Don't have nightmares! Photographer creates controversial images showing young daughters posing in terrifying horror movie scenes

Joshua Hoffine said he was inspired to create the images after reading scary bedtime stories to his four daughters

An American photographer has created a controversial collection of images showing his young daughters posing in horror movie scenes.

Joshua Hoffine said he was inspired to create the scary images after reading bedtime stories to his four daughters, two of whom appear in the photographs.

Click here to view a full gallery of the controversial images

The 40-year-old, whose work has previously been published in art magazines, says his own love of horror films goes way beyond cheap thrill, adding he believes the genre is “ultimately concerned with the imminence and randomness of death, and the implication that there is no certainty to existence”.

In a post on his website, the freelance photographer says: “ Horror tells us that our belief in security is delusional, and that the monsters are all around us.”

In an interview with the Observer newspaper, Mr Hoffine described how featuring his daughters in the scary photographers has proved controversial, even leading to hate mail from people who felt he was terrifying the young children.

The photographer insists his daughters were not at all scared while posing for the photographs however, insisting they performed for less than a minute at a time and comforting treats, such as freshly baked cookies, were always on hand to keep them happy.

He identified the most controversial image as being that of a cornered nappy-wearing child screaming as a wolf approaches her on a staircase.

“This one I get hate mail for- it crosses the line for so many people. The wolf is universally read as a sexual predator”, Mr Hoffine said.

* More of Joshua Hoffine’s work can be found on his website: JoshuaHoffine.com