Grimm

**Grimms** (Ger. "wrath") are specially gifted humans who possesses incredible powers, such as being able to see the true form of Wesen even when the Wesen don't want them to. For centuries, Grimms have taken it upon themselves to police and hunt the Wesen population and to protect normal humans from the unknown threat around them. As supernaturally-empowered hunters, warriors and arbiters of justice, Grimms are commonly feared among the Wesen world.

## Original Grimm

All Grimms are descendants of the first original Grimm, as the spirit of Marie Kessler revealed to Nick. The first original Grimm's date of birth and death are unknown, but the first original Grimm's conception is unique among all Grimms, as this was the first and only Grimm to not have any heritage or ancestors preceding his or her existence. This is rather noteworthy, as it indicates that a Grimm being conceived in such a circumstance was a truly singular event. Due to the fact that all Grimms stem from this singular bloodline, they carry with them a particular "strength of blood," which connects them all and can even result in the summoning of the spirits of their close ancestors in times of extremely dire need, in which the fate of the world is at stake. ("The End")

## History

The Dēcapitāre (Lat. "one who decapitates") were the earliest known Grimms, active in the first century AD. ("Volcanalis") ("Cold Blooded") ("Trial by Fire") All Grimms were descended from the first ever Grimm, however. ("The End")

During the Fourth Crusade, seven knights in service to the Seven Houses participated in the sack of Constantinople. These knights were needed to keep the Wesen in line that made up the brunt of the Royals' Army. The knights brought back a treasure from Constantinople so powerful that they feared it coming into the possession of their masters. They hid the treasure and created a map in seven parts. ("Bad Teeth")

The knights became the ancestors of what would come to be commonly known by the mid-1810s as *Grimms* (named after the The Brothers Grimm, who, ironically, did not inherit these traits from their ancestors and instead collected and recorded what they believed to be the mythologies of the world) ("The Icy Touch").

Over the next several centuries, the Grimms served as the (usually) freelance police of the Wesen world, dispatching those who could not live in peace with humans (by contrast, the Wesen Council enforced the internal rules of Wesen society). As a general rule, it was the responsibility of the Grimms to hunt down "the bad ones," those aggressive and malicious Wesen who preyed on humans or other Wesen. The majority of Grimms were only exposed to the Wesen community through these malcontents, leading some of them, namely the Endezeichen Grimms, to consider all Wesen abominations that needed to be exterminated.

It appears that Grimms were involved in the Council of Walenstadt in 1521 and the Gesetzbuch Ehrenkodex, or the rules set to prevent Wesen revealing their true form was set up, as there were details chronicled about it in one of the Grimm Diaries and Monroe described the event as "a Grimm event too."

In 1682, Grimms signed the Charter of Wittenberg, an agreement with them and the Royals, to let the Wesen Council deal with Grausen.

The problem of overzealous Grimms likely led to the creation of the Reapers, an order dedicated to eradicating them in a "who watches the watchers?" situation.

At some point the Grimms became aware of the Coins of Zakynthos and their inherent resistance to them; knowledge of the Coins was included in Grimm archives, and individual Grimms were encouraged to seize the Coins and keep them safe.

When Europeans began to colonize the Americas, Grimms were present early on to document and defend against the New World's previously unknown Wesen.

By the 21st century, Grimms were feared almost without exception by the entire Wesen community. In Portland, Oregon, a single Grimm, Nick Burkhardt, became aware of his abilities and has been redefining what the Wesen thought they knew about the Grimms. Additionally, according to Nick's Aunt Marie, Nick is one of the last of the Grimms.

## Nature

Grimms are tasked with policing the creature world, making sure that those who harm humans are stopped. For this reason, many Wesen mistrust or fear them, even having their own set of Wesen fairy tales warning Wesen children about the Grimms. Grimms possess superior fighting skills, good heads for observation, and uncanny instincts for people and their personalities, even besides their ability to sense the supernatural. Police work seems a rather good fit for them, as is law.

In "Cat and Mouse", it is revealed that although most Grimms broke with the Royal Houses centuries ago, Grimms occasionally worked for the Seven Royal Houses and with the Verrat, helping to enforce order among the Wesen. This is another reason why even a sole Grimm can inspire so much fear from Wesen: the prospect of bringing the wrath of a Royal Family upon themselves if they do anything against a possible enforcer.

