Boogeyman

The Bogeyman (; also spelled boogeyman, bogyman, bogieman, boogie monster, boogieman, or boogie woogie) is a type of mythic creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearance and conceptions vary drastically by household and culture, but they are most commonly depicted as masculine or androgynous monsters that punish children for misbehavior. The Bogeyman or conceptually similar monsters can be found in many cultures around the world. Bogeymen may target a specific act or general misbehaviour, depending on what purpose needs serving, often based on a warning from the child's authority figure. The term is sometimes used as a non-specific personification or metonym for terror, and in some cases, the Devil.

Etymology

The word ''bogey'' originated in the mid-19th century, originally as a quasi-proper name for the devil."bogy , bogey, n.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2021. Web. 23 May 2021. It may derive from the Middle English ''bogge'' or ''bugge'', meaning a terror or scarecrow. It relates to ''bugbear'', from ''bug'', meaning goblin or scarecrow, and '' bear'', an imaginary demon in the form of a bear that ate small children. It was also used to mean a general object of dread. The word '' bugaboo'', with a similar pair of meanings, may have arisen as an alteration of ''bugbear''.

The word is known in Indo-European languages as '' puck'' (English), ''bogle'' ( Scots), ''púca,'' ''pooka'' or ''pookha'' (Irish), ''pwca'', ''bwga'' or ''bwgan'' (Welsh), ''bucca'' ( Cornish), ''buse'' or ''busemann'' (Norwegian), ''puki'' (Old Norse), ''bøhmand'' or ''bussemand'' (Danish), ''bûzeman'' ( Western Frisian), ''boeman'' (Dutch), ''Butzemann'' (German), ''bòcan'', ''bogu'' ( Slavonic), ''buka'' or '' Babay/Babayka'' (Russian, бука), ''bauk'' ( Serbian), ''bubulis'' ( Latvian), ''baubas'' ( Lithuanian), ''bobo'' (Polish), bubák (Czech), bubák ( Slovak), ''bebok'' ( Silesian), ''papão'' (Portuguese), ''babulas'' ( el, μπαμπούλας), ''bua'' (Georgian, ბუა), ''babau'' (Italian), Бабай (Ukrainian), baubau (Romanian), and ''papu'' (Catalan).Cooper, Brian. "Lexical reflections inspired by Slavonic *bogǔ: English bogey from a Slavonic root?" ''Transactions of the Philological Society'', Volume 103, Number 1, April 2005, pp. 73–97(25) In Hungarian, a Uralic language, bogeyman is ''mumus''.

Physical description and personality

While the description of the Bogeyman differs on a cultural level, there are often some shared similarities to the creatures. Many of the Bogeymen are depicted as having claws, talons, and sharp teeth. Along with that, the majority of Bogeymen are of the spirit variety, while the minority are demons, witches, and other legendary creatures. Some are even described to have certain animal features such as horns, hooves, and bug like appearances.

When looking at the personality traits of the Bogeymen, they are most easily divided into three categories; the kind that punishes misbehaved children, the kind that are more prone to violence, and the kind that protect the innocent. They all relate in the same way, being that they all exist to teach young children lessons. The large majority of Bogeymen are there to just frighten children with punishments, and not actually inflict much damage. The more vicious Bogeyman is said to steal the children at night, and even eat them. The last category is the Bogeyman who protects people and only punishes those guilty, regardless of age.

Other putative origins

Because of the myth’s worldwide prevalence, it is difficult to find the original source of the legends. The first reference to the Bogeyman would be considered the hobgoblins described in England, in the 16th century. Many believed that they were made to torment humans, and while some only played simple pranks, others were more foul in nature.

Analogues in other cultures

Bogeyman-like beings are almost universal, common to the folklore of many countries.

Sack Man

In many countries, a bogeyman variant is portrayed as a man with a sack on his back who carries naughty children away. This is true for many Latin countries, such as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and the countries of Spanish America, where he is referred to as , , or in Portuguese, (all of which mean "the sack/bag man"), or , meaning ''child-stealer''. Similar legends are also very common in Eastern Europe (e.g. Bulgarian , "sack man"), as well as in Haiti and some countries in Asia.

El Coco

El Coco (also and , sometimes called ) is a monster common to many Spanish-speaking countries. The (or Cucafera) monster is the equivalent in certain parts of Catalonia.

