The Most Psychologically Disturbing Fairytale

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
  • What's the creepiest fairytale of all? This one has everything - extremely evil stepmothers, oblivious fathers, exacting revenge, disturbing dinners, and one heck of a creepy song. On this animated adventure, we look at the Brothers Grimms' fairy tale, "The Juniper Tree" sometimes "The Almond Tree." I'm also showing you why that Tangled brush scene - you know the one where Gothel brushes baby Rapunzel's hair? - Is beyond creepy now after reading "The Rose Tree." I can't say these Once Upon a Times have Happily Ever Afters at ALL. Is this fairytale TOO grimm?
    Subscribe for more dark fairytales! ► bit.ly/2j6Y5tF
    The Spicy Rapunzel Origin Story ► • The Spicy Rapunzel Sto...
    Snow White's Creepy Origins ► • How Snow White Could H...
    The Tragic Little Mermaid ► • The Little Mermaid's P...
    Editing by ► Kristen K
    Storybook images are from the Brother's Grimm collections of fairytales, in public domain.
    "Floating Cities, The Snow Queen, Teller of Tales" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
    creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
    #darkfairytale #grimms #disney #creepy #creepystories #animation #onceuponatime

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1 тис.

  • @Unicorn021
    @Unicorn021 Рік тому +3947

    Holy cow, I feel so bad for the son and daughter, they didn't deserve to go through that :(

    • @solidonseraindogthetenth1679
      @solidonseraindogthetenth1679 Рік тому +118

      Two half siblings who loved each other too much.

    • @zid9611
      @zid9611 Рік тому +155

      How about the dad who didn't know what happened. And the boy has to explain that his wife did a murderer. Did some psychological torture to his daughter. And fed him. His own son. And that why he as a ghost had to kill her.

    • @Bizarro69
      @Bizarro69 Рік тому +10

      😑

    • @TheSingingEater1.0
      @TheSingingEater1.0 Рік тому +10

      Boy do I love gore stories

    • @3choblast3r4
      @3choblast3r4 Рік тому +5

      Good thing that it's a fairy tale and didn't actually happen

  • @it_stimefortea
    @it_stimefortea Рік тому +898

    "My mother, she killed me
    My father, he ate me"
    Those lines have haunted me for a decade since I first read "The Juniper Tree"

    • @atsukorichards1675
      @atsukorichards1675 Рік тому +18

      I thought the song was from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes.

    • @crystalclear6864
      @crystalclear6864 Рік тому +7

      Good book tho!!

    • @SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648
      @SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 Рік тому +12

      And yet (due, possibly, to the miasma of evil from the stepmother) the father had no idea what he had been fed.

    • @jodicarvalho9646
      @jodicarvalho9646 4 місяці тому +2

      I heard that song in something else but I can’t remember I think it was The Office

    • @eirene-qt3hf
      @eirene-qt3hf 4 місяці тому +1

      I read it recently before my afternoon nap and you can imagine what were in my dreams...!!😱
      Mine was called the almond tree from the best fairy tales series.

  • @baphomethelpme3497
    @baphomethelpme3497 Рік тому +5783

    I do think we can all agree we need a dark stop motion, burtonesque themed Disney that creates the dark fairytales etc

    • @evanthiahleihil8349
      @evanthiahleihil8349 Рік тому +201

      i think disney does enough - but i would love to see another studio involved in spooky stop-motion fairytales.
      *cough* Laika *cough*

    • @baphomethelpme3497
      @baphomethelpme3497 Рік тому +18

      @@evanthiahleihil8349 ty

    • @ActuallyYoda69
      @ActuallyYoda69 Рік тому +23

      I know someone who might be interested in doing this, I could show this comment to them (and the video)

    • @mewmew6158
      @mewmew6158 Рік тому +7

      ​@@evanthiahleihil8349 same

    • @benarts2271
      @benarts2271 Рік тому +5

      My future 🤩

  • @runningoncylinders3829
    @runningoncylinders3829 Рік тому +2018

    Stepmother: Fetch me an axe to comb your hair.
    Daughter: (Not the least bit suspicious) OK!

    • @TranswealthyTrillionaire
      @TranswealthyTrillionaire Рік тому +232

      Stepmother: Lay your head on the wood *holds up axe*
      Daughter: Nothing out of the ordinary here!

    • @daffytaffy5966
      @daffytaffy5966 Рік тому +42

      This reminds me of the game grumps and their little unaware 18th century boy-

    • @raindoset5408
      @raindoset5408 Рік тому +25

      Isnt she actually her real mom since the girl is born after the dad marry with the widower

    • @Topdoggie7
      @Topdoggie7 Рік тому +46

      Naturally no child is going to expect their parents to hurt them, that's why so many real life cases involve the kids just trust in their parents and getting dropped off of something high up or thrown against the wall or other worse situations.

    • @runningoncylinders3829
      @runningoncylinders3829 Рік тому +19

      @@Topdoggie7 That is sad. Those parents shouldn't have had kids. The cases would speak for whether malice or accidents/negligence were to blame.

  • @mckayleepugmire9947
    @mckayleepugmire9947 Рік тому +1284

    My dad says the Grimms also sugar coated the stories.
    For context, he studied folklore in college, and apparently the brothers Grimm are considered founding scholars in the field because all their stories are adapted from ones they heard people telling each other around Germany.
    Apparently they didn't think the books would sell if the stories contained topics like abusive birth mothers (hence all the evil stepmothers). I'm sure there are other topics they sugar coated, that's just the one my dad references.

    • @alorapendrak9752
      @alorapendrak9752 Рік тому

      Actually, I heard the brothers Grimm didn't have much of a choice they wrote the stories for adults but apparently, kids started reading them and the Church lost their ever-loving minds are demanded censorship and certain elements be removed to prevent the taining of the youth. (rolls eyes) As someone who read my childrens bible, I can say the hypocrisy is real.

