The Scary Book Of Fairy Tales - Tim Rayborn, Narrated by Neil Evan’s

I loved these twisted tales a lot, so much so that the book was finished before I knew it and of course I have to listen to it again.

I am so grateful that my Dad never heard this version of ‘Red Shoes’ lol Those bloody red sandals, And the conger’s head?! I can see the funny side now but as a child I was traumatise! Not sure which version was more creepy though. lol 🤢 🤣 💀

I need more books just like this, I need to drag some of my spooky books out as the darkness is fast approaching. 🕷️ 👻 🩸 🐦‍⬛

Hearing the endings to some of humanity's most well-known fairy tales was an enlightening experience. The narration was excellent, and I especially enjoyed hearing some of the stories that I grew up with and learning about their real endings. Thank you for providing this in Audiobook format! It was very easy to listen to while I went about my day.

I loved this collection of stories and folktales. I have not read the Grimm fairytale, so I have no comparison. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys folklore. Also, the audiobook for this is really good. I loved the narrator.

Thank you to the author, Tim Rayborn and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and listen to these ARCs in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a very enjoyable collection of fairy tales, with the original bloody and disturbing endings! I loved reading this book, especially with the art throughout. This would be a wonderful gift for someone who loved fairy tales or horror fans alike!

The audio reader was fantastic and added a fun flair! I appreciated his perfect pronunciation of foreign words.

I thought this book was so cool. I hadn’t heard most of these versions of fairy tales I grew up learning. I’ll admit, I did expect a more detailed and longer version of the stories. I enjoyed the narrator and the warnings at the beginning because i definitely don’t think these are appropriate for kids and he certainly warned against it. Overall I enjoyed the tales and learning how they were actually told before they became kid friendly.

This was a real blast to listen to. We actually talked in library school about how, when kids aren't exposed to these kinds of "dangerous" stories, they will actually make up stories. As people, we know that there is darkness out there and we want to deal with it in a safe way, through stories. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety here-- there were stories from around the world, and they were short but well told. The narrator was fantastic too.

I absolutely love this! I was able to find so many versions of stories I was told (from memory) as a child and it was great to read them and get to have that moment of nostalgia

This was not what I expected. It’s just a collection of fairy tales that we’ve already read. I thought they would be different endings or something, but I read a lot of these years ago in middle school. It was kind of boring rereading some of them. I did listen to this as an ALC and the narrator was great!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

The Scary Book of Fairy Tales takes some stories we know and others you may have never heard of, and presents them in their original versions. Not all of the fairy tales we know have happy endings. For example, no huntsman saves Little Red Riding Hood; this book gives the raw, uncut ending.

What I found strange about this book is that every fairy tale is presented as a brief summary. You get the gist of the story, but some of them would have benefited from a complete telling.

I love what this book set out to do, but the execution just didn’t work for me. If you’re interested in the original endings, rather than the Disney versions, then definitely check this one out.

This is an amazing audiobook! Fast paced short stories that we know and love told the original way. I completed this in one sitting easily and I will absolutely be using this in my classroom around Halloween as inspiration for my technical theater and theater students. Thank you so much for the ARC!

Picked this up expecting a creepy, bite-sized dive into the real versions of fairy tales, and that’s exactly what it is. If you’ve ever wondered what happened before recent retellings/Disney cleaned them up, you’ll find plenty of eerie, unsettling endings here.

The tone is playful but spooky, perfect for younger readers looking for chills or adults who want to rediscover the Grimm side of Grimm. It’s not an exhaustive academic work or a deep dive into the origins of the folklore, but rather a fun, shivery collection that aims to show us why these stories mattered - and why they were meant to scare us a little and warn us off talking to strangers or wandering too deep into the woods.

Great for folklore fans, spooky-season readers, or anyone who loves fairy tales with sharp teeth.

A wonderful collection of translated fairytales -with their “original” endings. I loved the international selection, from the inclusion of regional Yorkshire folklore to tales from Japan, and Africa. Whilst it is largely made up of tales from the Grimm brothers, it was a treat to realise the collection went beyond Western Europe whilst remaining minimal.

Personally, I wish the author had inserted their voice in some way -introductions or footnotes perhaps- or added to the conversation. I’d have liked to know known why each tale was included, or why one version is selected over another. A little historical context or discussion on modern relevance would’ve made this book more unique, without it, I wonder why one would recommend this collection over the very many others on the market. Usually illustrations or special editions come in to play here, but do consider the audiobook experience. You’re likely revisiting these tales, why not experience them in the oral tradition this time around?

