Letting the Wolf in: Storytelling Struggles

While I still haven't gotten my hands on Tolkien's 'On Fairy Stories', I did pick up another fairy tale research book called Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis.

It covered topics from the traditional to historical stories, the emotional aspects involved and the structure of story. Some of the book was too philanthropic for me, but all the same there was some interesting ideas. My focus was entirely on the traditional story, but I gained something else as I read the book.

First I have to say how much I enjoy the title; Inviting the Wolf strikes an instant cord with me. It makes me think of the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, though it that particular case the wolf was already inside when Red arrives. Werewolf and vampire stories seem to be everywhere lately. A movie came out last year called Let me In, about a boy who meets a girl and falls in love. The girl just happens to be a vampire. It's based on a Swedish movie called Let the Right One In. The titles relate to the fact the girl can't cross the threshold of a room unless she is invited inside.