Witch (Hansel and Gretel 2008)

The Witch is the main villain of the 2008 book Hansel and Gretel by Michael Morpurgo.
==History==
The witch is introduced as a hag with skin like bark, a nose like a crab claw, and glowing red eyes.  Hoping to obtain youth and beauty, she turns herself into a magpie and knocks on the windowpane of the cottage of Hansel and Gretel.  She falls in love with their father, Gabriel, and develops a hatred for their mother, Lisette, hoping to get rid of her and take everything she has.
When Hansel, Gretel, and Lisette go to the river to do some washing, the witch changes her appearance to be beautiful, turns Lisette into a tree, and throws herself into the river.  This brings Gabriel, Hansel, and Gretel running, whereupon she tells them that Lisette has drowned.  Gabriel, Hansel, and Gretel take the witch to their cottage.
After telling them her name is Belladonna, she is given Lisette's old clothes and given soup.  After a year, Gabriel is so enchanted that he asks her to marry him.  Afterwards, Belladonna declares herself mistress of the house.  Much to her anger, however, she hears that Hansel and Gretel have already taken a disliking to her.  Her anger only grows when she hears that they do not see her as their mother.
She tries to convince everyone to forget about Lisette, but is unsuccessful.  After discovering they are spending more time with Gabriel than with her, she decides to get rid of Hansel and Gretel.  She curses the land with a famine, leaving the family in a wretched state.  She tells Gabriel to take the kids into the forest and leave them there.  Gabriel, whose love for her is beginning to wane, manages to save the kids by having them drop stones on the path to guide them back home.
Belladonna's temper only worsens when the kids start ignoring her completely.  She guilt trips Gabriel into taking the kids deeper into the forest.  Unfortunately, the river is rising high and the stones are now covered by floodwater, so Gabriel cannot repeat his strategy.  He tries to improvise by giving the kids bread, but Belladonna turns into a magpie and eats all of the crumbs.  She then goes home before Gabriel and asks him if he did as she asked.  When he says yes, Belladonna claims she is feeling better.
Gabriel goes to the willow to pray for his kids' safety, but Belladonna overhears him, turns him into a stone, and decides to get rid of the kids herself.  She turns into a magpie and tells them that she knows of a place where they can find all they can eat and drink.  She leads them to a river and then to a cottage made of candy.  She flies down the chimney, changes into a friendly old lady, and invites the kids in.  She gives them a good meal and then tucks them in bed.
In the morning, however, she assumes her true form, locks Hansel in a cage, and wakes Gretel up.  The witch reveals her plans to fatten Hansel and Gretel up and eat them, and threatens to turn Gretel into a rabbit and feed her to her pet wolf if Gretel tries to escape.  However, Gretel feeds Hansel only enough to stay alive.  She feeds the rest of the food to the wolf, earning its friendship.  Because of her poor eyesight, the only way the witch can tell if Hansel is getting fat is by feeling his body, but Hansel tricks her by holding out a chicken bone.
Eventually, the witch decided to eat Hansel as he is.  She makes Gretel light a fire and turn on the stove.  When told to light it, Gretel pretends to be unable to reach the stove.  The witch gets angry and goes to light it herself, only to be pushed in by Gretel and burnt to a crisp, resulting in all of her magic being undone.
==Trivia==
*In the more traditional version of the tale, the stepmother and the witch are typically two different characters.  The stepmother appears much sooner and bars the door so Hansel can get no stones.  Additionally, by the end of the story, she has usually either died or left the family.
*Several of the misfortunes in the more traditional tale (the famine, and the birds wating the crumbs) are explicitly shown to be the witch's doing in this version, making her more evil than usual.
*It's never made clear if Belladonna is her actual name.
Category:2000s
Category:Adaptational Evil Boost
Category:Ambitious
Category:Attempted Murder
Category:Book Villainess
Category:Brunette
Category:Callous
Category:Cannibal
Category:Child Defeats Villainess
Category:Devious
Category:Domestic Abuser
Category:Eternal Youth
Category:Jealous
Category:Long Skirts & Dresses
Category:Master of Disguise
Category:Nameless
Category:Sociopath
Category:Stalker
Category:Stepmother
Category:Witch
Category:Woman Kills Villainess
Category:Would Hurt a Child
Category:Demise: Burned Alive
Category:Fate: Deceased