Within a single family group, not all members of a Grimm's family become Grimms. In some cases, entire generations can pass without any relative showing signs of their abilities, only for several Grimms to emerge in the next generation. As a general rule, females become aware of their abilities earlier than males. The Grimms themselves, or at least the Kessler/Burkhardt branch of the family, did not know why this was. ("Bad Teeth")

Although the majority of the Grimms discussed so far are of European descent, Grimms seem to be found worldwide, as the episode "Tarantella" involves a European Grimm meeting a Japanese doctor with all the abilities of a Grimm on a steamship sailing from Singapore. However, documentation of New World species of Wesen appears to have been conducted by European Grimms. All Grimms are genetically related, no matter how distantly from each other, being the descendants of the original Grimm's bloodline.

Grimms seem to have a preference for decapitation and there are many references to them cutting off their victims' heads. This tactic made them so infamous in ancient Roman times that this led to their original Latin name, Dēcapitāre. This name has since fallen out of fashion and is now only used by traditional Wesen such as Gelumcaedus.

The relationships between Grimms and Wesen varies, as many Wesen fear and cower before Grimms, though more powerful Wesen such as Gelumcaedus fear and respect them and are even willing to challenge them. Blutbaden and Siegbarste are shown to only exhibit hatred toward Grimms, while Wildesheer are the only known Wesen species that intentionally hunt and kill Grimms.

## Powers

Grimms possess an assortment of potent powers; the most commonly used one is their innate ability to see Wesen when they are woged, but only if the Wesen is startled, scared, angered, or stressed, or something else happens that disrupts the Wesen's concentration. They are also able to see woged Wesen in their reflections and on film recordings. ("Three Coins in a Fuchsbau") ("Once We Were Gods") Grimms have absolutely no influence over this ability; it is automatic and constant. According to medical scans of a Grimm's eyes, Grimms have one to two extra cones in their eyes compared to most people, which allows them to see things most people can't, such as Wesen. ("The Last Fight") A potion such as the Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester can cause swelling in the area of the cones, which causes a Grimm to lose their ability to see Wesen.

A woged Wesen can detect a Grimm by looking into their eyes. According to Monroe, they can see an "infinite darkness" in a Grimm's eyes that reflects the Wesen's true nature and is regarded as quite an unsettling sight. Wesen can also see Grimms even if it's just their eyes that are woged, ("Bad Moon Rising") or if another Wesen woges in front of one. ("Danse Macabre") However, modern Grimms can use sunglasses to avoid detection from Wesen via eye contact. ("Synchronicity") Nick mentions that none of his ancestors wrote about this trait, and before he learned the answer, he hypothesized that they can naturally sense when he recognizes them. ("Quill") Having been taught about it by Nick, Trubel avoided eye contact with a woged Nuckelavee in a boxing ring and was successfully undetected. ("The Last Fight") A Grimm's ability to detect Wesen is not limited to sight; Nick has demonstrated the ability to detect the presence of Rosalee Calvert and Andre, despite having been temporarily blinded by the latter. ("Mr. Sandman") Later, he describes a sort of subtle electric tension in his jaw and forehead when there are Wesen nearby. This "sixth sense" alerts the other perceptory senses, in effect amplifying them. ("The Icy Touch")

Due to Grimm's differences in nature, they react differently to Cracher-Mortel spit than other people. The rage stage comes much earlier, and the Cracher-Mortel is unable to control them. They also still possess their Grimm powers, making them very dangerous. Nevertheless, despite being disoriented and confused, they are still calmer and don't just charge at people to attack them like other humans and Wesen under the control of a Cracher-Mortel. ("The Ungrateful Dead") ("PTZD") The psychotropic substance produced from the lips of a Musai also affects Grimms much faster than anyone else. ("Kiss of the Muse")

Though it may not be outwardly noticeable, Grimms possess astonishing superhuman strength, durability, agility, reflexes, speed, and even morphallaxis ("The Chopping Block"). This allows them to go toe to toe with almost any Wesen without difficulty, except Siegbarste, and enables them to survive things that would kill a normal person. Nick was able to take on a Skalenzahne (one of the strongest known Wesen) and defeat it. His aunt, despite dying of cancer and weakened by the drugs, was still able to kill her human attacker, and she showed no fear after seeing Monroe. Grimms' strength can also be measured in the fact they can casually take down Wesen who possess superhuman strength, such as Jagerbars or Klaustreich. They can easily overpower humans to the point where they can lift and throw a fully-grown human male into the air with just one hand, at least when under the influence of Cracher-Mortel toxin ("The Ungrateful Dead"). Grimms' durability is particularly notable; several times, Nick has simply shrugged off blows from creatures with incredible strength. For example, when facing a Schakal, the creature smashed a toaster on his head, but he recovered in seconds. ("Woman in Black") He was even able to escape from a beating with a Siegbarste, with the worst of his injuries being a few bruised ribs.

