Written by Rebecca Oldham. Media by Rebekah Dothager.
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Whether it was our grandparents telling us bedtimes stories, or our siblings showing us Disney movies, we all know the classic fairytale stories. We have grown up with these characters and when someone talks about them, we automatically know the storyline and where it leads. They have been adapted into Disney animation, live-action movies and TV shows, such as Once Upon a Time. Yet, do we really know the true stories? Our bedtime stories are all adaptations that have been censored from the original. These stories have some of the scariest, messed up, and disgusting plot twists ever found in a children’s fairy tale story. Here are our Top 3 creepiest fairy tale original stories.
In The Little Mermaid, we know Ariel gives up her voice to the evil sea queen Ursula in exchange for legs so she can find Prince Eric and marry him. Unfortunately, the original Ariel isn’t as lucky as in the Disney adaptation. In the classic, Ariel agrees to have her tongue cut out to become a mute and receive legs. Once her tail is split for legs, she finds that her legs are cursed so that every time she uses them it feels as if she is walking on shattered glass. Later, when Prince Eric is tricked into marrying someone else, Ariel evaporates into thin air and becomes sea foam.
In the tale of Snow White, we know Snow was running from her evil stepmother/Queen, who hires a hunter to murder Snow and bring her heart back to the queen to prove Snow is dead. The huntsman, unable to do so, allows Snow to escape. He brings a fake heart to the Queen. In the Original story, however, the Queen demands that the Huntsman bring her Snow’s heart and liver. When he is unable to do so, he brings her an animal’s heart and liver— which the Queen fixed and served to eat for dinner. Later in the story, after Snow White’s happily ever after, the Queen does not die by the hands of the seven dwarfs. In the original, she is forced to attend Snow’s wedding where she is forced to dance while wearing burning hot iron shoes until she drops dead.
In the Disney adaptation, Cinderella is bullied by her stepsisters and forced to clean up their house by her evil stepmother until her Fairy Godmother comes to the rescue. After the fairy gives her a beautiful dress, some glass slippers, and a ride to the party, she sneaks into the ball where she meets Prince Charming and the two fall in love. At midnight, she runs off, leaving behind only her glass slipper. This eventually leads Charming to find Cinderella. In the original story, most of the same things take place: Cinderella is mistreated, her fairy godmother helps her, and she ends up falling for Charming. When Charming goes to her house, the two stepsisters try to fit into the glass slipper, but by doing so there mother cuts off one of the sister’s toe and the others heel. One of the Prince’s servants sees the blood and knows they are frauds. This leads them to find Cinderella. At Cinderella’s wedding and Coronation, the stepsisters and stepmother try to attend in an ill-fated attempt to buddy up to the new found princess, and they end up having their eyes pecked out and eaten by birds.
Honorable Mention goes to the Original stories of Sleeping Beauty and Rumpelstiltskin.
