Grimm Reading

After three stories of carnage and mayhem, has the fox finally met his match? In the final episode of The Fox Quadrilogy the fox boasts to a friendly cat of his skills, but perhaps the cat knows something the fox doesn't. An Greek proverb unlocks the key message behind the entire Quadrilogy, sending us on a journey from medieval France to ancient India. And we pick the next four stories we'll be r...

In this episode our old friend Thumbling is back with more wacky adventures! In Thumbling as Journeyman (AKA Thumbling’s Travels) our hero joins a gang of thieves on a heist job before trying his luck as a barman. After the story, we deep-dive into the fascinating world of different thumbling stories, exploring the mysterious roots of this tale type from Tom Thumb in the UK to The Inch-High Samura...

Tricked by a lying goat, a tailor kicks out his three sons. After acquiring magical gifts, they head back home to their father, but a dastardly inn-keeper has other plans… In "The Wishing-table, The Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack" we meet a table with no appearance, a gold-depositing donkey, and a time-keeping cudgel. The story then leads us to investigate a potentially out of business Londo...

Welcome to a special episode where we reveal the winner of our book competition and read out some of our listener’s messages and votes. Afterwards, we treat ourselves to one of the “hands down freakiest” of the Brothers Grimm tales: The Strange Feast. This leads us on nicely to exploring why the brothers erased many of their stories and uncovering the history behind the deleted tales. And finally,...

Three unlikely kitchen survivors set off on an adventure. But will they overcome their first challenge, a very small stream? In 'The Straw, The Coal And The Bean' we learn why you shouldn’t mock the misfortune of others and uncover the truth behind that biggest of mysteries - how beans got a black seam. The competition is now closed! Thanks to everyone who entered and sent us such lovely messages,...

It’s a double whammy of foxy fun as we read parts two and three of The Fox Quadrilogy: The Wolf And The Man & The Wolf And The Fox. 

Afterwards, we delve into the spicy world of the Kitsune: the shapeshifting nine-tailed fox of Japanese folklore. 

Join us by the fire as we try to answer The Riddle of the Sphinx, finally discover what a cudgel is, and Adam chooses the next four stories we’ll...

On an adventure with his brothers, an insignificant dwarf rescues some animals before stumbling upon a mysterious castle. In return, they help him unlock the bedroom door of identical triplet princesses. But will he pass the three deadly challenges and deliver the castle from enchantment? In ‘The Queen Bee’ we meet a rampaging unicorn, hear how a Greek man became a lion’s pet, and we learn why kin...

Witches and breadcrumbs, giant ducks and gingerbread houses. This week we explore one of the most famous fairy tales of all time: Hansel and Gretel. After our surprise Christmas episode, we thought why stop the fun there? We're kicking off 2019 with a bona fide classic! We discover how this story was used in a U.S supreme court ruling, learn how it all started with a terrible famine, and we dissec...

Join us at Castle Grimm for our first ever Grimm Reading Christmas party! In this special festive episode we indulge in some yuletide treats including port, mince pies, and maybe even the odd Christmas fairy tale... Thank you so much to everyone who's been listening to us, sending messages and writing kind reviews. We hope you enjoy this special episode! Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodc...

A tale of familial betrayal, divine justice and rampaging boars. Thanks to a magical horn, a body has been discovered under the bridge (downtown), but what is the story behind this tragedy? And how will the truth ever come to light? ’The Singing Bone’ sees a forensic team, led by a maverick King, uncover the truth behind a brutal murder. In this episode, the haunting, powerful story of justice and...

Viking vampires, Cretan honey murderers and dyscalculic snakes - yes, Grimm Reading is back! War, death and infidelity feature in a rollercoaster of an adventure this week, as a young hero fights for his life (and his wife) with the help of magical foliage in ‘The Three Snake-Leaves.’   We go deep into the history of this story type and have a few addendums to confess to as well. This leads us nic...

A magical gift destroys a family, but perhaps out of the ashes something beautiful will bloom.  In this week's episode we read 'The Pink': a tale of deception, love, justice, health and safety breaches and fire-breathing poodles.  There's also an extra special treat in the form of 'The Myrtle', a related story by the titanic Neapolitan fairy tale writer Giambattista Basile. Seduction, murder and h...