    • @mckayleepugmire9947
      @mckayleepugmire9947 Рік тому +36

      @@alorapendrak9752 In defense of the Bible, the way it's structured makes it easier to summarize for relative child friendliness (for example, Veggie Tales version of Exodus). Still though...

    • @alorapendrak9752
      @alorapendrak9752 Рік тому +9

      @@mckayleepugmire9947 true but I doubt, I doubt they were doing that in the 1785.

    • @elenafriese891
      @elenafriese891 Рік тому +82

      I... Feel like "sugar coat" is a weird term for exactly this reason, honestly.
      Stories just... Change and are changed depending on the choices of the storyteller and social mores. So the Grimm's focused on *moral* purity (only bad people get eaten, and that means step mothers for that era), early Disney did the same while toning down the visible murder stuff and emphasizing 40's-50's social and gender roles, that sort of thing.

    • @rkcpek
      @rkcpek Рік тому +7

      Jack Zipes translation of the 1812 & 1815 tales are the closest English translation to the original.

  • @monroerobbins7551
    @monroerobbins7551 Рік тому +2255

    I think the saddest one is the The Little Match Girl, the most disturbing one is this one, and personally, I think the scariest for me was La Llorona. But honestly… I liked the Juniper Tree as a kid, the one by the Grims, cause to my tiny kid brain… it felt like justice. The mother went insane from guilt, and the boy got his revenge, and he came back to life. He hadn’t done anything particularly wrong or unjustified, he just sang out the truth, and then… well, got payback. Personally, I think this is one of the happier stories, because he got revenge, and they ended up having a happier ending, at least on paper.

    • @Wizone4Izone
      @Wizone4Izone Рік тому +68

      I heard the same story when I was little and was very sad at the end. Then I made a game where I changed the ending of the tale with toys. The game consisted of a mixture of the match girl and Cinderella.

    • @WolfieDawn
      @WolfieDawn Рік тому +76

      The Little Match Girl was definitely heartbreaking

    • @Hanmacx
      @Hanmacx Рік тому +22

      Check out Discworld Hogfather
      There is a scene with Death dressed as Santa that ripps of the Match Girl Story
      With Death using his new Santa powers to saving the little girls life

    • @imtired3662
      @imtired3662 Рік тому +24

      La llorona is more or so a cautionary tale then a horror story
      Then again this is coming from someone raised in a Latino household
      If it makes you feel any better about the tale she appears as a beautiful lady dressed in white to those lost near el rio (the river) if she senses good intentions
      Those with bad intentions will be drowned in the river and she appears as a hag with chicken feet for legs

    • @AlmightySoul
      @AlmightySoul Рік тому +6

      The little match girl broke my heart the first time i read it, the poor girl.

  • @DreamDragoness25
    @DreamDragoness25 Рік тому +971

    I remember reading this story as part of a collection as a child. I think the version I read just ended with the bird comforting his sister and punishing his stepmother with death.

    • @rickatanasianman5136
      @rickatanasianman5136 Рік тому +22

      The Adam gidwitz books? That’s what I remember this from reading in middle school my fav book series to this day

    • @oj818
      @oj818 Рік тому +2

      this one has a *sort of* happier ending

  • @UndeadGhostGirl
    @UndeadGhostGirl Рік тому +397

    The whole "second wife who hate's the first wife's kid" is *really* common in fairy tales, huh? I wonder why?

    • @alorapendrak9752
      @alorapendrak9752 Рік тому +150

      To be fair, inheritance in this era was a huge deal; firstborn kids usually got first dibs on everything. The idea of being left with no resources especially for women of the era was scary enough to be a plausible motive for murder.

    • @katyvdb5993
      @katyvdb5993 Рік тому +50

      @@alorapendrak9752 Yes indeed. Even outside the realm of fairy tale, it was a practical issue. If you read George Sand's 'Mare au Diable' (published 1846) the widowed hero, Germain, is urged by his father-in-law a) to remarry because he needs someone to care for his children and carry out the wife's duties on the farm and b) to seek a rich second wife, because her marriage settlement will provide for any further children she may have. The first wife's settlement would provide an inheritance for her children, but not for those from a second marriage.

    • @toomanymarys7355
      @toomanymarys7355 Рік тому

      Look at who is most likely to kill a child today.

    • @Topdoggie7
      @Topdoggie7 Рік тому +22

      Because the stepmother was the married in woman in the relationship, she was his second choice, second-best and the children of his first lover that's outrank her and I'm more important than any children she can never give. So historically speaking she is a lesser person.

    • @Dr0dd
      @Dr0dd Рік тому +20

      The brothers Grimm thought that having evil mothers would reflect badly on family mores so they often changed them from the original source into step-mothers.

  • @anez1266
    @anez1266 Рік тому +3369

    I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that the family ate the boy, or the fact that I found the bird's song both funny and intriguing
    Also i began to wonder something, has there ever been a fairytale story where a "Step-father" was the Villain?
    Cause as far as I know, these stories always make it that it's the Stepmother aka a woman, who does evil acts.

    • @debymello4756
      @debymello4756 Рік тому +400

      From what I heard in Jon Solo's videos, no, when there's a father figure as antagonist, it's the actual father, not a stepfather or kidnapper-turned-foster-father - those tales are just less famous on the west or the father is left behind early on (usually because the child runs away). From what I gathered in my research, "evil parents" stories are as old as time, but Christianity giving motherhood unsquestinable holiness made making a villian mother a trembling rope, so most where swiched to stepmothers, and since there were also oddities about blood, stories with someone who isn't the hero's blood relative but does have power over them were simply easier to spread without getting bad lookd for trying to put family against family or some other bulls*** reason. Of course, one could remenber that some fairy tales have roots on mythologies, so looking at some can give some good refs.

