History Main / GruesomeGrandparent

* ''Literature/{{Dune}}'': [[spoiler: Baron Harkonnen]] turns out to be this to Paul and Alia Atreides, alongside being an ArchnemesisDad to their mother. [[DepravedHomosexual Given his predilections,]] [[LukeYouAreMyFather he was shocked to learn this from the latter]], [[spoiler: who ends up being haunted by his GeneticMemory]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'': Uncle Ruckus' grandmother Nelly first shows up in his life after 50 years as an uninvited houseguest. Being a miserable, hateful old woman, she [[DeathSeeker plans to die]] in his house regardless of his wishes, insulting him all the while. She was [[AbusiveParents no better]] to her son Mister, perpetuating the CycleOfHarm that led to Mister taking his frustrations out on his own sons. She also ends up cutting her other grandson with a switchblade when he tries to stop her from dying on someone else's property.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'': Uncle Ruckus' grandmother Nelly first shows up in his life after 50 years as an uninvited houseguest. Being a miserable, hateful old woman, she [[DeathSeeker plans to die]] in his house regardless of his wishes, insulting him all the while. She was previously an AbusiveParent, treating Mister Ruckus terribly and perpetuating the ChainOfHarm that led to Mister giving a young Uncle Ruckus an abusive childhood. She ends up cutting her other grandson with a switchblade when he tries to stop her from dying on someone else's property.

** Numbuh Two's Grandma Lydia, a [[{{Slapstick}} physically abusive]] JewishMother who leads the supervillain group known as the Senior Citizen Squad. Outside of supervillainy she serves as the matriarch of his family, with her anger issues causing them to see her as TheDreaded.

* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'': Pappy Mcpoyle, the elderly patriarch of the [[IncestIsRelative severely inbred]] Mcpoyle family. Who [[EstablishingCharacterMoment gives us a good idea]] of who he is when he starts [[SuddenlyShouting loudly ranting]] about how his entire family was born "fully-formed" from him and that he was forced to ''[[EatsBabies eat]]'' one of his own to avoid being eaten himself. He doesn't enter gruesome territory until several episodes later when he orders [[spoiler: the bird living under his hat to peck out the prosecutor's eyes at the crescendo of Paddy's Pub's CourtroomAntics.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': Grandfather, the GreaterScopeVillain and father to [[BigBad Father]], turns out to literally be the grandfather of Nigel Uno/Numbuh One; he was the ArchnemesisDad to Numbuh Zero, a.k.a. Nigel's father Monty Uno. For what it's worth, he does seem to be fond of his son (in a WorthyOpponent manner), but has no compunctions trying to turn his grandson into a Senior Citizombie like everyone else.

* ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'': Dr. Hayes, Molly's grandmother, a mutant supremacist who happens to be a geneticist. She spliced her own mutant genes into her biological daughter Alice and her adopted son Gene. In the series, she regains custody of her granddaughter so that she can use Molly's blood to try and create clones of Gene and Alice and thus recreate the family that she lost because of the Pride.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': "[[Recap/SouthParkS16E5Butterballs Butterballs]]" has Butters having to face a bully in the form of his own grandmother. While his own parents [[AbusiveParents are unpleasant]], it's more out of incompetence and being overly strict. Grandma Stotch is simply a [[{{Sadist}} sadistic]] bully [[BitchInSheepsClothing who acts like a kind person when her son is present]], and it's implied [[FreudianExcuse her abuse is what made Butter's dad an asshole in the first place]].

* "Literature/{{Tattercoats}}": The titular character's grandfather refers to his granddaughter as "it", hates her for something that is not her fault, refuses to take care of her and has sworn never to look at her face.

