Writer Neil Gaiman may have recently crushed filmgoers’ dreams of a sequel to Coraline, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still some great children’s book adaptations out there. And with many people celebrating the halfway to Halloween mark, it’s a great time to revisit some fantastic horror kid’s classics that have been turned into equally memorable films.
From the weird world of Roald Dahl to tackling R.L. Stine classics, filmmakers have been creating some fantastic films based on childhood favorites for decades.
Coraline (2009)
Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s 2002 book, Coraline is a fantastically dark film. The story follows the titular Coraline (Dakota Fanning) as she deals with the difficulty of a new move: she’s in a new place with no real friends, and both of her parents seem increasingly preoccupied with work. It’s the kind of common growing pains many children experience, only there’s a catch – Coraline finds a hidden door to a seemingly perfect mirror universe.
The film is a stop-motion wonder, each still masterfully crafted by the team over at Laika. The film holds true to the original book, following Coraline as she overcomes increasingly terrifying obstacles.
Goosebumps 1 & 2 (2015 and 2018)
While not exactly a remake of any of the 200+ titles in the Goosebumps series, both films bring to life some of the best creepy crawlers and spectral villains the books are known for. Both films feature Jack Black as the series author R.L. Stine who, along with a varying cast of characters, must capture a series of monsters that seemingly escaped from the pages of his work.
The movies are both fun, family-friendly affairs. Black turns in an entertaining performance as the famed horror writer, and each film does a great job of evoking the campy horror the books are known for. (And for a more adult Stine series, don’t miss Fear Street.)
The Witches (1990 and 2020)
There are actually two movies based on this Roald Dahl classic, one in 1990 starring Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch and the 2020 remake with Anne Hathaway. In either case, The Witches is an odd and often terrifying story about an orphan boy who stumbles onto a convention of witches. After being turned into a mouse, he must find a way to defeat the witches and reverse his transformation.
Both versions do a solid job of portraying the strange otherworldliness Dahl so brilliantly gave to his witches, though the 1990 version leans more into their overall grotesqueness. But the remake gives some of its other characters more teeth, and Octavia Spencer makes for a more engaging Grandma.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
There are three books in Alvin Schwartz’s famous Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, each an anthology of spooky stories for children. The movie is set in the 60s and follows friends Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti), Auggie (Gabriel Rush), Chuck (Austin Steinberg), and drifter Ramon (Michael Garza) as they stumble upon a series of scary stories written by the Sarah Bellows. But things get extra terrifying when their lives become new stories in her collection.
Chock full of revamped urban legends and ghost stories, the Scary Stories series has been fun sleepover fodder since the 90s. Andre Ovredal’s 2019 takes these childhood tales and weaves them into a more adult package.
Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 and 1995)
Much like The Witches, Escape to Witch Mountain has two film versions. The first came out in 1975 and the second in 1995 as a TV movie (starring an incredibly young Elisabeth Moss). But if you watch one, stick with the 1975 version. The story is more science fiction than pure horror and follows two orphan children, Tony and Tia, with mysterious powers. Tony and Tia are being hunted by evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milliard), a man obsessed with the paranormal.
Escape to Witch Mountain is at times a bit campy, but overall genuinely unnerving film about two children fleeing from a man bent on using their powers. That coupled with great performances from horror alums like Donald Pleasance makes it a fun watch.
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
While not necessarily straight-up horror, A Series of Unfortunate Events has certain gothic sensibilities and horror elements that make the series titillating fun to watch. And murder. Lots of murder. While the series has since been turned into a hit Netflix show, the books were originally slated to be turned into a series of movies, with Jim Carrey playing the nefarious Count Olaf.
The 2004 film covers plot points from throughout the 13 books, which is a lot to fit into one film. But the overall movie is well-acted and a joy to watch, with fantastic performances by Liam Aiken and Emily Browning as two of the three Baudelaires.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Tim Burton does an irable job of capturing the mystery, magic, and gothic strangeness of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Jake (Asa Butterfield) tries to piece together the truth about his grandfather’s life after his ing, leading him to discover an extraordinary school full of supernatural children. But the school and its residents are in danger, and he and Eva Green’s Miss Peregrine have to save the day.
The film stays relatively true to the book, and Burton’s style enriches the overall tone of the story. With a phenomenal cast, great performances, and incredible scenery, there’s a lot to love about this adaptation.
A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting (2020)
Netflix brings to life Joe Ballarini’s A Babysitters’ Guide to Monster Hunting, a light-hearted horror fantasy novel. The plot is straightforward: Kelly (Tamara Smart) is a babysitter whose ward is kidnapped on Halloween night by some monsters. With fun monsters and nonstop nods to classical horror (Tom Felton plays a character named Grand Guignol), it’s a fun film that does a lot to pay homage to the movies and books that have come before it.
A Babysitter’s Guide is a bit of a throwback to 80s and 90s kid flicks, where the children had to rely on themselves to save the day a la The Goonies. With a PG rating, it’s a fairly family-friendly film that everyone can enjoy.
Nightbooks (2021)
This Netflix film is a straightforward retelling of the 2018 J.A. White book by the same name. Nightbooks centers on Alex (Winslow Fegely), a young boy who loves scary stories. Unfortunately for him, an evil witch named Natacha (Krysten Ritter) notices and takes him prisoner, making him tell her stories in exchange for staying alive.
The movie is an engaging horror fantasy with beautiful set pieces and Peter Nicolakas’s incredible costumes. It’s a great film for those who love the horror genre and storytelling, and the performances from everyone, particularly Ritter, keep the storytelling lively.
Freaky (2020)
It might be shocking to know that a gore-happy horror-comedy is, in fact, based on a beloved children’s book—but it is. Mary Rodgers’s Freaky Friday was originally published in 1972, and instantly became a childhood favorite. Since then, it’s been adapted five times, including 2020’s Freaky. The general premise is simple: two people magically switch bodies and must switch back before the change becomes permanent. Which would be a bummer for Freaky’s Millie (Kathryn Newton), who switched bodies with serial killer The Butcher (Vince Vaughn).
Violent, bloody, and bitingly funny, Freaky is definitely not an adaptation for children. But Vaughn gives an absolutely hilarious take as a teenage girl stuck in a middle-aged man’s body.
