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The Guardian - UK

Lifestyle

Readers reply: Why are nursery rhymes and fairytales so dark?

Hansel and Gretel at the witch’s cottage — Hansel and Gretel at the witch’s cottage. The story was published by the Grimm brothers in 1812. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Why are so many traditional stories for children, be they folk stories, fairytales or nursery rhymes, so dark, creepy or macabre? Rachel Parks, West Yorkshire

Send new questions to [email protected].

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