Aesop's Fables were surprisingly graphic in nature

As were the Grimm's tales.

But, there's a whole realm of possibilities there, too with different adaptations of those stories than what you find in common contemporary versions.

One of our favorite podcasts has been "Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest", fairy tale podcast by Adam Gidwitz. He finds the oldest version of Grimm tales that he can, and reads it to school classes. But he adds his own adaptations, too.