While today parents love relating their favorite fairy tales to their own children, the dark and often gruesome plot lines of the original stories were intended for adult audiences, not youngsters. Oct 04, 2017 cinderella is one of the most famous disney movies of all time. However, almost all of these stories have a dark and gruesome original version. Jan 03, 2017 the dark origins of the grimms fairy tales. 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. There is no question that despite their circumstances the grimm brothers were at the top of their game. Children subconsciously recall their messages as they grow older, and are forced to cope with real injustices and contradictions in their lives.
Vintage fairy tale collectibles on abebooks shop for books. Be sure to subscribe to the listverse podcast on itunes and rate our podcasts. Mar 25, 2018 gruesome origins of favorite fairy tales fairy tales of the past were often full of macabre and gruesome twists and endings. Nov 12, 20 in the fourth grade, i checked out the complete fairy tales of the brothers grimm from my school library and never returned it a belated sorry. Let us take a look at the top 10 dark origins of disney fairytales. Margarete grew up in bad wildungen, where her brother used small children to work his copper mine. The original versions of some of our bestloved fairy tales are a far cry from their disneyfied incarnations with violence, gore, sexual threat, abuse and poverty all part of the plot. These days, companies like disney have sanitized them for. It is a type of short story often relating to childrens literature that usually features enchantments as well as fairies, dwarfs, giants, unicorns, dragons, talking animals, mermaids or goblins. The gruesome origins of 10 classic fairy tales unbelievable facts. While were all familiar with the disneyfied versions of fairytales, the familyfriendly movies leave out some of the darker and more gruesome details from the original novels and fairytales. Nov 12, 2014 to order the original folk and fairy tales of the brothers grimm for.
After swallowing the poisoned apple and slipping into a coma, the prince takes snow whites body. Although the fairy tale is a distinct genre within the larger category of folktale, the definition that marks a work as a fairy tale is a source of considerable dispute. She is the coeditor with leela prasad and lalita handoo of gender and story in south india, also published by suny press, and the author of several books, including fairy godfather. A new history deconstructs the argument of the modern fairy tale as stories that came out of an oral folk history, but rather as layered constructions of texts from italian basile and straparola to french perrault and lheritier to german grimm. True loves kiss and happily ever afters were childs play for the writers that came before walt disney. Listen to the listverse podcast on top 10 gruesome fairy tale origins to find out. Where modern versions claim that the spell is broken by the kiss of the princess, the reality is that the princes transformation was occasioned by the spoilt and petulant princess flinging the unassuming frog against the.
But in many cases, it completely changed the stories meaning. Feb 21, 2018 many classic fairy tales had early versions that had some very grim content such as torture, rape, and cannibalism. I love that this book features all the tales in their entirety. Upon learning of snow white from her magic mirror, the queen orders a huntsman to collect snow whites liver and lungs for a grisly meal.
Not for children the brothers grimms fairy tales were not the sweet numbers you. Red riding hoods grandmother meets a gruesome fate, pinocchio calls the police, and the sleeping beautys love story is actually quite horrifying. Fairy tales with gruesome origins if there is one thing fairy tales have taught us, it would certainly be a happy ending. For the people who dont believe in happily ever after and have a good imagination. Original fairy tales childrens stories and their history. Fairy tales their origin and meaning bunce, john thackray on. History of fairy tales kids books fairy tales lovetoknow. The true stories behind classic fairy tales huffpost. I do also like the addition of a bit of information on the authors after each short. The gruesome origins of classic fairy tales abebooks. Where did all these fairy tales from around the world come from. I was horrified to find that the origins of many of my favorite disney movies had much more gruesome details that disney completely left out. Disney and other film production companies have sanitized these stories for a modern audience that is deemed unable to cope with something other than a happy ending.
