The recent thread on cross-genre noir/hb (science fiction and
fantasy) got me to thinkin... What would the cross-genre
examples be for other genres?
How about children's literature? I could only think of one
example, and that one is obscure: Julia Cunningham's _Dorp
Dead_ (yes, that's how it's spelled), about an orphan who
comes under the sway of a rather sinister guardian. There
must be other examples (more 'popular' ones than _Dorp
Dead_), but I'm at a loss.
Of course, most fairy tales in general (and the brothers
Grimm in particular) are very dark, as are most of Roald
Dahl's books. For example, consider _The Witches_, which was
made into a very good movie with Anjelica Huston as the Grand
High Witch. At the story's end, the boy (who remains a
mouse--no reprieve, as in the movie) and his grandmother make
plans for the genocide of witches everywhere (this was
dropped for the movie). In _James and the Giant Peach_,
James' evil aunts are crushed to death by the peach (again,
this gets watered down in the movie)... but the story becomes
too lighthearted after that.
Oh! I thought of another good one: _There's a Hair in my
Dirt_, by Gary Larson. (The cartoonist.) If you can find a
copy of this gem, buy it!
Doug Hoffman
(always looking for suitable reading material for my very
dark 6-year-old)
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