Dark Origins – Peter Pan, Lost Boys who are murdered and mermaids who are Sirens.
Posted: August 25, 2021 Filed under: Classics, Dark Fantasy, Dark Origins, Pirate Fantasy, Stories, Writing | Tags: Dark Origins, Folklore, Peter Pan, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Writing to be Read 41 Comments
Most of us know the Disney version of Peter Pan featuring Captain Hook, Mr Smee, Wendy, John, Michael, and the Lost Boys. Oh, and Tinkerbell, of course.
I am not sure how many people have read the original play called Peter Pan or the boy who wouldn’t grow up, written by J.M. Barrie in 1904, but it is a far cry from the innocent tale presented by Walt Disney.
We know from the Disney film that Peter Pan doesn’t want to grow up, but no mention is made of the extreme lengths Peter Pan is prepared to go to fight it.
Consider this extract: “The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two.“
To put it bluntly, Peter Pan kills the lost boys to keep them from aging. While the film presents the view that Peter Pan is seeking eternal youth, he is, in fact, obsessed with death. This characteristic is believed to come from J.M. Barrie’s own childhood experience of losing his brother, David.
According to an article in The Herald, six-year old Jamie Barrie was hugely impacted by the death of his older brother, David, at the age of fourteen. David was said to have died the day before his birthday when he was accidently knocked over by a friend while skating, and fractured his skull on the ice. The article speculates that the ‘friend’ was in fact, young Jamie and that he was rejected by his mother as a result of the accident. You can read more about it here: https://www.heraldscotland.com/default_content/12469608.tragedy-behind-neverland-jm-barrie-cause-brothers-death/
And then there are the mermaids…
In the original Peter Pan story, the mermaids who inhabit Neverland all live in the lagoon. They enjoy the company of Peter Pan but are malevolent to everyone else. The are extraordinarily beautiful and have amazing singing voices, but they are vain and unfriendly.
The mermaids spend their days playing in the rock pools and ocean around Marooners’ Rock and they retire to their coral cave homes beneath the waves at night and during high tide.
The mermaids change when the moon is out and transform into darker creatures. They utter and wail strange calls in the moonlight. Captain Hook is terrified of the mermaids, calling them the ‘loreleis’ and saying that the lagoon is the most treacherous place in Neverland. A lorelei is a siren of Germanic legend whose singing lures Rhine River boatmen to destruction on a reef.
If you are interested in the true story behind Peter Pan and the life of J.M. Barrie, you can read more here: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2014/12/78880/peter-pan-jm-barrie-true-story
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has short stories and poems in several anthologies and has 2 published novels, Through the Nethergate, a historical supernatural fantasy, and A Ghost and His Gold, a historical paranormal novel set in South Africa.
Roberta has 9 children’s books published under the name Robbie Cheadle.
Roberta was educated at the University of South Africa where she achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and a Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. She was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000.
Roberta has worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and has written 7 publications relating to investing in Africa. She has won several awards over her 20-year career in the category of Transactional Support Services.
Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertaEaton17
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5
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Writing to be Read 
Well now, that puts a whole new spin on things, doesn’t it!
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I thought so too, Annette. I must admit, I prefer the Disney version.
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Poor Jamie. Imagine the trauma of accidentally killing your brother then being rejected by your mother. I can’t conceive of the pain he had to live with. I didn’t know the history behind Peter Pan. Thanks for sharing this.
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HI Staci, I didn’t know about the death of JM Barrie’s brother either. It is terribly tragic. I did know about the mermaids and Wendy getting shot with an arrow when she arrives in Netherland.
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Reblogged this on and commented:
I am over at Writing to be Read with another Dark Origins post. This one is about Peter Pan the original of which is nothing like the Disney film. Thanks for hosting me, Kaye Lynne Booth.
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Not a story we would ever let our kids read!
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Probably not, Jacqui. There is probably some or other law against it. Mind you, I always subscribed to ‘if they can read it, and want to read it, then they may read it’. Luckily for me, my mom never knew what I was reading – she was two busy with my two baby sisters [smile!]
