Six Of The Best Scary Movies For Your Pre-Teen Children
Your Tween will probably be clamouring to see a scary movie this Halloween and probably will want to do so without you around. Scary books are one thing, you can put them down and walk away but scary movies on the other hand are 'live.' "Movie horror walks the line," Janes Grainer a Toronto editor said, "fun scared can easily become scared scared."
Dr. David Palframan, a child psychiatry specialisty at the University of Ottawa is pretty clear in his instructions NOT to let your children see horror movies without your permission and hopefully even without your company. When you do give permission, he adds, be careful -- most horror movies are simply NOT appropriate for children of this age group.
Horror films are extreme in their subject matter which, of course, makes them attractive to your tween. The result is often problems after-the-fact like waking anxiety and sleep disorders or even acting tough or being violent.
Don't, however, make the mistake of condemning all horror films. If you are a parent, you probably know what this does -- it pushes children toward whatever it is you are condemning. Instead, talk about horror movies, let your children ask questions and take the time to answer them.
On this page, you will find six recommended horror films for your preteen child. You will find trailers for each of the films, except one. I think the trailers are fantastic for getting a feel for the movie. You will also find a short review of each movie and a long list of links to more lists of scary movies for tweens that people have put together online. I hope you and your family find some Boo-rrific ideas on this page!
A Page Full of Scary Movies For Pre-Teens
- MOVIE NUMBER 1 ~~ Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
- MOVIE NUMBER 2 ~~ Walt Disney's The Watcher In The Woods (1980)
- MOVIE NUMBER 3 ~~ The Private Eyes (1981)
- MOVIE NUMBER 4 ~~ The Gremlins Special Edition ( 1984)
- MOVIE NUMBER 5 ~~ The Monster Squad (1987)
- MOVIE NUMBER 6 ~~ Walt Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Excellent Family Movie Reviews By The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
- More Scary Halloween Movie Lists For Your Tweens
- The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together
- More Halloween Movies For Pre-Teens
Communicate. Ask your tween lots of questions about his or her interest in the horror genre. Like:
Ask ~~ What horror movies do you want to see?
Ask ~~ Why do you want to see this movie?
Ask ~~ Why do you want to see a horror movie at all?
Trust the movie ratings system.
Horror movies are targeted at teenagers but not always appropriate for them. Usually, they are rated correctly.
Know your child!
MOVIE NUMBER 1 ~~ Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
Starring Richard Carlson and Julie Adams
Click here to buy the
Creature From the Black Lagoon
from Amazon.
$12.99
MOVIE NUMBER 2 ~~ Walt Disney's The Watcher In The Woods (1980)
Starring Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards (II), and Carroll Baker
Click here to buy
The Watcher in the Woods
from Amazon.
List Price: $19.99
Amazon Sale Price: $15.49
You Save: $4.50
MOVIE NUMBER 3 ~~ The Private Eyes (1981)
Starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts
Click here to buy
The Private Eyes
from Amazon.
List Price: $29.95
Price: $24.99
MOVIE NUMBER 4 ~~ The Gremlins Special Edition ( 1984)
Starring Edward Andrews and Susan Arnold
Click here to buy
Gremlins from Amazon.
List Price: $14.98
Amazon Sale Price: $7.99
You Save: $6.99
Click here to buy a cute little Gremlin from Amazon.
He's just $12.98.
Together with this movie,
he would make a wonderful gift for a tween!
MOVIE NUMBER 5 ~~ The Monster Squad (1987)
Starring Andre Gower and Robby Kiger
Click here to buy The Monster Squad
(Two-Disc 20th Anniversary Edition)
from Amazon.
List Price: $14.98
Amazon Sale Price: $8.49
MOVIE NUMBER 6 ~~ Walt Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
A Tim Burton Production
Click here to buy
The Nightmare Before Christmas on DVD
(2-Disc Collector's Edition + Digital Copy)
from Amazon.
