Coraline, a novel written by Neil Gaiman, includes a foreword from the author describing the origins of the novel: “I started this for Holly [his first daughter]. I finished it for Maddy [his second daughter].” His daughters, avid fans of horror, scary stories, and witches, inspired him to create the tale, but the final story was one that intertwined adult and child-horror tropes to create a hybrid text that enlightens as well as haunts its readers. In 2009 the book was adapted into a stop motion film by Henry Selick, whose previous credits included directing The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. The film was both popular with audiences and critically acclaimed, and has inspired a wealth of academic scholarship analyzing its presentation of race, gender, and family, as well as the impact such images have on children. Erin Hawley, author of “Re-imagining Horror in Children’s Animated Film” (2015) explores the idea that recent animated films, containing horror tropes, characters, and conventions, are diminished to “what’s known as ‘kiddie-horror’ or ‘goth lite’.” A large portion of her discussion focuses on the appropriateness of horror marketed towards young audiences. In this paper, I analyze the horror tropes and conventions present in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Corpse Bride (2006) as well as Gil Kenan’s Monster House (2006), as well the adaptation of Coraline (2009). Combining positive character interactions and adult allies with horrific figures and situations, each of these animated children’s horror films legitimize horror as a sub-genre of children’s literature in its own unique way.
About the presenterIsabella T Oliverio
“This is scene 1a, take 1… action.” With a knack for communication, Isabella, a junior Television Production major and English minor at Ithaca College, is eager to learn and engage with the academic and culture-loving community. When not in class or handling Resident Assistant responsibilities, she works as a lifeguard. She enjoys watching movies and the news as well as cooking and physical activity.