The mermaids transformation into a human is pretty gross, and when she walks its as if shes stepping on sharp knives. Fairy tales, gripping, magical and inspiring, are master narratives. Common parlance conflates fairy tales with beast fables and other folktales, and scholars differ on the. A new history deconstructs the argument of the modern fairy tale as stories that came out of an oral folk history, but rather as layered constructions of texts from italian basile. Severely deformed because of the physical labor mining required, they were despairingly referred to as dwarfs. To our surprise, the original fairy tales are pretty tragic and even creepy. They were designed to teach children important lessons. However, some fairy tales have more recent origins. The real versions of the disney fairy tales are a little different from the disney movies, and even the tales that we commonly hear. The hidden meanings behind fairy tales posted on november 2, 2010 april 26, 2017 by drama start books fairy tales of the past were often full of macabre and gruesome twists and endings. Top 10 gruesome fairy tale origins you may be surprised to learn about the original endings of your favorite fairy tales. Disney has been going steady for ages, telling little children stories based on old fairy tales, albeit loosely so.
Gruesome origins of favorite fairy tales astral perceptions. In the modern cinderella fairy tale we have the beautiful cinderella swept off her feet by the prince and her wicked step sisters marrying two lords with everyone living happily ever after. The fairy tale itself is full of dark details that were later scrubbed clean. A new history 2009 suggests that the brothers grimm got punked by their sources. It focuses on the unusual phenomenon that the same tales, with only minor variations, appear again and again in different cultures across time and geographical space. Those edits created a wider audience for the grimms books, and probably ensured that their stories endured. This list looks at some of the common endings we are familiar with and explains the original gruesome. In the dark origins of fairy tales part 2, we are going to explore more of these these iconic. Such stories typically feature entities such as dwarfs, dragons, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, mermaids, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments. These often stem from true events, albeit watered down in modern times from the more gruesome or uncomfortable historical elements. Bottigheimer teaches european fairy tales and british children s literature at stony brook university, state university of new york.
Recently adapted into 2009s the princess and the frog, the original grimm fairy tale is, unfortunately, far less sentimental and romantic than its modern adaptations. Barries peter pan and vintage childrens books, weve curated a magical list of art and books for the most discerning fairy tale collector. Five dark and gruesome fairytales behind classic disney. The first edition contained 86 stories, and by the seventh edition in 1857, had 210 unique fairy tales. Not just the pain, but it literally makes her feet bleed constantly. When i was a kid i had a book with a 100 old stories, and they were mostly original, so the mutilation story is actually the first i ever heard. Some fairy tales are based on legends that incorporated a spiritual belief of the culture in which they originated, and were meant.
Over time, the most gruesome parts were dropped to make the stories more pleasant. As we all know, fairy tales usually have cheerful endings. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Cinderella is one of the most famous disney movies of all time. The origins, history, and interpretations of the worlds. Some companies such as disney changed the creepy version so that the childhood of people all over the world wont be ruined.
Your favorite disney movies have pretty gruesome origins. When you think of fairy tales, you most likely think of sweet stories heard as a child. Fairy tales of the past were often full of macabre and gruesome twists and endings. The gruesome origins of classic fairy tales read more. The messed up origins of cinderella disney explained youtube. Click on for more shocking revelations about your favorite childhood stories and fairy tales. These stories allow us to explore the furthest reaches of our imaginations but some have more sinister back stories. Fairy tales and the culture of childhood points out that. Gruesome origins of favorite fairy tales fairy tales of the past were often full of macabre and gruesome twists and endings. While today parents love relating their favorite fairy tales to their own children, the dark and often gruesome plot lines of the original stories were. The origins of fairy tales from around the world series helps to answer this question, by showcasing the amazing breadth and diversity involved in classic fairy tales.
If you know anything about us, you should know this. Oct 20, 2017 6 gruesome origins of fairy tales that will ruin your childhood forever. The hidden meanings behind fairy tales drama start. But hidden sexual innuendos in grimms fairy tales remained, according to psychoanalysts, including sigmund freud and erich fromm, who examined the book in the 20th century. Aug 02, 2014 the brothers grimm became famous for their retellings of these old german folk tales, in all their gory glory. Mar, 2017 the origins of fairy tales are more gruesome, wicked and dark than most of us we were made to believe. If youve ever noticed from the books i read, im a bit of a fairy tale nut, and every now and again, i like to read something about their origins. With fantastical stories of witches and fairies, goblins and elves, or heroic princes and their villainous counterparts, folklore and fairy tales have long been an ingrained tradition in storytelling for children. A fairy tale, fairytale, wonder tale, magic tale, or marchen is an instance of a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story.
