, 2017 – activity
I shared two spooky tales to 30 kids with ages ranging from 3 to 5 years old. Were they scared? No. On the contrary, the children even wanted more!
Likewise, a child raised his hand and told me he wanted to hear more spooky stories from me. And, he was four years old!
I talked about the aswang in the Philippines – a monster that shape-shifts and eats people.
So, how did I manage not to scare them, but rather, excite them? Also, why did I choose spooky tales to story-tell to kids?
For one thing, to share scary stories to kids not only it gives them a normal childhood, but, it can be beneficial too. Nonetheless, many parents or guardians would not want their kids to read and hear horror stories.
However, the goal here is not to scare them. Rather, it’s to share one’s culture and tradition with the children. So, let’s delve deeper about this topic.
Should you share scary stories to kids
Spooky stories are most often entertaining – if not, exhilarating – rather than scary. Moreover, they help children become brave by facing their fears. It doesn’t have to be monsters. In the same manner, it can be bullying, parents separating, or death of a loved one.
Scary stories let them see that it’s okay to get scared and that they can fight their fears.
You’ve heard and told scary stories when you were younger. Why can’t your kid hear them, too? Here are the reasons why:
(1) they may get scared,
(2) they won’t sleep at night,
(3) they’ll disturb you for days,
(4) they’ll become jumpy all the time,
(5) loss of appetite, upset stomach, hyperventilating all the time, etc.
But to share scary stories to
For parents or guardians who don’t want to tell or read horror literature to their children, no worries! It depends on the child whether he or she is ready.
10 Reasons Why You Should Share Scary Stories for Children
Most people think children are helpless and parents have to protect them at all costs. Some have banned and burned books that hint to spine-chilling tales like Harry Potter.
But children need to know and feel fear. How can they appreciate courage, love, or safety, without experiencing fear? Here are ten reasons children should hear stories that instill fear, yet enlightenment and bravery at the end.
1. Forms part of their childhood
Kids who experience reading scary books will share these stories when they grow up. We all have that little pride in us that says, “We have survived listening to a horror story!” It makes us feel special for a moment and often – wonder and belonging.
2. Be knowledgeable to theirs and other people’s culture
What culture believes in aswang, chupacabra, no-faced women, Krampus, or the boogeyman? Each country has its own myths and legends that children have to know about. While we tell them stories of our epic heroes, these stories are, but, an empty shell without villains.
For example:
1. Who killed Medusa? Perseus. Who’s he?
2. How to know if that person is an aswang? If he or she hates salt and garlic.
3. Why do we have fireworks? To scare evil spirits.
Tell me, how did these stories shape the culture and traditions of your country?
3. Teaches them to be brave and to take risks
Heroes in stories win at the end because they faced their fears. Children can place themselves as the heroes of the story. When they read fantasy and horror books, they see themselves as the leading character. So, if the hero defeated the monster, children will also think they’ve won.
But what if your story is not about monsters, but more of situations? For example – getting kidnapped, moving to another country, or bullying. These are heavy subjects you must discuss with kids in words they can only understand.
Open their eyes and reassure them of the obstacles they have to face when they grow up.
4. Overcome helplessness
Heroes beating villains may shed light on how your child can respond to situations. They will not cower in fear, but, rather face it and do something. For example, if your kid is being bullied in school and can’t do anything about it, he’ll find ways on how to respond to the situation.
It can either be letting a parent know about it, ignoring the bullies, or seeking help from school authorities. Scary stories shape your child to become braver, stronger, smarter, and more self-assured with him or herself.
5. Be innovative in solving problems in a limited time
Facing something scary is a fight-flight situation. Your child won’t be battling monsters, but with situations that need an immediate answer.
Let’s say, your kid got a school activity where he or she needs to build a house made of straws. The project is due the next day and all the children in the class are given limited resources.
What’s your kid going to do?
Or let’s say he can’t reach the book on the shelf and you don’t have a ladder at home. He can ask for help or use that duster or long mop to nudge or poke the book out and fall into his arms.
6. Open eyes to reality
Through scary stories, children are exposed to the harshness of reality. But, they catch a glimpse of these situations in a safe environment, where the danger is imaginary and controlled.
A scary story told by parents can sound comforting. Parents can hold their child and teach them moral lessons found in the story.
7. Open to emotions never experienced before
Children who are overly protected by their parents may not get to feel fear or being panicky. Parents should know they can’t protect their kids forever.
