History Main / Grimmification

** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' does the same thing, this time with Myth/NorseMythology. To name one specific example, [[spoiler:in classical Mythology, Baldr was the ultimate NiceGuy whose mother Frigg gave him NighInvulnerability by making everything in the world promise not to harm him; however, Loki ended up killing Baldr with mistletoe, the one thing Frigg forgot about. In ''GOW'', Baldr is a gigantic {{Jerkass}} who wants to [[{{Patricide}} kill Frigg]] because the invulnerability also [[SenseFreak dulled his senses to the point where he doesn't feel anything at all]], and Frigg is so [[MyBelovedSmother overprotective]] that she would rather let him kill her than remove the "curse" and risk anything hurting him. Loki still kills Baldr with mistletoe arrows, but here it's an act of self-defense (not to mention accidental).]]

* Creator/NeilGaiman told one of the grimmest versions of ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' in ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. However, at the end the storyteller points out that the only thing that matters is how people think of the story. Gaiman based his version on a history book called "The Great Cat Massacre" that has a chapter on folk tales of pre-revolutionary France. See the Literature section for more examples by Gaiman.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Grimm}}'', by Fantasy Flight Games. It's a bit complex, but essentially, the FairyTales of the Brothers Grimm were already sanitized from the true events, and due to the influence of a magical book and a mysterious woman called Melusine, they have been given a sort of eternal life in an alternate reality. Since its formation, every fairytale ever imagined or read has been added. How much of the nastiness of the setting is simply because the truth behind the tales -- where there was truth -- was nastier than what passed into fiction, and how much is because of the influence of the Rotten King -- Humpty Dumpty, now existing in a maddened and twisted state of [[TheUndead Undeath]] due to the unsuccessful efforts to restore him as he was before his fall -- is not entirely clear.

* ''Grimm'', by Fantasy Flight Games. It's a bit complex, but essentially, the FairyTales of the Brothers Grimm were already sanitized from the true events, and due to the influence of a magical book and a mysterious woman called Melusine, they have been given a sort of eternal life in an alternate reality. Since its formation, every fairytale ever imagined or read has been added. How much of the nastiness of the setting is simply because the truth behind the tales -- where there was truth -- was nastier than what passed into fiction, and how much is because of the influence of the Rotten King -- Humpty Dumpty, now existing in a maddened and twisted state of [[TheUndead Undeath]] due to the unsuccessful efforts to restore him as he was before his fall -- is not entirely clear.

* Warhammer's Beastmen army is often presented with shades of extremely dark fairytale weirdness, to emphasise their nature as the horrible things in the woods that mankind would be best off avoiding. The sixth edition Beastmen army book (2003) introduced this aesthetic, though it seems to have taken a back seat in the more recent (2009) edition, which paints the Beastmen more as hell-bent on destroying all civilization than lurking in the woods and luring travelers to their doom.

* An issue of "Dylan Dog" has a woman hallucinating a fairy-tale world full of sadness, violence and death. Another is centered around a book entitled "Death Fairy Tales".

* ''[[VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesGrimm American McGee's Grimm]]'' is a platform game where you perform a literal version of this: the player character is a sarcastic, ugly little dwarf named Grimm who's tired of "cutesy" fairy tales, so he goes around messing them up and making them gruesome and scary again. He takes on various tales from Creator/TheBrothersGrimm and other sources, from classics like "Literature/{{Cinderella}}" and "Literature/PussInBoots" to more obscure tales like "The Girl Without Hands" and "A Boy Learns What Fear Is".
** He also (accidentally) subverted this when he got to Red Riding Hood. It manages to be LighterAndSofter (if you ignore the random curse words) than the original by having the wolf get a mercy killing via ax to the stomach: a far better fate than drowning in a well or starving to death. The original is far darker (no friendly woodsman for one).
*** Although the part with keeping the Woodsman was intentional -- he comments on the original version where she dies, but decides to stick with a modification of the more familiar version.
* ''[[VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice American McGee's Alice]]'', which chronicles the now orphaned and mentally insane Alice's battle for sanity, in what can be only described as a goth child's nightmare come true.
** To wit: Wonderland is an extension of Alice's psyche, and she's been catatonic in an asylum ever since her home burned down, killing her entire family but her. As such, Wonderland has become a twisted, nightmarish shadow of its former self. The Queen of Hearts is now an EldritchAbomination whose living tentacles are literally suffocating the land; the Hatter has gone from CloudCuckoolander to ''actually insane'', developing an obsession with time and transforming the March Hare and Dormouse into heavily-drugged cyborgs; the Duchess is [[ImAHumanitarian eating people]]; and the half-mechanical, half-dragon Jabberwock is a manifestation of Alice's survivor's guilt, endlessly mocking her for failing to save her family. The closest ally Alice has is the Cheshire Cat, and even he's now an emaciated, riddle-spouting TricksterMentor.
* ''[[VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice American McGee's Alice]]'''s sequel, VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns, is even grimmer -- Wonderland has turned into a CrapsackWorld, and in the real world, [[spoiler:Alice is being "treated" by a PsychoPsychologist who wants her to forget everything so he can pimp her out as a child prostitute; oh, and he was also responsible for the fire that killed Alice's family from the first game]]. [[spoiler:He also raped Alice's sister, leaving her in a Catatonic State RIGHT BEFORE setting Alice's home on fire to keep his secret from getting out.]] When you get down to it, it's even darker than the original tale was.
** As before, Alice's fragile sanity is manifesting in a new nightmare for Wonderland: the Infernal Train, a massive, world-destroying locomotive that's tearing up the earth itself as it crosses the dream world. We also meet some new characters from the Alice books who have similarly undergone horrific changes: the Carpenter, for example, is now a psychotic showman who's mounting plays in Wonderland's red-light district, while the Walrus, his star, is a monstrously obese glutton that happily devours sentient oyster-human hybrids while talking about the futility of life.

