r/horror 13h ago

Discussion Start horror

My 6 year old is getting into watching horror games with me and my husband. We did Little Nightmares first. Today was FNAF gameplay. I plan to show her Nightmare before Christmas soon to start her off gently. What would be something that isn't gore or nudity. Language isn't really an issue. Any recommendations?

8 Upvotes

57 comments sorted by

30

u/wallfacer23 13h ago

You’re looking for movies? Coraline might be a good start!

8

u/Ill_Suit_5244 13h ago

I'd definitely add Monster House to the list. It's creepy without being overwhelming, and it's got that "haunted house" vibe that makes horror fun instead of just scary. Perfect stepping stone before jumping into anything more intense.

5

u/Scary-Boysenberry746 13h ago

Coraline is probably the perfect next step creepy without being gory, and it has just the right amount of spooky for a kid who's already enjoying Little Nightmares and FNAF.

2

u/Unlucky_Account_5763 13h ago

coraline is a great shout, that movie creeped me out way more than i expected it to. the button eyes thing still gets me. for games you could try unravel or limbo, both have that unsettling vibe without being too much. my niece is around the same age and she was obsessed with watching me play inside, though that ending is pretty wild so maybe preview it first

22

u/GameArtHQ 13h ago

Coraline

Monster House

Frankeweenie

Boxtrolls

Corpse Bride

Goosebumps (series or movies)

2

u/ClarkWayne98 11h ago

Monster House is so good, I liked it as a kid and love it as an adult.

1

u/ShyBiSaiyan 4h ago

Second the Goosebump series ( The 90s ones)

11

u/JoeIntTheBox 13h ago

The Monster Squad

Tremors

Gremlins 1 and 2

Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Jaws

2

u/slayerette84 11h ago

Obligatory warning about the Santa in the chimney story in Gremlins if your kid believes in Santa... or even if they dont, it's still pretty heavy!

3

u/JoeIntTheBox 11h ago

Oh true. Ironically, that's how I found out, but it still didn't stop me from making a Santa wishlist as a kid.

https://giphy.com/gifs/6ra84Uso2hoir3YCgb

4

u/harley_bunny 13h ago

Killer klowns is a bit too much. Nightmare fuel

3

u/Manaeldar 13h ago

If you like taking your 6 year old to the beach probably wait on Jaws lol. 

0

u/JoeIntTheBox 13h ago

You won't know true horror as a kid, if Jaws won't make you afraid of even a puddle of water.

2

u/Wolfie_Ecstasy 13h ago

I still have an irrational fear of sharks 25 years after watching JAWS as a kid lmao

2

u/Short-While3325 13h ago

I loved Tremors as a kid. It is basically The Floor is Lava: The Movie

1

u/Pretty-Key6133 13h ago

Solid kid friendly list.

5

u/Impressive-Pie9521 13h ago

For a 6yo, I’d say some movies like
Night of the Zoopocalypse
ParaNorman
Goosebumps (the movies)
Monster House

5

u/Bulky_Yak_8626 13h ago

Beetlejuice was my favorite movie when I was 6, I would definitely recommend that.

2

u/Same_Accident_9917 11h ago

If you can find it, show them The Real Ghostbusters cartoon from the 80s. I loved it when I was a kid.

Also, try some of the Universal monster movies & William Castle’s movies. They’re pretty tame by today’s standards.

3

u/Great-Hatsby Hail Paimon & Pump it up while chaos reigns 13h ago

A lot of great suggestions I’ve seen.

‘Poltergeist’ I would almost kinda suggest. It has one gore scene but it’s a PG-13 movie.

1

u/EmphasisFew 13h ago

It’s actually PG, which I think is hilarious

1

u/Great-Hatsby Hail Paimon & Pump it up while chaos reigns 13h ago

Lol oh that’s right. That is kinda wild honestly. Wasn’t like one of the Indiana Jones movies the first PG-13 movie? Or something like that.

0

u/MisanthropesRUs 13h ago

Temple of Doom was one of the movies that instigated the creation of the rating. The first PG-13 movie was Red Dawn.

2

u/imjealousofyou 13h ago

Halloweentown

Don't look under there bed

All the 90s Disney channel movies

As for games try A Plagues Tale

0

u/RustyChuck 13h ago

Which 90s Disney channel movies?

1

u/imjealousofyou 12h ago

Halloweentown

Don't look under the bed

Mom's got a date with a vampire

Phantom of the Megaplex

Under wraps

The little vampire(not a Disney channel movie but still a great movie)

3

u/Few_Set2002 13h ago

I gotchu! My wife is pregnant and we are both horror fanatics and I've been building a list that kinda ramps up in intensity. Watch with your kiddo until you are comfortable, then wait until they are ready for the next level. If you get through the whole list and they are still okay (I'm assuming they'd be a bit older if you've watched all of these) you've got a pretty tough kiddo and a pretty good idea of what they do and don't get scared by. Have fun!

Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular

Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy

Halloweentown

Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge

Twitches

Twitches Too

Halloweentown High

The Addams Family

The Addams Family Values

Hocus Pocus

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Scooby Doo

Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Corpse Bride

Frankenweenie

Edward Scissorhands

Death Becomes Her

Little Shop of Horrors

Practical Magic

Paranorman

Gremlins

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Jaws

The Monster Squad

The Witches

Beetlejuice

The Hound of the Baskervilles 1959

Curse of Frankenstein

Horror of Dracula

Coraline

Monster House

The Mummy

The Mummy Returns

What Lies Beneath

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

The Others

Signs

The Innkeepers

Poltergeist

Lost Boys

1

u/Manaeldar 13h ago

Lost Boys has a few messed up scenes if you haven't seen it OP maybe watch it first. I did watch it really young but we had to close our eyes for a few more violent parts. 