Fear is a rather important emotion for a child to grow and develop in good health. They need it to develop an emotional resiliency where they can cope negative feelings and circumstances.
8. Learn lessons for safety
As mentioned earlier, to share scary stories to
In my example, you can prevent your kid from talking to strangers by telling him or her to stay close to their teacher. Or not to wander off when you tell them to stay at school for you to pick them up.
Scary stories can help kids learn life lessons.
Did your children take the hand of that stranger for ice cream?
For parents, guardians, or teachers, it’s something you can also think about.
9. Be sociable
Sharing stories among peers is healthy for children. It upholds diversity and creates an atmosphere of respect. So what if your kid’s classmate believes in El Cucuy or in the Chupacabra, and with yours to aswangs?
But sharing culture is not limited to monsters. Your kids can start from there and might expand to more topics to discuss. For example, from aswangs to garlic, to garlic and garlic bread, to bread and pizza, and from pizza to video games. You see? Some topics can lead from one thing to another.
And don’t you feel it, too? Whenever we share scary stories, it makes us close with the group we’re in (classmates, workmates, family members, friends, etc).
Ah! The power of thrills and adrenaline!
10. Becoming more creative
As pointed out earlier, scary stories can make children think of creative ways to deal with their problems. When faced with a potential threat, their survival instincts kick in.
For example, your child’s instinct is to run away from problems. Then he heard a story where the protagonist beats the bad guys. Deep inside, your kid also wanted to be like the hero because the character faced his problems.
When the moment comes for your kid to face these difficulties, he won’t do it right away. It’ll take time for him to gather enough strength to do so. Your child will also find out that one tactic won’t work twice, and thus, will come up with other ways to overcome his problems.
Tips on sharing scary stories to kids
You don’t want to terrify your child with ghastly stories of monsters. If you must share scary stories, then assess your kid whether he or she is ready to hear them.
Here are tips in telling a good scary story. You can make your child go giddy rather than scared!
- Always ask them how they are holding up. If there’s a particular scene which they don’t like to hear, then skip that one out. Observe how they react. If they’re uncomfortable, shift the angle of the story. You can also pause and ask, “Do you guys want to hear it?” If they say yes, try perking them up with something like, “Are you sure? But you’ll get scared!” Wait for their reaction.
- Get the idea of the story, but make your own. You don’t have to say what’s written in the book. Improvise the story conducive to your child’s capability – comprehension and emotion.
- Group your kids together. If you have two or three children, it’ll work well if you tell the story if they’re together. That way, they don’t get to feel scared, but rather, excited with their seatmates! Why? Because it’s reassuring for children to know other kids are scared as well – that they’re not alone. So, instead of being scared as a group, they’ll end up giggling and smirking.
- Plan when to tell horror stories. Will you tell him tonight or next Wednesday when he still has that rush from practicing on his soccer team club? Date and time matters. It can help to set the mood before and after hearing a story from you.
- Invest in cross-genre books. Why not tell funny ghost stories for kids? Something like Dracula with his teeth falling because his victim is “thick-skinned” and a bore.
- Phobias? Avoid it like the plague. If you know your child has phobias on spiders, heights, or clowns, then be cautious in telling stories with those things in it.
- Avoid showing the illustrations. Are the pictures too scary for your child to comprehend? If there are any headless souls shown in the book, don’t show it.
- Learn to pitch your voice well. To avoid instilling fear and sadness, make your voice sound like it’s a little “matter-of-fact.” Keeping it casual won’t make your child frightened. Though, it might make the storytelling boring. When your child is ready for a scare, you can make your voice gruff.
- Let them control the story. A child who has more control over the story won’t feel scared. There’s one thing you should know though: the story will get lost. If you want to continue with the story, make it as they’ll fill in the blanks. Also, you have to be creative to adapt to their wild imaginations!
- Hold your child. Your kid will feel safer if he’s within your arms. Your touch will assure your child that the terror is not real and that you’re there to protect him.
Conclusion
To share scary stories to kids is important and essential for their growth and development. As a parent or guardian, know you’re not going to protect them forever. Through scary stories, they get to see another perspective of the world, but in a safe environment.
Remember to consider when your children are ready and what story you should tell them. Hope the tips above will help. It might have worked for me, but, let’s see if it’ll work out for you too. So, let me know.
What scary stories have you told to children?
