11 Spots in Germany That Inspired Our Famous Fairy Tales - Culture Trip Instead of meeting a witch, Hansel and Gretel meet the devil himself in early versions of the tale. In this fairy tale, the girl makes one mistake. In the Brothers Grimm version of 1812, the queen hears the imp singing while she is out walking in the woods. 13 Twisted Fairy Tales By The Brothers Grimm EUROPE / GERMANY Cederic Vandenberghe / Unsplash Marcelina Morfin 9 September 2022 View In order to save folk tales and preserve them for future generations, the German Brothers Grimm collected stories that had been passed from generation to generation. Germany still proudly celebrates the Brothers' gift for storytelling all along its Fairy Tale Route. Amid all of her haste, Cindy leaves behind a glass slipper. Made famous by the Brothers Grimm at the start of the 19th century, its published many times and has even been given the Disney treatment though the cartoon left out many of the more unpleasant elements of the original. The snake quickly slithers away into the garden. They're enough to make you wonder why fairy tales are ever considered okay for children. The particularly disturbing part is that murder in fairy tales very often happens within families. Some fairies fly by and find the sight of the old woman so funny that they endow her with gifts of wondrous beauty, intelligence, and youth as a reward; she now has the body and face of a 15 year old! He's dubious, but eventually consents, and flays her alive. A young womans lover is stabbed to death, beheaded, and buried, by her wicked and possessive brother. The original, titled Schneewittchen und die Sieben Swerge in German, is story number 53 in the Grimm fairy tale collection and is a little different. Unable to get an answer from her big brother, Marlene smacks him in the face and his head falls off. Sometimes the Pied Piper drowns all the children too. Some fairy tales have bridged generations. She jumps back into the sea, to certain death. Below are 9 dark fairy tales we bet you never heard as a child. The frog king or Iron Henry. The king decides to return for a little more action, but instead of finding a comatose girl, he finds Talia awake the mother of his children. A relationship soon develops between them. And, for the most part, they have positive endings, with the protagonists overcoming challenges and living happily ever after. The new queen, not wanting to reveal her beauty secret to her sister, tells the old hag that she has had herself skinned alive. A young girl is betrothed to a rich man. Now the king is sure of it: the next child will be a girl. In his version of Cinderella, a poor girl worked to the bone by her evil step sisters, finds a fairy godmother who transforms her from her sooty present just in time to attend a glamorous ball. But in the early versions, the ending is far bloodier. The greedy king believes him and locks the young girl up in a tower overnight. Its a tale of princesses, treachery, deceit and, ultimately, of justice. Snow White endured a lot more in the original story than she does in the Disney movie. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German academics in the early 19th century who really popularised fairy tales. A rather Grimm ending indeed. Features: Cannibalism, disturbing sexual content/paedophilia, Thought you knew Little Red Riding Hood? He then dresses in her bonnet and waits in her bed. The Frog Prince, or Iron Heinrich. University of Pittsburgh. The prince and his servants carry the dead body back to enjoy later. But she still can cry, and her salty tears flow to purify her body. The Disturbing Origins of Fairy Tales | History Hit A young, beautiful mermaid falls in love with a dashingly handsome human prince, after saving him from drowning. The other old sister is extremely jealous, and decides she wants to be young and beautiful, too. So far so recognizable. In a sick twist, the mad monarch eats them! There are two versions of this German story, and both of them are terrifying. A list of all Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales.A guide to Telling Scary Stories. When she doesnt own up to it, the Virgin Mary ruthlessly strikes her down, again and again. The Juniper Tree A woman decides to eliminate her stepson so her daughter can inherit all of her father's riches. The end. Despite the many challenges they face, not least their animals instincts and the pressures of society to be enemies, their friendship endures. She is accompanied on the long journey by her magic talking horse and a single servant girl. The story of Hansel and Gretel, the two children who get lost in the woods, is widely known and widely loved by children. The step-mother then places her own hideously ugly and deformed daughter in Biancabellas bed, and when the king returns home, she tells him that his precious Biancabella miscarried a child, and has become hideous with grief. Sleeping Beauty Almost all modern-day fairy tales are based on darker stories from centuries past. He and his gang of murderers are all swiftly executed. Not Sell My Personal Information. Thats why, fairy tales were often gruesome and gory. Beauty and the Beast is even older - this disturbing tale of beastly passions can be traced back to an Indian version from 2,000 years ago. When the group checks on the baby, they discoverthat it had died. Here are the original twists you never knew existed in your Disney favorites. After feeling his hairy body, his