Inside the strange, magical world of Roald Dahl

If you were a child anytime in the past fifty years, you’re likely familiar with the strange, wonderful worlds of Roald Dahl.

His children’s books — which include classics like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “James and the Giant Peach,” “The Witches” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — have been translated into dozens of languages and turned into hugely popular films.

But he also wrote some of the creepiest stories out there for adults, including “Lamb to the Slaughter,” in which a woman kills her husband with a frozen lamb chop, then cooks and feeds it to the detectives who come to investigate, and “the Smoker” ? which follows a man’s attempts to claim the fingers from people’s hands through wagers.

Where did Dahl’s odd, exciting imagination come from? And how much of the creepiness from his stories stems from real-life events?

Donald Sturrock has an idea or two. He’s the author of “Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl” which is in bookstores this month.