The story of Hansel and Gretel can supposedly be explained by famine.  The witch was an old woman, abandoned in the forest by her family once they were no longer able to feed her.  To survive she ate anything she could.  She relied on her appearance as a sweet old granny to lure in other humans as prey.  Tales of the elderly being abandoned during such famines are widespread.  They're also apparently the back story to Japan's Yamanba , a cannibalistic hag living in the mountains. When I lived in the Japanese countryside , I once saw a real live Yamanba.  Leaving my house, I noticed a woman, emaciated, covered in dirt, with leaves in her knee-long hair, stark naked.  She was digging through the trash.  She looked right at me and made eye contact.  I was terrified.  Probably the only thing scarier than being surprised by a wild animal is being surprised by a wild human! I jumped in my car and headed to work, watching her in the rear...