Bluebeard is a French literary folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published in Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé (1867). His story concerns a wealthy nobleman who desires marriage with one of his neighbour's two daughters, neither of whom is is interested in marrying the nobleman, despite his wealth. The main disincentive, apart from his ugly blue beard, is that all his previous wives have disappeared. Eventually one of the sisters is convinced to marry Bluebeard, but things go dangerously wrong when she defies his command to not open a secret closet. After discovering the headless bodies of his previous wives, she attempts to cover up her actions, but realises too late that the key to the closet is enchanted and cannot be cleaned of the blood that now stains it. When Bluebeard finds out that his new wife has disobeyed him, he becomes violently angry and swears that she shall now join his previous wives. However, just as he is about to cut off her head, the door bursts open and she is saved by her two brothers, who put Bluebeard to the sword instead. Perrault's story may have been derived from one or several legends about nobleman serial killers, dating back as far as the sixth century.
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