What do you think?
Rate this book
The Grimmoire
Mike Harris, author of Sheep’s Clothing and Sheep’s The Pack, invites you to turn the pages of his Grimmoire. Six classic tales, twisted and distorted through the lens of his unique vision.
Two siblings, lost in the woods, are offered shelter by a peculiar host with a monstrous appetite. A visit to grandma's house comes to a grisly end. A young maiden makes a pact with a sinister imp. A boy leaves home to discover the true meaning of fear. These twisted fairytales and more await within the cursed bindings of The Grimmoire.
79 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 5, 2025
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 11, 2025
This collection of brutal takes on classic tales is simply amazing! This was very well written, and had elements in every short story that made it seem like all of this was taking place in the same universe, pretty much all happening around each other. Let's break down each one.
1. "Goldilocks and The Three Bears"- Goldilocks is out, and about searching for a special type of golden flower that makes her hair shine like no other. On her journey, she stumbles upon a cottage in the woods, and enters. Now, we all know the story of Goldilocks, but, what if Papa bear had a mean streak? What if the bears, in addition to talking like humans, were still feral like wild bears are? And, what of Goldilocks never got away, but was caught, and left to the mercy of the three bears who inhabited the cottage? This had a very bloody, and gory end that you must check out!
2. "Rumpelstiltskin"- A miller meets with the King of the land, and offers his daughter to be wed to him. When asked why the King would want such a plain maiden, when he could have any in the land, the miller lies, and states that his daughter can spin hay into strands of gold. The daughter is locked away in the basement, and made to perform this task, however, having been a lie, she cannot spin gold. Hopeless, and fearing the loss of her head, an Imp appears by the name of 'Rumpelstiltskin', and offers to make all the gold she needs, for a price. First, it's her necklace, then, her father's ring. But, what the Imp really wants is a baby. And, he will get what he wants, unless the miller's daughter can tell him his name. Will she figure out his name in time? Or, will her first born child belong to this creature? This had a gnarly twist in it that I was definitely not ready for. In the classic tale, we know that the queen has a child that is promised to Rumpelstiltskin, but, this gets more into how the child was conceived, and you won't believe your eyes! There was also something hanging on the wall of the castle that links this story, to "Goldilocks and The Three Bears".
3. "Hansel and Gretel"- Hansel, a lazy boy with no aspirations, and his intelligent, go getter sister, Gretel, live with their parents in the woods. Everyday is a struggle to survive, and, the season of rationing their food is upon them. Desperate, their mother suggests that the father take the two out to the middle of the woods, and leave them there. This would, effectively, leave them with two less mouths to feed. After deliberating, their father agrees, and takes the children to the woods, and, given one stale piece of bread each, they are left there, while he returns home. While stranded, Hansel follows his nose to what looks like a cabin made out of gingerbread, that smells like freshly baked cookies, and is inhabited by what looks like a kind old lady. But, is she really that kind? They are invited in to eat as much as their hearts desire. Hansel does so, without even thinking about it, but Gretel has her reservations. While one slaves away cleaning, the other wastes away, eating. Will they be able to escape their new prison of confections, or will they fall victim to the old lady? This had a few differences from the original that made it gross, and bloody brutal! There was, also, a reference to characters being seen in the woods, that connected to a story later in the book!
4. "Twelve Dancing Princesses (The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces)"- A King has Twelve beautiful daughters, whom he locks up at night in the castle they live in, however, every morning, the all 24 shoes owned by the princesses are worn down, as if being overused. The King, baffled, enlists the help of anyone who can uncover the mystery, offering any one of his daughters' hands on marriage, to the one who can figure it out. One day, a knight approaches the King, confident that he can uncover the mystery of the shoes that have been danced to pieces. Using an invisibility potion, he follows the girls, one night to a body of water, which the cross, and go to another palace. There, he witnesses them dancing with 12 princes, all through the night. When the knight reports this back to the King, the King becomes angry, as he is an overbearing, powerful man. The King decides to make the girls pay, and has them dance a dance of his own design. If they want to dance, we shall let them dance. And, she he commands it. Until they can no longer physically dance. This was a wild tale. You really feel bad for the princesses. This, also, had the knight smelling the scent of burnt cookies, and flesh in the woods, which was a connection to another story in this book!
5. "Little Red Riding Hood"- Over the river, and though the woods. To grandmother's house we go! A little girl in a red cloak is out, picking the golden flowers that Goldilocks had once sought out, when her mother calls her in to give her a care basket to take to her sick grandma. After making sure she knows how to get there, Red is off, almost forgetting her eye glasses. After reaching the woods, Red removes her glasses, and, during an unfortunate accident, loses them along the path, making navigating a bit difficult. The big bad wolf beats Red to her Grandma's, and, takes her face to wear as a mask, seeing it with some golden thread, as it waits for Little Red to show up. After showing up, Red cannot clearly see the features of her Grandmother without her glasses, and ends up in a fatal situation. Face to face with a hungry, and evil wolf. Will Red escape, and survive? Or, will she become lunch? This story was grim, obviously, and a bloody, and gory take on the original!
