We present our Christmas Livestream in audio form! Expect a quiz, a cake, crackers, listener chats, and a very unusual story. You can watch the full event on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Np24YiGQG0U?si=bK-Kvdvzxa8Fhj4H
We're back! And back in style. Welcome to our sixth annual Christmas party! Join us round the fire as we get festive in yet another bumper episode. We kick the party off by pulling some Christmas crackers, exchanging presents, and indulging in some festive snacks and beverages to get into the Christmas spirit. It's then story time, starting with a short tale called "The Christmas Fairy Of Strasburg" which features a cheeky robbery with a surprising outcome... And then it's time for the second in...
We made it to five years! In April we hosted a livestream event to celebrate the milestone - and here it is in audio form. Thanks to everyone who joined and helped make it such a special occasion. For the full experience, you can watch the whole event on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/live/6Leycit-_jQ?feature=share
It's the end of the series and the end of volume one for us here at Grimm Castle! So join us as we reveal the winners and losers of series 5 of Grimm Reading and indulge in some classic story stats. We then share some clips from our latest special episodes (The Little Mermaid and Sinbad The Sailor), and finally resurrect story stats as we reveal the top and bottom stories of the entire five years of the podcast. Links: 5 Year Grimmversary YouTube Livestream The Little Mermaid Payhip Sinbad The S...
In part two, discover the origins and history of cinderella as we embark on “The Story Of The Story”. First up, we follow the trail of Cinderella from ancient Greece through Basile, Perrault, and the Grimms, by way of medieval France, as we trace her literary origins. We then attempt to work out where Cinderella really came from, and seek help from some expert friends as we define the tale and explore what exactly it's trying to tell us. Enjoy the final installment of this gripping two-parter wh...
A plucky young heroine, an avian stylist, and an axe-wielding dad make for a special season 5 ending - join us round the fire for some comically extreme violence as we read the Cinderella (aka Aschenputtel). Think you know Cinderella? Well, think again! Yes, we've got the lost slipper, we've got the evil step sisters, we've got the fateful ball - but there's plenty Disney unforgivably left out. It's a momentous occasion at Castle Grimm: it's all at once the series 5 finale, the last famous Grimm...
In this story, a psychopathic couple get a schooling from their son when the little boy witnesses the harsh treatment of his grandfather. Things get moralistic this week's as we read the Grimm story, The Old Man And His Grandson. After the tale, we explore the world of old men in folktales, specifically three ATU types that deal with old men looking for care in their twilight years - finishing with a harrowing story from the Philipines, or possibly Mexico. This episode is Certified Grimm and may...
On his deathbed, a King commands trusty John, his most loyal servant, to protect his son and heir. But when the boy falls in love with a forbidden painting, John's loyalty is pushed to the limit. Will he sacrifice himself for the sake of the boy? Find out in Faithful John! The Brothers Grimm story responsible for Oscar Wilde's greatest work and your favourite scene in Star Wars. After the story, we try to tracy its lineage from West to East, by way of a medieval French romance and the unexpected...
Welcome to our fifth Christmas party AND our 100th episode! Join us round the fire as we get festive in a bumper episode. This year we get an American story, The Poor Count's Christmas, featuring a greedy giant, an underhanded fairy, and an aristocrat with a Christmas addiction. That adventure is swiftly followed by the opening few mini chapters of the classic tale The Nutcracker. But before that, we share the usual gifts, pull a cracker or two, and also take a trip around the world on a culinar...
In this episode we talk to travel writer Nicholas Jubber about his latest book The Fairy Tellers, which unearths the incredible lives of the people behind famous fairy tales. The Fairy Tellers introduces us to seven of the most influential story tellers, including Hans Christian Andersen, Dortchten Wild, Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, and Hanna Dyab, who between them gave us Hansel and Gretel, Beauty And The Beast, The Snow Queen, and Aladdin, to name a few. Who were these people? What’s behin...
We finally land at the feet of the longest story in the entire collection, The Two Brothers. And this one's got it all. Dragons, witches, heroes, villains, damsels - this may well be the fairy tale story you’ve been waiting for! When two brothers are banished from home, they gather a retinue of animal disciples and hit the road. Deciding to go their separate ways, the eldest battles a dragon and wins the heart of a princess. But when a tree-climbing witch turns him to stone, it’s up to the young...
