Fairy Tales

Piper with her family's Fairy Tale book, open on the Snow White story.

"They're real. At least they used to be."

—Penny Halliwell on fairy tales

Fairy Tales or Fairytales are historical recounts of ancient battles between Good and Evil, often believed to be fables by today's neophyte witches, and are a part of every magical being's magical heritage. Every copy is a manifestation of the original, which is entrusted to a keeper and his apprentice for safekeeping. These copies are made to teach children the values of good and evil. If evil succeeds in using fairy tale magic for dark purposes, the fairy tales will be rewritten, effectively changing the stories already in print in the process.

The Keeper of Fairy Tales

The hidden fortress where the Keeper and his apprentice guard over all fairy tales.

Along with his apprentice, the Keeper of Fairy Tales is responsible for preserving, guarding, and protecting all fairy tale artifacts. Each of these artifacts contains powerful magic, which is why they are kept safe from the forces of evil. Should they fall into the wrong hands, they could change the meaning of fairy tales, shifting them away from good. This would cause the corruption of future generations to be made easy for all sorts of evil.

The Keeper and his apprentice live in a hidden fortress to protect all fairytales. The location has even been kept secret from the Elders to ensure its safety. The only known way to access the fortress is through a portal. Such portals can be created when wearing a fairy tale character's attire, such as the Red Cloak from Little Red Riding Hood and touching a story belonging to the respective character in a book.

List of Fairy Tales mentioned in the series

"The power of every fairy tale emanates from each of these. Their magic continues to shape every child born, even to this day, which makes the task of preserving and protecting them much greater."

—The Keeper to his apprentice.

• Aladdin
• Alice in Wonderland
• Beauty and the Beast
• Cinderella
• Frog Prince
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Hansel and Gretel
• Iron Henry
• Jack and the Giant Beanstalk
• The Little Mermaid
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Midas
• Peter Pan
• Pinocchio
• Rapunzel
• Robin Hood
• Rumpelstiltskin
• Sleeping Beauty
• Snow Queen
• Snow White
• The Wizard of Oz

Fairy Tale Artifacts

Cinderella's glass slippers

• Fairy Tale Book
• Poisoned Apple (Snow White)
• Magic Mirror (Snow White)
• The Woodsman's Ax (Snow White)
• Ruby Slippers (The Wizard of Oz)
• Glass Slippers (Cinderella)
• Pumpkin Carriage (Cinderella)
• Red Cloak (Little Red Riding Hood)
• Genie Lamp (Aladdin)
• Pestle & Mortar (Baba Yaga)
• Spinning Wheel (Sleeping Beauty)
• Enchanted Rose (Beauty and the Beast)
• Harp (Jack and the Giant Beanstalk)
• Nutcracker (The Nutcracker)

Other artifacts include

• Chinese Lanterns
• Swords
• Golden Statue
• Medieval Chair
• Golden Eggs
• Lantern

Notes and Trivia

• Paige Matthews remembers her past life as the Evil Enchantress as a fairy tale since childhood. This would later convince her that fairy tales were based on real events.
• The season 5 episodes "A Witch's Tail, Part 1" and "Part 2" essentially adapt the plot of the Disney cartoon "The Little Mermaid". In the same episodes, Phoebe turns into a mermaid.
• Though Excalibur belonged to Arthurian legends, it was never acquired as a relic for the fairy tales. The same is true with the Magic Carpet, which appears in the fairy tales of many cultures, including in the Disney cartoon "Aladdin".
• Phoebe once compared the Whitelighters' attitude to witches as something similar to "Peter Pan has Tinkerbell." Also, Phoebe and Piper once made a reference to Pinocchio.
• Two demons named Paul Haas and Black Heart use the idea of Alice in Wonderland to lure innocent teens into a world of illusion in order to draw the Charmed Ones out of hiding.
• On Twitter, Paul Ruditis called Neena the Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.