This etching is the tenth illustration from ‘The boy who left home to learn fear’ tale, and shows the boy in the haunted castle where he must spend three nights in order to win the princess’s hand in marriage. Hockney said, “That figure, the hat, and the hands, and everything - is from a still from a horror film”, this is believed to be the 1927 classic ‘London after Midnight’ directed by Tod Browning.

This is one of 39 etchings that Hockney created for the series 'Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm'. Hockney selected six stories for the series, from the 220 by the Brothers Grimm, which he'd delighted in since childhood: 'The Little Sea Hare', 'Fundevogel', 'Rapunzel', 'The Boy who left Home to learn Fear', 'Old Rinkrank' and 'Rumpelstilzchen'. Hockney stated, "They're fascinating, the little stories, told in a very very simple, direct, straightforward language and style, it was this simplicity that attracted me. They cover quite a strange range of experience, from the magical to the moral."