It has also been shown that the blood of a Grimm can destroy the Wesen part of a Hexenbiest. ("Love Sick") In essence, the Hexenbiest becomes human after this and is no longer a part of the Wesen world. It is currently unknown if this will work on other members of the Wesen world. Furthermore, it cannot work if it has been performed before or if the Hexenbiest has Grimm blood in their veins, as was the case with Juliette and Adalind due to both having had Nick's blood in them, making them immune. ("Bad Luck")

Grimms also possesses greater resistance to arsenic's drug-like effects and are thus able to resist the effect of the Coins of Zakynthos.

Additionally, Grimms seem to have a natural aptitude for armed and unarmed combat, particularly against Wesen. In armed combat, they show a propensity in using ancient and medieval weapons. They also possess incredible observational abilities and keen instincts. There also seems to be some natural aptitude in the Grimm lines of artistic talent and detailing their encounters with Wesen, as there are many detailed pictures and descriptions of Wesen in Aunt Marie's books from other Grimms, and Nick has an aptitude for drawing as well. Additionally, Trubel, even before she knew she was a Grimm, recorded every type of Wesen she had unwittingly encountered in her diary and drew pictures of some of them.

When blinded, Nick's hearing is enhanced to the point of hearing things from a distance, as he was able to hear Rosalee coming and Hank's conversation with Wu on the phone despite being far away. He was also able to hear a fly buzzing on the ceiling, as well as destroy many objects thrown near him while blindfolded with his kanabo when he and Monroe were testing his hearing. ("Mr. Sandman")

A Grimm's powers can be removed by a Hexenbiest who ingests the vapor of a Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester potion, becoming a doppelgänger, usually the romantic partner of the Grimm, and then having sex with the Grimm. Nick's powers were removed by Adalind after he had sex with her because he thought she was Juliette. A Grimm's first warning of the loss of his powers is the inability to see Wesen woge. ("Blond Ambition") A Grimm's powers may be restored if they have sex with the person who the Hexenbiest disguised themselves as in order to take the Grimm's powers away after that person has inhaled a Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester potion to transform themselves into the appearance of the Hexenbiest. Having one's powers restored is a gradual process that involves some discomfort for the Grimm. ("Cry Luison") ("Highway of Tears")

To open the box containing the treasure that the seven keys led to, the blood of a Grimm was required to break the seal. ("Into the Schwarzwald")

## Known Grimms

### Living

* Nick Burkhardt (1982 - ) is an American Grimm. He is a homicide detective in the Portland Police Bureau in Portland, Oregon. He learned from his Aunt Marie in 2011 that as a descendant of the Kessler line, he was the latest in a long line of hunters, the Grimms, who protect mankind from rogue Wesen. ("Pilot") He lost his Grimm powers in "Blond Ambition" and regained them in "Highway of Tears".
* Theresa "Trubel" Rubel (1993 - ) is an uninitiated, but street smart American Grimm. She was originally from New York and had been on the run, constantly fighting off Wesen since a Siegbarste murdered her foster parents. As a result of having no mentor after awakening her powers, she was unaware of her heritage as a Grimm until she met Nick Burkhardt, who then taught her more about the Wesen world. She is a third cousin of Nick's, related through the Kessler line. ("Nobody Knows the Trubel I've Seen") ("My Fair Wesen") ("The End")
* Kelly Schade-Burkhardt (2015 - ) is an American Grimm and the son of Nick Burkhardt. His mother is Adalind Schade, a Hexenbiest, though it is unknown if he has any enhanced abilities due to this genealogy. His conception was not intended, as it was the result of Adalind using Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester to turn herself into Juliette so that she could have sex with Nick and take away his Grimm powers. Kelly did not show any abilities as an infant, Grimm or otherwise, and it should be noted that later in life, he related most closely with his father, whom he wrote about as a young adult in a Grimm diary and his battle with Zerstörer. His weapon of choice as a Grimm is Zerstörer's Staff, which is ultimately what Nick used to kill Zerstörer two decades before. ("Blond Ambition") ("The End")

