The Most Psychologically Disturbing Fairytale

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?

Editing by ► Kristen K

Storybook images are from the Brother's Grimm collections of fairytales, in public domain.

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

#darkfairytale #grimms #disney #creepy #creepystories #animation #onceuponatime

[Unicorn]

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

[baphomethelpme]

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

[it_stimefortea]

"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"

[mckayleepugmire]

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.

[monroerobbins]

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.

[runningoncylinders]

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

[DreamDragoness]

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.

[anez]

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.

[UndeadGhostGirl]

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

[cramerfloro]

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".

[michaeldomeier]

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.

[Werewolfoverlord]

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.

[adrianghandtchi]

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

[-moonlight-]

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]

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.

[LadyBern]

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.)

[tayloredwards]

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

[Anna.Feather]

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.

[robertdochter]

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

[eviannecasey]

Your voice is so pretty!


It’s calming even though you’re reading scary things 😂🫶