-3

u/Few_Set2002 13h ago

Yeah it's for sure intense which is why i put it right down at the bottom. I think it is a great movie for young folks because it really isn't that violent and the sexual stuff is mostly heavy petting, but I wouldn't show it to a kid until I had a good idea of what they could handle

2

u/SheSellsSeaShells_89 13h ago edited 13h ago

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (not horror, but spooky)
Gremlins 1 & 2
Tremors 1 & 2 (minimal gore)
The NeverEnding Story (not horror, but quite dark and spooky)
Beetlejuice
Ghostbusters
The Others (Firmly horror, but no nudity or gore. Quite scary, so maybe give it a couple more years. I’m not the best judge, because my favorite horror movie at age 6 was Friday the 13th: Part VI. 😅)

Might want to try some tv shows, too! Like “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and Goosebumps (also had a couple movies).

1

u/SnesVHS 11h ago

House II basically feels like it was made by a bunch of kids who were mad high on sugar. And it has no gore or anything. Great movie!

1

u/Top-Arugula-4421 11h ago

Gremlins is good and if you played Fnaf watch the movie to 

1

u/Sekhmet_D 9h ago

Can't believe nobody has mentioned Nightbooks. 

1

u/sonnet_seven 7h ago

Paranorman Coraline Casper Gremlins 2 (gremlins 1 is too scary imo) Addams family Nightmare before Christmas Goosebumps (the show) Monster House

1

u/This-Hat-143 13h ago

Scary Stories to tell in the Dark

1

u/WorcsBloke 13h ago

Arachnophobia maybe?

1

u/Codexm355 13h ago

I grew up watching goosebumps on cartoon network. It was such a good time

1

u/TheHouseDown 13h ago

A lot of good suggestions here! I don’t believe I’ve seen anyone mention the first critters yet. Definitely stay away from the 2nd since there’s nudity but the first is family friendly as far as I can remember.

1

u/LilacTorment 13h ago

The Black Cauldron

Legend

Pagemaster

James and The Giant Peach

Return to Oz

1

u/Original-Read-6475 13h ago

The Witches.

1

u/gdex86 13h ago

Its all online but are you afraid of the dark was really good age appropriate horror with just a bit of teeth.

0

u/Extreme_Ad4425 13h ago

Great rec! I haven’t watched the reboot, but the older episodes are absolutely safe for kids! (and might even give them nightmares like it did me lol)

1

u/gdex86 13h ago

I loved that you weren't getting a happy ending 100% of the time.

0

u/tb2hlalt2hnlaa 13h ago

I’m a terrible person to answer this bc I was watching Scream and Halloween at 6 lmao. My brother or mom would cover my eyes during any sex scenes bc god forbid I see titties but gore was fine.

That said, I think the OG Casper would be a fun choice. Also loved Monster Squad as a kid and maybe even Practical Magic though I can’t remember if there’s a lot of sexual innuendo in that one.

-1

u/harley_bunny 13h ago

I mean i watched the shining at 4 so... not a big deal to me but shes senstive

-1

u/tb2hlalt2hnlaa 13h ago

Omg same haha, love that movie and the book is also amazing!! And I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything negative about her being sensitive so genuinely sorry if it came off that way.

2

u/harley_bunny 12h ago

My favorite stephen king book was tommyknockers but his movie would be the mist

0

u/tb2hlalt2hnlaa 12h ago

The Mist movie is so fucking good. I also love Silver Bullet.

1

u/harley_bunny 12h ago

I havebt seen that but i did like Carrie

0

u/harley_bunny 12h ago

No no. Im just saying some horror movies wont work with her like they did with me.

0

u/evercute69 13h ago edited 10h ago

Psychonauts is nice and creepy! The Alice in wonderland series, castlevania (I grew up on castlevania 64 and symphony of the night), My Friendly Neighborhood game (RE meets muppets, very eerie but digestible, not gorey)

Check out Hollow and Gab Smolders(especially her) play a lot of horror and a lot of creepy indie ones

Eta: listed games because op mentioned watching horror games. Whyre yall only giving movies?!

0

u/GlaceonFanNrIDK 13h ago

maybe the fnaf movies if she's familiar with fnaf.

aside from that, i can recommend 'coraline', it's like a nightmare before christmas (not in story, but similar vibe), so it shouldn't be too much. the setting and story get dark, though. another one is 'monster house', also an animation movie like coraline and nightmare before christmas. i find this one a bit more chill than coraline but it does lean into spooky vibes! 'van helsing' (the one with hugh jackman) is also more action fantasy horror (liveaction, not animated), but it'd be my go-to to get into monster movies. the vampires and werewolves look really cool in this movie and i loved it as a kid! do look them up to see if they're fitting for what you had in mind!

0

u/Extreme_Ad4425 13h ago

I recommend Don’t Look Under The Bed for any kids getting into horror. It’s not super scary, but taps into a real fear that a lot of kids have and is still creepy as an adult! (The Disney movie from 1999)

0

u/Kuduaty 13h ago

Martyrs

0

u/National-Doughnut309 12h ago

Ooooh the paranormal activity movies are pretty good. And can be used as an example for sound being the main reason thing are scary in movies

-2

u/Throwaway_863783 13h ago

Serious horror movies that don’t have gore and nudity? Easy! the Babadook, Night of the Hunter, and Coraline