** Gaia ends up allying with Kratos because she wants to get revenge on her grandson(and Kratos' [[ArchnemesisDad father]]) Zeus for locking away the Titans for the sins of just one. She eventually turns on Kratos, her great-grandson.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannie_Doss Nancy Hazel]], a.k.a. the "[[GigglingVillain Giggling Granny]]", was a BlackWidow and SerialKiller who killed four husbands and several of her own family members, including [[OffingTheOffspring two of her children]] and two grandchildren.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'', ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'', ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'', ''ComicBook/WonderWomanOdyssey'', ''ComicBook/{{The Legend of Wonder Woman|2016}}'', ''ComicBook/WonderWomanWarbringer'' and ''ComicBook/SensationComicsFeaturingWonderWoman'' ComicBook/{{Ares|DC}} is Diana's grandfather and one of her most dangerous and consistent foes, though he does occasionally do things that help her out of his twisted care for his family. The violent self-obsessed misogynistic serial rapist Zeus who has tried to rape her before is her great-grandfather in these continuities as he is Ares' abusive father.

* ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'': [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead Palpatine]], [[TheManBehindTheMan the mastermind behind Snoke and the First Order]], [[LukeIAmYourFather is revealed to be Rey's grandfather]][[note]]in the novelization her father was an "imperfect clone" of Palpatine, though that still counts as being her grandfather in a sense[[/note]]. [[OffingTheOffspring He had her parents killed]] and [[BaitTheDog tries to coax her into becoming the new Empress]], but in reality [[GrandTheftMe he merely wants to possess her]] [[CameBackWrong to escape his broken body]]. When he heals himself using her and Kylo Ren's dyad, he dispenses with this plan and just tries to kill her.]]

* ''Literature/{{Dune}}'': [[spoiler: Baron Harkonnen]] turns out to be this to Paul and Alia Atreides, alongside being an ArchnemesisDad to their mother. [[DepravedHomosexual Given his predilections]] [[LukeYouAreMyFather he was shocked to learn this from the latter]], [[spoiler: who ends up being haunted by his GeneticMemory]].

* ''Literature/{{Holes}}'': Charles "Trout" Walker was an abusive asshole to both his children and grandchildren, forcing them to help him dig endlessly for Kate Barlow's treasure in the desert every day of their lives, not even letting them take breaks on Christmas or their birthdays. [[spoiler: This is what wound up turning the Warden (Trout's granddaughter) into the bitter and cynical woman she is in the present day.]]

* ''Literature/JaneOfLanternHill'': Jane's grandmother manipulated her own grown adult daughter into leaving her husband so she and Jane could live with her permanently. The Grandmother is so vindictive and jealous of anyone other than her getting attention from her daughter that she not only controls who her daughter talks to but even emotionally abuses Jane for attempting to receive affection from her own mother.

** She also eventually [[spoiler:forces Cornell execute Uncle Pete, who despite his other crimes was actually kind to Cornell]]. ''Not'' because of [[spoiler:Pete's molestation of Mariah, but because he betrayed her syndicate]].

* [[Series/KirbyBuckets Kirby Buckets]]' Grandma Inga is said to be the only living person who likes Dawn more than Kirby, so she naturally has a similar dynamic to Reese and his grandparents. This changes after Kirby launches his web channel, but this doesn't last long after Kirby is forced to kill off Scrunch Face, who is Inga's favorite character but TheScrappy to most of his fans. Inga then tortures Kirby until he brings back Scrunch Face, but Kirby refuses to give in as doing so would be a betrayal to his fans.

** Lycaon, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent the first werewolf]], butchers a child to trick Zeus into [[IAmAHumanitarian committing cannibalism]]. DependingOnTheWriter the child was his own infant grandson, and in others [[OffingTheOffspring it's his young son]]. Either way [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil it's seen as exceptionally repellent]] and he's cursed to become a werewolf because of it.
** Perseus' grandfather Acrisius locked him up with his mother in a truck and sent them out to sea because he feared Perseus one day overthrowing him. [[YouCantFightFate Fate being]] [[SelfFulfillingProphecy what it is]], this fails and Perseus accidentally kills him with a discus throw.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'': [[AbusiveParents Heihachi Mishima]] isn't just content to [[OffingTheOffspring kill his son Kazuya]], but [[HeroicBastard his illegitimate grandson]].

