The Pied Piper – An Original Horror Story
One of my favorite stories growing up was a tale that my third grade teacher read to the class called “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” The story stuck with me and I have often lamented that it is not only fairly unknown (or at least not a prominent fairy tale), but even if it is known, this gem of a tale is censored and bubble-gummed up to have a happy ending. Granted, Mrs. Kratz — my third grade librarian — read us the buttered up version where all the children are retuned happily to their home, but like most fairy tales, the original is far darker. For those who are not familiar with this horribly dark tale, it sprouts from the rat infestations during the black plague epidemic in the 1300s. The small village of Hamelin was overrun with rats and the people were all dying. A brightly dressed stranger with a flute came and offered his services of purging
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