“Nightmares & Fairy Tales 2” is the title of the new book by award-winning Antonis Toumanidis published by Anubis publications.
After the success of the first book in the “Nightmares & Fairy Tales” series and shortly before we see his award-winning screenplay (based on his book “The True Story of Pinocchio”) premiere in Hollywood, Antonis Toumanidis returns with the brand new “Nightmares & Fairy Tales 2”.
Another journey to the darker side of fairy tales begins! Why the sequel to ‘Once Upon a Time’ might not be what you think…
And this book was the occasion and the reason to talk regarding Antonis Toumanidis, where nightmares meet fairy tales, discussing dark stories, regarding traditional fairy tales and the violent stories they hid, the alteration they suffered during the years, their place in literature and cinema and much more.
How far is a fairy tale from a nightmare?
Not at all. They walk hand in hand. Like joy with sorrow. These are two brothers who, although they come from the same mother, are completely different, but with common references. We are the ones who decide which of the two brothers we will go with.
What are the darkest and most violent stories hidden in early versions of traditional fairy tales, such as those of the Brothers Grimm?
Fairy tales in the Middle Ages and up to the 19th century had a completely different content. They were dark stories that prepared children for adulthood – in which evil might sometimes win, as it often does – and, at the same time, entertained adults in the evenings. The first edition of the first volume of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales – “Kinder- und Hausmärchen”, 1812 – presented the 86 tales included in their aforementioned dark version.
How has censorship and the embellished presentation of fairy tales altered their original messages and themes?
Changes and modifications were made in later editions of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. The stories mutated and acquired a more “innocent” content. This trend became the norm in the 20th century. Evil almost never wins and their new form is more utopian.
What is the place of dark fairy tales, such as those of Tim Burton or the Brothers Grimm, in modern literature and cinema?
Internationally leading. Fairy tales are one of those literary genres that never die. They are evolving, renewing themselves and in recent years have returned to their original form. In addition, they found a new home, beyond the book, in the cinema, which embraced them with special warmth.
Today, do you think that each of us is living in a fairy tale or a nightmare?
In “Nightmares & Fairy Tales 2” I describe a dystopia where imagination and by extension creativity is forbidden – fairy tales have no place in such a society. And the rulers take such a decision for the good of humanity. Today, we live in something that resembles a fairy tale but is not. It is a well-disguised nightmare that carefully paves the way for a future dystopia.
Why aren’t as many fairy tales, dark or not, written today as they used to be?
Because we believed that by exorcising evil from fairy tales we would also exorcise it from our lives. But, it turned out that this is not the case. Evil sometimes triumphs. We chased the witch out of the candy house. We taught our children “And they lived well and we lived better”. Now let’s try to explain to the children that the path of life is difficult. Let’s do it before it’s too late.
What is your favorite fairy tale and hero and why?
Rubelstiltskin! It was first recorded by the Grimms in 1812. It is the story of an elf who turned straw into gold, but asked for a newborn baby in return. I was always impressed by the elf’s audacity and unbridled pride.
Why did you decide to go into horror and fantasy literature? What is their charm?
Horror and fantasy literature differ from other genres, primarily, in the fact that they remove every limit and every limitation. There are no space-time commitments, the upheavals follow one another and do not compromise with “and they lived well and we lived better”. In addition, horror literature goes a step further than fantasy literature, refusing to respect any “rules” either morphologically or in terms of content. Horror literature doesn’t always seem to respect its reader but it’s the exact opposite since it’s completely honest with it and that’s its charm.
Clive Barker’s book “Hellraiser” (“The Hellbound Heart”) is one of the rare cases of literary parthenogenesis because on its pages Pinhead was “born”. This great creator managed to answer the following question: what would happen if the fairy tale and the nightmare were united? What would result is a hell’s angel. Yes, fairy tales are a dream for some and a nightmare for others. Sometimes it can be both.
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In the book “Nightmares & Tales 2”, we are transported to present-day New York, where Aladdin tries to escape from his tragic past. Snow White kills herself and Queen Alice is led, in chains, to the guillotine. On the 13th floor of an apartment building, an old woman feeds small children. A detective discovers that a piece of wood, which will later be carved into a famous puppet, hides an ancient secret. In a medieval town, four children play the “slaughter game”. A frog tries to become a princess’s husband and a man faces his only fear. And all this while an apple stubbornly refuses to fall from the branch of a tree…
Antonis Toumanidis invites us once once more to dive into his dark fairytale world and travel from the Far East to France, from Italy to the frozen European north and from America – with its urban legends – to Greece.
Fairy tales are back and always will be! Because they appeal to everyone. And it is proof of the eternal victory of imagination over reality.
As he says: “Once a storyteller, always a storyteller.” There is no greater honor than to be considered a storyteller – for adults – and to see people share in the magic as readers and fellow travelers.”
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