Profs & Pints Philadelphia: Tales Told to Scare Children

[Profs and Pints Philadelphia](https://www.profsandpints.com/philadelphia) presents: “Tales Told to Scare Children,” on centuries of stories describing frightening consequences for bad behavior, with Melissa Jensen, award-winning lecturer in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania and scholar of children's literature, the Gothic, and adolescence in media and society.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profs-and-pints-black-squirrel/philadelphia-tales-to-scare-children](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profs-and-pints-black-squirrel/philadelphia-tales-to-scare-children).]

There’s no rest for the wicked when it comes to bedtime stories. For centuries parents have left their children staring wide-eyed at bedroom ceilings by describing to them how the naughty and disobedient ended up in uncomfortable places such as burlap sacks or the bellies of wolves.

What’s up with this long tradition of telling tales that scare the wits out of kids?

Gather round children’s literature scholar Melissa Jensen at Fishtown’s Black Squirrel Club to get full story on how and why we deliberately use narratives to frighten children and on the impact of doing so.

She’ll harken all the way back to prehistoric cave paintings of humanoid figures that surely frightened young viewers. The real action, however, will begin with her discussion of Charles Perrault’s 1697 collection of fairy tales, *Histories, or Tales of Past Times*, and the 1812 publication of the first edition of *Children’s and Household Tales* by the Brothers Grimm.

The stories gathered by the Grimms, especially, can be characterized as generally conveying the same basic message: “Do good or get dead.” They tapped into children’s tendency to have imaginary or supernatural fears as part of normal child development. People told such tales to get kids to behave—be it by staying out of the forest, shunning the evil, or simply minding their manners.

Many children have enjoyed hearing being told such stories, with plenty of research out there suggesting that they like to be scared for reasons related to endorphin release, a desire to see boundaries tested, or the emotional payoff that comes with being reassured that everything is okay. But there’s also plenty of research showing that such tales have left more than a few children traumatized and contributed to the development of anxieties and phobias.

Jensen will cover the gamut of such experiences in a talk that stirs the beasties that lurk beneath beds. ( Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Guests are welcome to arrive any time after 5:30. Talk starts at 6:30.)