List Price: $32.99
Amazon Sale Price: $15.49
You Save: $17.50
Click here to buy
The Nightmare Before Christmas blu-ray
and digital copy from Amazon.
List Price: $39.99
Amazon Sale Price: $15.49
You Save: $24.50
Mom-Approved Zombie Halloween T-Shirts For Your Child, Tween, Teen or Even Yourself
These spirited Halloween shirts are available in a wide variety of sizes and colors through the artists at Zazzle.
Excellent Family Movie Reviews By The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
We love the Movie Mom! If you are a parent looking for sound movie advice, read her excellent movie and DVD reviews! As our children were growing up, we constantly referred to the Movie Mom's reviews. We appreciated her rating of the movie in terms of quality and in terms of age appropriateness. Although our children are older now, we still turn to her reviews to find out what she thinks of a specific movie.
We enjoyed reading her website and her book, The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies
. If you are a parent and you are looking to read an excellent review on any movie, I highly recommend you check and see if the Movie Mom has written one. You can find her reviews at The Movie Mom. I highly recommend her book which you can buy through Amazon by clicking here as it contains a lot of reviews and information on older family-friendly movies. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Second Edition which covers movies made until 2004.
Buy The Movie Mom's
Guide to Family Movies
from Amazon
by clicking here.
List Price: $33.95
Amazon Sale Price: $27.38
You Save: $6.57
More Scary Halloween Movie Lists For Your Tweens
- 10 DVDs for a Pre-teen or Tween Halloween Party - Associated Content
- Look for these 10 Halloween movies on DVD for a pre-teen Halloween party. These DVDs are not just selected for a party, they also make a nice Halloween treat for a pre-teen or tween for youth ages eight to 12. Some of these movies may be appropriate for your child, depending on their age, their interests, and their maturity level. Or consider animated Halloween movies for this same age group.
- 11 Spooky Halloween Movies on DVD and VHS for School Age Children - Associated Content
- Eleven spooky Halloween movies on DVD and VHS for school-age children five to seven years old. Look for them at your local library, video store, online store or retail outlet. These movies are only a little spooky for this age group. Some of these have Halloween themes, others have magical themes
- Not-So-Scary Halloween Movies by Disney's Family.com
- We've pulled together a list of 13 movies to watch this Halloween that won't make you yelp with fright. More likely, you'll laugh, you'll smile, and - for a few - you'll sing along. Get in the spirit by scheduling a Halloween movie night this October - these picks are especially great for families with young children.
- Spine-Tingling Halloween Movies by Disney Family.com
- Think about it: The lights are already dimmed. The weather's perfect for curling up on the couch. And, you've already got that big bowl of candy. Of course, you need to pick the right flick. Something with atmosphere, a little nail-biting suspense, and at least one moment where you get that creepy chill that squirms its way up your spine. Families with older kids - even the ones who think they're too cool for costumes - will get more than a kick out of these 13 spooky-ooky picks (plus one TV show we couldn't leave out). These movies are rated PG, PG-13 or not rated at all.
- 10 horror movies you could show your kids and not feel bad about by Cinema Suicide
- The movies on this list are genuine horror movies. They were not necessarily made with kids in mind but are appropriate, at a parent's discretion, for most children who want to get a taste of the real deal before they're old enough to dive into the genre headfirst. So read on, the list begins after the jump.
- Best Horror Movies for Ages 7-10
- Common sense movie list recommended for your family and children aged 7 to 10.
- Halloween Movies for Tweens
- Halloween movies are sometimes difficult to find for children that are too young for the scary movies teenagers enjoy and too old for the babyish ones they used to watch over and over again until the DVD wouldn't work anymore. These Halloween movies should be appropriate and enjoyable for most children between the ages of 7 and 12. Of course, each child and your personal parental guidelines will differ, so you might want to watch these movies first before showing them to your younger children. You'll probably find that you're going to love these Halloween classics just as much as they will!
