Fairytales

A fairytale to many of us is a happy story where the pretty princess ends up with the handsome and brave knight. They mimic todays idea of a fairy - pretty, light and good. This is not true at all - most fairys are evil and honestly, pretty ugly, as were the originals of many of the fairytales we know today.

I don't remember the point when fairytales stopped being the Disney version of happy ever after, and became warped and sinister. When I first found out that in the original Red Riding Hood she is raped by the wolf, for veering off the path, I was horrified. I know it actually makes more sense than the fluffy version we are all fed as children as this story has a clear moral - don't walk off the path when you've been told not to, but still, the idea of the childhood fantasy had been ruined for me. From that day on I've known that everything has a dark side, and fairytales are no exception - in fact I'd go as far as to say that actually some fairytales are darker than anything I've read or seen elsewhere. But is this because I know the happy ending, fluffy, smily versions? Is it because they are against a backdrop or childhood innocence, that I find them so dark and, likewise, so alluring?

I still love watching a good Disney film, and they've never been destroyed for me by knowing that most of them come from something much more sinister. But I will continue to be fascinated by this darkness and the bleak look of the world that the originals gave us.