    • @alexp.d3689
      @alexp.d3689 Рік тому +119

      Gioachino Rossini wrote an Opera called La Cenerentola ( a loose adaptation of Cinderella ) were the Evil Step Mother gets replaced by an Evil Step Father ... In truth,I don't know any fairytales with Evil Step Fathers ( asides a Hansel and Gretel variant called Huan and Maria )

    • @Torichan888
      @Torichan888 Рік тому

      Was going to say Tattercloak or Donkeyskin but that was her father.

    • @Goldenglare_thewindeater
      @Goldenglare_thewindeater Рік тому +85

      Usually it wasn’t very common for women to remarry due to religious BS of the time. Although, of course, it wasn’t very uncommon for men to remarry. Hence why I think, at least by possibly historical standpoint, there’s a higher ratio of evil stepmothers than evil stepfather‘s on that merit alone. Although I’m sure there are other reasons, and it’s usually because the stepmother will favor her own blood borne children over these stepchildren. Even a story that wasn’t that old has that however, it’s hidden under the guise of loving the stepchildren more until the father dies, or at least the variant that I read, which is a manhwa called aisha

    • @valeriamontemayor7485
      @valeriamontemayor7485 Рік тому +35

      ​@@Goldenglare_thewindeater I was just going to comment this. I agree that it was likely due to the fact that it wasn't common for women to remarry as it was for men due to social standards back then.

  • @adrianghandtchi1562
    @adrianghandtchi1562 Рік тому +149

    As soon as you said, juniper berries, I knew exactly which story you were talking about. I always remember that scene where the little boy gets decapitated by his stepmother, and traumatizing her own child to be blamed for his death, was such a horrifying thing to read the first time

  • @Werewolfoverlord12
    @Werewolfoverlord12 Рік тому +67

    honestly, i LIKE this story. The daughter is innocent, the father is unaware, the step-mother is dealt with rather perfectly, all thanks to the brother. ALSO it's one of the few times the sister and brother love each other.

    • @meridaskywalker7816
      @meridaskywalker7816 Рік тому +2

      I've once read an old English fairytale about two princesses who loved each other despite being stepsisters and the stepmother being evil, and I loved that subversion as well

  • @michaeldomeier
    @michaeldomeier Рік тому +590

    More stories like this please. The darker ones tend to retain the moral clearly. We often shelter kids from great stories with clear lessons. Actions do have consequences. Kids need to learn. Love the channel. Thank you for reading the story.

    • @castonyoung7514
      @castonyoung7514 Рік тому +47

      Wait?! What was the moral behind this?! That you shouldn't eat children or your head will be crushed?
      From my perspective, modern retellings of fairytales are more like complete rewrites, whereas the Grimms' versions seem to just be retellings of old stories that have had so many incremental changes of the unmemorable parts that they mostly just resemble nightmares rather than coherent tales.

    • @garak_on_b5679
      @garak_on_b5679 Рік тому +7

      've read this long time ago, and as a child the story and stories as dark or even darker never bothered me, nor brought me any nightmares [i didn't think it was dark as a child anyway

    • @vmillson7101
      @vmillson7101 Рік тому +14

      The Hell is the moral of this.

    • @ireadysucks3026
      @ireadysucks3026 Рік тому +2

      A story that I read in a Grimms collection is called something like The Sausage, the Bird, and the Mouse. Basically, they all have a set routine. The mouse prepares the food, the bird goes out to the forest to get wood for the fire, and the sausage rolls around in the pan to season the food. However, one day while the bird was out, an animal (I forgot which) tells the bird that “it’s not fair that they make you get the wood, let them do it” or something along those lines. The bird agrees with the animal and goes home to tell the other ones to switch their positions. So, the sausage goes out in the forest, the mouse rolls around in the pan, and the bird prepares the food. The day after, the sausage went to the forest and didn’t come back. The bird and mouse wonder about where he went, until the bird checks and sees that he was eaten by a dog. The bird, while preparing the food and fucks up, by mistake kills itself and hits the mouse into the pan, where it burns to death. Another good one, though I forgot what it’s called (I’ll go check) is about a bird that died, and then a big chain of people, animals, places and everything all hear about it and then they all die at the end.

    • @moonamoonz
      @moonamoonz Рік тому +2

      Exactly, people just create happy stories tricking kids to believe it will be like this irl, mostly for girls "you will be a princess and live a perfect life". Kids gotta learn from childhoood that life isnt a gift, its more like a curse.

  • @cramerfloro5936
    @cramerfloro5936 Рік тому +333

    This tale can be even found in Algeria, Taos Amrouch wrote it down as "the bone flute" in her collection "the magic grain". In Italy, it commonly takes on elements from "the firebird" or "the golden bird", with three princes on a quest, but only two return alive. Here, one version is called "the peacock feather".

    • @ezrastardust3124
      @ezrastardust3124 Рік тому +17

      I heard a Celtic/Scottish version called Wee Johnny’s Revenge, which skipped the entire first half of the story and ended a lot more abruptly

    • @stelladewayne4942
      @stelladewayne4942 Рік тому +3

      Ooh, that title reminded that a costa rican author made a similar tale too, and it involved a flute made from the dead brother...

    • @PattyMarshall-l8v
      @PattyMarshall-l8v 7 місяців тому +1

      In Celtic mythology, a murdered girl is transformed into a swan, whose bones it formed into a harp which when played, tells her story.