  A kindly wolf invites cousin fox to be her child’s godfather to teach it some valuable foxy skills. But the dastardly fox has other intentions and leads the wolf through the worst day of her life…   In part 3 of The Fox Quadrilogy - the epic story of the rise and fall of the Reynard the fox- discover how peasants wash and why you should never get a barn and stable confused.    We reflect on some...

Sneakily gorging on some delectable white snake gives one servant extraordinary powers and sets him on the journey of a lifetime. With the help of new faunistic friends, the servant tackles a series of perilous challenges to win the heart of a fair princess. We hunt down other stories featuring white snakes in Europe to try to discover what it all means and why everyone is chowing down on yummy al...

Shakespeare, Dickens, cannabalistic serial killers and talking birds all make an appearance in this week's twisted episode 'The Robber Bridegroom' as voted for by our wonderful listeners! Yet another miller has promised his daughter away to a mysterious, handsome suitor. But our bride is filled with horror at the thought of him and only after much cajoling does she reluctantly agrees to visit his...

A triple whammy of Grimm fun this week as we reveal the results of our listener poll, dip our toes in the academic world of folklore and perhaps even read a couple of stories... You've been voting and we've been counting; It's been a head to head between Elves & the Shoemaker, Rapunzel and The Robber Bridegroom - but which will emege victorious? After revealing the results, we then dive into t...

Three poor brothers hit the forest to seek their fortune, but can earthly riches mend a broken heart?   A magical wishing cloth gives one brother the power to offer a selection of meats which help him rob his way to power and world domination. But his ascension is threatened when a beautiful, brave and judgemental Princess discovers his secret.    We go on an adventure filled with magic, war, love...

An unusual choice for Godfather changes the fate of one man's life forever, or does it? Things get fatalistic, subversive and skeletal in this week's episode: 'Godfather Death'. We explore the meaning of the story, alternative versions, folk medicine recipies and briefly examine the history of the personification of death in western culture. And of course we finally meet Death himself, the latest...

“If I could but shudder!” With nothing more than his good looks and a fifty dollar donation, a banished youth goes on an adventure to learn the art of fear in ‘The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was'. Facing demonic cats, maniacal old men and an evening of bowling with skeletons, can our hero survive three nights in a haunted castle and win the princess? We explore what it me...

This week on Grimm Reading we read, review and explore one of the best known Brothers Grimm stories: Rumpelstiltskin.   Yet another miller has accidentally promised his daughter away. This time to a greedy king who mistakenly believes she can spin straw into gold. Can our maiden find a way to achieve the impossible? And will... Ah, you know the story.   We explore the origins of the famous little...

Eat, sleep or work? A simple deliberation leaves Elsie in the throes of a physco-philosophical breakdown on this week's episode 'Clever Elsie'. Hans needs a wife and goes a-wooing, but there's one condition - she's got to be clever. Will Elsie be enough? And just what exactly is a fowler's net? On Grimm Reading this week, we learn all this and more as we explore one of the least known tales and di...

In 'Cat and Mouse in Partnership', sheer force of love sees a cat and mouse overcome their natural differences and set up house together. But winter is coming, and the mouse is growing suspicious at the unreasonable amount of christening invitations the cat's receiving... In this story, learn why all people are innately greedy, selfish and just nasty. Or perhaps maybe it's just a few cats. We also...

In this week’s tale 'The Louse and the Flea’ we’ve unexpectedly unearthed the most intense story on Grimm Reading so far. BFFs little Louse and little Flea are happily living together making artisanal craft ale in egg shells when tragedy strikes. Things escalate quickly as the neighbours hear of their terrible misfortune. Buckle up and prepare for a wild ride as we learn the principles of chaos th...

This week on Grimm Reading we meet Germany's finest animal supergroup: 'The Bremen Town Musicians'. Fearing for his life, a lute playing donkey escapes his owner and hits the road to Bremen. On route he forms a band with a hound, a cat and a cock, and plans for a string of tour dates begin to form. Getting closer to Bremen they spy a cottage and head over to investigate. But little do our musician...

This week on Grimm Reading we meet our first Big Bad Wolf in 'The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids'. A mother goat inexplicably leaves her seven kids all alone at home. Can her peculiarly specific survival advice keep the wolf from the door, literally? Find out what bakers get up to with left over dough, an unexpected use for chalk and learn why miller's are so cowardly.  We also discuss the similar...