Dark and Twisty Tales: folk stories and fairy tales for the unafraid.
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
The Three Little Men in the Woods
21 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Belching up toads, paper dresses, beheadings and murder, this story has them all. I love this Grimm fairytale from the Philip Pullman collection, and ...
The Old House
13 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
An old man in velvet pantaloons is befriended by a little boy with a toy soldier, however the soldier is NOT happy about this, has a tantrum and finds...
The Marriage of Mrs. Reynard
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Reynard the Fox is a bit tricky and tricks his wife that he's dead to see if she'll marry again ... never a good plan.
Tamlane
13 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Childhood sweethearts Tamlane and Janet were all set until he 'disappeared' before their wedding day. He was off with the fairies (that's what you get...
The Dog and the Sparrow
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A very clever and vengeful sparrow gets his own back after his buddy the dog comes a cropper. Many things get chopped with an axe by accident and many...
The Blinded Giant
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A very short story about a boy called Jack, a bone bread eating giant and his favourite dog ... shame about the dog.
The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A 'lucky' boy escapes death is helped by two old ladies (because he was so polite and good looking) is very courageous ... and also a bit of a know it...
Snowdrop
19 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
So there's a narcissistic cannibalistic witch Queen, a Prince who thinks it would be cool to have a pretty dead girl in a glass coffin for a trophy an...
The Golden Bird
05 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Youngest son rides fox, gets girl and gold.
The Old Witch
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Independently wealthy senior citizen robbed by teen and locked in oven. Harsh.
The Buried Moon
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When the moon gets curious and snagged on a branch and then dragged into the bog by witches and bogles ... yeah that.
The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chanticleer a canny rooster and his wife Partlet, have adventures, that usually involve nuts, carts, deceit, slavery, violence, cannibalism and death....
The Raven
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the first episode of Season Three! Mom, needs a nap, hero can't stop snacking and a bewitched Princess can't stop spinning around and aroun...
The Frog King
29 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Less frog kissing and more frog splatting really and then at the end a weirdly obsessed servant has been to the blacksmiths...
Hans My Hedgehog
08 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Come on, who can resist a story about a half boy, half hedgehog, who rides a cockerel and plays the bagpipes? Credit must be given to my husband, so...
The Musicians of Bremen
25 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A not very dark or twisty episode this week, but a favorite of mine since childhood. The darkness I suppose lies in the fact that all these animals we...
The Singing Bone
11 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Like the earlier story I read Binnorie from the British Isles, this story also has a magical singing bone involved which identifies it's killer. Who c...
The Stars In The Sky
15 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When a little girl is just not satisfied unless she has the stars in the sky to play with...what could possibly go wrong?
My Own Self
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Playing with fairies and fires...hmm that sounds like a plan. From Joseph Jacobs 'English Fairy Tales' The song at the end is called 'Fairy Frolic' fr...
The Emperor's New Clothes
17 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Who are you going to believe? Me, or your own lyin' eyes?
Sweetheart Roland - how sweet exactly?
31 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This Grimm's tale again has little to recommend it from a feminist standpoint, so I won't. However I think it's my third story in a row where I get to...
BlueBeard
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it's a telltale blue beard, horns, webbed hands or whatever...listen to your intuition. Sometimes there's more to a rave in the countryside th...
The Tinder Box
05 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This classic Hans Christian Anderson Folk Tale is certainly darker than I remember. What's with all the stealing the sleeping princess? Not to mention...
The Goose Girl
21 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Season Two begins with some pretty harsh treatment of horses and self inflicted punishments. Not for the squeamish! Or kids...definitely not for kids.
Season Two Intro!
21 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The second season of Dark and Twisty Tales is releasing at midnight in California! Be there or miss out! lol. Thank you SO much for listening and tole...
The Juniper Tree
21 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This story has it all, beheadings, cannibalism, and my favorite, deep appreciation of a good dark folk song. Enjoy and I'll see you all again in Septe...
Godfather Death
15 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Death! What an excellent choice! What could possibly go wrong? #parentingfails
The Snow Child
24 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
by Mikhail Aleksandrovich Maksimovich 1874.
The Three Snake Leaves
14 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One strange obsession and death, followed by magical resurrection and betrayal. What more could you want for a Valentine's Day episode.
Clever Grethel
26 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
About a boozy cook who dupes her master after she's eaten dinner for two! No carving knives necessary.
Mr. Fox
13 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I found this in a collection of English folk tales. Wow, it could totally be the storyline for any current violent serial killer show, the accusatory ...
The Little Match Girl
31 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A short story by Hans Christian Anderson about a little girl dying of cold in the streets on New Years Eve. This was another favorite of mine as a chi...
The Snowman
24 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
You might look like a snowman on the outside, but it's what's holding you together on the inside that really counts. A festive snow tale.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
21 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Did he fall or was he pushed? Will he ever make it through flood and fish to get back to his true love? You'll have to listen to find out. Classic Han...
The Mouse the Bird and the Sausage
09 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This is a story about not reaching or getting ideas above your station. Or perhaps it's a story about not traveling without your identity card, or swi...
The Monkey's Paw - Part 3
31 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The third and final installment of The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs. Seriously, be careful what you wish for.
The Monkey's Paw - Part 2
26 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The second installment of this macabre tale about wishing for more, when you already have all you want. What could possibly go wrong?
The Monkey's Paw - Part 1
20 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"The Monkey's Paw is a supernatural short story in 3 parts by WW Jacobs first published in England in the collection The Lady of the Barge in 1902." ...
The Tell-Tale Heart
13 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is relayed by an unnamed narrator who endeavors...
Dracula
06 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Lady and the Lion
21 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A folk story where the gal saves the day, including fighting a Dragon, flying a Griffin and utilizing some very special chickens...really.
King Thrushbeard - and other name calling.
07 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A mean spirit and a quick tongue are a tricky combination, you may just find yourself married to the first beggar that comes along...that old chestnut...
Jorinda & Joringel - A folk tale about caged birds, magic flowers & an old witch
29 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I am very excited to say that this is episode number 10 of Dark and Twisty Tales, I really hope you've been enjoying them. If you'd like to support my...
Iron Hans - A folk story with added hair!
16 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Apparently this was the story that inspired Robert Bly to start the Iron John movement back in the 90's. Now, however you might feel about hairy men...
Hansel and Gretel - A Fairy Tale about being lost in the woods.
02 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ok, so if you build a house made of gingerbread and sugar in the middle of the woods in an attempt to lure children to be baked in the oven so you can...
The Girl With No Hands - A an 80% extra dark fairy tale.
11 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Feeling broke and exhausted...I know, make a deal with the devil, what could possibly go wrong? There are so many versions of this story, which is w...
Faithful Johannes
28 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
or Trusty John. In some variants, a king on his deathbed orders his servant, Trusty John, not to let his son see a certain room, which holds a portrai...
The Elves and the Shoemaker
14 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Elves and the Shoemaker" is an often copied and re-made 1806 story about a poor shoemaker who receives much-needed help from elves. The original s...
The Donkey Cabbage
31 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A friend recently gave me Philip Pullman's 'Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm', I can't recommend it highly enough. This story is from there. He say...
Catskin
17 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Catskin is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, in More English Fairy Tales.[1] Marian Roalfe Cox, in her pioneering study of Cindere...
Binnorie
01 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A very dark story about jealously, murder and a magical instrument being made out of the corpse! For me the song came first, this version I'm singing ...
Ashenputtel
15 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A darker version of the well known Cinderella story was recorded by the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century. The tale is cal...