20 Bad Books To Give To Young Kids

UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1754: The Little Mermaid visiting the undersea witch for spell to help win love of prince she rescued from shipwreck. Hans Christian Andersen fairy story illustrated by Monro S Orr (b1874). (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

10. Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales

But, you may say, Hans Christian Andersen created wonderful fairy tales! His work was adapted into classic films like Disney’s The Little Mermaid. How bad can they be?

Well, buckle up, friend. You’re in for a real ride.

Let’s focus in on Andersen’s version of “The Little Mermaid”, since you brought it up. The unnamed little mermaid rescues a handsome prince from drowning and falls in love. Back under the sea, she asks her grandmother about humans. Grandmother reveals that, while human live far shorter lives than merfolk, they also have souls and can ascend to heaven. Mermaids, on the other hand, are apparently soulless creatures who turn into seafoam when they finally die.

When the little mermaid goes to the sea witch to transform into a human, her deal comes with a terrible catch. Every moment she walks as a human, it feels as if glass is cutting into her feet. Like in the Disney film, she can’t speak. Unlike the Disney version, however, the prince eventually marries another woman and the little mermaid has to travel around with them like a neutered younger sister.

While on a sea voyage with the newly married couple, the despondent mermaid spots her sisters in the ocean. They toss a dagger up to their younger sister and tell her to stab the prince to death. Somehow, that will return her to her previous form. Instead, the little mermaid flings herself into the ocean. She manages to get a sweet gig as a spirit of the air, which will eventually get her a human soul after doing good deeds for a mere three centuries.

In case you haven’t caught my drift, Andersen’s other work can also be pretty grim. There’s plenty of the typical Victorian taste for sentimentality and dramatic death in his work, so be on the lookout when choosing a bedtime story.