Rapunzel: A Rewrite

 

Me: Rewrite the story of Rapunzel into a horror story with a bad ending

In a remote tower hidden deep within a haunted forest, there lived a girl named Rapunzel, who had been locked away by a cruel witch since birth. Her golden hair grew unnaturally long, glowing faintly in the moonlight, and the witch used it to climb the tower and keep Rapunzel trapped, siphoning the magic from her hair to extend her own life. Rapunzel, lonely and isolated, stared out of her window each night, longing for escape, though the forest below seemed to whisper warnings of unseen dangers lurking in the shadows.

One fateful evening, a wandering prince stumbled upon the tower, drawn by the eerie glow of her hair. Hearing him call out, Rapunzel, desperate for freedom, let down her golden locks. He climbed up, and upon seeing her beauty, he promised to return and take her away from her prison. For the first time in her life, Rapunzel felt hope. But the witch, ever watchful, soon discovered the prince’s visits, and her fury was beyond words. She waited in silence, plotting her revenge.

The next night, when the prince climbed the tower, he found the room dark and cold. Rapunzel, lying on the floor, whispered weakly, her golden hair now cut short and lifeless. The witch had cursed her, draining her of the magic that had kept her alive. As the prince rushed to her side, he heard the door creak behind him. The witch stepped out from the shadows, her eyes blazing with dark power. “You thought you could steal her away?” she hissed, her voice dripping with malice.

Before the prince could react, the witch cast a spell that caused the tower to tremble and the walls to close in. The room began to warp, and the prince’s body twisted, his bones cracking and reshaping grotesquely. The witch transformed him into a monstrous creature, his limbs elongating unnaturally, his face contorting into a hideous, wolf-like snarl. "Now you can stay together," she sneered, "forever."

Rapunzel, too weak to move, watched in horror as the prince, now trapped in the form of a twisted beast, let out a howl of agony. She reached out to him, but her body was already fading, her life force draining with every breath. As the witch vanished, leaving them to their doom, the tower began to crumble. The forest below seemed to come alive, vines creeping up to claim the collapsing stones.

In the end, the tower fell silent, swallowed by the cursed woods. No one ever found the remains of Rapunzel or the prince, but on stormy nights, travelers say they hear strange howls echoing from deep within the forest, and some swear they see a shadowy figure at the top of the broken tower, her golden hair flickering faintly in the darkness, forever waiting for a rescue that will never come.