Top 10 Fairy Tale Dark Origins

Summary

This video explores the dark origins of 10 classic fairy tales, revealing their original, often disturbing stories. From the tragic love of 'The Little Mermaid' to the gruesome details of 'Cinderella' and 'Snow White,' each tale hides a darker side. 'Rapunzel' and 'Sleeping Beauty' feature unexpected betrayals and violence, while 'Little Red Riding Hood,' 'Hansel and Gretel,' and 'The Three Little Pigs' showcase the harsh realities of their times. 'The Pied Piper' and 'Beauty and the Beast' end with tragic consequences and moral lessons, challenging the sanitized versions we know today.

Takeaways

• 🧜‍♀️ In the original 'Little Mermaid', the prince falls in love with another and the mermaid turns to sea foam after failing to kill him with a magic knife.
• 👠 'Cinderella's' stepsisters mutilate their feet to fit the glass slipper, but the ruse is discovered due to bleeding.
• 🪞 In 'Snow White', the Evil Queen's vanity leads to her downfall, and she dies dancing in red-hot iron shoes.
• 🌿 'Rapunzel's' parents steal rampion from an enchantress, leading to Rapunzel being taken away and later reunited with her prince after he is blinded.
• 😴 'Sleeping Beauty' was violated by the prince while in a coma, leading to her pregnancy and eventual awakening when the baby sucks the spindle from her finger.
• 👵 'Little Red Riding Hood' in the oldest version meets a gruesome end, eaten by the wolf with no Huntsman to save her.
• 🍎 'Hansel and Gretel' outsmart a cannibalistic witch, pushing her into an oven in the French original 'The Lost Children'.
• 🏠 The 'Three Little Pigs' story includes the pigs eating the wolf after he is boiled alive in the original tale.
• 🎵 The 'Pied Piper' drowns the village children as revenge for not being paid, with only a lame boy surviving in the original story.
• 🏰 'Beauty and the Beast' sees Belle's sisters turned into stone columns as punishment for their jealousy and attempted murder.

Q & A

What is the tragic outcome for the Little Mermaid in the original tale?

In the original tale, the Little Mermaid does not end up with the prince as he falls in love with another princess. She has the opportunity to kill the prince and revert to her mermaid form but chooses not to, and instead dissolves into sea foam.

How do Cinderella's stepsisters attempt to fit into the glass slipper in the original story?

In the original story, Cinderella's stepsisters are so desperate to fit into the glass slipper that they mutilate their feet. The eldest cuts off her big toe, and the second sister cuts off part of her heel, both under the advice of their mother, in order to fit into the slipper and marry the prince.

What does the Evil Queen do after learning she is no longer the fairest in the land in the original Snow White story?

In the original Snow White story, after learning she is no longer the fairest, the Evil Queen tries to kill Snow White three times with a laced bodice, a poisoned comb, and a poisoned apple. Eventually, Snow White is saved by Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen is forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she dies.

How does Rapunzel's story differ in one of its original renditions?

In one rendition of Rapunzel, she is not a princess but the child of a couple who live next to an enchantress. Her mother craves rampion, a vegetable in the enchantress's garden, leading to Rapunzel's father stealing it. The enchantress discovers this and takes Rapunzel as payment, locking her in a tower.

What is the darker twist in the older version of Sleeping Beauty's story?

In the older version of Sleeping Beauty, the prince does not just wake her with a kiss. Instead, he takes advantage of her while she is in a coma, leading to her pregnancy with twins. The princess only awakens when one of the babies, seeking milk, sucks on her finger and dislodges the flax fiber she had pricked herself on.

How does the original Little Red Riding Hood story end without the Huntsman's intervention?

In the very oldest version of Little Red Riding Hood, there is no Huntsman to save the day. The wolf eats the grandmother and then tricks and eats Little Red Riding Hood as well, with no rescue or happy ending.

What is the grim reality in the French original of Hansel and Gretel?

In the French original of Hansel and Gretel, titled 'The Lost Children,' the parents abandon their children in the forest due to greed. The children encounter a woman who is actually the devil's wife, and they end up killing her and escaping with the devil's money.

How does the original story of the Three Little Pigs differ from the classic tale?

In the original story of the Three Little Pigs, after the wolf fails to blow down the brick house, the third pig does not simply scare him away. Instead, the pig boils water and cooks the wolf alive when he tries to come down the chimney.

What is the darker outcome for the children in the original Pied Piper story?

In the original Pied Piper story, after the villagers refuse to pay him, the Pied Piper leads the children to a river where they all drown. Only a lame boy who couldn't keep up survives.

How does the original Beauty and the Beast story conclude after Belle marries the Beast?

In the original Beauty and the Beast story, after Belle marries the Beast who turns back into a prince, her jealous sisters drown her in a bathtub out of envy. The sorceress who cursed the prince brings Belle back to life and turns her sisters into stone columns, with the only way to revert being if a man falls in love with them.