Left alone in heaven, Saint Peter hears a knock at the door; a light-fingered tailor wants in. Against the wishes of the Good Lord, Peter lets the tailor through the pearly gates and into paradise. What will happen when the big chief returns home to find heaven in disorder? And why does everyone love Spanish cavalrymen? Find out in The Tailor In Heaven! We discuss tailors in fairy tales, Odin’s special seat, a Swiss party town, and finally hear another folk tale of crafty tailors cheating their ...
Welcome to our first ever Halloween special! Join us round the fire as we read the famous Russian fairy tale Vasilisa The Beautiful. We then have a full Baba Yaga takeover where we do a deep dive on the intriguing witch of slavic folklore. Creepy pork-eating dolls, evil step mothers, colourful horesmen - things get spooky in the castle with this curious story, a mix of Cinderella and Hansel And Gretel with added Baba Yaga, what’s not to love? Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon grimmreadingpodcas...
Things are going well for a newly married couple until a dog steals a sausage. Before you know it the house is a wreck and some thieves have stolen all their gold. So Frederick and Catherine set out to track down the thieves and mayhem ensues as we enjoy a generous helping of hilarious misunderstandings, before it all ends with a pastor running for his life. After the story, we try to make sense of this bizarre little story, a close cousin of an old Grimm Reading classic Clever Elsie. And finall...
Welcome to series 5 of Grimm Reading! We kick things off with The Valiant Little Tailor, story number 20 in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales. When a little tailor takes down a swarm of flies ruining his jam on toast, he can’t believe his own bravery. His studio is now too small for a man like him, so he embroiders a commemorative girdle and sets off into the world to make his name. Several vanquished giants, dehorned unicorns, pious boars, redundant soldiers and squeezed cheeses later, the tailor is set ...
We tie a bow on the latest series as we reveal the winning and losing Grimm stories from the season. Who gave out the most points? How many 9s did we give? What does it take to become the worst ever story? Discover all in 'Story Stats', where we please everyone by bringing out the spreadsheets and crunching some numbers. After that, we share a piece of 'Bonus Audio' from Little Red Riding Hood - in the main episode we learnt about the development of the story, but what does it mean? Matt shares ...
It’s the series four finale so it’s time for a big bad story - join us round the fire for a rendition of the one, the only, Little Red Riding Hood (aka Little Red Cap)! A young girl heads out from home to her grandmother’s - but en route she meets a wolf in the deep of the woods. After engaging in some polite small talk, the wolf weaves a dastardly plan to capture girl and granny alike. Will it end in delicious victory for the wolf? Or will Little Red Cap emerge triumphant in the end? After the ...
Have you ever been so thirsty you’d risk turning into a tiger? Can you die from an overly hot bath? Is there a dark side of the moon? Discover the answers to all this and more in our latest episode on the Brothers Grimm story Little Brother and Little Sister. When an evil witchy step-mother turns her step-son into a fawn, he and his sister move into a cottage together. But when the fawn boy is chased down by the king's huntsmen, the king decides to marry his sister and it looks like we're due a ...
This time we read the final story from the first volume of the Grimms' fairy tales: The Fox and the Geese. A tale in which our trusty cunning fox may have taken on more than he bargained for... After the story things get mega foxy as we hear two other stories - that's right, two! - where things don't turn up entirely roses for Reynard: "The Hare And The Fox" by Ludwig Bechstein, and "Beasts In A Pit" collected by Alexander Afanasyev. And that's not all! We also take the time to reintroduce Reyna...
This time we read the shocking tale of Frau Trude. A young girl is enamoured with her neighbour Mrs. Trude. But her parents absolutely forbid her to go on a visit. Naturally, the young girl ignores her parents and before long we've got heads literally on fire among other bizarre happenings. Will the girl escape or has curiosity killed the cat? Join us round the fire as we try to decipher this strange, dark little story. Our musings lead us once again face-to-face with Baba Yaga, before settling ...