### Deceased

* **Kelly Burkhardt** (née Kessler) (1960 - 2015) was an American Grimm and Nick's mother, as well as the guardian of the Coins of Zakynthos. Nick believed that she, along with his father, Reed Burkhardt (? - 1994), died in a car accident when Nick was 12. Marie told Nick that his parents had been murdered. Kelly was killed by Kenneth in an ambush. ("Three Coins in a Fuchsbau") ("Woman in Black") ("Bad Teeth") ("Headache") ("Map of the Seven Knights")
* **Marie Kessler** (1958 - 2011) was an American Grimm, Nick's Aunt, and librarian who, along with her sister, Kelly, hunted Wesen since they were teenagers. Prior to her death from cancer, she had become notorious among the Wesen inhabiting the Pacific Northwest. ("Pilot") ("Bad Teeth")
* **Walter Kessler** (1931 - ?) was Kelly and Marie's father, and Nick's grandfather. He became ill and bequeathed 17 trunks of Grimm memorabilia to Kelly and Marie. He taught them about Wesen from the age of 10 to prepare them for what might come, and he took them hunting at the age of 18. ("Bad Teeth") ("Map of the Seven Knights")
* **Mrs. Kessler** was Walter's mother (? - ?). ("Bad Teeth")
* **Hilda** was Walter's maternal grandmother (? - ?). ("Bad Teeth")
* **Rolek Porter** (? - 2014) was an American Grimm who traveled from Pennsylvania with his son, Josh, to bring Nick one of the seven keys alongside his equipment and Grimm diaries before he died. ("The Inheritance")
* **Evan Jones** (? - 1755), Chief Mate of the Doddington merchant vessel, documented an encounter with a Naiad just prior to the vessel's wreckage. ("One Night Stand")
* **Eduardo Grimm** (? - after 1936) was a Spanish Grimm who escaped to Madrid during an invasion by the Verrat. He seems to have held some sympathy for the Verrat's victims and recorded their nature as a warning to future Grimms. ("Cat and Mouse")
* An unnamed probable Grimm (? - 2012) who was beheaded near the Schoonselhof in Antwerp, probably by Reapers, his head was not found. ("Plumed Serpent")
* An unidentified Grimm who was beheaded by Mamoose, Sal Butrell's great uncle, in Copenhagen before becoming a Reaper ("Leave It to Beavers")
* An **unnamed Grimm** (? - ?) who traveled to Cairo, Egypt in 1928 to investigate the deaths of two Egyptian guides of the Royal Geographic Society at an excavation in Karnak. After investigating the mummy of an Anubis, he was able to capture and interrogate an Anubis Prisoner. After successfully interrogating him, he dispatched the Wesen after promising to give the mummy a ceremonial burial. ("Once We Were Gods")
* **Jose Maria Lopez Diego y Grimm** (? - ?) was a Spanish Grimm who encountered a Murciélago in the upper Amazon and invented the Murciélago Matraca to defend himself. ("Happily Ever Aftermath")
* **Hasegawa** (? - ?) was a Japanese doctor and possible Grimm. It is known he "shared...abilities" with a Grimm whom he traveled with on a steamer from Singapore. He passed along a scroll written in Japanese describing his encounters with a Spinnetod. ("Tarantella")
* **Seven Unnamed Knights** (13th Century Grimms) - Ancestors of all modern Grimms. Originally, they worked for the seven Royal Families to help them keep the Wesen in check. They were also on the Fourth Crusade when they sacked and burned Constantinople and hid the treasure that they took from it, along with another mysterious artifact of great power. ("Bad Teeth") One of the knights was captured by the Royals and, under extreme torture, gave up his key and the information surrounding it. ("Endangered") Another one of these Knights Templar was Grigory Wolf of Zollern, Schwarzwald, who is believed to have been the paternal ancestor of the mighty Grimm clan of Nebojsa. ("Map of the Seven Knights")
* An unnamed, probably Spanish Grimm, who was a Conquistador, traveled with Cortez's expedition to South America in 1519 after hearing the stories of La Llorona to try and kill her, only to fail and be killed by her. ("La Llorona")
* An unnamed Grimm, whose native language was German, who was an acquaintance of the French artist Paul Gauguin. On December 24, 1888, Gauguin called his acquaintance to investigate what undue influence on his friend, Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, may have been caused by a prostitute named Rachel that had been van Gogh's muse for some time. The previous evening, Van Gogh had confronted Gauguin with a razor blade and soon after severed his own ear; Gauguin thusly suspected Rachel of being a witch. By January 13, 1889, the Grimm had discovered Rachel to be a Musai (not a Hexenbiest), and the Grimm beheaded her. ("Kiss of the Muse")