  • @-moonlight-5420
    @-moonlight-5420 Рік тому +48

    I think it’s absolutely horrible how she blamed her daughter for k!llinng the boy. It honestly makes me feel really bad, not only is the girl scarred for life, but she also now thinks that it’s her fault. I’ve seen some pretty disturbing stories, but I don’t think I’ve seen one this bad. I’m just glad the boy got his revenge.

  • @MuertaNox
    @MuertaNox Рік тому +78

    Huh. I remember a version where instead of a bird, the brother had his bones made into a flute by a passing shepard. When played, the flute would recite the same song, and the infamy from this caused him to eventually be brought before the noble family, where the song revealed the boy's fate to the horrified family. I forget what happened after.

    • @timeagyenes6062
      @timeagyenes6062 Рік тому +7

      The Hungarian version is similar to this as well! In this one, two older sisters kill their little sister for being their parents' favourite while they're collecting berries in the forest, then hide her body in an old man's violin, that plays a similar song from that on... and somehow she recovers when her parents hear the song, but I can't remember how.

    • @Karin_Allen
      @Karin_Allen Рік тому +4

      I read a version similar to this called (IIRC) "Little Shin Bone." It was in one of my mother's childhood fairy tale collections, which was pretty gruesome in places. In "Little Shin Bone," whoever killed the boy hung his shin bone from a tree branch for...reasons. Then someone made a flute out of the bone, and it played the story of the boy's death. That led to revenge against the murderer, but I forget whether or not the boy came back to life.

    • @meridaskywalker7816
      @meridaskywalker7816 Рік тому

      That's interesting. I know a Polish fairytale (from Silesia, a region that also belonged to Prussia and Germany for a while, there might've been some cultural influence), where a beautiful and kind village girl was turned into a viburnum tree by her older sister who was a witch, because she was jealous of a prince falling in love with her and wanted to get rid of her rival. Then, the prince began to search for her, and he was advised by a wood cutter he met to make himself a flute of viburnum. When he played it, the flute "sung" a song about what happens in the girl's voice, which broke the curse. After that, they came to girls' mother's house (the poor mother had no clue what was going on and was freaking out about her youngest daughter' s disappearance the whole time) and the girl hid somewhere, and the prince told the witch he'll marry her if she plays him a song on the flute. She did and the same song came out, the witch sister claimed it's all a lie, but then the good sister came out and confirmed everything, which made the witch...."burst like a puffball" out of anger. And the girl married the prince, of course.There was some more stuff going on in the fairytale, but it was really long.😅 Anyway, I think it's interesting how fairytale tropes "travelled" from place to place.

  • @robertdochter277
    @robertdochter277 Рік тому +127

    I love hearing darker, lesser known Grimm fairy tales. Ones like The Robber Bridegroom, The Three Snake Leaves, & The Crows.

  • @LadyBern
    @LadyBern Рік тому +282

    I remember going to B&N and my mom asking the workers if they have the unedited fairy tales.
    The workers went "what do you mean?"
    My mom "like with Cinderella. Originally the sisters cut off their toes and heels to fit the shoe then on the wedding birds peck out their eyes."
    The workers didn't believe her so we find one of the big leather bound books and find Cinderella. They read it and are appalled that indeed the scene exists.
    Not thinking they're traumatized enough i ask "ok is it the original sleeping beauty or the kiss breaks the spell sleeping beauty?"
    That was a fun day.
    (Fyi I mean Sleeping beauty, the prince and the ogre queen or Sun, Moon, and Talia. I mean if ever there was a need for a retelling by the 'villain's pov' that would be it. Ogre queen managing the kingdom while her husband is out nonconsensually knocking up comatose princesses, bringing her back home after she's awakened, then being killed when you mistakenly think feeding your ailing hubby the children would cure him only to be killed and he and his Stockholm syndrome victim are seen as the heroes of the story.)

    • @Mermaids7
      @Mermaids7 Рік тому +13

      Man I laugh so hard 🤣 at that I would have asked real red riding hood with overkill? Or one where hunter does everything ? Or real little mermaid or Disney version? Those poor book store workers hey they were lucky you didn't ask about fairy tales from other country's because they are absolutely messed up an example donkey skin

    • @allietheotaku
      @allietheotaku Рік тому +4

      Oh my gosh 💀💀💀

    • @Hanmacx
      @Hanmacx Рік тому +16

      Or with rumpelstiltskin ripping himself apart
      Which one was the one with the evil mother forced to dance in hot Iron boots until they die?

    • @Hanmacx
      @Hanmacx Рік тому

      Also Please check out Struwwelpeter

    • @Mermaids7
      @Mermaids7 Рік тому +8

      @@Hanmacx I think that it was snow white

  • @wendychavez5348
    @wendychavez5348 Рік тому +75

    Dark fairy tales is the entire reason I subscribed to you, and to Messed Up Origins, at approximately the same time. I hope you always do them!

  • @tayloredwards4968
    @tayloredwards4968 Рік тому +391

    By far the saddest fairytale is The Little match girl 😭🕯️

    • @SingingSealRiana
      @SingingSealRiana Рік тому +77

      There is no moral to the story nothing, its just sad

    • @spyro2002
      @spyro2002 Рік тому +55

      I recently found an old book of it and quickly read through it and wow somehow it had never occurred to me as a kid that the ending implied she dies even though it's so obvious looking at it now

    • @Wizone4Izone
      @Wizone4Izone Рік тому +38

      I heard the same story when I was little and was very sad at the end. Then I made a game where I changed the ending of the tale with toys. The game consisted of a mixture of the match girl and Cinderella.

