Happily Never After: 5 Horror Novels Influenced by Dark Fairytales

Once upon a time, there was a story that twisted the fabric of its origins, becoming more horrific, more deadly, taking tropes and beats from classic fairytales and turning them into something new. Something terrifying.

Fairytale retellings or novels that draw upon traditional folklore have always been popular, but horror’s ability to take those cherished stories of childhood and transform them into something new is marked. It’s a personal favorite of mine; capitalizing on the inherent eeriness of fairytales, leaning into deeper, darker motifs and plots. Fairytales in general tend to be quite creepy, even the ones that have happily ever afters. So it’s no surprise that horror authors are drawn to these types of stories, eager to dive deeper into the aspects of humanity these classic tropes and tales allow us to explore.

My upcoming horror novel, A Thousand Monstrous Forms, is a sapphic gothic horror Bluebeard retelling, about a ceramic artist who moves into her new wife’s manor only to be forbidden from visiting the basement, slowly realizing that the house is haunted. I’ve always been drawn to the tale of Bluebeard, and this particular book uses that folk story as a vehicle to explore dark topics such as abusive relationships and inherited privilege.

There’s a darkness to fairytales that allows us as writers and readers to take a closer look at some of the things we’re too scared to face head-on in our real lives. The following books are either fairytale retellings or books that lean into the folktale/fairytale vibes to create an unsettling and fabulist atmosphere.

Here are five horror books that can’t promise you a happily ever after.

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Cynthia Pelayo, It Came From Neverland

This twisted, horror Peter Pan retelling is set during WWI and follows Wendy Darling, who works as a school teacher and assists soldiers who have returned home from the Western Front. When one soldier reminds her of Peter Pan, a dark entity that she believes killed children in London many years prior, Wendy must confront her own memories and experience with Peter Pan as more children go missing and Wendy’s innocence is questioned.

Nat Cassidy, When the Wolf Comes Home

When struggling actress Jess finds a five-year-old runaway boy, she becomes enmeshed in an epic, twisted, and bloody road trip with the child, dodging the boy’s violent father and other, less explainable obstacles. Drawing from classic fairytales but with a modern (and horrifying) twist, this dark exploration of fear itself creates a new kind of folklore that will haunt your dreams long after it’s over.

W. R. Gorman, We Kept Her In the Cellar

In this darkly twisted Cinderella retelling, stepsister Eunice is expected to care for her sister and keep the family’s secret—Cinderella’s dangerous, eldritch powers. When she sees the chance to have her own happily ever after, she takes it. But when Cinderella escapes her cellar and crashes the ball Eunice is attending, sweeping away the prince, Eunice must try to stop her sister despite the cost.

Natalia Theodoridou, Sour Cherry

I couldn’t make this list without including another Bluebeard retelling! After losing her baby, Agnes is called to a great manor house to nurse the local lord’s baby boy, but there’s something wrong with the child. As he grows from boy to man, taking wives and leaving a trail of death in his wake, the ghosts of the women he’s plagued attempt to communicate in this feminist folklore.

Premee Mohamed, The Butcher of the Forest

Veris Thorn—the only person to ever enter a forbidden, magical forest and survive—is forced to go back inside to find a powerful tyrant’s missing children. Racing the clock, Veris must contend with deadly traps, trickery, and dangerous monsters in order to save herself and the children. Imagine Hansel and Gretel, except far more terrifying.

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