There was a book I really liked as a kid called Heckedy Peg and wow that is definitely a dark story with a moral. The kids open the door to a stranger even though they aren’t supposed to and get kidnapped and turned into FOOD for the kidnapper to eat. Oh, god. And the mother has to pretend to CUT OFF her feet and then her legs in order to be non-threatening enough for the kidnapper to agree to let her in. Then she has one chance to figure out which kid is which food to break the curse… It’s very disturbing and suspenseful. But I liked it because of the mom. I just thought she was so great! She was clever and she saved them. My mother hated that story but she still read it to me several times. Honestly, I think part of me may be a tiny bit twisted from stories like that xD But oh well.