    • @Hanmacx
      @Hanmacx Рік тому +6

      Check out Discworld Hogfather
      There is a scene with Death dressed as Santa that ripps of the Match Girl Story
      With Death using his new Santa powers to saving the little girls life

    • @maritzasanchez6520
      @maritzasanchez6520 Рік тому +3

      Belladonna

  • @eviannecasey6685
    @eviannecasey6685 Рік тому +85

    Your voice is so pretty!
    It’s calming even though you’re reading scary things 😂🫶

  • @geoffk777
    @geoffk777 Рік тому +32

    You only mentioned the Grimm version of Cinderella briefly, but I'd encourage everyone to read it. Among the highlights are the evil stepsisters cutting off their toes to fit in the slipper and Cinderella's dove companions pecking out their eyes to leave them blind.

  • @lilyevans5198
    @lilyevans5198 Рік тому +9

    This feels like one of those messed up fairytales my father used to say my grandmother would tell him at bedtime. As he put it: "Once she was finished there would be no sleep, only pure horror"

  • @rukbatlupa
    @rukbatlupa Рік тому +21

    Juniper is one of my mother’s favorite plants, so when I first read this story as a child, it left an impression. Thanks for covering it!

  • @PlanetZoidstar
    @PlanetZoidstar Рік тому +52

    I can relate to razor-sharp latches. I once got my finger caught in a toilet stall door (which swung closed by itself) and the edge of the door's metal latch cut into my fingernail, into my fingertip. Took a few weeks to heal, but the head-chopping in the fairy tale made me wince.

  • @jessebridgeman767
    @jessebridgeman767 Рік тому +68

    We need more of this type of video! You do it so well and I love the blend of the storytelling/fairytale elements with the historical context of elaborating how other countries have similar stories. It might be a neat idea to do a cross-culture comparison of one of these stories, kinda like a Joseph Campbell Hero's Journey sort of analysis where you find the common and uncommon elements of popular fairytales or obscure folk lore

  • @PsychiPsy
    @PsychiPsy Рік тому +25

    Im so happy you finally covered this tale ^.^
    The Juniper Tree is my absolute favorite Grimm Brothers story and imo its very underappreciated

  • @despinasgarden.4100
    @despinasgarden.4100 Рік тому +11

    I feel terrible for the little sister in this fairytale, she truly cared for her brother, i can't imagine how horrified she must had been when she saw his head fall off his body.
    The stepmother in this story is not just a villain, she is a monster.

  • @Anna.Feather
    @Anna.Feather Рік тому +42

    I honestly liked the first version, as dark as it may be, the step mother got what she deserved and the boy came back to life. And the sister wasn’t the stereotypical stepsister who hates her siblings, she genuinely loved her brother and felt guilty when he died. I am glad by the end they were a happy family. The father concerns me tbh although. He seems way too naive which makes me worry for his children.

  • @BlazeNStar
    @BlazeNStar Рік тому +14

    Its kind of insane that it went from "you are useless at getting candles" to "I'm cutting off your head because of your pretty hair."

  • @ellianapeterson6673
    @ellianapeterson6673 Рік тому +10

    i love how she says "before we get deep into the DARK DETAILS of this story" like it wasn't already gruesome lol

  • @kalistrand5420
    @kalistrand5420 Рік тому +20

    I read this story as a child in a two-volume set named after the story (‘The Juniper Tree and other tales by the Brothers Grimm’. The pictures were done by Maurice Sendack, who is famous for his book, ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’)So hauntingly beautiful and DARK. Modern people often fail to realize that these stories were originally told by traveling storytellers who earned their daily food and shelter by telling them to the whole family; most people couldn’t read so storytellers brought welcome diversion from the drudgery of everyday life. Books were copied by hand back then, so they were extremely expensive and religious text were the main books deemed worthy of being produced. Once the printing press was invented, non-religious books of all types were created, more people became literate and these stories were relegated to ‘children’s stories:’ This original versions of most of these stories are just as violent and gruesome. I knew all this as a child, so I LOVED these books! People really underestimate the ruthlessness of young children’s sense of justice- their innocence does not negate their desire for extreme punishment of designated ‘bad/ evil characters in stories.

  • @matthewharris-levesque5809
    @matthewharris-levesque5809 Рік тому +7

    Your delivery (and vocal control) are elegant and, simply put, perfect for your content.
    Which in itself is well written and perfectly groomed.
    A pleasure to listen to.
    Thank you for being part of my education, and entertainment.

  • @PaxJansen
    @PaxJansen Місяць тому +2

    The Juniper Tree. The darkest fairy tale ever. No wonder they call them "The Brothers Grimm."

  • @cjs0136
    @cjs0136 Рік тому +29

    Ah yes,
    My father read this to me , when I was 8. Read literally everything to me from Hauff to Bechstein - and I am very thankful for that.
    As a child you tend to not be that scared of those violent Acts...the questioning Comes 10 years later 😂

  • @CherryCresent
    @CherryCresent Рік тому +54

    Just read Juniper and Thorn, inspired by this tale, very disturbing story yet very beautiful

  • @0_dearghealach_083
    @0_dearghealach_083 Рік тому +24

    Oh, God, the Juniper Tree. Oh, God.
    I remember reading a collection of old fairy tales, and I remember reading this and thinking "Who thought this was a good idea to write!?" It's dark as Hell!!
    ... I'd like to see Disney try and remake this! Ha!

  • @elofton4855
    @elofton4855 Рік тому +11

    YES. I always wondered why no one talks about this story when they talk about messed up fairytales. There is no way Disney could pretty this one up... like, at all.

  • @cckiller4378
    @cckiller4378 Рік тому +13

    I remember hearing this story as a kid, weirdly enough, it was one of my fav storys growing up

  • @Columbia42
    @Columbia42 Рік тому +14

    This was awesome. I love that you talk about the dark origins of the fairytales it's very cool to hear.

