Haunting the youth: Why is there so much horror-based fiction for children?

“Wasn’t like this when my kids were young,” complains the woman next to me as I inspect the titles on offer. “They had nice books for kids then. Can’t be good for them, all this horror.”

But is it really bad for kids? Haven’t creepy stories always been around? Folk tales, fairy stories, traditional sagas – none of them exactly lacking in blood and gore. It seems as if it’s always been popular, but why?

I decide to find out, armed with books from authors featured in the children’s programme at the Lennoxlove Festival – the ideal venue for a touch of ghoulishness, with walls more than 11ft deep, a 15th-century tower and the death mask of Mary, Queen of Scots. The hairs on the back of my neck are already standing up. Clutching my books, I make a date with a child psychologist. She tells me that scary stories are vital in a child’s development. She says: “It’s essential for children to examine the emotion of fear, as by doing so they gain power over it.”

How does that work? “Well,” she says, “books are safe. You can test out how you feel, and if you’re too scared you can stop reading. You can sit on the book to stop the monster getting out. Children need to find out about fear, because life is scary. It gets dark at night, and you can’t see. Your parents suddenly disappear. OK, it’s only to buy a fishcake – but a small child doesn’t know that. He thinks, Help! Dad’s gone! Will he ever come back?

“Reading books is a way of rehearsing what to do when bad things happen; you can be afraid with the protagonist, and when they survive, you survive too – and you’ve conquered the fear. With any luck you can even laugh at it – and that makes you feel REALLY strong.”

This sounds impressive, but I need more feedback. I take myself off to a primary school. Do pupils like scary stories? There’s wild enthusiasm among the nine/ten-year-olds, but it’s not universal. Of a sample 29 children, eight say they prefer funny stories, or animal adventures.

I troop off to the library with my horror fans. What do they get from these books? “Chills down my spine!” “It makes my boring life exciting!” “I see horrible things in my head, but I know they aren’t true so they don’t bother me!” “It’s FUN being scared!”

What about films and TV, I ask? There’s a lot of shuffling. “I sometimes get nightmares from films,” a tall boy admits at last. “I keep seeing the horrible bits when I shut my eyes. It’s too . . .” he can’t think of the word.

“Realistic,” suggests a girl. “Gruesome,” says another, with relish.

I go and see the infants. I read them Debi Gliori’s The Scariest Thing of All, and it goes down a storm and provokes non-stop chatter afterwards as they list the things they’re scared of. Dark nights and strange unidentified noises feature largely. Then someone mentions monsters under the bed. There’s a riot; in this part of town monsters seem particularly partial to under-bed activity. I ask if it helps to read stories, and they nod. “I know they’re more scared of me than I am of them,” a small girl announces, but she can’t remember which book told her that. Someone else giggles. His book was about a monster who ran away because he had to keep company with a pair of smelly socks. All of a sudden monsters go right down the list. “Can we have that story again?” they ask. “The one about the little rabbit who was scared of EVERYTHING?” I willingly oblige.

I report back to my friendly psychologist. “It’s interesting about the films,” she says. “Very common. Films and TV are much more graphic in their depiction of horror; books leave the detail to the reader’s imagination.” I nod, and report my success with the infant class.

“Sounds excellent,” I’m told. “Demonstrating scary situations in a safe environment is ideal, especially when the hero overcomes his fear through self-discovery. Can you get me a signed copy? Oh, and I wouldn’t mind a copy of the collection of ghost stories, too. Haunted? Was that what it was called? I especially liked the story about a haunted computer. I think it was by Eleanor Updale.”

I ring off before I’m called on to also provide copies of Barry Hutchison’s latest book in the Invisible Fiends series (Doc Mortis – and it’s TERRIFYING!), and Who’s Horrible in History. I’d have liked to have asked her about the Horrible Histories series; the wonderful illustrations by Martin Brown don’t give too much graphic detail but some of the stories are horrific – and true. Does this make a difference? A teacher friend suggests not, because as far as children are concerned anything pre-2009 is ancient history, and apparently most kids don’t grasp the concept that historical characters were real people until they’re well into their teens.

So, there’s a feast of fear to be had at Lennoxlove for young readers. After they’ve heard all the brilliant authors and artists talking about their books they’ll never be afraid again . . . or only in the nicest possible way.

And what am I doing at Lennoxlove? Well . . . I’m working with the talented Ross Collins, and we’re going to be creating a graphic novel with our audience. What’s the title of our event? “Fleshless Skulls and Bulging Eyes”. Do come along . . . and don’t go home alone in the dark.

• Lennoxlove Book Festival, featuring Viv French and all the authors mentioned above, 4-6 November. The Knight Frank Family Book Festival is part of the event. Details at www.lennoxlovebookfestival.com, box office: 0844 357 7611.