Video of the Day: Spooky Halloween Songs and Stories for Kids

YouTube Channel: WOW English TV

Let's get in the spirit of Halloween. If I'm not concentrating on horror films this year, apart from a few films about Elizabeth Bathory, let me at least write about a children's Halloween video.

I've already watched a lot of videos from this channel with my grandson Oliver. The channel is called WOW English TV, but when Oliver wants to watch it he asks for "Steve and Maggie". That's probably the name that most children have for the channel. Every video features two characters: Steve, who refers to himself as The Teacher, and a magpie called Maggie. In each video they appear against an animated background, which Steve points at or sometimes interacts with.

The channel has been in existence for four years, during which time 302 videos have been posted. There's no noticeable change in style from the oldest to the newest videos. Videos are posted every Wednesday, alternately new material and compilation videos of older material. Most of Steve and Maggie's videos are watched millions of times. For instance, this Halloween video was posted seven days ago and already has five million views. The channel current earns in excess of $175,000 per month, making it one of the most successful children's channels.

The channel itself is just one part of Steve Watts' work. He also writes books and produces learning material for kindergartens and junior schools. Judging from what he writes on his website, his emphasis seems to be teaching English to children whose parents don't speak English as a first language. Whether his teaching methods are successful or not is for others to decide. I only know his videos, and I can tell from Oliver's face that he enjoys them a lot.

Oliver has been watching videos on YouTube for roughly 12 months. He's used to videos of trains, excavators and children playing. He's only recently been introduced to scary videos. The first time he saw a cartoon ghost he hid behind my chair, so I've progressed cautiously. This video has been good for calming him down with its theme song "Don't be scared on Halloween". It shows Steve being scared as he walks through a haunted house, while Maggie is laughing in a control room, activating the illusions with buttons.

Steve is scared...

but Maggie thinks it's funny.

In the end Steve joins in the fun by dressing up as Dracula and dancing with the witches. Maybe Oliver is still too young to celebrate Halloween this year, but he's being prepared for it. He can see that all the monsters that run about are just make believe. In the process he can learn important words like "pirate", "witch" and "dragon".

This is an excellent video, and I can recommend the channel to parents with small children.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here to visit Steve Watts' web site.