Don’t Scare the Children
In the early years of the nineteenth century, German brothers Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859) Grimm set out to collect folk stories from across Europe in an attempt not only to reflect a German cultural identity in such tales but also to preserve stories that for centuries had been handed down through the generations in the oral tradition.
This had resulted in differing versions of these tales existing from region to region (especially in France), and the Brothers Grimm not only gathered these stories into a coherent manuscript for the first time—after listening to friends, family members, and storytellers, and transcribing the tales they were told—but they also allowed fragments of the old religious beliefs to continue to survive through the telling of these stories.
In this respect, it is not too much of a stretch to consider Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm to be among the first horror anthologists. That is because, despite subsequent editing and rewriting by diverse hands (including Wilhelm himself), many of the original stories contained scenes of gruesome retribution or implied sexuality that early reviewers deemed totally unsuitable for younger readers (who were not in fact the initial audience these tales were aimed at).
Later versions added religious and spiritual motifs to make the stories more uplifting to a middle-class readership, while the cruelty, sexual elements, and anti-Semitism was toned down. In fact, the Brothers Grimm even added an introduction encouraging parents to make sure that their offspring were exposed only to age-appropriate stories.
Culturally at this time the discipline of children was often based on fear, and many of these tales were supposed to be a “warning” to youngsters not to misbehave, lest something terrible befall them (such as being thrown on a fire or eaten alive).
Between 1812 and 1864, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales, or, as it was later known, Grimm’s Fairy Tales) went through seventeen printings and was revised many times, with the number of stories included in some larger editions growing from eighty-six to more than two hundred. The book was also widely pirated, and different folktales were often added by other compilers.
Today, just over two centuries since Jacob and Wilhelm first published their seminal collection, fairy tales have probably never been so popular. Although Hollywood (especially Walt Disney Studios) has made liberal use of the Grimm Brothers’ work almost since the birth of movies themselves, in recent times we have been bombarded with “reimaginings” such as the werewolf-themed Red Riding Hood (2011), Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013), and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), not to mention various versions of “Snow White,” along with such popular TV series as Once Upon a Time and Grimm (both 2011–).
Over the years, even the Brothers Grimm themselves have been given fictional film biographies (incorporating more than a touch of fantasy) with George Pal’s colorful The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) and Terry Gilliam’s somewhat darker The Brothers Grimm (2005).
So, for this volume I invited a number of prominent authors to contribute their own spin on the classic fairy tales, whether inspired by the Grimms or folk stories from other cultures. The only condition I imposed was that, in the end, this was first and foremost a horror anthology, as a reflection of those early versions of the stories, before they became overly sanitized.
I am delighted to say that all the writers included in this volume rose to the challenge magnificently, and have produced their own—often unique—spin on some classic tales, while still remaining true to the source material.
Here are some genuinely scary and disturbing stories for the twenty-first century.
In 1884, George Bell and Sons of London published Grimm’s Household Tales, a new translation of the Brothers’ stories by British novelist Margaret Hunt (the mother of supernatural writer Violet Hunt). I have used some of these translations as the basis of those tales interspersed between the original material in this volume.
Not all the stories featured herein have their inspiration in the work of the Brothers Grimm, but I have attempted to include some of their older tales that have either thematic links or served as inspiration for the new fiction that follows them. And, as this is a horror anthology, I have also taken the liberty of book-ending those tales with a couple of unfamiliar short ghost stories originally collected by the German siblings.
And so, finally, to echo the warning that Jacob and Wilhelm gave to their readership two hundred years ago: while the stories contained in this volume are based on fairy tales, folktales, and myths, they are perhaps not entirely suitable for children or younger readers.
That is, of course, unless you really want to scare them out of their tiny little minds . . . !
Stephen Jones
London, England
April 2013