Top 5 Children's Classic Stories - Fairy Tales or Tales of Horror - Deb Martin-Webster Books

A sobering look at 5 classic children's stories

As a writer, author and more importantly a parent I understand all too well how books shape a child's life. Over the years I've read hundreds of books to both my children and grandchildren. Each child having their favorite story; an old, ragged, and dog-eared copy of Cat in the Hat, Curious George, etc, every one read and re-read until they were able to recite them verbatim. However, while researching data for my own children's books I noticed many of the classic stories depict and often celebrate cruelty and violence. For instance," Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead" is her untimely demise something to rejoice despite the fact she is not what you would call a model citizen of Oz? Some writer's portrayal of children as willing victims is also a reoccurring theme. The above led me to explore some of our more popular children's stories. The following is my personal interpretation of what I would consider to be the five most disturbing children's classic stories:

1. Hansel and Gretel: a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The story follows a young brother and sister who discover a house of candy and cake in the forest and a child-devouring witch. Child abduction, false imprisonment, cannibalism, the list goes on.

2. Little Red Riding Hood: Another tale by Brothers Grimm about a brutal home invasion in which Little Red Riding Hood's Grandmother was killed by a wolf who is also attempting to killer her grandchild as well.

3. Cinderella: The original author of the story we know today was Charles Perraultthat depicts a young girl named Cinderella who after her father dies enslaved by her stepmother; locked in an attic infested with mice and starving only to be left alone while her stepfamily celebrated at the ball. Her situation prompted hallucinations of leaving the attic, heroic rescuers, and eventually marrying a prince. A survival skill of many victims held captive over long periods of time.

4. Jack and the Bean Stalk: It is known under a number of versions however, Benjamin Tabart's version is the moralized version of 1807. Here we find another reference to cannibalism in this classic children's tale, "Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he 'live, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread." Threatening to grind a child's bones, alive or dead -These are definitely the disturbed thoughts of a sadist.

5. Peter Pan: Created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie (1860-1937). A seemingly innocuous tale about adventure with a whimsical elfin character, when in fact he is a child abductor, putting his abductees in harms way, i.e. fighting criminals (pirates) dangerous animals, (crocodiles) not to mention underage enslavement. Charming the children into living with him (signs of sociopathic behavior) and even more disturbing convinces the young girl Wendy of which he alleges to be his "spring cleaning wife" to visit him year after year - even after her release; a blatant case of "Stockholm Syndrome."

All in all most stories are written from the social perspective of the era in which they are penned. Nevertheless, these stories continue to influence today's youth. Today's media continues to cover heinous crimes against children and sadly these crimes could also be immortalized by modern day sensationalist storytellers. The lines are reprehensibly thin in these classic children's stories. Entertainment, victimization, you be the judge.