On children and Horror

Evil Kids  In Horror: Why Do They Scare Us So Much?

 For many years, we have had horror films created with young children as playing as the protaganist. One of the main reasons children are included in horror films is that there seen as "pure and innocent", which is then contrasted when they become "evil" or fighting evil. For examples, the three films above have children becoming evil but are shown at the begining of the film to be "angelic" and "uncorrupet".

Childhood represents the ultimate good, the corruption/destruction of that good is the most extreme form of evil that most of us can imagine. Which scares the audience even more as children are meant to be protected and cared and not supposed to be put through nasty things. But when they are it then becomes more unpleasent for the audience especialy if the child is being tortured like the film Martyrs (2008). 

However, people keep watching horror films with young children in and why?

Because it really engages the audience as they are interested in what is happening and there is an extra level of uncomfort when you are dealing with children in vulnerable settings. It evokes strong emotions from the audience and creates empathy. This can be called gratification theory or affective needs,  as the target audience seek a fulfilment in what they watching.