* ''Fairytale Fights'', ohhh so much.

* While most of the stories in ‘’VideoGame/Revolve8EpisodicDueling’’ fall under the fractured fairytales category, Momotaro’s tale is particularly darker than most. Taking place after the death of his companions at the hands of the oni, Momotaro goes on a one-man killing spree, vowing to kill every last oni in Japan. However, his overall ruthlessness in his quest makes him willing to let innocent people get killed if it means taking out an oni. Even the narrator acknowledges that Momotaro is just as dangerous as the oni.

* Kaori Yuki, of course. ''Manga/LudwigRevolution'' for example is about a necrophiliac, perverted prince and keeps all the original unpleasant aspects of the original fairy tales, then adds a few more, twisting the stories further and further. In the first chapter, Snow White is incestuous and loves manipulating people. And then she dies. Lampshaded during the Cinderella arc, when the author mentions the stepsisters mutilating themselves. In their retelling, the shoe is too big, and the sisters say that it's not the problem.

** In "Hansel and Gretel", both the white bird and the witch turn into demons (and the witch's house is presented as much scarier than in the story).
** "The Iron Stove" is also darker than its source by including a conflict between the princess and the witch over the prince.
** In "The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes", the mystery men who are dancing with the princesses turn out to be monsters, and attack the princesses when the soldier reveals their secret.

[[folder:Comics]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'': That entire series is basically the textbook definition of this trope.

** One instance deconstructs this. Riding Hood is perfectly and totally innocent even though it's implied that what [[BigBad the Adversary]] has his sorcerers do to her was basically rape.
*** More like [[GrandTheftMe identity theft]].

* ''PenthouseComix'' included a strip about an adult version of ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' who was a werewolf hunter, who was known to have sex with some of the werewolves before killing them.
* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin's dad gives ''Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie'' this treatment after being forced to read it to Calvin one time too many. [[NoodleIncident We don't get to hear either version]], but Calvin and Hobbes are too scared to sleep afterwards.
-->'''Calvin:''' Wow. The story was different ''that'' time!\\
'''Hobbes:''' Do you think the townsfolk will ever find Hamster Huey's head?
** Even more of an example of this trope is a version of the tale of "Goldilocks and the Three Tigers" which Calvin claims that Hobbes wrote himself. Calvin's dad refuses to continue reading and bids him a quick "good night" at the point where the tigers divided Goldilocks into big, medium, and small pieces and dipped them in the porridge. "He didn't even look at our illustrations," Calvin complains.

* The Queen of Fables, an enemy of the [[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] and {{Superman}}, controls Grimmified versions of fairy tale scenarios and characters (including those from the fairy tales of Krypton, [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Atlantis]] and [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter Mars]]).

* Creator/NeilGaiman's short story "Literature/SnowGlassApples" tells the Snow-White story from the point of view of the Evil Queen-- who is actually a skilled, but very young sorceress dealing with a homicidal, vampiric stepdaughter. (In general, it's disturbingly common for Grimmified versions of "Literature/SnowWhite" to involve [[VampireTropes vampire motifs]], what with her being an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette, the mirror, etc.) Full story posted [[http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/stories/snow-glass-apples here]].

[[folder:Mythology and Folklore]]

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series is an (arguably effective) Grimmification of Greek myths (and several sword-and-sandal movies) wrapped around a new storyline. While a lot of things are gorier, some things ''were'' {{bowdlerise}}d, or at least abandoned due to {{squick}}: the fact that several Olympians are married to their sisters, for example. Zeus in the second game, however, is '''not''' an exaggeration. He was '''that''' much of a bastard. Ares, Theseus, Perseus, however, they definitely get the Grimmification. Athena gets reduced to TheChick.

