Fairy tales weren’t always the sweet bedtime stories we know today. Before Disney cleaned them up, many were dark, gruesome, and filled with eerie warnings about the dangers of the world. I remember stumbling upon some of these twisted tales as a kid, and let me tell you—I did not sleep well those nights.
Also, can we talk about how Germany seems to really like dark children’s stories? What was going on in those old German households?
1. The Juniper Tree (Germany)
This Brothers Grimm tale is about betrayal, murder, and supernatural revenge. A husband and wife wish for a child, and after the wife gives birth to a son, she dies and is buried beneath a juniper tree. The father remarries, but the stepmother grows jealous of the boy, fearing he will inherit everything over her own daughter. One day, she tricks the boy into reaching into a chest for an apple and slams the heavy lid on his neck, decapitating him. In a panic, she disguises his body, making it seem as though he’s still alive—until her own daughter accidentally knocks the boy’s head off.
The stepmother, ever resourceful in the most horrifying way, decides to cook the boy into a stew and serve him to his unsuspecting father. Meanwhile, his sister gathers his bones and buries them beneath the juniper tree. In a burst of eerie magic, the tree trembles, and a mystical bird emerges, singing a haunting song about the crime. As the bird flies around the village, it collects a gold chain, a pair of red shoes, and a millstone by trading its song to different people. Returning home, it gifts the father the gold chain and the sister the shoes—then promptly drops the millstone on the stepmother, crushing her to death. The boy is magically restored to life, and they all live happily ever after. Well… except for the stepmother.
2. The Red Shoes (Denmark)
Hans Christian Andersen had a way of making sure kids never forgot his stories. In this one, a girl gets obsessed with a pair of red shoes—so much so that they become cursed, forcing her to dance uncontrollably. She eventually begs a butcher to chop off her feet, but even after that, the shoes (and her severed feet) keep dancing.
See a whole list of Hans Christian Anderson stories here
3. The Death of the Little Hen (Germany)
This is one of those stories where everything goes wrong. A hen dies unexpectedly, and her rooster friend carries her body around, asking for help to bury her. One by one, every animal he asks also dies, creating a dark domino effect of tragedy.
4. The Girl Without Hands (Germany)
This Grimm Brothers story is so gruesome I still can’t believe it was meant for kids. A poor miller accidentally sells his daughter to the devil, and to keep the deal intact, he’s forced to chop off her hands. Despite the horror, she remains pure-hearted and eventually finds her way to happiness. It’s a deeply unsettling tale, but there’s something powerful about her resilience.
See more about this story – including the history and modern interpretations here.
5. The Three Snake Leaves (Germany)
A brave young man wins a war, gains the king’s favor, and marries the princess—who has one unsettling condition: if she dies first, he must be buried alive with her. Thinking with his heart instead of his survival instincts, he agrees.
Of course, she dies. Trapped in the tomb with her, he prepares to starve to death—until he sees a snake slither toward her corpse. He kills it, but another snake arrives with three magical leaves that resurrect its friend. Desperate, he places the leaves on his wife, and she miraculously revives.
But something is off. The once-loving wife grows cold and, during a sea voyage, conspires with a ship’s captain to throw her husband overboard. Luckily, his loyal servant fishes him out and uses the same snake leaves to bring him back to life again.
Back at the castle, the king exposes his daughter’s betrayal. Her reward? A leaky boat and a one-way trip to a watery grave.
6. The Shadow (Denmark)
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Shadow genuinely creeps me out more than most horror movies. It’s about a man whose shadow detaches from him, slowly gaining independence until it becomes the dominant force. It takes over his life, replacing him entirely.
7. The Singing Bone (Germany)
Two brothers set off on a quest, but the wicked one murders the good one and buries his body. Later, a shepherd finds one of the bones and carves it into a flute—only to hear it sing about the murder.
8. The Buried Moon (England)
This English folktale is incredibly eerie. The Moon itself (as in, the celestial body) decides to walk the Earth in human form but gets trapped by evil spirits in a swamp. Without the Moon in the sky, darkness spreads, and chaos erupts. Eventually, a human has to go on a dangerous journey to set her free.
9. The Witch’s Head (Russia)
Russian fairy tales don’t mess around, and The Witch’s Head is proof of that. A girl stumbles upon a severed head that speaks and demands to be taken home. But in classic fairy tale fashion, kindness is rewarded, and the girl ends up outwitting the supernatural forces at play.
10. How Some Children Played at Slaughtering (Germany)
Okay, this one is seriously disturbing. It’s a Grimm Brothers tale about children pretending to be butchers—and actually harming each other in the process. No magic, no redemption, just a brutal cautionary tale about how play can go way too far. I don’t know who thought this was a good bedtime story, but yikes.
Why Are These Dark Stories Still Called Fairy Tales?
Today, we think of fairy tales as charming children’s stories, but historically, they were often cautionary tales filled with moral lessons. Many originated in times when storytelling was the main way to teach children about the harsh realities of life—danger, betrayal, and even death. The Grimm Brothers and other collectors of folklore recorded these oral stories, preserving them in their original unsettling forms before they were softened over time.
The word “fairy tale” itself comes from the idea that these stories often contained elements of the supernatural—witches, talking animals, magical objects—but they weren’t always whimsical. Instead, they reflected the fears, values, and struggles of the cultures they came from. Over centuries, these tales evolved into the bedtime stories we know today, but the original versions remain a fascinating (and often horrifying) glimpse into the past.
So, while fairy tales today might bring to mind glass slippers and talking mice, their roots are far darker—and way more interesting. And if you ever feel like Disney sugarcoats things a little too much, just remember: once upon a time, the stories were much, much scarier.
Scary with a purpose?
Reading these as an adult, I can see how they reflect the fears and morals of the time, but as a kid? They were nightmare fuel.
So the next time you hear someone talk about fairy tales as “innocent” stories for kids, remind them that some of the originals were pure nightmare material. And if you’re brave enough, go ahead and read one of these before bed… just maybe leave a light on.