TagRumpelstiltskin. Fairy Tale
2 stories
From the Crypt
Back in 2017 I wrote an article on Rumpelstiltskin. It was part of a collection (that is slowly ongoing) about how fairy tales are the original horror stories. In that article I called the manikin an “unheralded villain” and wrote about how he tore himself in half in rage when the queen guessed his name. But here is the question: Is Rumpelstiltskin truly evil? Is he a villain? Should he be reviled and cursed? I know that it is easy to villain-ise a little man-troll who threatens to steal children; I know that it is easy to make him a gold-mongering charlatan like in the show ‘Once Upon a Time’ (and Robert Carlyle does an amazing job); I know (as I explained in my other article) that his name is shares etymology with the word poltergeist and it’s hard to put that in a good light; I know it’s easy to fall victim to the motif of a princess always
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News
I have been doing a number of articles on fairy tales. I think that the Grimm Brothers especially are phenomenal story tellers and the two of the originators of the horror genre. Their characters range from witches and anamorphic animals to princes and queens. In my opinion, however, one of their best characters is a little imp who appears when people are desperate and willing to make a trades of various value. This imp is called a manikin in the tale which is basically just an excessively small person with no other noticeable defects. Nevertheless, many interpretations of this character have him as anything from a slightly deformed person to an outright troll. If you haven’t guessed his name by now, you aren’t alone. In fact, that’s kind of an integral part of the story. Rumpelstiltskin is an iconic character and an extremely unheralded villain. The creature’s name itself may be why he is visualized as a troll of goblin.
Continue reading →
More from Rumpelstiltskin. Fairy Tale
From the Crypt
Back in 2017 I wrote an article on Rumpelstiltskin. It was part of a collection (that is slowly ongoing) about how fairy tales are the original horror stories. In that article I called the manikin an “unheralded villain” and wrote about how he tore himself in half in rage when the queen guessed his name. But here is the question: Is Rumpelstiltskin truly evil? Is he a villain? Should he be reviled and cursed? I know that it is easy to villain-ise a little man-troll who threatens to steal children; I know that it is easy to make him a gold-mongering charlatan like in the show ‘Once Upon a Time’ (and Robert Carlyle does an amazing job); I know (as I explained in my other article) that his name is shares etymology with the word poltergeist and it’s hard to put that in a good light; I know it’s easy to fall victim to the motif of a princess always
Continue reading →
News
I have been doing a number of articles on fairy tales. I think that the Grimm Brothers especially are phenomenal story tellers and the two of the originators of the horror genre. Their characters range from witches and anamorphic animals to princes and queens. In my opinion, however, one of their best characters is a little imp who appears when people are desperate and willing to make a trades of various value. This imp is called a manikin in the tale which is basically just an excessively small person with no other noticeable defects. Nevertheless, many interpretations of this character have him as anything from a slightly deformed person to an outright troll. If you haven’t guessed his name by now, you aren’t alone. In fact, that’s kind of an integral part of the story. Rumpelstiltskin is an iconic character and an extremely unheralded villain. The creature’s name itself may be why he is visualized as a troll of goblin.
Continue reading →