In Spain, parents will sing lullabies or tell rhymes to children, warning them that if they do not sleep, will come to get them. The rhyme originated in the 17th century and has evolved over the years, but still retains its original meaning. Coconuts ( es, coco) received that name because the hairy, brown "face" created by the coconut shell's three indentations reminded the Portuguese sailers of "Coco".

Latin America also has , although its folklore is usually quite different, commonly mixed with native beliefs, and, because of cultural contacts, sometimes more related to the boogeyman of the United States. However, the term is also used in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela, although there it is more usually called , as in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Uruguay, Panama and Argentina. Among Mexican-Americans, is portrayed as an evil monster that hides under children's beds at night and kidnaps or eats the child that does not obey his/her parents or go to sleep when it is time to do so. However, the Spanish American bogeyman does not resemble the shapeless or hairy monster of Spain: social sciences professor Manuel Medrano says popular legend describes as a small humanoid with glowing red eyes that hides in closets or under the bed. "Some lore has him as a kid who was the victim of violence... and now he's alive, but he's not," Medrano said, citing Xavier Garza's 2004 book ''Creepy Creatures and other Cucuys''."

A Cuca

In Brazilian folklore, a similar character called ''Cuca'' is depicted as a female humanoid alligator, or an old lady with a sack. There is a famous lullaby sung by many parents to their children that says that the ''Cuca'' will come to get them and make a soup or soap out of them if they do not sleep, just as in Spain. The ''Cuca'' is also a character of Monteiro Lobato's '' Sítio do Picapau Amarelo'' ("Yellow Woodpecker's Farm"), an acclaimed and creative series of short novels written for children which contain a large number of famous characters from Brazilian folklore.

Babau

In the countries of central and Eastern Mediterranean, children who misbehave are threatened with a creature known as "babau" (or "baubau", "baobao", "bavbav", or "بعبع (Bu'Bu'" or similar). In Italy, the Babau is also called ''l'uomo nero'' or "black man". In Italy, he is portrayed as a tall man wearing a heavy black coat, with a black hood or hat which hides his face. Sometimes, parents will knock loudly under the table, pretending that someone is knocking at the door, and say something like: "Here comes ''l'uomo nero''! He must know that there's a child here who doesn't want to drink his soup!". It is also featured in a widespread nursery rhyme in Italy: a chi lo do? Lo darò all' uomo nero, che lo tiene un anno intero." (English: "Lullaby Lulla Oh, who do I give this child to? I will give him to the Boogeyman, who's going to keep him for a whole year") ''L'uomo nero'' is not supposed to eat or harm children, but instead takes them away to a mysterious and frightening place.

Butzemann

Germanic folklore has dozens of different figures that correspond to the Bogeyman. These have various appearances (such as of a gnome, man, animal, monster, ghost or devil). They are sometimes said to appear at very specific places (such as in forests, at water bodies, cliffs, cornfields or vineyards). These figures are called by many different names which are often only regionally known. One of these, possibly etymologically related to the Bogeyman, is the '' Butzemann'', which can be of gnome-like or other demonic or ghostly appearance. Other examples include the ''Buhmann'' (who is mostly proverbial) and ''der schwarze Mann'' ("The Black Man"), an inhuman creature which hides in the dark corners under the bed or in the closet and carries children away. The figure is part of the children's game Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann?" ("Who is afraid of the bogeyman?").

