Ranker Collection
Once Upon a Time
Lifestyle5.6k voters11 Terrible Things That Happened in Your Favorite Childhood Fairy TalesAt one time or another in your youth, someone probably read you a fairy tale. At the very least, you saw one of the many Disney ve...
Horror Books45.1k viewsThe Original 'Little Mermaid' Is More Of A Cautionary Tale Of Horror And Despair Than A Fairy TaleThe Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen was written in 1837. Back then, fairy tales didn't have nearly the happy endings tha...
Graveyard Shift5.6k votersThe Creepiest Nursery Rhymes That Shouldn't Be Read to KidsThe sound of children singing alone can be quite scary (see the Poltergeist main theme, or the "1-2 Freddy's coming for you" song ...
Grimm7.1k votersShocking, R-Rated Details Found In The Original Brothers Grimm Fairy TalesFairytales are supposed to end happily ever after.But fantasy aficionados the Brothers Grimm sure seemed to hate neat and tidy end...
Alice in Wonderland3.1m viewsThe Real Alice In Wonderland Was An 11-Year-Old Girl Lewis Carroll Had An Unusual Relationship WithYou're probably more likely to know Charles Lutwidge Dodgson as British author Lewis Carroll. He wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonde...
Weird History166.7k viewsIn The Original Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf Forced Her To Eat Her GrandmaFairy tales are full of creepy and terrible things, and the original "Little Red Riding Hood" is no exception. Cinderella’s stepsi...
Iceland213.5k viewsThis Icelandic Christmas Story Is So Creepy The Government Was Forced To Censor ItGiven that it was a rough habitat to settle, it's unsurprising that Iceland's folklore isn't exactly warm and fuzzy. In fact, thei...
The Jungle Book3.7m viewsThe Real-Life Inspiration For Mowgli In The Jungle Book Was A Feral Child Raised By WolvesMany believe that Dina Sanichar, the Indian wolf boy, was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling's famous work, The Jungle Book. J...
Historical Entertainment2.2m viewsThe Real Couple That Inspired 'Beauty And The Beast' Led Remarkably Tragic LivesIt’s a tale as old as time – or, at least as old as the 1500s. But the real couple that inspired Beauty and the Beast lived a trag...
Sleeping Beauty503.5k viewsIn The Original Sleeping Beauty, The King Is A Sexual Harasser Who Forces Himself On The PrincessFairy tales can be pretty dark, like the Brothers Grimm story of a father who chops off his daughter’s hands to make a deal with t...
Snow White197.5k viewsWas There A Real-Life Inspiration For Snow White?Did you know there's a real-life Snow White? The real life stories and inspirations behind classic childhood fairy tales, like the...
Saint Barbara340.1k viewsThe Real-Life Inspiration For Rapunzel Is A 3rd-Century Saint Who Was Beheaded By Her Own FatherThe real Rapunzel wasn't just a beautiful woman locked in a tower – she was a literal saint. Or, at least one of the early inspira...
Culture1.3m viewsThe Original 'Wizard of Oz' Books Are Shockingly Violent Compared To The Judy Garland ClassicEveryone remembers 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, starring young Judy Garland; the classic tale that teaches you that there is no place ...
Graveyard Shift99.7k viewsThe Original Pinocchio Story Is Nothing Short Of Pure HorrorMany of us grew up learning about the heartwarming adventures of Pinocchio through the 1940 Disney animated adaptation of Italian ...
Myths & Legends114.3k viewsThe Actual Story Behind The Sword In The StoneWas Excalibur the actual Sword in the Stone? Was Arthur Pendragon real? Who was Merlin? Legends and theories abound about the figu...
Adaptations275 voters15 Surprisingly Grim Movies Adapted From Classic Children's StoriesIt's no secret that Hollywood loves to mix and match genres. A popular combination in recent years is creating scary films based o...
Fantasy539 votersTragic And Disturbing Stories That Inspired Popular Childhood Fairy TalesFairy tales are pretty common during childhood. Whether they're told to kids at storytime, relayed in a movie, or part of a play o...
Disney Princesses169 votersThe Dark And Disturbing History Of 'Cinderella'In large part thanks to Disney's version of her story, Cinderella is a familiar fairy tale character. The girl is maltreated by he...