The best scary movies for kids

R.L. Stine’s spooky books were beloved by those proverbial ‘90s Kids, but “Goosebumps” never dies. This film is actually quite clever, cleverer than it needed to be. Jack Black plays Stine himself, and the premise is that the evil characters from his books have entered the real world. It’s pretty funny, well cast, and has a few “scary” moments.

This sequel is arguably more underrated than “Goosebumps.” Look, we didn’t envision ourselves watching multiple “Goosebumps” movies, but the first was a pleasant surprise, so we gave “Haunted Halloween” a shot, even though it has almost an entirely different cast. Crucially, it’s a Halloween-set horror film, and kids deserve a couple of those.

A Neil Gaiman book adapted into a stop-motion film by Henry Selick was enticing for fans of animation and fantastical worlds. It also has a child-aged protagonist and deals with the sometimes-fraught relationships between children and their parents. “Coraline” gets genuinely dark at times, but it looks great and is a worthwhile watch.

Dan Harmon, of “Community” and “Rick & Morty” fame, is known for his meta comedies (and his problematic personality, but that’s for another day). Before his rise to fame, though, he co-wrote the screenplay to “Monster House.” It’s a haunted house movie that is also a monster movie, in that the house is also the monster. The film got good reviews, but also garnered a bit of a reputation for pushing the “scary” elements to the brink of what some kids could handle. Which, of course, probably would entice the right kids out there.

Now, the 3D element of “ParaNorman” is lost, but that’s probably for the best. That’s true even for a stop-motion animated film. Norman is a kid who can talk to ghosts who is asked to end a witch’s curse on his hometown. That’s quite the task! It gives the movie stakes, though, and different elements of the horror genre.

The movie that launched a thousand Hot Topics, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” remains a favorite around both Halloween and Christmas. Jack Skellington, that goth idol, will never die. The songs are still pretty catchy. Oogie Boogie is still gross. Of course, we need not twist the arm of certain parents to show this one to their kids.

We saw “Hotel Transylvania” listed as a horror film in several places and…we’re a bit dubious. Yes, classic horror movie monsters fill the world of “Hotel Transylvania.” However, they are used almost exclusively for comedy. On the other hand, this film spawned a very successful franchise. Maybe it’s a good way to ease a horror-adverse child into the world of “scary” movies.

As Lisa Simpson so sagely said, “If Scooby-Doo has taught me anything, it’s that there is nothing to be afraid of except crooked real estate developers.” Scooby and the gang have been delivering low-stress spooky stuff to families for decades. The live-action films from the 2000s are flawed, but better than that awful “Scoob!” movie from a few years ago.

An iconic horror movie experience for many kids. It’s credited, in part, with sparking the PG-13 rating. Hey, when we were kids we saw that gremlin explode in the microwave. It was gross as hell and it ruled. “Gremlins” remains one of the best horror-comedies ever, and we say to go ahead and let your kids watch it.

As an adult, you might watch Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell and think to yourself, “I thought this was funny as a kid…right?” Yeah, you probably did, and Ernest’s goofy slapstick probably still resonates with kids who haven’t grown weary of mugging and somewhat obvious jokes. Let your children see Ernest be scared stupid. It’s the American way.

Surprisingly, the world’s number one spooky boy Tim Burton only gets one film on this list. Remember, he produced “Nightmare Before Christmas,” but did not direct it. “Beetlejuice” is a bit too intense for younger kids, and “Edward Scissorhands” isn’t a horror movie. “Corpse Bride” threads the needle.

There was a lot of consternation about the new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Witches” that Robert Zemeckis made a few years ago. One, it just wasn’t that good. Two, Millennials came out of the woodwork to say, “We already have our ‘Witches’ reboot, and it was nightmare fuel for my childhood I will cherish forever!” It was directed by Nicolas Roeg, who freakin’ directed “Don’t Look Now.” Nobody seemed to be conceiving of it as a kids’ movie, and that made it that much scarier.

Look, we aren’t part of the “Hocus Pocus” hive that got the movie a long-delayed sequel. It’s…fine. The cast seems to be having fun. If we left it off the list, though, we’d be barred from the home of like 80 percent of Millennials, so here you go.

Puppets can be freaky even when that is not the intended effect. Jim Henson’s “The Dark Crystal” is trying to be eerie, though. Henson and Frank Oz directed together, and created a dark (but not too dark) fantasy world that turned this one into a cult classic. The animatronics and puppets still look amazing.

If your tween was into “Wednesday,” it’s time for a throwback. Or, perhaps, “The Addams Family” can be the gateway to “Wednesday” as they get older. People say “Addams Family Values” is better, and that may be true. However, you can’t really start there.

Hayao Miyazaki has made some lovely, gentle films. Also, a few films that seem to be about the futility of human endeavor. Weird guy! In the mix, there’s also “Spirited Away,” probably his scariest movie. It won Miyazaki the Best Animated Feature Oscar, so if you have any interest in Japanese animation, here’s a good place to start.

It makes sense to include a Pixar film. “Monster’s Inc.” is, ostensibly, about monsters that generate power for their world by scaring children. Of course, it’s not really a horror film by any means. The “scares,” such as they exist, are few and far between. However, it can’t all be gremlins in microwaves. Although, that would be pretty awesome.

“The Wizard of Oz” is considered a classic. Families love it. Kids still love it. “Return to Oz” is…an entirely different beast. It’s deranged. Those who say it as a child still remember it as one of the scariest, creepiest films they have ever seen. All these years later, that’s still true.