Once upon a time, long before gus gus and prince charming, fairy tales were. Disney has been going steady for ages, telling little children stories based on old fairytales, albeit loosely so. Recently adapted into 2009s the princess and the frog, the original grimm fairy tale is, unfortunately, far less sentimental and romantic than its modern. I have to say that i do like the setup of this book. The pied piper, for example, is believed to be an actual man from 1264 in hamelin, germany. However, many fairy tales and the legends behind them are actually the diluted version of uncomfortable and gruesome historical events. Take a look at a few terrifying, gruesome, often bizarre early.
Fearie tales is an anthology of short stories written by various authors, mostly inspired by the brother grimms fairy tales. But lighter interpretations were needed to actually sell books, so the brothers grimm turned to the fairy tales of frenchman charles perrault ogden, 2014 and what we now call the fairy tale was born. These were largely oral folklore, based on actual gruesome events. Often, these graphic elements helped shape the stories into tales of caution. I n fact, the o riginal fairy tales contrast with modern tales especially in the manner in which they end. The disturbing origins of 10 famous fairy tales flavorwire. The real versions of the disney fairytales are a little different from the disney movies, and even the tales that we commonly hear. It includes an indepth introduction to the fairy tale genre itself, as well as the folkloric provenance of the fairy tale.
Each book in the origins of fairy tales series contains seven different variants of a particular story from all around the world. In the fourth grade, i checked out the complete fairy tales of the brothers grimm from my school library and never returned it a belated sorry. Many of these elements were later dropped to make the stories. Nov 02, 2010 the hidden meanings behind fairy tales posted on november 2, 2010 april 26, 2017 by drama start books fairy tales of the past were often full of macabre and gruesome twists and endings. That far from finding rich treasure troves of germanic oral folk literature, they found people willing to retell stories out of story books, mostly french. Let us take a look at the top 10 dark origins of disney fairy tales. The origins of fairy tales are more gruesome, wicked and dark than most of us we were made to believe. The 10 darkest and most disturbing fairy tales culture trip.
Cinderella can be traced back to china in 9th century a. The edited brother grimm fairy tales interspersed in this book set the dark tone. Grimms fairy tales, originally known as the childrens and household tales german. In order to understand the history of fairy tales, readers need to be aware of for whom original fairy tales were really written. These days, companies like disney have sanitized them for a modern audience that is clearly deemed unable to cope, and so we see happy endings everywhere. In the 1812 version of hansel and gretel, a wife persuades her.
But what we were told are distorted versions because the original ones are much darker and murkier and would have probably scarred your childhood. Barrie and the grimm brothers much preferred a haunting tale over a romantic. Jan 29, 2020 top 10 gruesome fairy tale origins you may be surprised to learn about the original endings of your favorite fairy tales. The gruesome origins of 10 classic fairy tales 1 many classic fairy tales had early versions that had some very grim content such as torture, rape, and cannibalism. From original watercolor illustrations of cinderella and disney production cels, to luxe editions of j. Top 10 dark origins of disney fairytales wonderslist.
Many of these elements were later dropped to make the stories more pleasant. This podcast looks at the gruesome origins of ten of our favorite fairy tales from childhood. We often think of fairy tales as being idyllic and gentle, just as we believe childhood itself is. The brothers grimm became famous for their retellings of these old german folk tales, in all their gory glory. The fairy tales we know and love growing up are full of imaginary beings and magical lands.
But as it turns out, its not always about princesses and happy endings. Early versions of classic fairy tales had some grim content such as torture, rape, and cannibalism. When the prince marries another woman, the mermaid has the choice. The piper rid the town of rats, and after the elders refused him the. If there is one thing fairy tales have taught us, it would certainly be a happy ending. The fairy tale has its origins way back in the 1st century bc where strabos heroine was actually called rhodopis, not cinderella. In the dark origins of fairy tales part 2, we are going to. Viking the disturbing origins of 10 famous fairy tales.