Some of the imagery in the short-story, The Erlking, alludes to Little Red Ridinghood. The wolf's most noticeable features are his hair, his eyes ("the better to see you with!"), and his teeth ("the better to eat you with!"). These are also the physical features of the Erlking that Carter emphasizes. His long hair, the color of dead leaves and tangled with them, signals the Erlking as a bestial creature of nature.
The Erkling