What Kids Really Want to Ask: Using Movies to Start Meaningful Conversations
A movie-based guide to getting conversation going with your middle schooler.
What Kids Really Want to Ask: Using Movies to Start Meaningful Conversations
Amazon Price: $12.95 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $12.95
"Over 1100 middle-schoolers (ages 10-14) answered this: If you could ask your mom or dad any question and know you would get an honest answer, what question would you ask? Twelve themes emerged and this guidebook was born, using talking points and a now-classic movie for each theme to help families communicate around the children's own questions." ~~ Amazon
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Igor The Movie, Another Great Option For A Tween Halloween Movie
Igor was not a box office success. However, it was a fun movie and might just be perfect for tweens who are looking for some Halloween entertainment. Follow this link to read my whole page about the movie Igor.
-
Igor The Movie ~~ Great Halloween Family Fun!!!
-
Welcome! If you are looking for a fantastic and fun source of information about the Igor the movie, you have come to the right place! Here you will find a brief summary of the plot and the characters, Igor movie reviews and rating information, blu-ra...
Click here to buy Igor on DVD from Amazon for $14.99
or 
The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together
This book is intended for families of younger children. I include it here because you may have both tweens and younger children in your household and because it sounds excellent!
The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together
Amazon Price: $12.24 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $18.00
AMAZON CUSTOMER REVIEW
"I came across this book in my local library, and after reading it, am going to purchase a copy for myself, and perhaps give it out as gifts for friends that have young children. This is an amazing movie resource. Ty Burr writes in such a familiar, easy-to-read style, and despite his motives [trying to get us to expand our young ones' movie viewing experiences through old movies/classics], never once comes across as condescending or snobbish." ~~ z hayes
Avg. Customer Rating:
More Halloween Movies For Pre-Teens
Blu-ray, widescreen and fullscreen editions may be available once you click through to Amazon. I have chosen to show only one edition of each movie.
The Little Vampire
Amazon Price: $5.79 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $12.98
Casper (Widescreen Special Edition)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $9.99
E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (Widescreen Edition)
Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $19.98
The Ghost And Mr. Chicken
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $14.98
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $19.99
The Goonies
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $14.98
Hocus Pocus
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $14.99
Halloweentown/ Halloweentown II - Kalabar's Revenge
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $19.99
The Haunted Mansion (Full Screen Edition)
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $14.99
Ghostbusters (Widescreen Edition)
Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
List Price: $14.94
A final piece of advice that I lived by when my children were younger...if there is any question about a movie...watch it first without them present!
Was this page helpful? Do you have any additional ideas for scary Halloween movies for pre-teens?
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Reply
- RollingLuggage RollingLuggage Nov 9, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
- Wonderful lens & Great information
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Reply
- lasertek lasertek Nov 1, 2009 @ 6:33 pm
- Congratulations on being LOTD! Me and my kids watched The Nightmare before Christmas on Halloween Night.
Please visit my lens if you got time. Thanks
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Reply
- cliffd06 cliffd06 Oct 30, 2009 @ 10:36 pm
- Wow! This lens is very interesting Brenda! I can tell you that I'm not a great fan of scary movies but those movies gave me a lot of memories when I was a little kid. Scary movies were a lot better at the time and you suggest the right movies for the kids :). Since I'm new to squidoo your lens really helped me how to build one. Congratulations for the Lens of the day you sincerely deserve it.
Regards,
Cliff
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Reply
- CherylK CherylK Oct 30, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
- I am a self-confessed scaredy cat. Luckily my kids are all grown up so scarey movies are not something I have to worry about. This is a really good guide, though, for parents of tweens. I love the t-shirts! And congratulations on LOTD!
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Reply
- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Oct 30, 2009 @ 9:02 pm
- Thank you for the suggestions. These movies look just scary enough without being too scary.
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Acknowledgement
The recommendations of these six movies and some of the information on this lens is from the October/November 2005 issue of Tree House Canadian Family magazine.
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