The Dark Origins of Our Favourite Childhood Stories
How our favourite tales have changed over the years
After watching Bailey Sarian's latest Dark History episode, I was in shock over the origins of some of Disney's most famous tales. They focused on cannibalism, trafficking and a plethora of other unsettling narratives we wouldn't expect to see in Walter Disney's world renowned classics.
After learning about the dark truth of Aladdin, Little Red Riding Hood and Mulan, I decided to go and do a little research of my own. So, if you're mentally prepared to have some of your favourite childhood stories ruined, carry on reading to discover the dark truth about their origins.
Cinderella
What better way to kick off this post than with arguably the most famous Disney tale around - Cinderella. The version of Cinderella that most of us are familiar with comes from the European fairy tale tradition. However, much to our dismay, the earlier versions weren't all about magical fairy godmothers granting wishes, they also included details of extreme jealousy to the point of self harm.
The version that was popularized by the Brothers Grimm in the 19th century, includes a gruesome scene that depicted the evil stepsisters cutting off chunks of their feet in an attempt to try fit into the glass slipper. Once the Prince learns of their deception, he orders doves to peck out their eyes before removing them from the kingdom. Tummy turning stuff indeed.
After all is said and done, Cinderella slips her foot into her now bloodied slipper and goes off to marry her eye-plucking Prince. It's safe to say 'happily ever after' looked a bit different back then.
The Little Mermaid
Moving onto another Disney classic - The Little Mermaid. The original tale was written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen back in in 1837.
In Andersen's version of the story, a nameless nude mermaid falls in love with a handsome Prince. She makes a deal with a sea witch to give up her voice in exchange for legs so she can walk on land and pursue him. Sounds familiar right? (minus the nameless nude part...) Well, this is where it takes a dark turn. Every step the mermaid takes with her new legs puts her in extreme agony, but she endures the pain in order to find her Prince, who ends up marrying someone else. Eek.
The mermaid is given the choice to kill the Prince and return to her life in the sea, or die and turn into sea foam. Although the Prince doesn't love her, she chooses to sacrifice her own life for his safety. She dies in the sea at the hands of the sea witch and her body dissolves into the water. They really did suck at happy endings.
Sleeping Beauty
When I came across Sleeping Beauty in my research, I was intrigued to see how its origin had made the list on the top most disturbing tales. Soon enough, I found myself reading a version that managed to taint the whimsical childhood classic to an extreme. You have been warned.
Italian author Giambattista Basile first wrote about Sleeping Beauty in the 14th century. His story depicted a princess who was cursed by an evil fairy to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into an eternal sleep. Despite the efforts of her father, who destroys all the spinning wheels in the kingdom, the Princess falls into the curse on the night of her 16th birthday.
This is where it all takes a dark and twisted turn. The version you and I are familiar with spins a tale about a Prince who sets her free from the curse with a kiss, however, the 14th century story writes about a King who sexually violates her in her sleep. Whilst still under the evil fairy's curse, the Princess gives birth to the Kings twin children and isn't freed from the spell until one of them sucks the spindle out of her finger.
The story was later adapted by the Grimm Brothers in the 19th century, who altered the ending to make it more suitable for the masses. Thank god!
Little Red Riding Hood
Steering away from Disney classics, the last tale we will be uncovering today is Little Red Riding Hood. This particular story was covered by Bailey in her video, but it surprised me so much I had to include it.
We can't really argue that this isn't the most child-friendly story around, considering the whole story revolves around a young girl and her grandmother getting devoured by a wolf... but did you know (because I sure didn't), the original story Little Red Riding Hood was about "a seductive young woman, who performed a strip tease for the Big Bad Wolf."
When I first heard that, I instantly thought that was her survival tactic, but in the words of Bailey Sarian, NAY NAY - as far as Little Red was concerned, she was stripping for her Grandma... she was then eaten by the wolf because of her promiscuity. It was shared with the masses to try deter young girls from doing anything regarded as 'inappropriate'. What better way to teach young people a lesson than to instil fear in them!
To make the history of this tale even more baffling, there is a little twist in the 1800's version: Little Red is a cannibal. Yep... the Big Bad Wolf chops up dear Gran and feeds her to Little Red, who enjoys the meal so much she asks for more. Very child friendly indeed!
Conclusion
After uncovering the dark history of some of our favourite childhood stories, it's hard not to feel a little betrayed by the tales we grew up with. From the extreme jealousy of the evil stepsisters in Cinderella to the disturbing fate of Sleeping Beauty, these stories are far from the happily-ever-after endings we were promised.
While their origins may be dark and disturbing, it's important not to let them taint the magic and joy that these stories continue to bring to so many. So, let's appreciate them for what they are today, and thank our lucky stars that stories of toeless stepsisters and wolf stripteases are now a thing of the past.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. If you want to hear the dark truth about some of your other childhood classics, check out Bailey Sarians latest video below:
If you are curious to see what kind of content I usually publish, check out some of my latest stories below:
[FICTION] The Healers - Defying evil in a fight for freedom
[POETS] Women of Power: A Limerick
[POETS] Daylily: A Haiku - A wonder, fleeting
[POETS] The Forbidden Forest: A Poem - A secret of rare beauty
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Comments (7)
Can you write one about nursery rhymes too? Loved learning more about these story origins. It doesn't surprise me. There are also earlier versions of Red with machine guns. Great post!
This was so interesting! (and dark!) I love learning stuff like this. Thank you so much for this great article!
Ok..OK... this was a cool read!
Can’t wait to stand in line at Disney and share these tid bits of juicy information with the mass of people around me. Kidding, they would toss me straight out of the park. This was very interesting, I knew they were based in darker stories, it sheesh. (Sleeping beauty???) Subscribed
This was a great read indeed. I especially enjoyed the tale of Cinderella and how the evil stepsisters cut chunks of their feet off. I think I might like this gruesome version better than the Disney classic!!!
Yes, many of these fairy tales are definately not PG. Then again, fairies were never benign to begin with. People were always attracted to their shadow selves despite their fervid admonitions. What better way to explore and express them than through tales of wonder and terror. Thank you for sharing what you've learned :)
Omg I’d heard a few things about the origins of some of these but….. what!?!? That’s the stuff of nightmares, not fairy tails!! 😱😱😱. I loved this article!