Horror in YA Books

[rune]

When I was 12 yrs old , I went from kids books to adult books. There just wasn't anything worth reading in kids books that I didn't find tame.

So at 12 I was into James Herbert, King etc.

 

Now I do read more YA books now than I did when I was a kid. And I think fantasy books can work well if they are written well

 

But horror...... They often seem dumbed down to me. I do find the odd series that I like.

e.g.

Rachel Caine - Morganville Vampires

Kelley Armstrong - Dark Powers

Thomas E Sniegoski - The Fallen

Darran Shan - Saga of Darran Shan

 

There are some fantasy I feel that come up to par too, but very few horror

 

Should authors leave horror alone when it comes to YA books?

The whole point of horror is that its suppose to be scary and horrifying

[StephenKingman]

Well i wouldnt read a lot of the books i used to read when i was 10-15 simply because i would find them far too cheesy and predictable, particularly the Point Horror series. Having said that, i have held on to a core of about 20 Point Horror books that have retained a sense of mystery and can be quite fun to reread every now and then, but im not scared by them, its mostly just a sense of nostagia.

[Michelle]

I've just reviewed Witchfinder by William Hussey which has some good horror in it for a YA book.. but I guess it depends what sort of 'horror' you're looking for.

[Univerze]

Well I would have been disappointed as a kid when YA authors would leave horror alone, have always loved to read it. Though honestly, I think these days more and more YA writers pop up, while books used to be either for kids (but readable by adults, say Neverending Story), or for adults.. which I read anyway.

For most kids goes, horror's fine, just not too graphically. Garth Nix Abhorsen series for instance, speaks of the shambling dead, with squishy sounds and bones popping and all, without being too terrifying for kids in my opinion. I would really not have been scared by that as a kid. Then again I was reading King at age 10 too soo..

[rune]

I've just reviewed Witchfinder by William Hussey which has some good horror in it for a YA book.. but I guess it depends what sort of 'horror' you're looking for.

 

Thanks for the comments left so far on this subject, interesting to see what others thing

I did find the review of interest for this book Michelle, its possibly one I could try:)

[:HerculeHastings:]

Well, I used to be pretty scared of Goosebumps as a child. When I read the books now, though, I find them very predictable and funny, and the spook factor is gone. I hear Fear Street is more frightening, and it should be a Young Adult book too, shouldn't it? In any case, I think there shouldn't be a restriction on horror. The EverWorld series is YA and pretty dark and violent at the same time. It depends on how much individual kids are willing to take.

[Hulk]

I think horror often has a different role in juvenile fiction.

 

Horror for adults is about showing some genuinely horrible things that don't always end well. Part of the pleasure is morbid fascination. A lot of short stories within the genre, certainly, are like concise little "jokes", where the punchline is a moment of revulsion rather than amusement.

 

Conversely, horror for juveniles is *often* (not always) just a variation on the same old themes of conflict and resolution. The zombies and other nasties can be squelchy and gruesome, but in terms of the drama that's unfolding and the emotions they evoke, they might as well be orcs or pirates. They're just another kind of colourful villain for the hero to confont and conquer.

 

That's not a hard and fast rule however. For instance, James Herbert generally writes books that end happily, with the hero emerging triumphant. I tend to read his books as trashy modern day fantasies rather than actual horrors. What I mean is, a lot of his books are more about people battling extraordinary or supernatural villains and coming up trumps (like Harry Potter does) than they are about genuine, mounting horror.

 

Equally, I imagine there are some books for children that are truly horrible, by kids' standards at least.

[Steeeeve]

When I was 12 yrs old , I went from kids books to adult books. There just wasn't anything worth reading in kids books that I didn't find tame.

So at 12 I was into James Herbert, King etc.

 

. . .

 

Should authors leave horror alone when it comes to YA books?

The whole point of horror is that its suppose to be scary and horrifying

 

I don't think so. I mean it's different audiences. That would be like saying Doctor Who shouldn't get made because there are scarier horror films. I know that's missing the point that Doctor Who isn't just supposed to be scary but even so.

 

There are/were programmes like The Demon Headmaster which I'm sure must have scared kids and when I was younger I found certain things terrifying which today I just find funny.

 

I'm reading The Historian at the moment so I looked up peoples' opinions on here and some people said it was scary. I can't see it myself but that doesn't mean only my favourite horror writers should be abe to write horror.

 

Sorry. I'm waffling. I don't know why I'm still up.

[Katrina1968]

My daughter loved Edgar Allen Poe as a young teenage. She's also in love with the gruesome **** that comes in the form of movies.

 

Being more of a conservative parent we monitored what the kids could read because in the end, we were the ones up with them after reading or watching something they thought they could handle.

 

Personally, I'm not a horror fan BUT I wouldnt stop them from reading horror books but it would be a gradual thing, starting with something like Goosebumps and then gradually moving up the scar-o-meter. If they jump right into the adult stuff, I think it desensitizes them, they have to constantly search for that book to give them that adrenaline rush. If a kid reads adult stuff by the age of 12 I'm not sure what else they have to look forward to. But thats just me;)

 

In the bookshoppe where I work, I see young girls (12-13) reading Laurel K. Hamilton! Not just the regular goth stuff, but the erotica stuff.

[BookJumper]

If a kid reads adult stuff by the age of 12 I'm not sure what else they have to look forward to.

I think this probably depends on the kid doing the reading I was reading Christopher Pike, Anne Rice, Steven King & Co. by that age (alongside Goosebumps and Point Horrors) and I wouldn't say it's de-sensitised me at all, in fact I hate gore in films - the best horror is, IMHO, psychological so Dracula Prince of Darkness feat. Cristopher Lee wins hands down over Saw as far as I'm concerned.

[rune]

I'm very much not into gore either. Even in horror movies, I prefer disturbing to chain saw type movies

I don't mind a little bit of blood, because you expect that in horror. But when there is not story, what is the point, how is it scary

[randa23]

I would suggest The Stuff of Nightmares by Malorie Blackman it is very scary and i didnt find it predictable:)