Season 2, Episode 70: The Real Rapunzel Was a Saint Beheaded by Her Father

Food for Thought Thoughts with Dark Cancer

Season 2, Episode 70: The Real Rapunzel Was a Saint Beheaded by Her Father

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains graphic descriptions of historical torture, beheadings, and mature themes from the original folktales. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

You know the Disney story: a princess with magical hair, a charming thief, and a floating lantern festival. But what if the story of the girl in the tower was inspired by the tragic life of an early Christian saint who was martyred by her own father? In this episode of the "Dark Truth" series, Dark Cancer uncovers the grim history that inspired Rapunzel.

This is a deep dive into the historical and folkloric roots of the famous fairy tale. The host reveals that the story is likely a combination of several older tales, including the brutal story of Saint Barbara and a Persian epic.

This episode explores the shocking original stories, including:

• Saint Barbara: The 3rd-century saint locked in a tower by her pagan father to prevent her from converting to Christianity. When she refused to renounce her faith, he tortured and ultimately beheaded her.
• The Seductive Prince: In the Grimm brothers' original version, the prince doesn't rescue Rapunzel; he visits her nightly, resulting in an unplanned pregnancy that gets them both caught.
• A Punishment for Parsley: The even older version where Rapunzel's mother is forced to give her baby to an ogress as punishment for stealing parsley from her garden.
• The Long Hair Origin: How the iconic hair-climbing scene was likely borrowed from a 1,000-year-old Persian epic.

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