6. "The Boy Who Left Home in Search of Fear"- This was a story about 2 brothers, one very skilled, but very scared, and one who wasn't as skilled, but feared, and felt nothing. One day, as the numb brother is helping out at the lighthouse, to learn some skills that may help him be a man, he witnesses an accidental death, and, yet, still feels nothing. Their father exiles the boy, and he sets out on a life long journey to find fear, and something that can make him shudder. Along the way he spends the night at "haunted" gallows, with the corpses of the hanged, and stays the night in a palace, meant to be haunted. Still feeling nothing after being in the palace, he is offered the King's daughter's hand in marriage, for his bravery. It is then, and only then, that he finally gets to taste what fear really is, and have a shudder travel down his spine for the first time in his life. This was a blast! I loved the twist at the end of this story, and the concept of someone just wanting to feel something that has eluded them for so long.
This was a great collection of stories that I have known, and grown up with, since a pretty young age. Just when you thought these stories couldn't get any darker, Mike did a fantastic job in sprinkling in the best amounts of gore, and putting his own grotesque spin on these classics! I highly recommend this, and, would definitely read again!
1. "Goldilocks and The Three Bears"- Goldilocks is out, and about searching for a special type of golden flower that makes her hair shine like no other. On her journey, she stumbles upon a cottage in the woods, and enters. Now, we all know the story of Goldilocks, but, what if Papa bear had a mean streak? What if the bears, in addition to talking like humans, were still feral like wild bears are? And, what of Goldilocks never got away, but was caught, and left to the mercy of the three bears who inhabited the cottage? This had a very bloody, and gory end that you must check out!
2. "Rumpelstiltskin"- A miller meets with the King of the land, and offers his daughter to be wed to him. When asked why the King would want such a plain maiden, when he could have any in the land, the miller lies, and states that his daughter can spin hay into strands of gold. The daughter is locked away in the basement, and made to perform this task, however, having been a lie, she cannot spin gold. Hopeless, and fearing the loss of her head, an Imp appears by the name of 'Rumpelstiltskin', and offers to make all the gold she needs, for a price. First, it's her necklace, then, her father's ring. But, what the Imp really wants is a baby. And, he will get what he wants, unless the miller's daughter can tell him his name. Will she figure out his name in time? Or, will her first born child belong to this creature? This had a gnarly twist in it that I was definitely not ready for. In the classic tale, we know that the queen has a child that is promised to Rumpelstiltskin, but, this gets more into how the child was conceived, and you won't believe your eyes! There was also something hanging on the wall of the castle that links this story, to "Goldilocks and The Three Bears".
3. "Hansel and Gretel"- Hansel, a lazy boy with no aspirations, and his intelligent, go getter sister, Gretel, live with their parents in the woods. Everyday is a struggle to survive, and, the season of rationing their food is upon them. Desperate, their mother suggests that the father take the two out to the middle of the woods, and leave them there. This would, effectively, leave them with two less mouths to feed. After deliberating, their father agrees, and takes the children to the woods, and, given one stale piece of bread each, they are left there, while he returns home. While stranded, Hansel follows his nose to what looks like a cabin made out of gingerbread, that smells like freshly baked cookies, and is inhabited by what looks like a kind old lady. But, is she really that kind? They are invited in to eat as much as their hearts desire. Hansel does so, without even thinking about it, but Gretel has her reservations. While one slaves away cleaning, the other wastes away, eating. Will they be able to escape their new prison of confections, or will they fall victim to the old lady? This had a few differences from the original that made it gross, and bloody brutal! There was, also, a reference to characters being seen in the woods, that connected to a story later in the book!
4. "Twelve Dancing Princesses (The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces)"- A King has Twelve beautiful daughters, whom he locks up at night in the castle they live in, however, every morning, the all 24 shoes owned by the princesses are worn down, as if being overused. The King, baffled, enlists the help of anyone who can uncover the mystery, offering any one of his daughters' hands on marriage, to the one who can figure it out. One day, a knight approaches the King, confident that he can uncover the mystery of the shoes that have been danced to pieces. Using an invisibility potion, he follows the girls, one night to a body of water, which the cross, and go to another palace. There, he witnesses them dancing with 12 princes, all through the night. When the knight reports this back to the King, the King becomes angry, as he is an overbearing, powerful man. The King decides to make the girls pay, and has them dance a dance of his own design. If they want to dance, we shall let them dance. And, she he commands it. Until they can no longer physically dance. This was a wild tale. You really feel bad for the princesses. This, also, had the knight smelling the scent of burnt cookies, and flesh in the woods, which was a connection to another story in this book!
