Parents Posting Kids' Terrified Reactions to Haunted Houses Sparks Debate

As Halloween approaches, many parents are busy taking their kids to costume parties, hay rides and fall festivals. But some parents are leaning into the "spooky" side of "spooky season" by bringing their children to haunted houses.

Over the last month, parents have flooded TikTok with videos of their children screaming and crying inside haunted houses after "begging" to be there. In some cases, the kids immediately regained their composure upon leaving the houses. Others, however, needed a few minutes to calm down.

"My 5-year-old begged to go to a haunted house, and this is how it went," read the caption of one mother's, Rose Marie's, now-viral video.

In the minute-long clip, Rose Marie's daughter interacts with several scare actors as she makes her way through the house. But as soon as an "emergency" alarm starts to sound, the 5-year-old loses her cool and screams.

Outside the haunted house, one of the actors tells the girl she did a "good job," and another buys her candy.

"I thought you weren't scared," Rose Marie joked as her daughter cried.

Another video posted by a father named Mike Dodd showed his elementary-aged son Greyson walking through a "haunted hallway" inside a local high school. Greyson looks excited—albeit a little nervous—but once he makes it into the "haunted" part of the hall, any excitement he has is turned into fear.

"Wanna go back in?" Dodd asked Greyson as they left the "haunted hallway."

"No," Greyson responded.

In a third video, posted by Jordyn Burdette, an 8-year-old "talks smack" to her mom before entering her first-ever haunted house. A few moments after walking in, however, the girl is reduced to tears and asks Burdette to leave.

"What happened?" Burdette asked her daughter after leaving the house.

"It crawled," the girl said through tears, likely about one of the actors.

Viewers React

Many of those commenting on these videos, and the hundreds like them across TikTok, said they were hilarious.

"I literally just laughed out loud at work," one TikToker commented on Burdette's post.

"I'm sorry, but this is so funny," JeorgelisC said of Rose Marie's video.

In response to Dodd's video, one commenter wrote: "Man, I'm dead."

Others, meanwhile, admonished those who take their children through haunted houses, knowing they'll be afraid.

"Rule of thumb—if you won't let your kids watch a horror movie, then don't take them. I feel so bad when parents bring little kids into the haunt," Hylo wrote.

"Sorry, but as a parent, you should know what your kids can handle even if they say they can. You're supposed to guide them," ThatOneClownGirl argued.

"I literally knew it wouldn't end well. She was too young," one commenter told Burdette. "TikTok videos ain't worth it."

Kinds and Haunted Houses

Speaking to Lifehacker, Dr. Heather Bernstein, a clinical psychologist in the Mood Disorder Center at Child Mind Institute, said there's no specific age at which a child is "ready" to experience a haunted house.

"It's not like 'ready to go into a haunted house' is a developmental milestone," Bernstein said. "All kids are different, and all kids are ready for things at different ages."

The best way to determine readiness, Bernstein continued, is to wait for the child to show interest.

"If they're walking by a haunted house and get curious, or they ask about an advertisement for one, talk to them about it," Bernstein advised. "Look at how they respond to other types of things that might be scary, like a mask or a scarecrow. That is some indication of how they're going to do when they're fully in a haunted house."

Of course, the experience could still be a tad much for children, but not to worry: "Kids are resilient," Lifehacker said. To help children process their fears, Bernstein advised parents to take them through the haunted house during the day or introduce them to actors outside.

"Do they need help understanding what the heck they just went through? In that case, that might mean going back to the haunted house [and] seeing it during the daylight," Bernstein said. "Maybe meet some of the actors that are in the house, so that kid starts to realize that this was something more like a play than something where they were truly in danger."

More Viral Trends

TikTokers are chugging salt water to release "toxins" in a viral health trend called the "salt water flush."

One popular trend has viewers making "butter boards"—the latest iteration of the charcuterie board.

And back in August, one viral trend had TikTokers making homemade butter.