Fairy Tale Horrorshow

by R.J. Roles, Jason Myers, Natasha Sinclair

"Once upon a time, you may have read a story about a wooden puppet who dreamed of being a real boy, or about Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole. I bet you can even recall one about a trickster that promised to spin straw into gold, or one about a girl being stalked in the woods while on her way to Grandma’s house… Well, you won’t quite find those stories within these pages. What you will find is a collection of new horrific takes of classic fairy tales. Ten indie authors from around the world have come together to twist your childhood memories into dark retellings that are sure to give you nightmares. Sit back, turn down the lights, and enjoy the show." From the minds of RJ Roles, Jason Myers, Lance Dale, Ruthann Jagge, Natasha Sinclair, M Ennenbach, Kevin J. Kennedy, Tara Losacano, Matthew A. Clarke, and Denise Crimson Pinnacle Press presents Fairy Tale Horrorshow

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Horror, Anthologies

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 27, 2021

Reviews

[Candace Nola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up on fairy tales as I am sure many of you did. I also discovered in my teen years that the fairy tales I grew up on were originally much darker tales than what small children read in their books and see animated on television. Generally, the tales had a much darker bent to them for children from a much different time period in order to keep them close by at all times. Such tales as Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel were all meant to scare children into listening to their parents, staying close to home, away from strangers and out of the deep woods. This was the only method they really had available back then to keep their kids safe. Listen to the elders or die, or worse.

Welcome to your adult fairy tales. These were not written by the brothers Grimm, and I would love to see their faces if they could see what this group of talented authors has done to their classic and most beloved fairy tales. Grim indeed and then some, some of my favorites are below:

M. Ennenbach takes the tale of the Pied Piper and turns it into something dark, and bleak with his short story aptly named, “Piper.” A beautifully written, powerful tale of revenge, as dealt out by the hand of the Rat King. The rats will follow him anywhere, but will you?

R. Jagge with her “Midnight at the Glass Slipper,” delivers an incredibly fun take on Cinderella with her modern day rags to riches tale of Elly Cynders, who manages The Glass Slipper for her evil step-mother. A mobster-type clientele are her regulars, men named Hamburger Mike, Joey the Rat and Billy Bird, and flamboyant sparkly Ed is like her very own godmother in disguise when things take a turn for the worse. This awesome cast of characters comes together to illustrate that sometimes family is who you chose, not the ones you are related to.

N. Sinclair pens the darkly erotic “Always Time for Tea.” In this unexpected tale, young Alicia is introduced to a new kind of tea during the Red Queen’s infamous monthly tea party. This is not your typical tea party, and whips and chains are not optional.

M. Clarke brought his “A” game with “Pinocchio the Wooden Hoe.” (I’ll wait while you finish laughing.) Aside from the epic title, which I cannot read without laughing out loud, this was a ton of fun to read. The visuals alone made it worth it, when you ponder magical creatures of all sorts, umm... peddling their wares to fuel their addictions. Add in Pinocchio running to aid King Monstro and you damn near have a full blown action movie. I loved everything about this story and yes, it fully tickled my fancy.

If you have not yet picked up your copy, do it today! Fairy Tale Horror Show is a great anthology for your shelf. Not one bad story in the bunch and I really hope for a part two as I can think of many more childhood tales that I would love to see turned upside down. Five stars for creative, creepy fun.

[Todd Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like alternate fairytale history, then get this book. Each author twists a classic tale into something macabre. Crimson Press delivers a great collection.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, twisted, macabre stories with very familiar characters: I loved it.
Midnight at the Glass Slipper & Pinnochio the Wooden Hoe were a personal highlight.
I hope this is the start of many alternative tales :)
Do not hesitate to get your copy now!!

[Jennifer Canaveral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy-cool anthology of fairy tales with gory, sexy, modern twists.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, the dynamic duo of Roles and Myers has found ten fabulous fairy tales with a twisted and evil rendition to satiate that wickedness you need to feed.

Piper (The Pied Piper of Hamelin) by M. Ennenbach. Piper is an outcast in his hometown, but he helps rid the town of rats, anyway. He just wants some respect and if they won’t give it to him freely, he will take it by force. An entertaining and dark tale of a young boy just wanting some love.

Midnight At The Glass Slipper (Cinderella) by Ruthann Jagge. Elly owns and runs the Glass Slipper, a bar she took over when her father died. Life has been tough for Elly, especially when her step-mother and step-sisters keep intruding. Karma is a bitch, though. This is a quick story with a wicked punch.

