A woman dressed as a mermaid
A woman dressed as a mermaid swims in a tank during “Spirits of Tampa,” an event held for participants of the Republican National Convention at the Florida Aquarium Reuters/Eric Thayer

A lot of people today are proud to have grown up watching Disney movies and their happy endings. However, the original books are quite different from what you might have seen in the cartoons.

Here are some Disney tales that actually have horrific origins.

1. Pinocchio

In the original story, Pinocchio threw a hammer at the cricket and killed it. The wooden marionette also went through a lot of abuse, almost getting burned as fire wood, being hung from a tree by the cat whose paw he bit off and being suffocated to death. The editors did not like the gory ending of the first tale so they added a second part, which ultimately had Pinocchio drown and his flesh eaten away by fish. He gets swallowed by a giant shark and cared for Gepetto in the fish's stomach, after which he was rewarded and turned into a real boy.

2. The Little Mermaid

According to Listverse.com, the little mermaid had to live in pain after her tongue was cut out and her feet bled endlessly. She had a choice of either killing the prince and becoming a mermaid again or committing suicide in the ocean. The prince ended up marrying another woman and the little mermaid decided to end her life by throwing herself in the ocean.

3. Snow White

The version of the Brothers Grimm, the hunter who could not kill Snow White brought back a boar's heart and liver for the evil queen instead, which the latter ate, believing these to be Snow White's. She was not awakened by true love's kiss but after her carriers tripped while carrying her, causing the poisoned apple to come out from her throat. During Snow White's marriage with the prince, the evil queen was invited but forced to wear burning-hot iron shoes. The queen was forced to dance in these torturous devices until she died, in a report by Huffington Post.

4. Cinderella

The original book featured one of Cinderella's evil stepsisters cutting her toes off so she can fit into the glass slipper. The prince realized that Cinderella was the real owner after he was alerted by doves that there was blood on the shoe. When the stepsisters tried to win back Cinderella's favor at her wedding, they were punished instead by having their eyes pecked out by birds.

5. The Fox and the Hound

One of the dogs in the original story died after chasing the fox unsuccessfully and getting hit by a train. The fox also died of exhaustion from the relentless chasing. Copper, the hound, became very old in the original story and had to be shot in the end.