* In the second book of ''VisualNovel/ItLives'', the main character Harper's grandfather Arthur is extremely harsh and controlling from the start. Then it is revealed [[spoiler:he killed Harper's parents. Then it turns out he was framed and is GoodAllAlong. However, one of the main villains, a terrifying lake monster, is revealed to be Arthur's wife, Harper's grandmother Josephine]].

* ''Website/NotAlwaysWorking'': [[https://notalwaysright.com/taking-both-the-mourning-and-graveyard-shift/ This boss's]] grandmother was clearly not kind to him, as he admits that the last time he saw her, she sicced a pit bull on him and she convinced him that everyone else dislikes their grandparents just as much. This ends up making him look horrible when he yells at a coworker for missing work due to them visiting their grandmother's funeral, unaware that said coworker and their grandmother utterly adored each other.

* In ''Manga/FruitsBasket another'', Akito Soma's mother Ren treats her grandson Shiki about the same as she did Akito in the past, which was abusive.

* ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'' has Dr. Hayes, Molly's grandmother, a mutant supremacist who happens to be a geneticist. She spliced her own mutant genes into her biological daughter Alice and her adopted son Gene. In the series, she regains custody of her granddaughter so that she can use Molly's blood to try and create clones of Gene and Alice and thus recreate the family that she lost because of the Pride.
* ''ComicBook/{{Squee}}'': Squee already has horribly abusive parents to contend with, but his grandfather comes over in one issue with the sole purpose of eating him for his youth.

* In ''Film/AboutLittleRedRidingHood'', the She-Wolf (mother of the wolf from the [[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood original fairytale]]) is disdainful and abusive towards her grandson the Wolf-Cub because the latter is kind and friendly towards humans, wants to learn more about them instead of fighting them, and doesn’t want to avenge his father. When she burns his favourite (and only) book, he [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal snaps]] and instead of merely arguing with her starts actively helping Little Red Riding Hood.

* ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'': The Dollanganger children are kept locked up in their grandparent's attic due to their grandmother, [[EvilMatriarch Olivia Foxworth]] an abusive religious fanatic who believed that their entire existence is an abomination against God. [[spoiler: Because their mom and dad believed that they were only LOOSELY related when they fell in love and eloped, they didn't understand why Olivia and Malcolm outright disowned them for it. But due to the BigScrewedUpFamily dynamics of the Foxworth clan, they were never told the truth that they were actually half-brother and sister.]] She would come up to the attic in order to deliver their food, and ultimately to try to catch them in the act of "sinning" just like their parents had done, leading to often starving and beating them when they would call her out for forcing them to be in such a close and confined space for years.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''

** Eisenmadel's family is a mess. Her great-grandfather was the [[StupidJetpackHitler Nazi Theme Agent]] The Green Knight. While her grandmother, the original Eisenmadel, rejected her father's beliefs and became an anti-Fascist superheroine. Then her mother joins with the branch of the family which clung to [[TheRemnant The Fourth Reich's]] attempts to subvert the US government, with Erica herself joining her grandparents in opposing them

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]

** Ever wondered why Zeus and the rest of the Olympians are [[JerkassGods infamous dicks]]? That's because they have a precedent: [[MotherNature Gaia]], who instigates no less than three rebellions to topple down whoever controls the heavens whenever something bothers her. She helps her children, the Titans, depose her husband, Ouranos, then aids their children, the Olympians, to depose them in turn. She later gives birth to Typhon and the Gigantes, who became the last serious challenge to the Olympians' control over the universe.
* Literature/TheBible: In the ''Literature/BooksOfKings'', after Judah's king Ahaziah is assassinated, his mother Athaliah names herself queen and executes (almost) all his sons. She missed the youngest, which proved to be her downfall.

[[caption-width-right:350:And you thought his parents were bad!]]

