台灣民間的棄老故事依照子孫們的棄老行為模式來區分，共可分成兩大類：第一類為「當地集體、約定俗成的殺老食肉之風」，第二類為「純為個人、忽略人倫孝道的棄老之行」。第一類的棄老故事主要是在解釋喪服或喪葬制度的由來，藉由殺老食肉與披麻帶孝的對立性情節鋪陳，反映出從殺老、棄老到孝親敬老的道德倫理演變進程。第二類的棄老故事則可再細分成實質行為的「棄而不養」與精神層面的虐待「養而不敬」這兩種。然而無論是「棄而不養」或是「養而不敬」，故事中的不孝子女最後一定會受到懲罰和教訓：有時候是物質上的教訓，如無法獲得遺產，最後落得白忙一場；有時候則是心理上的恐懼，害怕自己的棄老行為終將藉由著子孫的學習與模仿而進行反撲。由此可知，台灣的棄老故事除了反映出原始的棄老、殺老的風俗之外，更是擔負著道德教化的責任，教育人們侍親至孝的觀念。

In Taiwan’s society, the stories of deserting the old can be divided into two types based on the behavior of those non-filial children: (1) local group custom to kill the old and eat their flesh; (2) personal non-filial behavior to desert the old. The first type of story mainly explains the origin of funeral costume and system. By making a contrast between killing the old and mourning the dead in the story, a transformation of ethics from killing the old, deserting the old, to being filial and respectful to the old is presented. The second type of story can be further divided into a practical behavior of “deserting and not taking care of the old” and a mental abuse of “taking care of the old without filial piety”. Either one, in the end, the non-filial sons and daughters in the story will definitely be punished or suffer some loss. Sometimes, it can be a lesson more materialized such as they eventually worked for nothing and did not get inheritance; sometimes, it is more of a horror in mind fearing that their children may imitate their behavior of deserting the old as an act of return. Therefore, the stories of deserting the old in Taiwan not only reflect the original custom of such action, but also carry the responsibility of teaching people ethics and educating them to be filial.