Fairy-Tale Files: The Ears Have It

For Shoehorn’s SakeFrom Jedi syntax to Vulcan nerve pinches, the pointy eared have long been embraced by pop culture. Yet there stands a contrast for every Link, most interesting among them the Curupira of Brazilian folklore. Ears aside, one could easily mistake these...

Fairy-Tale Files: Deceit

Little Red Riding HoodA girl, a grandmother and a conniving wolf. One of the earliest stories of deception we are introduced to as children, this tale appeared sporadically in tenth-century France and fourteenth-century Italy prior to Charles Perrault’s published...

Fairy-Tale Files: Kingdom, Phylum, Feral

The Stars & (Metamorphic) StripesAnimal transformation plays a role in many fairy tales, though “The Tiger’s Bride” by Angela Carter turns the creature-to-human trope on its head. Similar to Beauty and the Beast, this is a story about a woman’s captivity at the...