* **Jonas** (?-1921) was a Grimm and compatriot of another Grimm, and he was noted to be a powerful warrior. However, when encountering a Matança Zumbido, he was instantly burned to death as they were unaware of the countermeasures necessary to be immune to its shock. Fortunately, his friend was able to discover such a countermeasure later on from the Batisse tribe of Brazil and avenge him. ("Death Do Us Part")
* An unidentified Grimm who, in 1921, traveled with the indigenous Batisse tribe in the Amazon to hunt down a Matança Zumbido. While his fellow Grimm, Jonas, was killed by the Wesen, he was able to discover a countermeasure against the Wesen's electrical attack the Batisse use for electric eels, and was able to avenge his companion. ("Death Do Us Part")
* An unnamed, English Grimm, who, in 1622, discovered several Persian Manticores fighting as soldiers alongside him during the Siege of Ormuz. After failing to dispatch the Wesen since there were too many of them for a successful ambush, he witnessed their tenacity in battle. ("The Good Soldier")
* An unnamed, Roman Grimm, in 79 A.D., investigated Volcanalis' activities in Pompeii, and he was the first Grimm to document the demon. With the help of the high priest of Vulcan, he climbed the volcano and investigated the victims. He then fled with the high priest just before Vesuvius erupted. Back in Rome, he further researched Volcanalis and found that the activities of the inhabitants of Pompeii caused the volcano to erupt. ("Volcanalis")
* **Oswald Rayner** (1888/9 - March 6, 1961) was a British Grimm who worked for the British Secret Service during World War One. He was positioned in Russia and followed Rasputin's attempts to convince the Empress to get Russia out of the war. He was sanctioned by British intelligence to kill him, and he was involved in the conspiracy to kill Rasputin. However, as Rasputin was a Koschie, he was very difficult to kill. Rayner wrote his discoveries and experiences with Koschie in a Grimm diary, but a lot of it was damaged in a fire. ("Red Menace")
* **H. Grimm** (living in 1655) wrote a Grimm diary entry about the the characteristics of Faeteo fatalis after executing of a family of them. ("El Cucuy")
* **Rudyard Kipling** (1865-1936) was an English Grimm, short-story writer, poet, and novelist who wrote an entry in the Grimm diaries about his encounters with Phansigars in India. ("Highway of Tears")
* **Josef Nebojsa** (1919-2015) was a Hungarian Grimm, the last descendent of the long line of Nebojsa, supposedly dating back to Grigory Wolf of Zollern, one of the Seven Knights who sacked Constantinople. He secretly guarded three Keys and spent his time keeping up to date the Grimm family trees, tracking every Grimm's linage, until his own death. ("Map of the Seven Knights")
* **Reginald** was a compatriot of another two Grimms, who hunted Gelumcaedus in Clerkenwell, London just under Farringdon road. He perished in battle when his arms were ripped out of their sockets by a Gelumcaedus. His death inspired the creation of the Vambrace.
* **Giovanni Antonio Vanosino da Varese** (? - ?) was an Italian painter of the 16th century who Monroe speculated was probably a Grimm based upon a fresco he painted on the ceiling of the Sala Bologna in the Vatican Palace of Vatican City in 1575. The painting was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII. Believed to be a depiction of the celestial sky with each constellation represented by mythological pagan creatures, Monroe speculated that these creatures "were actually artistic representations of Wesen from the universe" and that Giovanni may have actually been suggesting Wesen come from other planets. ("The Son Also Rises")

#### Grimm: Dark Legacy

* **Celeste Vincitore** (? - ?) began his quest throughout Europe in the Spanish Kingdom in 1492 to stop a Wesen uprising.

## Endezeichen Grimms

*Main article: Endezeichen Grimm*
Endezeichen Grimms are the worst type of Grimms there are; they are ruthless, xenophobic, and sadistic Grimms, who savagely torture and murder Wesen, not caring if the Wesen in question are good or bad since they believe all Wesen are abominations. They are considered bygone and were supposedly rendered extinct centuries ago.