5. "Little Red Riding Hood"- Over the river, and though the woods. To grandmother's house we go! A little girl in a red cloak is out, picking the golden flowers that Goldilocks had once sought out, when her mother calls her in to give her a care basket to take to her sick grandma. After making sure she knows how to get there, Red is off, almost forgetting her eye glasses. After reaching the woods, Red removes her glasses, and, during an unfortunate accident, loses them along the path, making navigating a bit difficult. The big bad wolf beats Red to her Grandma's, and, takes her face to wear as a mask, seeing it with some golden thread, as it waits for Little Red to show up. After showing up, Red cannot clearly see the features of her Grandmother without her glasses, and ends up in a fatal situation. Face to face with a hungry, and evil wolf. Will Red escape, and survive? Or, will she become lunch? This story was grim, obviously, and a bloody, and gory take on the original!
6. "The Boy Who Left Home in Search of Fear"- This was a story about 2 brothers, one very skilled, but very scared, and one who wasn't as skilled, but feared, and felt nothing. One day, as the numb brother is helping out at the lighthouse, to learn some skills that may help him be a man, he witnesses an accidental death, and, yet, still feels nothing. Their father exiles the boy, and he sets out on a life long journey to find fear, and something that can make him shudder. Along the way he spends the night at "haunted" gallows, with the corpses of the hanged, and stays the night in a palace, meant to be haunted. Still feeling nothing after being in the palace, he is offered the King's daughter's hand in marriage, for his bravery. It is then, and only then, that he finally gets to taste what fear really is, and have a shudder travel down his spine for the first time in his life. This was a blast! I loved the twist at the end of this story, and the concept of someone just wanting to feel something that has eluded them for so long.
This was a great collection of stories that I have known, and grown up with, since a pretty young age. Just when you thought these stories couldn't get any darker, Mike did a fantastic job in sprinkling in the best amounts of gore, and putting his own grotesque spin on these classics! I highly recommend this, and, would definitely read again!
November 13, 2025
Mike Harris takes six classic fairy tales for a grim spin of his own wild imagination, sticking them with gore and viscera in all the right places, adding that "happily ever after" only after a certain level of brutality has been reached. The result is pure horror entertainment, extreme horror fun for those of us who've always wondered how dark children's fairy tales always seemed!
The original versions of the most famous fairy tales, it's been known for some time, were farvdarker and gorier than the tales told to children today. Yet Harris' retellings are even more disturbing, because they try to answer some reasonable questions about the stories themselves: how would bears really react to Goldilocks' home invasion? How would Rumpelstiltskin really deal with the maiden once he realizes she knows his name? How would the witch really handle two kids like Hansel and Gretel? And so on and so forth.
If you're a horror fan, read this just for the fun of it: it's well-crafted, deliciously bleak, and situationally ironic to the point of absurdity. Recommended!
The original versions of the most famous fairy tales, it's been known for some time, were farvdarker and gorier than the tales told to children today. Yet Harris' retellings are even more disturbing, because they try to answer some reasonable questions about the stories themselves: how would bears really react to Goldilocks' home invasion? How would Rumpelstiltskin really deal with the maiden once he realizes she knows his name? How would the witch really handle two kids like Hansel and Gretel? And so on and so forth.
If you're a horror fan, read this just for the fun of it: it's well-crafted, deliciously bleak, and situationally ironic to the point of absurdity. Recommended!
November 6, 2025
“Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water Jill pushed Jack and went on the attack and the hill ran red forever after”
This is my first Mike Harris book and I’m sooooo glad I read it. I have always loved fairytales thanks to The Grimms Brothers and Disney. So when Mike started showing snippets of some stories in this collection I was all in. He takes some well known fairytales Goldilocks, Rumplestiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Twelve Dancing Princesses, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Boy Who Left Home in Search of Fear and turns them dark. My favorite out of these stories Mike has written in this collection hands down is Rumplestiltskin. It is dark, it is twisted and he adds his own flair to this story. I am now a fan of Mikes thanks to this amazing collection.
This is my first Mike Harris book and I’m sooooo glad I read it. I have always loved fairytales thanks to The Grimms Brothers and Disney. So when Mike started showing snippets of some stories in this collection I was all in. He takes some well known fairytales Goldilocks, Rumplestiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Twelve Dancing Princesses, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Boy Who Left Home in Search of Fear and turns them dark. My favorite out of these stories Mike has written in this collection hands down is Rumplestiltskin. It is dark, it is twisted and he adds his own flair to this story. I am now a fan of Mikes thanks to this amazing collection.
November 9, 2025
If you like gory books and retellings you should definitely check this out.
November 7, 2025
Grimm Fairy Tales just got a whole lot grimmer!
