Kids in Horror: Heroes

Kids pop up in Horror as victims, and as monsters, but they also can be the heroes of the story. It may seem a little far-fetched at times considering the stakes and the opponents they face, but is there anything really as cheer inducing as watching a kid or kids take down a villain that's been running around killing everyone else around them? Or maybe they don't stop the villain, maybe it's all they do to find a way to survive the horror that nobody else is escaping.

Danny Torrence from The Shining, for example. Even with his special gift, it's all he can do to escape from the evil of the Overlook Hotel, and the madness of his father. It's not that he survives just because he's a kid though. He survives because he recognizes the danger he's in, and thinks of ways to escape. Running into the hedge maze, retracing his steps in the snow; the kid is smart and is thinking of what to do. He isn't stopped by the fact that the crazed man chasing him is his father, which is what would paralyze and be the doom of most kids. He recognizes the danger and does what he has to do.

One of the things that sets children heroes apart from their adult counterparts is the fact that most people completely disregard them. Kids and their crazy imaginations, am I right? How many times could scenes of murder and mayhem just be avoided if people had listened?

How many times did little Andy Barclay in the classic Child's Play movie try to warn his mom and other adults that Chucky was evil and hurting people? In the end, Andy had to overcome his own desire to trust his only friend, and light the evil little bastard on fire.

Usually though, it takes a group of kids to face the evil, to make up for their smaller size and lack of physical ability and experience. Most recently we have the kids from the Netflix series Stranger Things, and the remake of Stephen King's IT. There's also no leaving out the older, cult classic The Monster Squad.

Why do kids make great heroes in the end though? I think it's because they win in one of two ways. They either grow up while we watch and lament the loss of innocence and the leaving behind of a simpler, easier life; or they win through the qualities that make them children, that same sense of innocence, imagination, and the stubbornness that the world should be a certain way just because we want it to be.

As I've said recently, it's all too common for their innocence and naivety to lead a child to be the victim of horror, so I think when it's that same quality that leads them to victory we cheer that much harder. We're proud of them, and we wish we could go back to that easier life, while carrying that much strength. I think there really are no better heroes than kids.

~ Shaun