* ''FanFic/{{Downfall}}'' is headed in this direction post- [[spoiler: chapter 18.]]

* The 2018 Japanese StopMotion short ''Anime/MyLittleGoat'' by Tokyo University of the Arts is a darker and realistic take on ''Literature/TheWolfAndTheSevenYoungKids''. This version shows the realistic aftermath of the six surviving goat children since the seventh didn't survive. The short takes place after the events of the original story and shows the remaining children now traumatized with one of them being disfigured. Like the original story, it ends on a lighter note with the mother goat taking extra measures to prevent another wolf or [[spoiler: pedophilic parent]] from barging into their home again. On the bright side, the short does end on positive note where the Mother Goat adopts the child protagonist after [[spoiler: his perverted father is tased by the Mother Goat, preventing his father from raping him again and put into the same lake that The Wolf drowned in]].

* The 2018 Japanese StopMotion short ''Anime/MyLittleGoat'' by Tokyo University of the Arts is a darker and realistic take on ''Literature/TheWolfAndTheSevenYoungKids''. This version shows the realistic aftermath of the six surviving goat children since the seventh didn't survive. The short takes place after the events of the original story and shows the remaining children now traumatized with one of them being disfigured. Like the original story, it ends on a lighter note with the mother goat taking extra measures to prevent another wolf or [[spoiler: pedophilic parent]] from barging into their home again.

** Even more of an example of this trope was Calvin's version of the tale of Goldilocks. Calvin's dad stopped reading when the three tigers divided Goldilocks into big, medium, and small pieces, which they dipped in the porridge.

* Creator/NeilGaiman told one of the grimmest versions of ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' in ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. However, at the end the storyteller points out that the only thing that matters is how people think of the story.
** Gaiman actually took his version from a history book called "The Great Cat Massacre" that has a chapter on folk tales of pre-revolutionary France.
*** "The Great Cat Massacre" has a version even older and shorter.

* Creator/NeilGaiman's short story "Snow, Glass, Apples" tells the Snow-White story from the point of view of the Evil Queen-- who is actually a skilled, but very young sorceress dealing with a homicidal, vampiric stepdaughter. (In general, it's disturbingly common for Grimmified versions of "Literature/SnowWhite" to involve [[VampireTropes vampire motifs]], what with her being an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette, the mirror, etc.) Full story posted [[http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/stories/snow-glass-apples here]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[http://jeftoon01.deviantart.com/art/Twisted-Princess-Aurora-117711730 Surely not]] [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty what Walt Disney intended.]][[labelnote:*]]But [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm The Grimms]] just might [[Literature/SleepingBeauty approve of this!]][[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[http://jeftoon01.deviantart.com/art/Twisted-Princess-Aurora-117711730 Surely not]] [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty what Walt Disney intended.]][[labelnote:*]]But [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm The Grimms]] might [[Literature/SleepingBeauty approve]][[/labelnote]]]]

* Creator/NeilGaiman's short story "Snow, Glass, Apples" tells the Snow-White story from the point of view of the Evil Queen-- who is actually a skilled, but very young sorceress dealing with a homicidal, vampiric stepdaughter. (In general, it's disturbingly common for Grimmified versions of "Literature/SnowWhite" to involve {{vampire}} motifs, what with her being an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette, the mirror, etc.) Full story posted [[http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/stories/snow-glass-apples here]].

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TalesFromTheCryptkeeper'' tells the story of "Literature/SleepingBeauty" with a twist: she was a {{vampire}} who lured unsuspecting would-be suitors to their deaths.

** Literature/PeterPan is the BigBad of Season 3. His shadow kidnaps children and drags them to Neverland - which is a TeenageWasteland. It also turns out [[spoiler: he abandoned his son to become a boy again]].

* ''Fanfic/SoRotVieBlut'' is a DarkFic of ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' inspired by the various grimmifications of the fairy-tale. Grimhilde has tried to be nice to her stepdaughter Snow White, but Snow White has always been a cold EnfantTerrible towards her. As she grows, Snow White becomes a murderous FilleFatale who wants Grimhilde dead so she can take the throne sooner than expected.

* In the original "Literature/{{Rapunzel}}" FairyTale, the prince is blinded, and the heroine's SwissArmyTears restore his eyesight. In Disney's adaptation ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'', of all places, the villain, in an odd moment of Grimmification in an otherwise Disneyfied story, [[spoiler:''stabs and kills him'', and Rapunzel holds her dead lover in her arms before her tears bring him back to life]]. What's more is that the story really plays up the Freudian elements between Rapunzel and her stepmother - showing Gothel as a textbook [[AbusiveParents emotional abuser]]. Additionally the stepmother [[spoiler: gets a [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath rather dark]] DeathByAdaptation]] when she just [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse disappeared]] from the original.