Greetings, fairy tale lovers!

Some of you might be asking themselves how fairy tales and Halloween might fit together. Halloween is all about creepy creatures and haunted houses, whereas fairy tales feature princes on white horses, dazzling balls, magic and happily ever afters.

That might be true if you look at the colourful Disney movies, but if you dig a little deeper and read the original tales some of these child-friendly movies are based on, you'll discover a world full of mutilation, murder, rape, and incest, among other dark, dark things.

Take for example the French tale of Bluebeard.

It tells the story of a woman, who marries a wealthy nobleman. But people are terrified of him, not only because of his peculiar blue beard, but more so because of the fact that his former wives have all mysteriously vanished. 

When Bluebeard leaves for the country, he gives his wife the keys of the castle, but forbids her from entering a specific room. But her curiosity to see what is inside the forbidden room gets the better of her and she does it anyway, only to discover the bodies of all her husband's former wives, murdered and hanging from the ceiling on hooks. 

Horrified, she tries to hide the keys, which she dropped in a puddle of blood, but Bluebeard finds out and tries to kill her for disobeying and uncovering his secret. She is only saved when her sister manages to alert their brothers, who save her and kill the cruel nobleman.

Pretty creepy, right?

In honour of Halloween, we have a spooky writing prompt for you, inspired by the Bluebeard tale: 

You were still little when your family arranged your future marriage to a wealthy lord. The time to finally meet him comes and he's everything you had hoped for, and more. He's handsome, well-mannered, soft-spoken.

But things start to take a turn once you arrive at his estate to live with him. Dark hallways, closed doors, and disturbing noises coming from the attic are only the beginning. On Hallows Eve of all nights, a little golden key reveals a dark secret and the man of your dreams soon turns into your worst nightmare.

Tell us the story in 2000 words or less. Make sure to use your creativity on this one to present us a twist and give us a good scare!

Submit your entry using this FORM/CLOSED. 

Feel free to also share a link to your story in the comment section below so others can check it out.

Don't feel like writing? Up for a little hunt instead? Below, you will find a hint. All you need to do, is peruse the _Once_Upon profile and the reading lists on there until you find the story we're looking for here.

As if losing her mother as a child wasn't bad enough already, the main character of this story is accused of the same crime that got her mother killed - witchcraft.

Submit your answer through this FORM/CLOSED. 

Please, do not post your answer in the comments as not to ruin the game for others.

Now, because we love all fairy tales and talking about them, we're curious to know, do you have a favourite dark fairy tale? Or a favorite dark version of a Disney classic, something that involves witches preying on children or girls chopping off their toes?

Let us know in the comments below!