The Hunsberger Scary Scale: Help Children Select Just-Right Horror

The Hunsberger Scary Scale has helped me overcome my fear of recommending the wrong horror book to a child. A very rational fear given that I made it through my entire childhood in the 1990s without reading a single Goosebumps book. (Unlike ALSC blogger Chelsey Roos, who wrote a piece on why kids love horror.)

“Safe Spaces in Scary Books” at #alaac25

I learned about The Hunsberger Scary Scale this past summer at an #alaac25 session titled “Safe Spaces in Scary Books.” Taylor Hunsberger, Children’s Senior Librarian at Brooklyn Public Library’s East Flatbush Branch, moderated the session. Presenters included authors Tracey Baptiste and Ellen Oh, as well as Torrance Public Library Youth Services Librarian Judy Neeb.

Baptiste began the session with an explanation of why she chooses not to describe horror as “dark.” “While it’s typical to use the word ‘dark’ to describe things that are scary or menacing, because dark people are typically marginalized, the association furthers a narrative that a dark person is also scary and menacing,” Baptiste shared.

After encouraging others to consider this choice, Baptiste, Hunsberger, Oh, and Neeb presented a primer on the children’s horror genre.

The Hunsberger Scary Scale

Besides Baptiste’s remarks, my biggest takeaway from the session was The Hunsberger Scary Scale. (“Scary Scale” for short.) Hunsberger developed the scale to help children select just-right horror. It is based on Hunsberger’s content analysis of children’s horror books in the New York City library systems.

Hunsberger designed the scale to be used like a pain scale at a doctor’s office. It includes four levels and a visual to support its use (see above). Hunsberger offers examples and recommends using tools like The StoryGraph to identify read-a-likes. You can download a printable PDF bookmark of the Hunsberger Scary Scale by clicking on this link.

Levels of Scary

• Level 1: “I like a monster protagonist.” Hunsberger’s visual for level one is a smiling face with raised brows. Hunsberger’s level one examples include Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara and Barbara Cantini’s Ghoulia series.
• Level 2: “I like an eerie atmosphere and a monster character.” Hunsberger’s visual for level two is a face with pursed, shaky lips. Its eyes are wide and its brows are straight. Hunsberger’s level two examples include Poesy the Monster Slayer by Cory Doctorow and Rules of the House by Mac Barnett.
• Level 3: “I like being scared, but not too much.” Hunsberger’s visual for level three is a face with a toothy grimace, bloodshot eyes, and contorted brows. Hunsberger’s level three examples include Aaron Reynolds’s Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales! series and Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Liniers.
• Level 4: “I love being scared!” Hunsberger’s visual for level four is a face with its mouth wide open—presumably screaming. Upturned brows frame wide eyes that may very well be trembling. Hunsberger’s level four examples include Max Brallier’s Mister Shivers series and Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys by Xavier Garza.

At the end of the session, we practiced using the scale. Hunsberger and her fellow presenters also recommended resources for identifying children’s horror books and authors. This included The Haunted Archives, which focuses on middle grades. ALSC blogger Jessica Brownley also has some great recommendations for younger readers.

How do you help children select just-right horror? Drop a line in the comments or at ktaksier@ufl.edu.

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This blog post relates to ALSC Core Competency II: Reference and User Services.