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannie_Doss Nancy Hazel]], a.k.a. the "[[GigglingVillain Giggling Granny]]", was a BlackWidow and SerialKiller who killed four husbands and several of her own family members, including [[OffingTheOffspring two of her children]] and [[GruesomeGrandparent two grandchildren]].

** Ever wondered why Zeus and the rest of the Olympians are [[JerkassGods infamous dicks]]? That's because they have a precedent: [[MotherNature Gaia]], who instigates no less than three rebellions to topple down whoever controls the heavens whenever something bothers her. She helps her children, the Titans, depose her husband, Ouranos, then aids their children, the Olympians, to depose them in turn. She later gives birth to Typhon, who becomes the last serious challenge to the Olympians' control over the universe.

* ''Literature/{{Hereditary}}'': Peter and Charlie's grandmother Ellen was very abusive and manipulative to their mother Annie, but when Annie finally gave way and let Ellen "have" Charlie (after not letting her near Peter, who is the eldest), [[spoiler: Ellen used Charlie as a human host for the demon Paimon, and their cult caused Charlie's horrible beheading and drove Peter to suicide so that Charlie could be reborn in Peter's body]]. Whether this is a positive ending for Charlie is left extremely ambiguous, but it definitely isn't for Peter or Annie.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': [[spoiler:[[{{God}} Chuck Shurley]]]], already [[AbusiveParent having questionable parenting skills]] with the archangels, tries to get his {{Nephilim}} grandson [[AntiAntiChrist Jack]] killed for being a threat to his power and eventually [[OffingTheOffspring does the job himself]]. Jack [[BackFromTheDead is eventually brought out of the Empty]] and becomes one of Sam and Dean's main allies [[spoiler:against [[GodIsEvil Chuck]].]]

** Ever wondered why Zeus and the rest of the Olympians are [[JerkassGods infamous dicks]]? That's because they have a precedent: [[MotherEarth Gaia]], who instigates no less than three rebellions to topple down whoever controls the heavens whenever something bothers her. She helps her children, the Titans, depose her husband, Ouranos, then aids their children, the Olympians, to depose them in turn. She later gives birth to Typhon, who becomes the last serious challenge to the Olympians' control over the universe.

* ''Myth/ClassicalMythology'':

* ''Literature/TheBible'':
** In the ''Literature/BooksOfKings'', after Judah's king Ahaziah is assassinated, his mother Athaliah names herself queen and executes (almost) all his sons. She missed the youngest, which proved to be her downfall.

The grandparent being nasty might be what spurs the parent or CoolUncle into BreakingTheCycleOfBadParenting. If there's a BigScrewedUpFamily, expect this type of grandparent to be the start of it.

* In ''About Little Red Riding Hood'', the She-Wolf (mother of the wolf from the [[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood original fairytale]]) is disdainful and abusive towards her grandson the Wolf-Cub because the latter is kind and friendly towards humans, wants to learn more about them instead of fighting them, and doesn’t want to avenge his father. When she burns his favourite (and only) book, he [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal snaps]] and instead of merely arguing with her starts actively helping Little Red Riding Hood.

* In ''About Little Red Riding Hood'', the She-Wolf (mother of the wolf from the [[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood original fairytale) is disdainful and abusive towards her grandson the Wolf-Cub because the latter is kind and friendly towards humans, wants to learn more about them instead of fighting them, and doesn’t want to avenge his father. When she burns his favourite (and only) book, he [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal snaps]] and instead of merely arguing with her starts actively helping Little Red Riding Hood.

** The miniseries ''Scarecrow: Year One'' features a violently [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] grandmother as the biggest influence in Jonathan Crane's childhood. She not only starved and physically beat him at the slightest misbehavior, but trained the local crows to swarm him if she was in a ''really'' bad mood.

* In ''Manga/Fruits Basket another'', Akito Soma's mother Ren treats her grandson Shiki about the same as she did Akito in the past, which was abusive.