The Grimms, those sick sons of bitches,
Wrote of rapists and old witches,
Sadism and necrophiles,
Drowning and pedophiles,
Transvestites and souls sold for riches.
Oddly, the aspect that’s best
About the tales of theft and incest,
Perversion and homicide,
Torture and suicide,
Is that kids aren’t the least bit distressed.
Originally, the Grimm Brothers’ stories were not meant for children at all. In fact, according to Bibliography.com, initially aimed at adults, the early editions of Nursery and Household Tales contained remarkably dark elements. In its first version, for example, Rapunzel gets pregnant by the prince after a casual fling. In Cinderella, the stepsisters cut off their toes and heels to try to fit into the slipper. These sorts of scenes (and many other such gruesome depictions) were eventually revised once the stories became popular among children.
