The Werewolf by Angela Carter (1979)
Tuesday’s Fairy Tale, A Modern Retelling August 11, 2020
As an avid reader, you might know that fairy tales are being retold in modern and highly inventive ways. You may have seen titles like Cinderella is Dead or The Librarian and the Beast or Alice, The Wanderland Chronicles. Retellings of Little Red Riding Hood are one of the most popular stories to flood the literary marketplace. Amazon has over 100 retellings (The Red Wolf; Moon and Fangs; Reluctant Hood). Why we still love fairy tales comes from our need to believe that magical things can happen to common folk and what better place to indulge in that than fiction.
The original Little Red Riding Hood is believed to have been written by Charles Perrault (17th century), or possibly more ancient than that as an 11th century poem, according to anthropologist Jamie Tehrani at National Geographic. Most of us know the story as authored by the Brothers Grimm from 1812 “Rotkäppchen.”
Reportedly, there are 58 versions of the tale from Japan to Africa to Korea. Here is the original by Grimm, if you’d like a read:
(https://germanstories.vcu.edu/grimm/redridinghood.html )
This week, however, I bring you a version of Little Red Riding Hood by Angela Carter, The Werewolf. Flash fiction at 900 words, a 5-minute read. And what a read it is. Gothic, pastoral, sharp. And this little riding girl is skilled at using a hunting knife. It ends grimly but like all fairy tales, the last line in this miniature narrative is dramatically tight.
Read Carter’s The Werewolf here at Biblioklept.org:
https://biblioklept.org/2012/06/03/read-the-werewolf-a-short-fable-by-angela-carter/
Remember this song? For Betty Boop lovers!
Don’t forget to view the INDEX above of more free reading at Reading Fiction Blog. This is a compendium of over 200 short stories by more than 100 famous storytellers of mystery, suspense, supernatural, ghost stories, ‘quiet horror,’ crime, sci-fi, romance, and mainstream fiction.
Follow or sign up to join me in reading
one short story every month.
Comments are welcome!
Feel free to click “LIKE.”
Other Reading Web Sites to Visit
Kirkus Mystery & Thrillers Reviews
Books & Such Bibliophilica NewYorkerFictionOnline
Lovecraft Ezine HorrorNews.net Fangoria.com
Slattery’s Art of Horror Magazine Chuck Windig’s Terrible Minds
Horror Novel Reviews HorrorSociety.com
Monster Librarian The Story Reading Ape Blog
For Authors/Writers: The Writer Unboxed
I had no idea that there are Red Riding Hood stories from different continents. That’s very interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was news to me too, Priscilla.
LikeLike