  • @witchypoo7353
    @witchypoo7353 Рік тому +7

    The Juniper Tree has always been one of my favorite stories. I never thought it was “too” dark though

  • @ArnisKaye
    @ArnisKaye Рік тому +13

    I remember reading this in a Grimms Fairy Tale book and being so disturbed. It was so disturbing that every time I picked up the book I'd read this story just to get the feeling again. I think I liked how it spoke to family trauma and abuse (even though I wouldn't have thought of it like that). The one thing I never liked was that the father never understood what happened. It felt unsatisfying for the father to be happy at seeing his son when he never knew he was dead. I get that he'd have to live with the knowledge that he ate his own son, but he seemed pretty negligent of his kids (like I'd be suspicious or at least worried if my daughter couldn't stop crying) and an enabler of his abusive wife if she could abuse the son all time. Anyway, kid me had no problem with the father living with some justice for not stepping in and adult me still feels the same way!

  • @PriyaKumari-ol6sb
    @PriyaKumari-ol6sb Рік тому +6

    i absolutely love the art style and the calming narration in midst of the most terrifying stories :)

  • @kalemucu7254
    @kalemucu7254 Рік тому +1

    The moral of the story: if your wife has found meat out of nowhere and made you a stew and your son is not around, think twice before you eat it.

  • @nikegniwotta4657
    @nikegniwotta4657 Рік тому +45

    Fun Fact: In my Grimm‘s Fairytales Collection Book, this is one of two fairytales that are in low German instead of the usual standard german.
    Also the bird’s song got referenced in Goethe’s Faust, where Gretchen sings it in the final scene, because it makes for an odd parallel to the plot of the latter half of the play, particularly Gretchen killing her child.
    Since I’m from a traditionally low German speaking area of Germany, we talked about the other one, “The Fisherman and his Wife” in elementary school. It’s much more standard, with your typical “material goods don’t make you happy, you idiot” moral and everyone ends up in the same place there were in at the start
    Another fun one for you to talk about could be “The story of the youth who went forth to learn what fear was”, which may well be the first ever comedy horror. Also, it’s first title, which was sadly dropped starting with the third edition of the Brother Grimm’s book was much better. It roughly translated to “Nice games of cards and bowling”

  • @DragonMonkey07
    @DragonMonkey07 Рік тому +5

    Amazing video! I’d love to see you doing more melancholic and dark tales like this.

  • @princesstigger13
    @princesstigger13 Рік тому +3

    You did a wonderful job in your retelling of this story. I’d love to hear more Grimm’s fairytales

  • @ashwhiteforest9078
    @ashwhiteforest9078 Рік тому +24

    I actually remember this one from my childhood. 10/10

  • @tomboyangel78
    @tomboyangel78 Рік тому +6

    "Gentlemen, I found a fairytale that Disney hasn't made into a movie! ...Of course, it's for a good reason. 9.9"
    Joking aside, the ending of this story triggered something in my memory, and now I'm gonna be up all night trying to figure out where I heard it.
    PS, I still love your art style, it really helps bring these stories to life ^^

  • @LilFoxyCosplay
    @LilFoxyCosplay Рік тому +50

    I remember reading this and laughing when his head fell off after the girl hit him 😂 it was so dark and strange but a good story

  • @pbsmills5815
    @pbsmills5815 Рік тому +3

    This has always been my absolute favorite fairy tale since I was little, so glad that people still talk about this!!

  • @KeiMidori_
    @KeiMidori_ Рік тому

    I saw the thumbnail and immediately knew it was Juniper Tree! Glad youtube recommended this to me as it’s always been my favorite. Your narration of the tale is wonderful

  • @geoffreyrichards6079
    @geoffreyrichards6079 Рік тому +6

    All the connections and similarities to other iconic fairytales makes me wonder if most of them were derived from this tale in some way.

  • @PixiePrincess501
    @PixiePrincess501 Рік тому +2

    In the movie Gretel and Hansel, they make a lot of Grimm fairytale references (Among the titular characters) You often hear a child whispering "Oh, what a beautiful bird am I."

  • @schrodingersmichael2754
    @schrodingersmichael2754 Рік тому +16

    When I was a child I had a book with some original Grimm tales and most of them were macabre and horrifying. This one, "Von dem Machandelbaume", used to be my favourite. And it's by far not the most upsetting one 🙈

    • @dreamylittleowl727
      @dreamylittleowl727 Рік тому

      Which fairytale is the most upsetting/disturbing in your opinion?

    • @schrodingersmichael2754
      @schrodingersmichael2754 Рік тому +2

      @@dreamylittleowl727|content warning: talk of (child-)murder and death|
      there is a story about siblings playing butchers together. "Wie Kinder Schlachtens miteinander gespielt haben." One child actually kills the other. The mother gets so upset with the first child that she ends up killing that one and while she was downstairs her third child drowned in the bath she just drew. When the father came home his whole family was dead because the mother ended up taking her life and the father dies shortly after as well because of his grief.
      That one is probably the first story that I actively remember not having any sort of "happy end". Or even a better end than when the story started. These tales are brutal sometimes

    • @schrodingersmichael2754
      @schrodingersmichael2754 Рік тому +1

      @@dreamylittleowl727 someone else also commented The Little Matchgirl. That end always gets me no matter how often I read the story

    • @dreamylittleowl727
      @dreamylittleowl727 Рік тому +1

      @@schrodingersmichael2754 I've never heard if the first one, interesting! And yeah, The Little Match Girl is definitely.. something.

    • @PlacesofMiddleEarth
      @PlacesofMiddleEarth Рік тому

      @@dreamylittleowl727 They are referring to the second version of "How Some Children Played at Slaughtering."