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I remember when my son wasn’t a reader (the whole family is, except him in Elementary School). I asked what he WOULD read, got it for him, and he never looked back. So, I agree with you!
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I watched a movie about Barrie’s life. I’m always interested in the stories behind the stories or what motivated the writers to write the stories. Great post, Robbie.
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Hi Miriam, thank you, I am glad you enjoyed this post and dark origin. I didn’t know there was a movie about Barrie’s life. I will look for it.
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I watched it long time ago, Robbie. I can’t remember the name of it.
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That was fascinating, Robbie. I had no clue about any of it, most especially the speculation about Barrie’s fascination with death.
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It is amazing how dark this story is, and the background is so sad. I saw a movie about Barrie but there wasn’t a hint of this darkness talked about.
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Hi Bernadette, I didn’t know Barrie’s personal story before I researched it for this post. A terrible tragedy and I can see it would completely colour a persons life. I am glad you enjoyed this post.
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I’m really enjoying this “Dark Origins” series. Even as a child, I objected to the Disneyfication of literature.
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Hi Liz, I knew the original stories first because TV and movies were very slow coming to South Africa. I read Grimm’s and Anderson when I was quite young so I knew original versions of the stories. I do enjoy Disney, mainly because of the music and songs.
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I was in the third grade when the movie “Mary Poppins” came out. I was outraged at what they’d done with one of my favorite characters!
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I love the original book too, Liz. I also liked the movie though. It is a musical and I just love musicals.
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Well, I was the kid who hated “The Sound of Music,” too . . .
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Well, that is definitely a lot darker. When I watched the television series, Once Upon a Time, it had a darker storyline for Peter Pan than Disney. Very interesting origins here.
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Hi Carla, I am glad it interested you. I did know some of this but I didn’t know JM Barrie’s sad personal history. The death of his brother impacted heavily on his life and his writing.
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I really know nothing about his life, but will do a bit of research to learn more.
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It doesn’t sound like a very pleasant story, Robbie.
How tragic to lose a brother that way. It would be difficult to not obsess over it, especially if you caused it.
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You are right, Norah, and his mother rejected him because the older boy was her favourite. I find mothers having favourites a bit odd, but there you go.
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I find the same. I love both my children. I couldn’t choose a favourite – though each tells me it is them. 😂💖
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You are lucky, both of mine think it is the other so I have a bit of a jealousy problem.
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I don’t think it matters what we do, it’s probably unavoidable. It sounds like yours and mine have similar feelings, they just express them differently.
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that is quite different from the Disney version! and it seems like there are many variations of the lorelei legend…
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Hi Jim, there are many versions of the lorelei legend but most of them involve the mermaids luring people to their deaths and even eating them.
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I think the one I know is about Ulysses…
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Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
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Thank you, Ed.
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Thanks for sharing Ed. 🙂
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That’s so terribly sad about the possible origin of the story, Robbie. The poor kid. Peter Pan killing off the lost boys is a bit ghastly, but wicked mermaids… they’re intriguing, aren’t they?
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Hi Diana, I have to admit that I love dark so wicked mermaids are right up my street. I am just finishing The Shadows we Breath anthology and then I’ll be reading your book. The anthology certainly showcases some beautifully descriptive writing.
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I’m so glad you’re enjoying the anthology, Robbie. It’s the first one that I’ve participated in, which was a new and interesting experience. And I look forward to hearing what you think of my mermaids. Lol. Happy Reading!
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I was aware that the original tale was much darker than Disney’s version, but I had no idea of the exact details until this post. Fascinating piece, Robbie.
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Thank you, Mark. The bit about the murder of the lost boys was new to me too. I didn’t actually pick up on the impart of that sentence when I read the original book. I think I had to much Disney in my mind.
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Impressed how Disney took that darkness and made it the Peter Pan we know today.
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Disney did that will a lot of stories. The original stories of Cinderella and Snow White are much more brutal too.
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[…] source material alone is full of characters and ideas that would translate to a horror […]
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