Shock Headed Peter is a book of remarkably gruesome cautionary tales for children, mid 19 C German. At the time they were the definition of child-centered writing. The little pics are from a theatre production which I would have loved to see - the stagecraft just looks fabulous. Any how they're all about Gothicness and storytelling and retribution and innocence ravaged.
This'll take you to a video clip, (icons from the 56k version) if you're interested: http://www.shockheadedpeter.com/video.html