big shoulders and noticing his large teeth, she realizes it is not her grandmother she is in bed with at all, and tells the wolf she needs to go outside quickly to take a pee. And in some versions, he makes them join an army and fight in the Crusades. The Pied Piper then takes out his magic pipe and starts to play. Most peoplehave read some of Grimm's Fairy Tales during theirlives, or at least have seen Disney adaptations of the most popular stories. Their mother decides to cast them out, leaving the young brother and sister to wander the forests. And the darkness of the original tale doesnt end. In fact, even the Grimm brothers re-wrote their version to make it more suitable for younger audiences following a backlash in their native Germany. The tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin is known the world over. Long story short, he marries another woman. Grimms' Fairy Tales - Grimmstories.com The rich nobleman of the title has got girl problemsnamely, his pretty young wives keep dying on him. His editors, however, had other ideas and forced him to write a happier ending. Variants of this fairy tale have been told for more than 1,000 years. Almost every child in the Western world knows the story of a princess who kisses a frog and the animals transforms into a handsome prince. The children never saw it. The wolf and the seven young kids. In the hope of winning the princes heart, she asks the sea witch for a pair of human legs. In his version of Cinderella, a poor girl worked to the bone by her evil step sisters, finds a fairy godmother who transforms her from her sooty present just in time to attend a glamorous ball. The wonderful musician. Wikipedia. The Disturbing Truth Behind The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales - All That's In the first version of Pinocchio, the puppet was a violent animal killer. The cook then produces the twins, alive and well, and they all live happily ever after. 16 Classic Fairy Tales that Have Disturbing Origins than Told This could mean he just stands at the foot of her bed and laughs, but it could also represent something a lot more sinister. 5 Scary Fairy Tales to Never Tell Your Children This tale starts with the stranger who offers a deal, too good to be true. Its here where her wishes are answered. The Robber Bridegroom.Yet another man looking to offload his daughter figures he cant do better than the first man that comes along, a gentleman who apparently interviews well. But far from being the home of a kindly soul, the gingerbread house belongs to an evil witch who enjoys nothing more than killing and eating children. She ends up as sea foam. She is to be fed and watered to prevent her dying of starvation, so her body can be slowly eaten alive by worms. A room full of murdered women?! The enraged prostitutes smash the fairys head open, and break her body into pieces. The kings evil step-mother hatches a plan to be rid of Biancabella, and when the king is away at war, she pays a group of men to take the new queen into the forest and kill her. Unsurprisingly, it's been translated many times into a number of different languages. The prince finds her, all is happy, lots of music is played, the end. Only he appears to be shocked. The wily Pied Piper leads the plague-ridden rodents to the river where they all drown. The wolf and the seven young kids. 1 of the first edition contained 86 stories, which were . The story of the youth who went forth to learn what fear was. Shes saved at the last minute from joining his wives, but leaping lizards! Or they would show the dangers of trusting strangers or of not obeying your parents. Here are 4 dark fairy tales with more gore than a Coen brothers movie marathon: "Bluebeard." The go-to example when you want to prove that Disney's only ever telling half the story. But he returns to the farm sometimes, coming back to mock the dogs. But in other versions, he doesnt take losing quite so well. But arguably no original versions are as bleak as that of Sleeping Beauty. Two old, ugly sisters live together near a king's castle. But that doesnt mean the book finishes with a happy ending. Then, in a twist thats often left out of modern versions, the animals tormenters are almost all slaughtered. Occasionally, I send out an email with new writings on storytelling and fairy tales. In the end he discovers how to shudder, with the help of his wife. Origins of Grimms' disturbing fairy tales - DNA India The elf climbs into the girls ear, tells her of her lovers murder, and informs her where the body lies. It just so happens that the transit resuscitates her, as a bump in the road dislodges the fatal apple bit from her throat. Once again, evildoers are punished: jealousy inspires Snow Whites mother to attend her newly-revived daughters wedding, where she is eventually forced to put on scalding hot iron boots and dance until she drops dead. Then, she dies. When the Brothers Grimm penned their version more than a century later, such sexual overtones were removed and versions, where the wolf serves Little Red pieces of her own grandmother to eat, were ignored completely. In this version, the queen that visits Snow White's cottage first tempts her with a corset that she . Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales [Complete List] - International Storyteller Gives you the creeps. The imp also demands more and more first the girls ring but finally her firstborn child. Sure enough, the millers daughter becomes queen. The distraught mother hangs herself, and when her husband comes home to find everyone dead, he dies from grief. Wikipedia. This gentleman invites his bride-to-be for a visit. It turns out that a stunningly beautiful fairy lives within the myrtle stick, and soon begins sneaking into the princes bed in the dark to play at mute sparrow with him. Here are 4 dark fairy tales with more gore than a Coen brothers movie marathon: Bluebeard.The go-to example when you want to prove that Disneys only ever telling half the story. Pinterest. The latter is the fate of an impoverished miller, who promises the devil in disguise whatevers standing behind his mill in exchange for untold riches. But how true is this to the fairy tale penned by the famous Brothers Grimm at the start of the 19th century? She agrees to bed him, but only if he will take her in the dark since, according to herself, she is far too modest to expose her nakedness to him. Read the entire fairy taleAnother side of the Blessed Virgin. No little girl for this big bad wolf tonight. You might not think it when you see the title, but for sure, this is one of the scariest Grimm fairy tales. Wikipedia. 8 The Little Mermaid The 1989 version of the Little Mermaid might be better known as "The big whopper!" In the Disney version, the film ends with Ariel, the mermaid, being changed into a human so she can marry Eric. Find out in this post about the Grimm Brothers how they changed many mothers into stepmothers in later editions of their fairy tale collection. Sure enough, his house turns out to be a den of cannibals, where his kindly (but, you know, cannibalism-enabling) housekeeper conceals the bride behind a barrel. Rapunzels prince met a grisly end in early versions of the fairy take. In fact, not many of the original authors of our favorite fairy tales did. In the book, which was written by Daniel P. Mannix, the young fox cub is indeed raised by a farmer. In the Grimm version, Snow White dies. Then, one day, a rat-catcher in multicolored (or pied) clothes arrives and offers to drive all the rats away. The King hears Talia screaming, and rescues her just in time. As a stranger comfortably lunches with a beautiful family, suddenly a pale child in a white dress comes floating by. The new mother refuses. In an attempt to make herself feel more youthful to the kings touch, the old woman takes all her loose, sagging skin and ties it behind her back with string. In the following chapters, the farmer and his dogs find the foxs family. Disneys version of this classic fairy tale was a huge hit and loved by children and adults the world over. Here are our sources: Little Red Riding Hood, 1810. The British Library. Meanwhile, Biancabella decides to kill herself but as soon as she attempts to do so, her sister appears in human form and magically heals Biancabellas horrible wounds. As the girl eats, a little cat sings: It is a slut that eats and drinks of her own grandmothers flesh and blood!. She demands her now-young sistertell her how she was transformed. Tebaldo slaughters the twin babies, and pins the crime on Queen Doralice herself. The wolf then forces the little girl to burn all of her clothes, and climb into bed naked with him. Then, one day, they come across a cottage and decide to seek help. While the babies try to find her breasts to suckle, one starts sucking on her finger and the flax splinter is loosened. The brother and sister. But its likely the German authors took their inspiration from another much darker story that had been used to warn kids of the dangers of going alone into the forests for centuries before. Most famously, in the widely-read version written by Charles Perrault and published in 1697, there is no happy ending nobody comes to rescue her and cut her from the wolfs stomach. A father who sells that which is behind the house. A pious girl, who just happens to be behind the house at that exact moment. The bridegroom is exposed for the monster he is when the bride-to-be produces the dead girls finger at their wedding. There is an appearance of ghosts, giants, ravenous black cats and dogs, skeletons and dead men hanging from a tree. Indeed, the Danish writer wanted to show how noble self-sacrifice could be though he undoubtedly also used the tale to warn his young readers about the dangers of having unrealistic dreams and even trying to break out of the social class you were born in. Just one. When their sister goes in search of them something happens. The Disturbing Truth Behind The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales - All That's I am just a lover of bizarre little yarns a fairytale fanatic and here today I would like to share with you some of the most disturbing tales that I have come across. The Darkest and Most Disturbing Fairy Tales - Culture Trip Cinderella Here, Perrault is much nicer than Grimm in his version, the two cruel stepsisters get married off to members of the royal court after Cinderella is properly married to the prince. A fairy tale from Russia, "The Dead Mother," is equal parts sweet and horrifying. He freaks out and throws her out the window (as you do). Vote up the most shocking content lurking in that children's book. The end result was a tale missing some of the darker details of the original version unsurprisingly since Disney were out to make a sweet morality tale for children rather than scare their young viewers. While being melancholy in its dim setting against the backdrops of