I won’t pretend to be an expert on the curriculum. I’m not at all sure how much freedom teachers have when selecting books - it’s understandable that they might have reservations about reading a frightening or dark story to pupils. But I think it would be a real mistake to write off a book for the sole reason that “it’s scary”.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many schools. I’ve talked to thousands of children aged 8-12 about books, writing and what, for them, makes a great story.
I’ve learned that children are just as discerning as adults - perhaps more so. They’re honest, sometimes brutally; if they don’t like something, they’ll tell you. And I don’t ever remember a child telling me they didn’t like a book simply because it was dark or frightening. If anything, those are selling points for them.
The right book stays with the reader long after the last page has been turned, and can have a huge long-term impact. Does it matter if it’s darker? In any case, isn’t reading scary books simply a way of facing our fears in a controlled, safe way?
When I was in P5, our teacher read us Roald Dahl’s The Witches. Before this, I wasn’t a big reader. I liked to make up stories and I read the books I was told to read. But nothing hooked me. Nothing made me want to run to the library. Then Dahl came along with his bald-headed, toeless, child-hating witches, and the switch was flicked - I constantly craved the next instalment.
The Witches is quite dark. Children are turned into mice, trapped forever in paintings, hunted by hideous creatures. There are laughs, too, and some touching moments. But it was the book’s dark side that did it for me. The danger. Will our hero escape? Or will he be squished?
I remember thinking: ‘I want to make people feel the way this book has just made me feel’
The point is, The Witches showed me how much fun reading can be. It opened up a world of adventures I never imagined was out there, and made me want to be a writer. When our class reached the end, I vividly remember thinking: “I want to make people feel the way this book has just made me feel.”
I can’t imagine how different my life would have been had I not read this book. I might never have discovered my love of reading and become a writer. I truly believe that I owe such a great deal to Dahl and that gruesome little story.
Wouldn’t it have been a shame, then, if my P5 teacher, when browsing potential class reads, had glanced at The Witches and thought, “Nah. Too scary.”
Ross MacKenzie is a children’s author. His latest novel, Shadowsmith, is out now, published by Kelpies
