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Abbot_of_Cucany t1_je1kjqc wrote

Between Struwwelpeter and the folktales collected by the brothers Grimm, Germany has a long tradition of horrifying children's books.

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Loko8765 t1_je1mvwl wrote

For example, Cinderella… the glass slipper was not glass but a kind of fur, non-transparent, the stepsisters literally cut off one or several toes to get their foot inside, the prince doesn’t notice until his pet crow tells him to look at the blood dripping on the ground.

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yum_disc t1_je1oyir wrote

"Guru guru Blut ist im Schuh" i remember my teacher in elementary school read us that story lmao

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Penetrative_Pelican t1_je1r0eu wrote

I remember my mom once slipping up and putting on a tape of the fairytale where a boy put his head in a chest of apples and being decapitated

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Taleya t1_je29vyn wrote

One hacked off toes, the other parts of her heel iirc.

I grew up on Irish tales, reading Germans was nbd lol

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pinto_bean13 t1_je33cbf wrote

Then the crows pecked the stepsisters’ eyes out

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Loko8765 t1_je408bd wrote

Yikes, totally forgot that! Then again, I did read it when I was… maybe 12, because it’s relevant to the discussion, but in any case a long time ago!

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denatured_enzyme_ t1_je1y2rw wrote

omg when I was around 8 or 9 my mom bought me a book that was a compilation of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales and she also bought a book of Grimms fairy tales. I had a blast reading Hans Christian Andersen's stories, and then I finished the book and thought hm maybe the brothers Grimm compilation will be just as good!

I was wrong. Shit gave me nightmares for YEARS. I didn't dare open the book again till I was 12.

The story that terrified me the most was something about a princess or a high-ranking girl (forgot what rank she was) whose mother died and her stepmother used it as an excuse to treat her badly, demoting her to the rank of a slave. I don't remember the story or what it was called, but she had a horse and it was her only friend, and then someone killed it? There was also at some point someone being decapitated and their head being buried in a potted plant, and she dug up the head by accident one day. What the fuck lmao. The only other detail I remember was one character being named Falada, I think it was the horse?? Idk that story freaked me out so much I never dared to read it again, so it's been years and my memory of it is hazy

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Blergh_MaGerks t1_je25g4z wrote

I have two copies of Struwwelpeter, one I was given as a child and then my Mom gave me the copy she had as a child. 100% the reason for my dark humor. I love that book so much.

And then he had no thumbs 👍🏽 ✂️

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deg897 t1_je4vdte wrote

The first ballet I’d seen was a Bros. Grimm version of Snow White performed by a Russian dance troupe. Man was it dark, violent and painful. Totally turned me on to ballet and, especially, Bros. Grimm fairy tales. But I’m not seven, either.

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vonhoother t1_je5dhpo wrote

When our daughter was small we bought the complete Grimm fairy tales. Some we read out loud. Some we didn't, like "The Jew in the Thornbush."

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