  • @zednumar6917
    @zednumar6917 Рік тому +1

    I have been searching for the name of a fairytale I read years ago. A boy is in love with a girl, but before she will be his she tests his bravery by sending him on progressively more dangerous quests. Finally, she asks for feathers from a magical firebird. He quests for the firebird and returns with some of its glowing, golden feathers. She consents to marry him for his brave deed, but he says he cannot wed her after all because he has no heart, and opens his coat to show her the gaping hole in his chest where the firebird ripped out his heart.
    If anyone knows this story, please let me know the title and where I can find a full version of it.

    • @heatherturner2366
      @heatherturner2366 9 місяців тому +1

      I remember that story

    • @zednumar6917
      @zednumar6917 9 місяців тому

      @heatherturner2366 it's been churning in the back of my cranium for years...

  • @zetsugazet6059
    @zetsugazet6059 Рік тому +11

    Hello from Germany. That’s a normal good night story too me and I like to listen your voice while I’m getting sleepy 🥰

    • @silvercandra4275
      @silvercandra4275 Рік тому +4

      Ist immer witzig, wenn Leute die als so brutal empfinden, und man selbst sie dutzende male vorm einschlafen gehört hat ^^;

  • @victorvaldez8869
    @victorvaldez8869 Рік тому +2

    The bird's song must have been the medieval version "Pumped Up Kicks," for how much people are jamming to it while ignoring the disturbing lyrics.

  • @olserknam
    @olserknam Рік тому +5

    A Brothers Grimm' collection I read as a kid had a version of this story that had the brother confirmed to come back to life as a bird... by having the bird sing a song about how he was killed, eaten and had his bones buried under a tree, but the only thing that concerned him at the moment was that he was the most beautiful of all the birds. I'm pretty sure something else happened in that version of the story afterwards, but that little inappropriately cheerful song was the thing that stuck with me.
    UpD: Oh wait, there it is in the video! Sweet song, right?

  • @P1X3L.R0Ze.Is.M3
    @P1X3L.R0Ze.Is.M3 14 днів тому +1

    Your art style is SOOO SPOOKY AHHHHH ❤❤❤❤❤

  • @ameliab324
    @ameliab324 Рік тому +9

    I would definitely like to hear more lesser known dark stories from you!

  • @annieandelsieofarendelle3294
    @annieandelsieofarendelle3294 Рік тому +2

    I think it's sweet that the sister actually loves her brother.

  • @catlover5998
    @catlover5998 Рік тому +12

    Someone once said fairy tales do not tell children that danger and monsters exist but tells them how to deal and cope with monsters and dangers of their world

    • @MuertaNox
      @MuertaNox Рік тому +1

      Stories do not tell children that dragons exist, they already know that. Stories, instead, tell children that dragons can be killed. The quote goes something like that, yes? I think it was Neil Gaiman.

    • @katyvdb5993
      @katyvdb5993 Рік тому

      @@MuertaNox I think that both G K Chesterton and C S Lewis said something along those lines.

  • @canteventhough
    @canteventhough Рік тому +1

    "... bury me beneath the willow, under the weeping willow tree... When my love hears that I am sleeping, maybe then he'll think of me..."

  • @monsecookies-u7x
    @monsecookies-u7x Рік тому +7

    This was one of my favorite stories that were part of a collection of children’s ghost stories. I can’t remember the exact collection but I’ve been looking for it. It also had the dog story where a man chopped it up for barking but then goblins stole his children and the dog was sown back together and helped him get them back. There was also one about 3 witches that turned into owls and kidnapped some kids. There was also one with a tiger impersonating a man, ate most of his family and the daughter was able to escape it by grounding up chile pepper powder, mixing it up with water and throwing it at the tiger. It had so many stories I loved but I will find it eventually, not the one I had but a similar edition.

  • @glitchberry327
    @glitchberry327 Рік тому +1

    The whole “tie up a decapitated person’s head with a scarf” reminds me of an old horror story from a book full of them. I think the story was called “the girl with the green ribbon”

  • @hernehaugen6878
    @hernehaugen6878 Рік тому +128

    I'm very confused. This is way different than the version I heard as a kid. I thought Rapunzel's parents were a poor farmer and his pregnant wife who pissed off a witch by stealing cabbages from her garden because pregnancy cravings are weird.
    Edit: Someone kindly informed me they were lettuce not cabbages.

    • @debymello4756
      @debymello4756 Рік тому +40

      This isn't Rapunzel, this is The Juniper/Rose Tree. Frank only compared the girl from Rose to Rapunzel because the tale describes her gorgeous and crazy long hair

    • @hernehaugen6878
      @hernehaugen6878 Рік тому +14

      @@debymello4756 Ohhh okay. Thank you, i need to pay better attention.

    • @silvercandra4275
      @silvercandra4275 Рік тому +22

      They weren't cabbages, but rapunzels.
      A type of salad... according to translate it's called lamb's lettuce, or corn salad in english.

    • @hernehaugen6878
      @hernehaugen6878 Рік тому +1

      @@silvercandra4275 Do you think I really care about the difference between cabbage or lettuce? I don't eat rabbit food.

    • @silvercandra4275
      @silvercandra4275 Рік тому +16

      @@hernehaugen6878 Why are you so mad about lettuce?

  • @dranimations7902
    @dranimations7902 Рік тому +5

    Great! - Its interesting how many fairytales are a retelling of an earlier tale

  • @alisonbrowning9620
    @alisonbrowning9620 Рік тому +1

    I love the creepy Grimm stories, i always have liked dark stories and i havn't a violent streak in me, just the Gothic side of me.

  • @draggingon4590
    @draggingon4590 Рік тому +3

    I just want to put it out there that I love this channel. Thank you for your story telling ma'am!

