Aunt Sally based on a blackface doll itself inspired by a low-life character named "Black Sal", which appeared in an 1821 series of novellas entitled "Life of London" by Pierce Egan, a contemporary of Charles Dickens. The game dates back to the 17th century, although the name "Aunt Sally" may have been a later addition. It was traditionally played in central English pubs and fairgrounds. An Aunt Sally was originally the modelled head of an old woman with a clay pipe in her mouth; the object was for players to throw sticks at the head in order to break the pipe. The
The Old Woman in the Wood Woman in the Wood" is featured in "Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics", with several changes. The talking dove is an owl, his tree form only appears at the end, and in his owl form he has more direct interactions with the servant girl, here named Elisabeth. The witch attacks the family with a horde of goblins instead of a band of robbers. The tasks that Elisabeth faces are slightly different to the original ones: she must go inside the house without anyone noticing her (not even the Witch), look for a specific magical key in the witch's studio, use it on