Emma Caulfield

Once Upon a Time will enjoy an embarrassment of riches on Jan. 15 when the freshman smash introduces Hansel and Gretel and the Blind Witch (played by Buffy alum Emma Caulfield). And as you can see in the following photo gallery, the Evil Queen’s behind the fairy tale pile-up.

Seems her majesty needs an artifact that’s in the possession of the sight-deprived sorceress, so she coerces Hansel and Gretel into stealing it for her.

But as scary as the Evil Queen is, it’s Caulfield’s creepy-looking witch who really has us quaking in our boots.

“We couldn’t think of anyone better to trap two children in a house and try to eat them,” Once co-creator Edward Kitsis told TVLine of Caulfield.

ONCE UPON A TIME - "True North" - Feeling their pain from having lived through the same experience, Emma desperately tries to help two homeless children find their birth father before they’re separated and put into the foster care system. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, the Evil Queen coerces Hansel and Gretel into stealing an important artifact from a blind witch (Emma Caulfield, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), on "Once Upon a Time," SUNDAY, JANUARY 15 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.