Two Tales Dark and Grim

This short sampler collects two dark, modern retellings of classic fairy tales, both drawn from the young-adult anthology Grim, edited by Christine Johnson.

In Rachel Hawkins's "The Key," a girl with psychic abilities can't resist looking into the one place she's been forbidden to — a contemporary spin on the Bluebeard story, reading like the opening chapter of a longer retelling.

In Julie Kagawa's "The Brothers Piggott," an insecure boy falls for a girl he can't have, with dangerous consequences — a Three Little Pigs retelling with a sharper, darker edge than the original.