Witch (Babes in the Woods)

"Lizards. Rats. Spiders. Bats. That's what I make of all little brats."

- The Witch to Hansel and Gretel

The Witch is a character from the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. She is depicted as an evil witch who lives in a gingerbread house, which she uses to lure children like Hansel and Gretel and fatten them up so she can eat them afterwards.

The witch featured here has appeared in Babes in the Woods and Once Upon a Time.

Babes in the Woods
Seeing Hansel and Gretel in the forest while flying on her broomstick, the Witch lands on the ground and convinces them to fly with her. The trio fly together on the broomstick until they reach the her Gingerbead house, where she watches the two children eat candy.

She invites the pair inside who come to the realization that she is an evil witch, though it's too late as she has locked them inside. She shows them her pets and tells them that she will transform them into animals too. Hansel and Gretel run away, though get caught in her web, and the Witch decides to turn Hansel into an animal first. She drenches him in a blue potion which causes him to turn into a spider, and after seeing a cat protesting at her behaviour, she grabs a spoonful of potion from her cauldron, and throws it at the chained animal, causing the cat to turn into stone. She then takes a hold of Gretel and decided to turn her into a rat, though, before she can put the potion on her, an arrow hits it. She then put Gretel in a trap door in the floor and decided to chase the dwarves who are throwing arrows at her, though she is outnumbered, and decided to run away. She tries to fly away from her broomstick, but is being chased by the dwarves who were flying on geese and firing arrows, pumpkins and pies at her. They eventually take take a hold of her broom, causing her to fall to the ground, and the children she had transformed into animals place her cauldron where she is about to fall, calling her to splash in and turn to stone. She tries to walk away though she turns into stone before she can. The children stand around her stone body and celebrate.

Eventually the area around her turns into a forest where animals live and is called "The Witch Rock".

Once Upon a Time
The Witch appeared like the Blind Witch from the original fairy tale and was portrayed by Emma Caulfield. At some point, the Blind Witch comes to possess the Evil Queen's Poisoned Apple.

Before the First Curse
The Blind Witch lives in a gingerbread house made completely out of candy deep in the woods. Her house and the treats lure in children, whom she would cook and eat. One day, the Evil Queen bargains with two young children, named Hansel and Gretel, to find their lost father, in return for stealing the poisoned apple from the witch.

However, despite the Queen's warning not to eat anything, Hansel licks some frosting off a cupcake, awaking the witch. She tries to eat Hansel and Gretel but they trick her and lock her in her own oven. The Queen, who was watching the events through her mirror, sends a bolt of fire through the mirror and lights the oven on fire, killing the witch.

After the Third Curse
It was revealed in "Souls of the Departed" that after the Blind Witch was killed, she was living in the Underworld due to unfinished business. She ran the Underworld equivalent to Granny's Diner. When the heroes arrive in the Underworld to search for Hook, Mary Margaret enters the diner. The Blind Witch becomes aware of Mary Margaret's identity as Snow White through her scent and offers her gingerbread and children, though jokes away the children. Mary Margaret asks the Blind Witch if she knows Hook's whereabouts though she replies that she has heard of him but is unaware of his location.

Later she tells Snow White and Prince Charming about the phone booths in the Underworld they can use to contact their son back in Storybrooke. She also collects a breath from Charming, saying the breath of the living sells well in the Underworld's black market.