a German village ravaged by a hideous famine, it also carries the prominent theme of child abduction. An evil woman hates her step-son so much that she hatches a plan to be rid of him, and to thereby secure her husbands inheritance for their young daughter alone. Arguably the most famous collection of fairy tales ever produced was Grimm's Fairy Tales, which was published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812 (originally under the German title of Kinder und Hausmrchen, or 'Children's and Household Tales'). We know the classics by heart, but our beloved Disney-diluted iterations couldnt be further from their true, markedly more sinister origins. But Im not so interested in the hidden messages, the morals or the justifications. Instead, she was a spoilt brat with a mean temper. Shes been imprisoned there as a baby after her father was caught stealing medicinal herbs from the evil witchs garden. The witch learns of her romance and, in a fit of rage, cuts off her hair. 1997-2023 Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc. 33 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003, Submit your email address to receive Barnes & Noble offers & updates. A tale full of darkness (and light) if there ever was one. Fairy talesat least as we know themare a childhood staple. Some children might beg to differ. The Danes tale was no all-singing and all-dancing affair under the sea, but rather quite a grim story of the sacrifices some people are prepared to make in the name of love. The dead woman looks at them, then sadly puts the baby to bed and leaves. She then props the childs body up in a chair and places the head back on his corpse, covering the wound with a handkerchief. The girl eventually dies a quiet death. Penguin, 2012. When the little girl arrives, the wolf calls from the bed: Eat some of the meat in the pantry my dear, and drink some of the wine in the bottle and the girl proceeds to devour the grisly meal. Her feckless dad is forced to chop off her hands, but even the stumps are too pure. The husband, old woman, and some of the townsfolk get together and enter the baby's room. 4. The story of a young duckling who is bullied for being ugly but then transforms into a beautiful swan is famous around the world. After he has finished the deed and shes fallen asleep, the king discovers the secret his tender maiden has hidden behind her back, and after lighting a candle he finds that his bed-mate is actually a disgusting old hag. Then the mother does the unbelievable. Horner had a look inside the pie and managed to take the deeds to one house for himself. As with many fairy tales, it was made famous by the Brothers Grimm when they included it in their 1812 collection of short stories for youngsters. Or at least a sanitized version of it is. In a sick twist, the brother and sister pretend not to know how they can get on the sawhorse, so the devils wife offers to demonstrate. However, everyone agrees that it was just supposed to be a game, so they can't tell if the boy is evil or not. Or if the prince does fall, he is fine and he and Rapunzel live happily ever after. And surely a large part of its success was down to the fact that the cartoon movie left out big chunks of the version penned by Hans Christian Anderson many years before. Its creepy. While the Hans Christian Anderson version might seem sick and twisted to the modern reader, at the time it was seen as both tragic and uplifting. Professional Storyteller Rudolf Roos has been telling stories since 2009, full-time since 2015.He grew up in The Netherlands, close to the salty sea, and tells mostly old Northern European stories.He is a qualified primary school teacher and passed the highest level of the Cambridge English exam.As an Amazon Associate he earns from qualifying purchases. What is the most disturbing Grimm fairy tales? By the 19th century, such violent versions of the fable began appearing in print. When he asks the family, the father says he never saw it. While a woman sleeps in the garden, a snake crawls under her skirts and makes its way into her body where it comes to rest in her womb. Over the years, Rapunzels hair grows and grows. So, happily ever after, right? Wikipedia. Indeed, its only after shes given birth to twins and then begin feeding on her bosom does Sleeping Beauty awaken from her long slumber. The music draws the rats out and they all follow him as he walks out of town. Il Pentamerone (Entertainment for the Young) 1634), Features: Mutilation, long-term suffering, suicide. And so, this is the punishment she herself receives, dying in agony while the real princess watches on with satisfaction. Everyone weeps and mourns, and the man hires an old woman to look after the baby. The king rushes home to wait in anticipation for night to fall and his love to come to him. Of course, the king just gets greedier, promising to marry the girl if she fulfils his wishes. When I look for creepy October reading, I turn to the OGs of twisted terror: the Grimm Brothers. However, once upon a time, such fairy tales were far darker. The other version is less morbid, but it's arguably more distressing. Though angry, the imp just runs away, never to be seen again. And then the pleasant summer drama turns into a wild and dark action revenge movie. Other dark details understandably omitted in more recent versions of the Pinocchio story include the bit where the puppets feet are burned off soon after he runs away for the first