This book was a winner for me due to the narration. The narrator has the perfect voice for this type of book, mature, clear and verging on haunting. With the book being a collection of back to back (very short) short stories, the narration is at risk of overflowing from one tale to the next, but I loved the slight change in intonation at the opening and closing of each new story to set them apart, without a complete change in tone. Perfect for those who listen to their audiobooks sped up, though I recommend listening at normal speed to appreciate the rhythm of the texts.

TLDR: I really recommend this on audio it’s a great way to revisit familiar stories, and the lack of author voice input makes it great for a quick recap.

Please note, this is not a collection of fairytale retellings.

Thank you to HCCP & HCF Audio, NetGalley, and Cider Mill Press for the free ALC in exchange for sharing an honest review.

When this popped up on NetGalley I was really intrigued. I was a big fan of fairy tales growing up, both Disney and the original stories, so I really wanted to check this out. I thought this was going to have twisty new endings to the classics, but nope, they’re basically just the original tales.

So yeah, this entire audiobook is just some guy regurgitating fairy tales, with no originality added to them, and is for some reason marketing it as ‘scary’. Everyone knows the original tales are dark, twisted and very violent. This isn’t big news.

Also, the narrator was painfully robotic. It felt like I was being read the instructions on how to put together a bookcase. I was so bored that I didn’t actually finish the entire audiobook.

If you want to read the more intense and violent versions of classic fairy tales just read the original stories. Don’t bother checking out this book, it’s really not worth your time or money.

I think this may be my shortest review yet but there’s really nothing else to comment on.

A short collection of well-known fairy tales with slightly different endings.

The short nature of the stories had me flying through them! I enjoyed how the stories started at famous German/Brothers Grimm tales that everyone knows and expands to unknown Grimm stories and tales from different cultures.

No story was “scary”, and some of the endings were tame verses the endings I have found in other books, but I think this is a great teen (and possibly younger) collection of stories.

Dennis Kleinman is a WONDERFUL narrator. Voice is very clear and has expression that matches the tones of the story.

Thank you to HCCP & HCF Audio, Cider Mill Press, and NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook!

The description of this ALC had me intrigued and anticipating some dark and gruesome retellings of fairy tale classics; what I was met with, however, was readings of the same fairy tale stories that I grew up reading as a child, with minimal to no changes to their source material. Perhaps this is better aimed towards an audience who are unfamiliar with the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen etc, and whose knowledge of fairy tales comes from the 'Disneyfication' of a lot of these stories. Slightly disappointing, as the description seemed to promise more darkness and horror. The narrator was excellent, however, at bringing a bit of this into the stories, and made them much more immersive and atmospheric.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for the ALC.

This is not a re-telling of fairy tales, and it's not the Disney version of the fairy tales you probably grew up with. This is a combination of historical tales and original versions of the fairy tales we probably have all heard.

I loved it! I could - and have - listen to the Original Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales dozens of times and never get bored. I love the original stories that were scary, that were teaching a lesson, that were preparing young kids for how rotten life can be. I never cared for the 'nice' versions until I got the originals! (Yeah, I was a weird kids & never outgrew it.)

This edition is not focused only on the original Grimm Brothers, this edition includes fairy tales from Romania, Norway and other locations. I only had the audio version, but in seeing reviews, the printed version appears to be illustrated, and I can't wait to get a copy of that one too.

If you like the real tales, don't skip this one. IF you're looking for a retelling - sorry, that's not what this is. But I do think it's a wonderful collection and the audio version was well done.

5 stars!!

A beautifully illustrated collection with eerie and enchanting artwork that fits the creepy fairytale tone perfectly.

Thank you NetGalley and HCCP & HCF Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I went into this expecting a retelling of fairytales, but it turned out to be a collection of them. I was familiar with many of the stories, but there were some new ones that I hadn’t heard before.

The audiobook was nicely done and easy to listen to, but I think I would’ve enjoyed flipping through a physical copy more. It feels like the kind of book that’s better experienced on paper.

I expected a twist on classic fairytales, but this was really just a collection of original tales with a different ending. It didn’t give me that spooky feeling. There were some lesser known fairytales from diverse cultures which I enjoyed and I thought they were very engaging. Dennis Kleinman’s narration was exceptional.

I love everything about this audiobook from the production team to the executive producer to the narrator to the author. The book is well done. I really enjoyed listening to the fairytales I grew up with and hearing a new ending as well as hearing lots of fairytale stories for the first time. I simply could not put this audiobook down. The narrator did an amazing job on narration. Between the writing and narration, I found myself visually being able to see all these stories unfold. This audiobook was an experience! I definitely want to read more by author Tim Rayborn and narrator Dennis Kleinman as well Neil Evans stuff. I 101% recommended this book.