Bloody Marie and the school massacre

I have a friend who is studying to become a teacher. She recently told me about a young pupil who had written a horror story. The story was not long, but described in detail how the evil and bloody Marie decided to kill everyone at her school. She killed both teachers and pupils and thought it was fun. The pupil wrote: «after Bloody Marie had killed the principal, she tried to kill you and me!» Finally the story described a clown who loved blood and who followed the pupil home, and sat outside her door and waited for her to go outside.

It's amazing what imaginative child can be, but I also believe that children are influenced by what they see on TV. I’m not thinking about violent games etc, but news. In the past there has been a dreadful school massacre in Sweden. It’s important that parents and other adults are aware of how children are easily exposed to these terrible events. Obviously it’s important to be aware that not all people are kind and have good intentions. At the same time I can not help thinking about the little girl who wrote the horror story. There are certainly many other children together with her who are afraid that something will happen to them both when they’re at school and at home. To express themselves through writing can be of help to process fear.

It is not easy to know what one should and should not show and tell children. I do not have kids myself but can imagine the various challenges parents meet. When I was about six years old I saw pictures of the Black Death and was told horrific stories of how people suffered. After this I was so afraid of the dark that I did not dare to be alone at home. Luckily I'm not as afraid of the Clack Death now, but it’s still unpleasant to go out in the dark by my self sometimes.

Children (and adults) can be afraid of both death and darkness. They are exposed to more than we might think, and it's not always easy for them to understand. Dumbledore formulates it nicely to Harry Potter in The Half-Blood Prince: «It is not darkness and death we fear, but the unknown».