How Scary Is Too Scary?

I've been asked of some of the things I write, "But won't that scare kids?"

Yes. That's the whole point.

I'm dumbfounded at the bleaching of America sometimes, how everything is about shielding our children from anything controversial, scary, or dark. Quite frankly, it drives me crazy and ticks me off. Growing up is a strange and, at times, terrifying experience, filled with many speedbumps, ghosts, and goblins. If a book can provide a bit of escapism into a world where the scary stuff goes beyond anything they might encounter at Aunt Sally's house...well, then I say its served its purpose. Besides...kids are smart.

They know the difference between real and unreal, but are still blessed with the fantastic ability to lose themselves in their imagination long enough to experience something different than their day to day. Most adults have lost that. The other day at the park, I overheard a little girl ask her daddy if he'd be a cowboy and she could be the cowgirl. Her dad shook his head and told her he was too big to play. It was sad.

And that, my minions, is why I refuse to grow up. Adults can be so boring, so cemented in reality that they can't let go of all the grown up stuff long enough to immerse themselves in make-believe.

You can't stop playing. You can't stop pretending. That's what makes life truly magical.

As for scary vs. too scary, I think that growing up where trolls live under bridges, where wolves dress like grandmothers and gobble up unsuspecting girls, where green-faced witches are melted with water...well, I think I turned out okay after being exposed to all that. And I think the kids of today will be too.