I always wanted the original home intruder, Goldilocks to get her comeuppance and to find out what really happened to the Woodcutter after he abandoned his kids in the forest.
My favourite has to be The Big Bad Wolf doing a fabulous Hannibal Lecter impersonation in this fun and gore filled reimagining of the classic fairy tales that pretty much haunted me as a child!
And check out that cover by Ash Ericmore!
I always wanted the original home intruder, Goldilocks to get her comeuppance and to find out what really happened to the Woodcutter after he abandoned his kids in the forest.
My favourite has to be The Big Bad Wolf doing a fabulous Hannibal Lecter impersonation in this fun and gore filled reimagining of the classic fairy tales that pretty much haunted me as a child!
And check out that cover by Ash Ericmore!
November 13, 2025
The Grimmoire by Mike Harris
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a super fun and entertaining collection containing 6 classic fairy tales with a lovely horror twist to each of them. These re-made stories are brutal, gory, very engaging and ultimately made the stories better than the originals!
There are 6 short stories in this collection:
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Rumpelstiltskin
• Hansel and Gretel
• Twelve Dancing Princesses (The Shoes
That Were Danced to Pieces)
• Little Red Riding Hood
• The Boy Who Left Home in Search of Fear
I really enjoyed reading all 6 of them, but my top 2 reads are:
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Hansel and Gretel
This is my first book from this author and I’m excited to check out more!!
This is a short and fast read and I highly recommend it!!
*It’s out now, and is perfect for some “delightful” holiday cheer!*
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a super fun and entertaining collection containing 6 classic fairy tales with a lovely horror twist to each of them. These re-made stories are brutal, gory, very engaging and ultimately made the stories better than the originals!
There are 6 short stories in this collection:
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Rumpelstiltskin
• Hansel and Gretel
• Twelve Dancing Princesses (The Shoes
That Were Danced to Pieces)
• Little Red Riding Hood
• The Boy Who Left Home in Search of Fear
I really enjoyed reading all 6 of them, but my top 2 reads are:
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Hansel and Gretel
This is my first book from this author and I’m excited to check out more!!
This is a short and fast read and I highly recommend it!!
*It’s out now, and is perfect for some “delightful” holiday cheer!*
November 17, 2025
I was giving this as an arc copy. I really enjoyed this book. All stories are a quick read and close enough to what we heard growing up that the changes just fit so perfectly. There is gore in some parts I wish there was more horror to it but I really did enjoy this read. I honestly couldn't put it down once I stared.
November 7, 2025
A twisted retelling of your favorite fairy-tales. No "happy" endings in sight.
First time reading anything by Mike and I cant wait to see what else he has out there!!
First time reading anything by Mike and I cant wait to see what else he has out there!!
November 8, 2025
I don't know if this will count as a review. Probably not, but..
While I was reading this collection of classic fairy tales as re-imagined by Mike Harris, I thought of my mom. See, when I was young, I received a book of short tales for every day of the year (including leap day!) plus 12 much longer stories for every month. My mother would read to me when she could before tucking me in at night. We didn't get to finish that book before the Big "C" would take her away, but I continued to read from that book on my own.
Long after she had passed away, I found out that this tender woman who had fostered my lifelong love of reading apparently was really into HORROR!!!
Had she lived, I probably would be giving her this book (among others) for her birthday, or Mother's Day; you know, kind of a full-circle moment there. She would've gotten a huge kick out of it, and she would've been chuckling as she read the retelling of "Goldilocks" and "Rumpelstiltskin", and I would probably be laughing with her to hide the fact that I was ready to tap out with Goldilocks alone.
Anyway, go buy THE GRIMMOIRE by Mike Harris and stuff it down your horror-loving family-and-friends' Christmas stocking! (Yeah, yeah.. I live in the Philippines. Christmas season starts early here; sue me!)
While I was reading this collection of classic fairy tales as re-imagined by Mike Harris, I thought of my mom. See, when I was young, I received a book of short tales for every day of the year (including leap day!) plus 12 much longer stories for every month. My mother would read to me when she could before tucking me in at night. We didn't get to finish that book before the Big "C" would take her away, but I continued to read from that book on my own.
Long after she had passed away, I found out that this tender woman who had fostered my lifelong love of reading apparently was really into HORROR!!!
Had she lived, I probably would be giving her this book (among others) for her birthday, or Mother's Day; you know, kind of a full-circle moment there. She would've gotten a huge kick out of it, and she would've been chuckling as she read the retelling of "Goldilocks" and "Rumpelstiltskin", and I would probably be laughing with her to hide the fact that I was ready to tap out with Goldilocks alone.
Anyway, go buy THE GRIMMOIRE by Mike Harris and stuff it down your horror-loving family-and-friends' Christmas stocking! (Yeah, yeah.. I live in the Philippines. Christmas season starts early here; sue me!)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews