Coraline question

I read it for the first time last month and I am 23. I don't think it was scary ...at all. haha. Good book but not scary.

I found myself in Coraline's shoes and my heart was thumping! Being trapped, having to dig deep and find courage when all you want is go home and hide under the covers, realizing that not everything is as it seems!
I loved this book! Excellent atmosphere (taken from Ray's post ;) perfect) and a great book to get lost in. Not scary but has a certain suspence or 'thriller' feeling to it.

I read Coraline a week ago. I liked the book, mainly for Gaiman's narration style. But I didn't find it scary at all, but then I am a 23-year-old adult.

I read the book when I was like 10 & I thought it was scary, but in my opinion the movie wasn't scary at all. The book freaked me out a lot

I found it somewhat unnerving. Excellent and original.

I read the book because I had been told, that it was a book that frightened even adults reading it. It was a quick read for me, and as a teenager, I personally did not find it "scary." I thought how detailed the writing of Neil Gaiman was marvelous, there were even few moments where you felt slightly uncomfortable. Though calling it a scary book, I cannot completely agree on that. Then again, I am not a person whom is easily frightened.

I've never read a book that was scary. Coraline had a lingering creep-factor that just took some time to fade; far longer than any horror book I've read.

It was not really scary but I it is so entertaining to read. I love the part when Coraline goes to another world and see her other parents.

I find the book creepy and dark. Not really that terrifying but definitely did creep me out

When I read the book I thought it was scary than in the movie because the book had more detail and more scary and creepy parts in the book than in the movie.

It was not scary, but rather satisfyingly chilling in a few parts. Overall a wonderful book. Beautiful prose that made it a real pleasure to read, and is practically begging to be read aloud.

I agree with you that I thought my parents were replaced.

Not scary, a bit unnerving though. You know what's unnerving too? Peter Pan! Hell of a creepy story. Disney really 'softened' it for his audience.

In all honesty, the book should scare the child a bit, but keep them entertained to want to read more.
I mean, if the book wasn't scary, the whole message, point, and theme would completely backfire.
And it would be truly horrifying.

Its creepy, I'll give it that, but its not like, mind blowingly scary. I saw the movie, (which is nowhere near as good as the book in my opinion)
and the movie is scary, not the book.

Unnerving, not scary.

it was totally spine-chilling

I still don't know if the book is addressed to adults or children. and this happens to my with everysingle neil's book. That's why I love them <3

I agree. Unnerving but not scary. However because of this book/movie I REALLY hate those Lalaloopsey dolls.

When I first saw the movie it wasn't really that scary to me. It just felt like a dark movie.

For children it can be terrifying. Having adults that are identified as "parents" be the bad guys is not something that they need to be thinking about.

When I heard of Coraline, I was only ten and it scared me really bad. But I'm 15, and the book is now not that scary to me anymore.

No,definitely not scary. :)

It could be for the hovered child, but when I saw the movie I was very small and only thought it was weird.

I learned about this book in a children's literature class. Half the adults found it to be creepy/scary, but I didn't think it was. Until I started noticing all the dolls with button eyes. Neither my teen daughter nor I can look at them without shuddering. Lalaloopsy dolls are so. incredibly. creepy.

I really think it depends on the reader's level of imagination. I definitely think it could be super scary, but it doesn't have to be.

Well, to me it wasn't scary. I am used to this kinds of stories and it reminded me a whole lot of Tom Burtons work and I love him.
But then again I'm not 9-12 years old anymore and I can imagine that I would be a little creeped out of the story if I read it a couple years ago.

My teacher read it to my third grade class so I've never found it particularly scary, but I will admit the doll eyes will always be a bit creepy

I didn't find it scary - just atmospheric. The button eyes tell you Coraline is in another world, but it's an adventure. No more scary than Tim Burton's character Sally's hand waving hello when her arm falls off and she finds it in A Nightmare Before Christmas. The gesture is twisted, and yet adorable.

Reading it as an adult, I found it unsettling. I think for me one of the "scariest" parts is where Coraline goes back through the tunnel near the end of the book and back towards her own home - her real home. I remember reading it with my breath held hoping that she made it.

And the rats were pretty awful. The ghosts of the other trapped children. It's all really very sort've bleak but one amazing adventure.

I don't think I'd quite compare it to Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, though I definitely see the similarities. Coraline might be a little darker, I think. Although if Nightmare had been released as a book first and I had read it, I might feel differently.

"The gesture is twisted, and yet adorable" - a fitting sentiment.

I just finished reading this to my kids and we enjoyed it. My kids liked the movie better. I didn't really like the movie at all. It was way too different from the book for my liking. Me or my kids didn't think it was all that scary. It was a little creepy but my kids watch horror movies (child's play, saw, final destination, etc.) so to them it wasn't scary at all.

i don't think so, i mean it was exciting with that little alternative dimension thing...okay maybe i found the scuttling hand a little creepy....but at least it wasn't sappy like those old disneyfied fairytales.

I didn't find it scary just inventive.

I'm thirty years old, and it still scares the HELL outta me!!! after the Shining.

I read this book to my daughter (who is four) over the course of a few weeks at bedtime; she absolutely loved it. She had seen the movie, and wasn't afraid of that at all, so I didn't really worry about it bothering her. I used silly and/or "spooky" voices for some of the characters that I think helped keep control of the mood. Aside from some words/imagery that I had to stop and explain to her it went very well and I would recommend it to anyone of any age - but everyone knows their own (or their child's) constitution and limits.

I think that for its target audience it would have been quite scary. But I'm scared by everything so . . .

IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT SUPER SCARY HORROR BOOK LEVEL.

It is just that sort of... written very creepily kind of book. Just some creepy stuff that sort of haunts you.

I wouldn't be a coward on this one, try it! It was one of the best books i have ever read!

Don't pass this up just because you are scared of it!

DON'T PASS THIS UP!!!

Not scary; a bit creepy and disconcerting, but a good story. Imaginative and original. I loved the movie more than the book, actually; it is my "go-to" movie on rainy days when there is nothing to do and I am tired of reading. As for the book being scary, nah...maybe to a child; but it is Neil Gaiman, so what else would you expect? Read his "Sandman" series if you want scary. 'Doll House' is by far the best of the Sandman series, IMHO.

I think I see it more as a thriller, if you look from Coraline's point of view. The anticipation near the end is what makes it creepy to me. I love the illustrations too. I think they add a lot to the atmosphere of the book.

Ooooh! I only saw the movie but it TOTALLY freaked me out! Maybe it's just because i tend to look at things from everyone's different points of views but I was having nightmares for weeks after my friends convinced me that it could'nt be scary because it was animated.

I can't think of any book that's truly scary, but I definitely though it was creepy. A true compliment given the constraints of kid lit.

Ashley wrote: "In my opinion the book wasn't scary at all. Maybe at some points it was unnerving but it wasn't scary. Everyone keeps saying that it was scary and I don't really see it. Any thoughts?"

It's not exactly scary, but it's definitely unsettling and creepy; I can imagine it being terrifying to a child, though.

My three and five year olds thought it was scary. They screamed the first time they saw a lalaloopsy doll after reading it. As an adult I thought it was pretty scary too, but I had recurrent nightmares as a child about my parents being replaced.

I found it more creepy than scary. But I remember hearing about someone's child who found it too scary. The level of scariness probably depends on the reader.

Thinks about the story from a child's point of view. It could bring up all sorts of issues about having their parents replaced by someone else or being trapped somewhere they don't want to be. Depending on the child, those could be extremely frightening things to read about.