Character design influence

The girl:

I want to be sure that it is clear that the girl is no longer alive through the visual portrayal of the character but I don't want her to look scary.

 The above image is from Japanese horror movie The Ring. Sadako is the main antagonist in the movie and book that the film is adapted from. This kind of character is featured in a lot of Asian horror films and the protagonist in The Grudge has a very similar look to Sadako. I think this kind of imagery is a bit too scary for my narrative and unsuitable for children but I may take some inspiration from some the elements that make up girls in Asian horror.

Lenore : The Cute Little Dead Girl is a comic by Roman Dirge which follows the adventures of a cute young girl who happens to be undead. It was inspired by the poem 'Lenore' by Edgar Allen Poe. I love the design of Lenore and I think it's very successful in being creepy but cute at the same time, it's obvious that Lenore is dead but she's not scary. The whole comic has an array of slightly creepy but very cute undead characters.

Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D is a rhythm game for the Nintendo 3DS which features simple, cute visuals. The story follows a girl who accidentally sneezes out her soul and is transported to a land inhabited by monsters, where she has to collect screams by dancing to earn back her soul. The character doesn't change much visually from being alive to dead I think she just becomes more transparent. But I do like the visual style and the way that quite creepy scary things are given a cute aesthetic and become suitable for children. I want to have some creepy monsters and other ideas in my narrative but since I am aiming my story at children I need to be careful not to make anything too scary.