14 Best Horror Movies For Kids

There are more family-friendly fright flicks than you might think.

watcher in the woods
Buena Vista Pictures

Monsters, ghosts, things that go bump in the night: kids can't get enough of horror.

If you have any young, fledgling horror fans in your house, these 14 films should definitely be on your to-watch list.

They're not all 100% family friendly, but they're all guaranteed to fire up youthful imaginations (and not-so-youthful ones, for that matter).

14. The Hole

watcher in the woods
Big Air Studios

Best not to confuse this one with the 2001 Thora Birch/Keira Knightley film of the same name, as that's most definitely not a film you'd want younger kids to see. Even so, Joe Dante's 2009 movie The Hole is still one that is likely to be a bit much for the littlest ones, which may be part of why it struggled to find an audience on release.

Another horror movie centred on a family which relocates to a new house, moody teen Chris Massoglia and his little brother Nathan Gamble discover a heavily padlocked trapdoor in their basement. Naturally, like any safety-conscious kids they proceed to open it up, and soon discover to their alarm that there's a seemingly bottomless hole underneath which somehow plays host to their deepest, most personal fears.

Dante doesn't shy away from piling on the tension and jump scares, on top of which The Hole isn't afraid to venture into dark thematic territory, in particular child abuse. All this being the case, The Hole is perhaps more of a Young Adult movie than one for all the family, but for older and/or less timid kids it should be just fine. Either way, it's an intriguing and atmospheric movie for young and old alike.

 
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