![]() ![]() There’s research behind why horror stories are appealing, and when it comes to ways in which “The Green Ribbon” has clawed its way into our collective memories might have to do with what it says about our culture. The repulsion, the disgust, and the sheer terror of the idea that someone’s head is being held on by but a ribbon scratched a particular itch for the unimaginable. ![]() For some, it was a turnoff to horror and for others, the very thing that made horror so appealing. It’s likely that many of us who heard the story and were frightened by it early on held onto those very memories of fear. “The Green Ribbon” is the kind of story which becomes an archetype in our collective imagination. Alexander Dumas told a version of the story with “The Woman With the Velvet Necklace,” and years later, Washington Irving told it as “ The Adventure of a German Student.” Scholars note that many readers might be familiar with Dumas’s title attached to Irving’s version of the story, as it was anthologized with both over time.Ĭhildren’s author Ann McGovern told the story in a 1970 ghost story collection, Ghostly Fun, titling it “The Velvet Ribbon.” In 1977, Judith Bauer Stamper included a take on the tale, also called “The Velvet Ribbon,” in her children’s collection Tales for the Midnight Hour. ![]() Some origins date it back to the French Revolution, though there’s no question the story has been around in oral tradition since at least the 1800s. Schwartz was influenced by classic horror stories, as well as urban legends, so it’s not a surprise that “The Girl with the Green Ribbon” has a long history. She invites Alfred to untie the ribbon and immediately, her head falls off her neck and rolls to the ground. When she’s finally on her deathbed, Jenny reveals the secret of the green ribbon. The couple eventually marries and Alfred never once sees Jenny without the ribbon around her neck. Jenny always wears a green ribbon around her neck, and every time Alfred inquires about it, she tells him that she will let him know when the day is right. In it, we get a love story between Jenny and Alfred. “The Girl with the Green Ribbon” is a title many cite as a story which has never, ever left them. ![]()
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