  • @LadyTroubadour
    @LadyTroubadour Рік тому +7

    I remember reading this, I think in the color fairy books (don't ask which one there are a lot). It'd be interesting to see how these tales are classified in the Stith-Thompson Motif Index of folk literature. Lovely job on the video.

  • @sarahvandersteen5253
    @sarahvandersteen5253 Рік тому +5

    I love hearing you read dark fairy tales they are so creepy and bone chilling but exciting as well please do more it would be wonderful ❤

  • @bridgettelair370
    @bridgettelair370 Рік тому +8

    I 've always liked the old fairy tales, something dark and mysterious about them draws me. Though Allerleirauh and The Robber Bridegroom always freaked me out a bit.

  • @pembrokelove
    @pembrokelove 7 місяців тому +1

    I find myself feeling awful for the father… the sister is the obvious victim here, but imagine the father when he slowly realizes he ate his son.

  • @actually-a-lime250
    @actually-a-lime250 Рік тому +7

    i read this story two years ago and I never forgot and constantly thought about it for how disturbing but intresting it was

  • @puraidoeustass
    @puraidoeustass Рік тому +12

    You see, these guys are not depressed enough. They only listen to the tune but not the lyrics! Don't you know how this works? :D
    Also, I kinda love this fairytale, I read it in German, and Low German, and maybe that's why I love writing certain types of horror. (I read most of the fairytales in their original form, not the disney versions.)

  • @romantwelve5409
    @romantwelve5409 Рік тому +3

    Your voice is so perfect for what you do on your channel(s)

  • @AlisonChrista
    @AlisonChrista Рік тому

    I’m glad the algorithm decided to recommend this. Awesome job!

  • @lim.b.
    @lim.b. Рік тому +5

    I love all these creepy tales you share! I haven't heard any of these before.

  • @MalvakaiP
    @MalvakaiP Рік тому +2

    I think only the mother could hear the words. Everyone else just heard birdsong.

  • @mariannkiko21
    @mariannkiko21 Рік тому +5

    I love your dark stories content. 💓

  • @Sam-uq5gt
    @Sam-uq5gt Рік тому

    Oh my, nice narrating and I love your voice!

  • @kuriosastoryteller
    @kuriosastoryteller Рік тому +7

    Love your videos! 🖤🖤🖤🖤

  • @Bolle1701
    @Bolle1701 Рік тому +1

    Wow, I read this fairy tale in the original low german version "van de marchandelboom" like 15 years ago and thought to myself: "this is a heavy escalation from the 'bad stepmother topic' indeed". A decapitation, cannibalism, reincarnation and the revenge plot is the darkest story the Gebrüder Grimm ever collected. It proves very impressing that fairytales allthough called "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" (children's and domestic fairy tales) were initialy in no shape or form targeted as entertaining storys to kids.
    Thank you for sharing it with the world!

  • @BaconPraline
    @BaconPraline Рік тому +4

    Keep them coming!

  • @Dollicate1
    @Dollicate1 Рік тому +1

    The world stop’s when I listen to your voice. When I hear your voice I get the kind of soothing feeling you feel when staring at the ocean. Love the channel keep up the great work❤.

  • @briewest738
    @briewest738 Рік тому +4

    I would love more spooky tales! :D I also love your work! :)

  • @charlottemartyr
    @charlottemartyr Рік тому +1

    I remember reading this in maybe 5th or 6th grade as part of a folklore class and it’s stuck with me ever since as my all time favorite fairy tale

  • @yallgood5453
    @yallgood5453 Рік тому +6

    I've benched 📺 all your Disney dark origin series and loved them 😍 you should do the princess and the frog and the frog prince 🐸👑

  • @nourshokr3291
    @nourshokr3291 Рік тому +2

    My girlfriend wanted a marriage just like a fairy tale.
    Fair enough. I gave her a loaf of bread and left her in the forest.

  • @somethingfunny5571
    @somethingfunny5571 Рік тому +8

    I needed this today

  • @atimidbirb
    @atimidbirb Рік тому

    "the beautiful and undead buff bird" is not a image I expected to have stuck in my head, but bruh i LOVE IT

  • @horrorfreak3124
    @horrorfreak3124 Рік тому +3

    MANNNNNN HECK TO THE BIRD HER VOICE IS HORRIFYINGLY BEAUTIFUL

  • @Sylrene_theFaery
    @Sylrene_theFaery Рік тому

    Your voice is so beautiful and enchanting!! I love your rendition of the song in The Juniper Tree :D I haven't seen anybody remarking on this, which is why I would just like to mention it ^^

  • @crimson_cat
    @crimson_cat Рік тому +9

    The juniper tree is actually my all-time FAVORITE Grimms fairy tale 😂 idk what that says about me

  • @LeonMRr
    @LeonMRr Рік тому +1

    Stepmother: Yeah, I don't think this comb will do it for your hair, maybe that axe is better
    Girl: Sure not at all suspicious stepmother.

  • @Wizone4Izone
    @Wizone4Izone Рік тому +7

    I liked the tale, but it should not be read to children before the age of 9-10.

  • @nobodyinparticular1290
    @nobodyinparticular1290 Рік тому +1

    That was a pretty funny prank. "You freaking boxed his head off, you DINGUS!" If my mom murdered my sibling I think she'd pull off the same joke.

  • @sailoranime289
    @sailoranime289 Рік тому +5

    I'm too used to the other version of the story where he came back killed the Stepmother ate his father and spared his sister.

  • @barttheraven
    @barttheraven Рік тому +1

    I first read this story in The Annotated Fairy Tales, annotated by Maria Tatar.

  • @KnucklesxReala911
    @KnucklesxReala911 Рік тому +4

    Acting as if nowadays we don't all listen to super catchy songs with disturbing lyrics