time. The fairy manages to grow a new body from the buried flesh and bones, and reveals to the Prince her murderers identities. Read the story 2 Cinderella Theres another one, too. The murdered mans skull is later discovered in the flower-pot, and the evil deed is uncovered. The twelve brothers. As the old womanbleeds out on the floor, skinless, she reminds herself that you must suffer for beauty. She weeps over the pot day and night, and the jasmine twig begins to grow beautiful flowers. After committing the murder, the brother is described as entering the beautiful, blooming girls bedroom as she lies dreaming of her lover, and bending over her, laughing hideously as only a fiend can laugh as he does so. Read the entire fairy taleBrothers and sisters take care of each other. In modern versions of The Ugly Duckling, the suffering and bullying is toned down. A king mistakenly believes that two hideous, smelly, deformed old women are actually the most delicate, beautiful and scrumptious of young tender maidens. Tired of his moralising and advice, an angry Pinocchio hurls a hammer at Jiminy, killing him outright. Of course, the hunter cant bring himself to butcher the young beauty, so he kills a wild boar instead and takes its organs back to the queen. Death, however, will not stop this child. The tale of Hansel and Gretel remains to this day one of the most twisted stories crafted by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. When Biancabella is 10, she discovers the snake in the garden. Disneys version was somewhat true to the Brothers Grimm story. The chest ends up being sold to a king, who catches Doralice sneaking out of it and rather spontaneously makes her his wife. Unsurprisingly, its been translated many times into a number of different languages. Indeed, while seemingly nonsense, this is actually the tale of political intrigue, bribery and even treason, though even expert scholars disagree over the exact details of the story. As most people know, Henry VIII tried to shut down all the countrys monasteries. The story centres on the small German town of Hamelin. 10 best Grimm fairy tales - DW - 08/30/2017 - dw.com They also kill his children. But the sanitized version of today is a long way from the tale published by the Brothers Grimm more than 100 years ago. She tricks her daughter, who ends up thinking she killed the boy. Of course she enters the room; of course its filled with the remains of all his murdered wives. Where did we find this stuff? For much of its history, the story upon which Chicken Little was based was passed down orally. They give her fine clothes, servants, anything a rich lady could ask for, and they make her young. Are Grimms Fairy Tales too twisted for children? BBC Culture, August 2013. This gory detail is often left out of the story. As most people know, the story involves a princess locked in a tower. Although the origin of the Cinderella story is around 2.000 years old, the modern version as set down by the Brothers Grimm dates from 1812. In this fairy tale, the girl makes one mistake. Before long, numerous theories had been put forward, each claiming to be the truth behind the silliness. The story has been changed considerably in various retellings and subjected to numerous modern adaptations and readings. Top 10 Gruesome Fairy Tale Origins - Listverse Melita is a 24-year-old 100% authentic home-grown Kiwi. The modern Sleeping Beauty is based on a tale penned by the Italian storyteller Giambattista Basile. Then the robbers return with her future husband leading them. She puts the severed digit in her pocket, then witnesses the entire macabre feast. Many consider them unsuitable reading material for 21st century children, with their sunny dispositions and delicate, impressionable minds. While the plot details might have varied, the overall theme was the same: a young girl, named for her magical red hooded cloak, is stalked by a wolf as she goes to visit her grandmother. Whats also left out is the fact that the Brothers Grimm had a lot of real-life stories to draw on. The original tale of the Fox and the Hound is bloody, cruel and sad. As she watches, her betrothed and his friends return with a kidnapped girl, chop her up, cook her, and devour her. But these days, its the Brothers Grimm version of Rumpelstiltskin which is read to children the world over and this one has a far more cheerful ending than many of the versions that went before it. It grows so long, in fact, that when a passing prince hears Rapunzel singing from her window, he is able to climb up to meet her using her hair as a rope. Paul Nathan: Capturing The World Of Creative Dog Grooming, 8 Of The World's Weirdest And Most Beautiful Moth Species, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Feigning kindness to the little boy, his step-mother bids him reach into a chest to fetch an apple. One day, the king goes for a walk, and hears one of the women singing. But they never manage to capture the wily fox. The prince takes her for his secret lover, after she confesses that she is a slave to his every whim and desire. Perhaps one of the most basic dark elements common to Grimms' fairy tales is murder. In the Brothers Grimm version, which itself was based on the classic tale of a king who had once been a frog a tale which some historians believe can be traced all the way back to Roman times the princess was hardly a fair maiden. At long last they cut of her hands. An imp appears and offers to help.