Always Time For Tea (Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland) by Natasha Sinclair. When the Red Queen becomes close friends with Alice, she is introduced to a new kind of club. This is an erotic story with lots of sex in spades.

She Saw Red Once Upon A Crime, Part 1 (Red Riding Hood) by Jason Myers. Detective Wolf is investigating a fire at a bakery and links a young woman to the crime. A sweet delight of revenge.

Swine of Another Kind, Once Upon a Crime, Part 2 (Red Riding Hood) by RJ Roles. A retiring cop stumbles upon a corrupt group of officers and decides to tackle the issue before his retirement. Even though he’s supposed to be retired, I do believe Detective Wolf is just getting started.

Pinocchio The Wood Hoe (Pinocchio) by Matthew A. Clarke. So, Pinocchio is a hoe!! No, not the garden variety. He wants to be a hero, though. He sticks his nose in people’s business, a lot. This is such an entertaining and hilarious story.

The Vengeful Little Mermaid (The Little Mermaid) by Tara Losacano. Ariella’s sister and other members of her underwater village are disappearing. She goes on a manhunt (or is it fishing, in her case?) to find out what’s going on. A vengeful little mermaid, indeed!

What Goes Into the Forest Never Comes Out (Goldilocks and the Three Bears) by Lance Dale. Jennifer is sent into the bleak forest to find her lost sister. What she finds is way more than she bargained for. What an amazing story and the plot is so unique. This version of Goldilocks is much more entertaining.

Tonight, Tonight (Rumpelstiltskin) by Denise Hargrove. Rumpelstiltskin kidnaps a woman’s daughter and the mother can get her back if she can find them and learn his real name. All the while, Rumplestiltskin has a horrible trick up his sleeve that leaves everyone involved, disappointed or enthused; it just depends on whose side you are on.

It’s No Fairy Tale Out There (Fairy Tale Mash Up) by Kevin J. Kennedy. This is a story that has lots of the popular characters in fairy tales. Such as Pinocchio, the three little pigs and Humpty Dumpty. The three little pigs rule the forest and all the money in the forest can’t save anyone. And drugs… everyone likes drugs in this fairy tale.

If you have not checked out any of Crimson Pinnacle Press anthologies, I suggest you fix that real quick. Roles and Myers love finding authors to give them the spotlight in these books. There are a lot of talented writers in our community and you need to go find them. And when you find them, give each and every one of them a shout out. They deserve a huge high five and a hug… you are the touchy feely type.

[Catriona Mowat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I like to randomly pick something from Kindle Unlimited that hasn’t been on my radar at all (a lucky dip): and I’m sad that this one hadn’t been!

These are fairy tales, but not as you know them. This anthology has some very familiar names from the group presenting their horrific take on fairy tales. These are most definitely stories for adults, with sex parties, viscera and child abduction all featured. Plus a serial killer that steals feet (and Cinderella thought she had it tough before!)

Every single story in this anthology is a really clever take on the fairy tales we all know, I loved every one.

The Brothers Grimm would be likely flattered, impressed and appalled in equal measure by this…and I think that is exactly what they would have wanted

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Kind of Fairy Tales

I absolutely love different takes on already-told stories. Particularly fairy tales. Especially when they’re turned into horror stories. Every story in this anthology was fantastic, but my favorite was the mermaid story by Tara Losacano! Her take on this classic tale was brutal and amazing and satisfying! I can’t wait to read more of her stories soon. Really, everyone did such a great job on their fairy tale versions. Get this one!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of these stories had good concepts, but the writing was not nearly as good as the ideas. This was a Kindle Unlimited borrow, and as such, it was worth the quick read. And if you like horror-focused fairy tale retellings, it's right up your alley. It wasn't a huge success for me, but I'm sure others would enjoy this more.

[Shirley Nuñez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A raunchy and twisted re-telling of the fairy tales we all know and love. A couple stories were a bit too much for me at times but over all a solid read.

[Robin Witts · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no way to go wrong with a twisted horror fairytale. I love every story. each one was very unique. highly recommend

[Christina Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book and every twisted story from these authors. Each story giving you a twisted version of the every day fairy tales we thought we knew. From the stories of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Pinocchio, The Three Little Pigs and more come with a twisted horror version from some amazing authors. This book is in my top ten favorite and definitely one I would read more than once!