I thought this sounded like a potentially good book of scary stories. It’s common knowledge (at least I think it is) that many children’s fairy tales were originally written as cautionary tales in an effort of basically scaring kids straight (so to speak) from ever doing anything they were told not to do. I can’t imagine ever telling a child any of these stories for fear of giving them nightmares. Quite a few of the stories were the Grimm Fairy Tales, which have always seemed to me to be more of a gothic type of horror for those who have never read any Grimm Fairy Tales. My favorite stories were the ones from 1001 Nights.

Most of these stories are just flat-out horror stories. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being horror filled, most of these stories I would rate 2-4 on the horror scale, but there is a fair amount of the 4-5 level stories to appeal to those who enjoy a more gruesome level of horror. I guess I should have prefaced that last statement by saying I typically don’t read hard-core horror anymore because I don’t like the gory and gruesome kill scenes that the hard-core horror stories always have. So, my rating scale may be rather skewed on the horror scale.

I want to thank NetGalley and Cedar Mill Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #CedarMillPress #TheScaryBookofFairyTales

I just finished The Scary Book of Fairy Tales, and I loved it. Within the pages, you get these eerie, gruesome takes on stories you think you know, but then bam, someone ends up eaten, dismembered, or worse. And it's not just the usual suspects like "Little Red Riding Hood" or "Rumpelstiltskin" (which, by the way, is so much darker than I remembered). There are stories from all over the world, Slavic witch tales, and more.

That said, it helps if you're already familiar with the original versions of the tales, because these aren't full retellings. They jump right into the good stuff, well, the terrifying stuff and twist it. Some of the endings are genuinely disturbing, and I kind of loved that. It's not for kids, that's for sure.

Now, regarding the audiobook, I wanted to love it as much as I loved the print version, but I didn’t quite reach that level of enjoyment. The narration by Dennis Kleinman was fine, but I really think this would’ve been so much stronger with multiple narrators. Because each story had the same voice and tone, it got a bit hard to keep track of where one ended and the next began. It just didn’t have that dynamic feel you’d expect from a collection like this. Still, the content is great, so if you’re more of an audio person, it’s not a total miss, just maybe not the best format for this particular book.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Cider Mill Press for the advance copy. I had so much fun with this one; if" fun" is the right word for reading about spirits, witches, and murderously old men with locked rooms. If you're into folklore, horror, or love seeing the dark underbelly of stories we grew up with, give this a go. Just maybe don't read it right before bed.

I really enjoyed the audiobook version of this. The narrator's voice is perfect for this type of story. His voice was firm and serious, but also cheeky. I loved hearing the real endings to these stories. Some were pretty gory, to be honest. I found myself chuckling at others. I can't imagine telling these stories to children, but I can also imagine telling them and seeing the shocked faces, similar to campfire stories today! Thank you to HCCP & HCF Audio | Cider Mill Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a fun and interesting addition to stories that I'm already familiar with, I think this would probably be a better book for those who are not as familiar with the original fairy tales and folklore, but overall, I really liked it. The narrator was great. Audio quality was fantastic and it was only a couple hours and I learned some new facts about story origins.

✷alc review✷

🎧the audiobook was great!! 5/5! dennis kleinman does an incredible job at bringing these creepy fairy tales to life and helped me push through to finish. im a sucker for accents and his British accent is *chefs kiss* he reminds me of jim dale, which is one of my favorite narrators. if you want to read this, i highly recommend the audiobook.

<I>the scary book of fairytale<I> was a collection of 50 classic fairytales that most people are familiar with. while it wasn't anything new, i thought this book was interesting!! each fairytale is like a short story. i think the short story anthology is such a good idea since like i said most people are familiar with these stories. it's like a little refresh without being overly repetitive. there were quite a few fairytales i wasn't familiar with, which was fun. i was expecting them to be more scary but as someone who is a scary cat, i appreciate they weren't so bad that i got nightmares lol.

this was both horrific and whimsical. i enjoyed it!!

most stories have artwork by neil evans and i<b> LOVE</b> that. the illustrations were creepy + beautiful.

<b><u>my favorite fairytales were: </u></b>
<I>♡ cinderella
♡ rapunzel
♡ the little mermaid
♡ red riding hood</i>


♡thank you netgalley and hccp & hcf audio and cinder mill press for an alc + arc♡

I’m a hardcore fairytale retelling addict—I have shelves upon shelves dedicated to them. But this one just didn’t hit the mark. It felt more like a summary of classic fairytales with only a few lines changed here and there. I made it about 20% in before thinking, “Once upon a time… these aren’t scary. The end.”

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

2.75 stars

Cliff Notes of folklore and fairy tales. Not enough meat, left me wanting a lot more information and detail to connect with it more, but some stories I didnt know and it was a good intro. Really, it's just there to make you think that the origin story is shocking, so that you will want to read more in-depth or completely forget what you read.

The Scary Book of Fairy Tales by Tim Rayborn, Neil Evans
Narrated by Dennis Kleinman
Provided by NetGalley

I’ve long wanted to know what the real fairy tales were like, not the Disneyfied versions. Here we have a collection of them, so I didn’t have to search for them singularly. And what a treat they are! Let’s just say that not only was Disney ridiculously optimistic, but the conglomerate also did learners all over the world a disservice. They took vital lessons and turned them into simplistic tales. That is not to say that all the tales end badly, but they don’t all end with a HEA either.

The narrator read us the stories, he didn’t act them out. This works for some, not for others. Personally, I can go either way depending on the narrator. For this purpose, I found the performance worked for me.

Since I listened to the audio, I can’t comment on the illustrations, which would have been a fabulous accompaniment to the stories.

The audio for this was really well narrated!

Some of the retellings you may know, some I didn't! But I really enjoyed the darker endings for this.

This book delves into so many interesting tales most well known some not. This definitely is freaky as hell the history behind them but also understand their lessons and makes you glad to live when we do@

The Scary Book of Fairy Tales was a great audible read !! I absolutely loved the narrator it was very spooky and he was perfect for the narrator role. This book told the true ending of fairy tales and the possible reason for the endings. This book was very informative and entertaining containing stories from the Brothers Grimm, Fairy Tales from Hans Christian Anderson, and many more. I definitely recommend this read during any time of year and especially during the Halloween season. Happy Reading 😉 and enjoy 👻 . Thank you to NetGalley for an opportunity to read this book early.

If you have ever wondered what a darker version of your favorite Disney movies would be like, this book is perfect! I really loved this anthology and how it did not sugarcoat the endings. Some of them were familiar because I have watched the Disney movie or because I took a German Fairy Tales class in undergrad as an elective. However, some of them I had never heard before and was really enthralled by the stories. I did love some of the twists on modern media classics and how short these stories are. One thing I love about anthologies is there are so many good stories in a small amount of text per story.

I think readers who enjoy horror would enjoy the author's dedication to accuracy of the tales, since many actually have quite the gory end compared to the stories we heard as children. I really loved the narrator and this book would be a perfect way to kick off spooky season. This is really a book that is better on audio than reading physically or on a kindle. The vibes are immaculate.

The Scary Book of Fairy Tales is a 160 page compilation of 50 fairy/folk tales from around the globe. Several are the more known Brothers Grimm stories.

I really enjoyed the illustrations in the eARC. I personally had not heard most of these tales before, and they were much darker than I expected. I can definitely see this collection as something fun to read during spooky season!

I also requested the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration! The narrators voice was perfect for story telling. I loved getting to listen to these tales while walking with a steaming cup of coffee in the foggy morning!

Thank you to NetGalley & Cider Mill Press for the eARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

My honest review was provided in exchange for an audiobook ARC on NetGalley. Thank you, HCCP & HCF Audio/Cider Mill Press, for giving me this ARC! And apologies for any character names I may have misheard and/or misspelled.

4.5/5

This is a folklore anthology, with darker tales that do not sugarcoat events or endings. Some are stories you likely know and love from their adaptations in modern media, like Snow White and Cinderella. Others may be new to you or have twists or endings that differ from what you’ve seen, like the Little Mermaid or Rapunzel. They span a wide array of folk traditions across time and place, and are short and sweet and neatly self-contained.

I’m a fiend for modern folklore reimaginings and retellings, so I was really excited to dive into original tales! It’s billed as scary, likely because these are the kinds of stories that have terrified children for centuries. As an adult, though, these likely won’t give you more than a general feeling of unease or disquiet. I’d still recommend a listen, if only for the wonderful nostalgia the experience evokes. I loved revisiting old stories I remembered from childhood, being introduced to new stories, like the Flea and Tatterhood, and actually learning (some of the) tales behind notorious characters like Bluebeard and Baba Yaga. And readers with an appreciation for horror may enjoy the author’s dedication to canonical accuracy, since many in these stories meet a gory and untimely end.

I loved the narrator’s voice. He crafted that story-time-round-the-fireplace vibe so beautifully! I don’t think I would have gotten the same pleasure out of reading this book as I did listening because the narrator added so much to my experience. If I read this again, it will be with the audiobook.

I gave it a 4.5 stars simply because I wanted more non-European tales. Or even a better balance in regional representation. I don’t know the rationale behind which stories were chosen, so there might be a very good reason there aren’t more. But I missed that representation when I was listening, and that did impact my experience.

Overall, though, this is a nice collection of folktales, and I definitely recommend giving the audiobook a listen. It’s not scary for adults - and will probably scare the pants off of children - but it has enough of those horror elements to keep fans entertained.

Thank you for letting me listen to this audiobook. This is a great collection of short fairy tales most with gruesome and disturbing twists. I have always been a massive fan of the mythical and supernatural types of things. The narrator was great to listen to and a perfect story teller. I really enjoyed this.

Great collection of fairytales! Not the Disney or Hollywood-sized versions; but the real fairytale versions of popular stories that include Cinderella, Little mermaid, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Rumplestiltskin, Three little Bears, Read Riding Hood…and many. More!

I have always been enamored by the original Grimm Brothers fairy tales. They are so much more than the cute little princess tales that we see in movies & on TV.

This book covered not only the Grimm Brothers, but also Hans Christian Anderson & many more. It was cool to listen to tales from around the world, some of which I had never heard before.

The narrator did a wonderful job in keeping the creepy vibe.

Each story is in the original short version.

Is this book for every kid, absolutely not. For the kids that want the older, grittier versions of the fairytale this is great and I was one of those kids. I did read this as an audio arc and feel that this could have been improved with a pdf including any illustrations but this is a really nice collection. I would recommend this for all the kids interested in knowing more about fairytales.

This was a book about our favourite fairy tales from far and wide and about their dark origins which in my case I really enjoyed and most I hadn't heard before

Quick, easy, and fun read/listen. While some of the stories are darker than their Disney versions, their succinct format leaves a lot to be desired in the scary department though. I might argue that there was so little actual story telling that children could even listen without being bothered with nightmares. The introduction set me up for more and just didn’t deliver. As said above, it was quick and easy, entertaining, but lacked any depth, just a compilation of very basic stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Cider Mill Press for the advanced listening copy.