I absoloutely love fairy tales, and they’ve inspired my love for fantasy right along with mythology in general. A lot of people complain about retellings lately, but I’m in the other boat of absoloutely loving a retold fairy tale. After all, all stories have been told already, but it’s all about what elements or lessons you bring forward that make a particular story different.

I’ve seen takes of fairy tales I’ve not particularly enjoyed, or which feel stale. Disney is commonly cited for example for softening fairy tales, as their origins tend to be darker than what Disney shows. A good example of this is The Little Mermaid. The Disney version gives Ariel and Eric a happily ever after, but the true myth had the mermaid agree to stab the prince, realize she could not do it, and proceed to turn into sea foam. Ouch.

Granted, me bringing up Disney’s the Little Mermaid here doesn’t mean I dislike the story by any means. If anything, I’d bring up Disney Sleeping Beauty as something I dislike. That isn’t the case for the retelling, Maleficent. I love that movie dearly, with its dark, mystifying feel and the twist on the villain. Sleeping Beauty itself however is stale and uses a lot of tropes I’m happy to leave behind.

The point is, some folks love softening of fairy tales, and some like making them darker. Doing either is a good way to make a fairy tale different enough from the origin or other stories. Are you writing for people who would prefer a lighter tale? Is that your writing style? Go for it, and make sure to be more interesting than what Disney did! What about going darker and adding in some heavy themes? That’s something I really like even if some do not (like the live action Alice in Wonderland, something I enjoy for the same reason many dislike it). Either way works, it depends on your audience.

I think the important thing is to research the fairy tale and how it actually goes, then deciding on how to change it. Your messaging, theme, and what others in the past have done to twist the tales. I fancy adding magic to it myself, turning an already fantastical tale into something even more bursting with magic. Either that, or adding monsters/turning the main characters into ‘monsters’.

How about a werewolf and vampire red riding hood? Heard that one before, or the concept? Probably, but why not write your own version of it? I’d find an excuse to add vampires into everything though. After all, my works are centered around vampires. That and a ton of magic.

You don’t even need to make a whole new story for this sort of thing, either. How about theming your characters around a fairy tale? There’s hints, for example, of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in my novel Cobratongue University: Professors and Kings between Luna and Jasper. Falls and Derek would have hints of Hansel and Gretel.

Speaking of having multiple fairy tales reflected in your characters, why not blend some of them together? Somewhat of a silly example, but Shrek (which is unironically good!) does that with the twist on fairy tales. Something a bit more serious and very well praised is Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. That addresses heavy themes like death while still using a blend of fairy tales.

All in all, there’s many ways to modify and retell fairy tales that will gain interest of a reader. Make it softer, make it heavier, have themes echo in a larger story through characters, mix and match. I wouldn’t be discouraged by complaints of retellings being overdone. There’s plenty of folks like me out there who love retellings!

That said, for this October, I highly recommend my vampire horror, The Dancing Crow. The audiobook is linked below, and its sequel, Huntsmaster City, will be on audiobook soon too. Support me and check it out! Thank you!

This lovely piece of art is credited to SolLillium! Please get my vampire horror audiobook The Dancing Crow here!