Tale
fairy tale - fiction - gossip - Grimm's fairy tales - history - legend - narrative - story
Weird Tales (July 1936)
image sourced here. [Jun 2005]
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a story, usually told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as: fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants and others. These stories often involve princes and princesses and normally have a happy ending. Often, fairy tales were disguised morality tales. This is true for the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale Collection, and many of the tales of Hans Christian Andersen.An extensive collection of European fairy tales were published by Andrew Lang in a series of books: The Red Fairy Book, The Orange Fairy Book, and so forth. These provide some excellent examples of the genre. Some have also classed the Middle Eastern tales from 1001 Arabian Nights as fairy tales. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale [May 2004]
Old wives' tale
An old wives' tale is a wisdom much like an urban legend, supposedly passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Today old wives' tales are also common among children's peer sex education in school playgrounds. Old wives' tales often concern pregnancy, puberty and nutrition.
Some old wives' tales are true, and those that aren't often have roots in truth or are used to trick people into doing something. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale [May 2005]
Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected
Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected (1979) - Various [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Amazon.com
The wicked wit of Roald Dahl's fiction is superbly adapted in the first two seasons of Tales of the Unexpected. Premiering on British TV in 1979, this first-rate anthology series had the added advantage of Dahl himself as host, introducing each 25-minute episode from a cozy English fireside and bringing his own dark, playfully macabre sensibility to the stories that followed. In the delicious tradition of O. Henry, the author's twisted sense of irony inspired superior adaptations from several of England's finest dramatists (most notably Ronald Harwood, Oscar®-winner for The Pianist), and in turn their teleplays attracted an impressive array of high-caliber British and American actors including John Gielgud, John Mills, Joseph Cotten, Gloria Grahame, Susan George, Julie Harris, Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon, Elaine Stritch, Joan Collins, and many more.
Shot on videotape, these 25 episodes compensate for modest budgets by emphasizing excellence in dialogue, direction, and performance, all heightened by the sophisticated savagery of Dahl's cynical but never off-putting appreciation for the dark side of humanity. Unlike the mostly supernatural twists of The Twilight Zone, murder and other kinds of extreme misbehavior provide the motivation for these Tales, most of which deliver a highly refined sense of devious delight. For the final three episodes, Dahl generously includes other authors of his ilk including John Collier, whose story "Back for Christmas" inspires a particularly grisly scenario. Consistently high in quality, these overlooked gems deliver quintessentially British twists of fate, each worthy of a sly and devilish grin. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Like his children’s books, Roald Dahl’s adult stories never fail to surprise, though they take more chilling flights of fancy. Darkly humorous and playfully macabre, each standalone episode in this acclaimed series is a brilliantly acted little gem of creepy delight. Episode casts feature a cavalcade of stars, including John Alderton, Joan Collins, Joseph Cotten, José Ferrer, Michael Gambon, Susan George, John Gielgud, Julie Harris, Derek Jacobi, John Mills, and Elaine Stritch. With introductions by Roald Dahl.
your Amazon recommendations