Dark Tales Behind Children’s Favorites
- Max
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
Children’s stories often contain funny characters, feel-good plots, and happy endings—or do they? For some popular tales, that’s not always the case. Here’s a rundown of some of the darkest children’s stories that you might have been sleeping on.
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The Good, the Bad, and the Sweet Tooth
Hansel and Gretel were siblings who almost got eaten by a witch after feasting on her candy house. Being eaten by a witch after a feast sounds awry in itself, but that’s not the plot twist you are missing. Most versions narrate that the duo escaped just in time. (You can sigh in relief.) However, in the original version, they fled after Gretel managed to shove the witch into the oven, leaving her to die. Also, the kids actually wandered into the woods for a dire reason. They ended up in the forest after their father and their stepmother abandoned them there, leaving them to fend for themselves. Yikes!
What Happened to the Lost Boys?
Who doesn’t love Peter Pan? You know he was a boy who never grew up and lived in Neverland with a band of young children known as the Lost Boys. Modern takes portray these boys as runaways who willingly joined Peter Pan in Neverland. What many adaptations have left out is the fact that Peter Pan would find ways to “thin out” (low-key killing) his pack when the place would get a little crowded. Even more sinister? Peter Pan actually enjoyed killing.
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The Trials and Tribulations of Rapunzel
“Rapunzel” tells the story of a girl who was taken from her parents and locked in a tower after her father had stolen some lettuce from a witch’s garden. Eventually, a prince found the girl and rescued her from her distress. In most popularized versions, Rapunzel and the prince got their happy ending. What’s left out is that the couple went through several obstacles and didn’t even get their “happily ever after.” The prince got blinded by thorns. Rapunzel became pregnant and was abandoned by the witch. The saddest part? The prince never wanted to marry Rapunzel in the first place.
Photo by MehmetEfendi
The Tragedy of the Little Mermaid
Now, so much for another romance—Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” You know how she got her wish and its consequence. After consulting with a sea witch, she did get her legs, but alas, she lost her voice in return. The modern stories tell that the little mermaid won the affection of the prince whom she saved from drowning—not much with the original version. Actually, the prince did not reciprocate her love. He married someone else, whom he mistakenly took as the woman who saved him. When given the chance to restore her tail, the little mermaid faced a hard decision. She could gain her tail and return to the sea, but she had to kill the prince. She chose to disappear as sea foam instead.
Did Pinocchio Deserve to Be a Real Boy?
In Pinocchio's story, we follow the journey of a young wooden puppet who came to life after the Blue Fairy granted the wish of his maker, Geppetto. To become a real boy, however, Pinocchio must perform good deeds. However, he was very mischievous. In the original version, he killed Jiminy Cricket, the talking cricket that was supposed to teach him good behavior. Moreover, Pinocchio was supposed to meet his demise by being hanged from a tree by a fox and a cat that he had met earlier in the story.
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