In this episode, we talk with Dr Jamie Tehrani of Durham University about his research into the origins of fairy tales. In his 2016 paper , co-authored with Sara Graça da Silva, they took phylogenetic modeling techniques - borrowed from the world of evolutionary biology where they're used to trace genetic lineages - and put them to work tracing the origins of folk tales. The results seemed to prove that many fairy tale narratives can indeed be traced back several thousand years. But how exactly ...
Join the king's youngest son on an adventure of a lifetime, as he seeks the mystical golden bird that's been pinching his dad's apples. Helped by a patient, omnipotent fox, the prince gets more than he bargained for when he deceives his way into a princess's bathing house. Will he ever find the golden bird? And will his older brothers' jealously drive them to do the unthinkable? Find out in this week's story: The Golden Bird! Dastardly deception, desperate decapitation, and omnipotent foxes - th...
Twelve hunters, three lovers, and one sexist lion - join us for the Brothers Grimm story The Twelve Huntsmen! A prince and princess are happily engaged. But when the prince’s dying father makes him promise to marry another, the princess is cast aside. Unperturbed, the princess gathers together twelve doppelgangers and gets the team employed as her ex's huntsmen. But when a magical sexist lion threatens to reveal her identity, she finds herself facing two impossible challenges. Will the game be u...
When a king is forced to marry a witch’s daughter, his new bride turns her seven step sons into swans. Now it’s up to their only sister to undo the curse. But when her new husband condemns her to death for baby eating, it looks like all might be lost. In fan favourite The Six Swans, we find magical yarn, star flowers, and a strip tease up a tree (no joke). It’s the final installment in 'The Maiden Who Rescues Her Brothers' trilogy and after reading the story we discuss its place in the trilogy, ...
In Brother Lustig, a discharged soldier is bankrupted by Saint Peter. The two then team up to start a venture bringing the dead back to life. But when Lustig eats an undercooked lamb's heart, St. Peter decides to go his own way. Will this mismatched pair ever make up? And how will St Peter keep Brother Lustig on the straight and narrow? Find out in this epic buddy road caper, filled with haunted castles, undead princesses, and magical knapsacks. After the tale, we try to unpick this piece of mor...
A surprise story this time - the Grimms' version of Beauty And The Beast! Called ‘The Summer And Winter Garden’, join us on a breathtaking journey of kidnapping, heartache, and love against the odds. In the deep of winter, a father’s most beautiful daughter asks him to bring back a rose from his work trip. When he takes a rose belonging to a hideous beast, the monster demands the man’s daughter in marriage - to which he agrees. Can the daughter escape this fate? Or will she perhaps see another s...
It's once more time to the annual Grimm Reading Christmas party! Get cosy round the fire for another dose of festive joy, complete with presents, pies, crackers, alcohol-free mulled wine and more! We get two stories this year. Firstly, a radical choice with the unseasonal story The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen. Soon followed by the decidedly Dickensian tale The Story of a Cat by Mary De Morgan. Merry Christmas everyone! For more festive mayhem, join us over on Grimm Fables fo...
In a village full of rich peasants, one little peasant alone remains destitute. But through a series of cunning and devious tricks, this little guy is going to turn the tables on everyone in quite spectacular fashion. Join us for The Little Peasant by the Brothers Grimm, where we meet a fatally gullible Shepard, a soothsaying squeezable raven and - shocker - a nice miller! After the story we uncover other tales that use similar motifs of trickery, including in works by legendary fairy tale autho...
In The Good Bargain, a peasant loses all his money and possessions to some animals. Angered, he goes to the king for justice. But instead of helping him, the king has other ideas. This 'humorous' tale is the first one we've come across that is anti-Semitic. So, once we've finally deciphered the convoluted story, we then explore antisemitism in the Grimm's collection, putting the Grimm brothers on trial. We also look into how the Nazis co-opted the Grimms to spread propaganda in Nazi Germany. Fin...
In The Three Feathers, an old king tests his three sons to see who will inherit the kingdom after his death. When the youngest brother emerges triumphant - thanks to an overweight toad - the older brothers demand satisfaction, and plot a jump to the death to settle the succession once and for all. Join us on the final adventure of The Simpleton Trilogy, where we find magical turnips, a popcorn-munching monarch, and a secret underground world. After the story we discuss fatalism, pub names, and t...