Other examples

* Afghanistan – The Madar-i-Al is a nocturnal hag that slaughters infants in their cribs and is invoked to frighten children into obedience. Burning wild rue seeds and fumigating the area around the baby will offer protection against her.
* Albania:
** The Buba is a serpentine monster. Mothers would tell their children to be quiet or the Buba would get them.
** The Gogol is a terrible giant that frightens children into being good.
** The Lubia is a female demon with an insatiable appetite for the flesh of children, especially girls. She has many heads, from seven to a hundred, and like the Greek hydra if one head is severed then others will grow in its place.
* Azerbaijan – The Div is a hairy giant that eats children. It was outsmarted and defeated by a clever young boy named Jirtdan, a popular hero in Azerbaijani fairy tales.
* Belize – ''Tata Duende'' is a mythical goblin described as being of small stature, with a beard, wrinkles, backwards feet, a large brimmed hat, and lacking thumbs. It is a protector of the forests and animals and was used to scare children from going out to play at night or going into the jungle.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia – ''Babaroga'' (a South Slavic variant of Baba Yaga; ''baba'' meaning ''hag'' and ''rog'' meaning ''horn'', thus literally meaning ''horned hag'') is commonly attributed the characteristics of the bogeyman. The details vary regionally and by household due to oral tradition, but it always manifests as a menacing hag who hunts irreverent children. It is described as fond of trapping and eating caught children.
* Brazil and Portugal – A monster more akin to the Bogeyman is called ''Bicho Papão'' ("Eating Beast") or ''Sarronco'' ("Deep-Voiced Man"). A notable difference between it and the ''homem do saco'' is that the latter is a daytime menace and "Bicho Papão" is a nighttime menace. Another important difference is that "Homem do Saco" ("Sack Man") usually kidnaps children who go to places without parents authorization, while "Bicho Papão" scares naughty children and hides under their beds, closets or roofs.
* In Inuit mythology, there is a shapeshifting creature called the Ijiraq, that kidnaps children, to hide them away and abandon them. If the children can convince the Ijiraq to let them go, they can use inukshuk of stone to find their way home. Also from Inuit Mythology there is the Qalupalik, which are human-like creatures with long fingernails, green skin, and long hair that live in the sea. They carry babies and children away in their Amauti, if they disobey their parents and wander off alone. The Qalupalik adopt the children and bring them to live with them underwater.
* Canada – In Quebec and French Canada the Bogeyman is called 'The Seven o'Clock Man'. Children are warned to go to bed by 7 o'clock (7 heure), lest Mister Seven O'Clock will come to catch them.
* Cyprus – In the Cypriot dialect, the Bogeyman is called Kkullas (Κκουλλάς); a man (vaguely described as hooded and/or deformed) who will put misbehaving children in a bag and take them away from their homes.
* Czech Republic – The equivalent of the Bogeyman in the Czech Republic is ''bubák'' (≈ imp) or '' strašidlo'' (≈ ghost), but these are not typically connected with abducting children nor with discriminating between well and bad behaved ones. This is more often attributed to ''polednice'' and ''klekánice'' ( Lady midday, or Lady evening), or to the ''čert'' (Krampus, or lit. devil) who, along with st. Nicholas and angel, traditionally visits families on December 5.
* Egypt – The "Abu Rigl Maslukha" (ابو رجل مسلوخة), which translates to the "Man With Burnt/Skinned Leg". It is a very scary story that parents tell their children when they misbehave. The "Abu Rigl Maslukha" is a monster that got burnt when he was a child because he did not listen to his parents. He grabs naughty children to cook and eat them.
* England:
** In East Yorkshire, children were warned that if they stole from orchards they might be eaten by a goblin or demon called Awd Goggie.
** Yorkshire children were also warned that if they were naughty the Great Black Bird would come and carry them away.
** In Devon, local variations of Spring-Heeled Jack included a "bogeyman" that "danced in the road and leapt over hedges with the greatest of ease", with reported sightings in North Devon and locals describing "haunted" stretches of road in the South Devon towns of St Marychurch and Torquay, beginning in the 1840s.
** The Gooseberry Wife was said to guard gooseberry bushes on the Isle of Wight and took the form of a large hairy caterpillar.Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1913). ''Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore''. Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press. p. 198.
** Churnmilk Peg in West Yorkshire was a female goblin who guarded nut thickets until they could be harvested and would always be seen smoking a pipe. Melsh Dick was her male counterpart and performed the same function.
** Tom Dockin had iron teeth that he used to devour bad children.
** Black Annis was a hag with a blue face and iron claws who lived in a cave in the Dane Hills of Leicestershire. She ventured forth at night in search of children to devour. Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 24–25. .
** Grindylow, Jenny Greenteeth and Nelly Longarms were grotesque hags who lived in ponds and rivers and dragged children beneath the water if they got too close.
** Peg Powler is a hag who inhabits the River Tees.
** Other nursery bogies include Mumpoker, Tankerabogus who drags children into his deep, dark pit and Tom-Poker who lives in dark closets and holes under stairs.
* Finland – The equivalent of the Bogeyman in Finland is ''mörkö''. The most famous usage of the word these days takes place in Moomin-stories (originally written in Swedish) in which ''mörkö'' (the Groke) is a large, frightening, dark blue, ghost-like creature. The children's game "Kuka pelkää Mustaa Pekkaa?" ("Who's Afraid of Black Peter?") was also commonly played among children through to the 1960s and '70s, especially in urban settings, as a backyard game (see Germany's "Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann?").
* France – The French equivalent of the Bogeyman is ''le croque-mitaine'' ("the mitten-biter" or rather "the hand-cruncher"—''mitaine'' means mitt in an informal way).

* Germany – The Bogeyman is known as ''Der schwarze Mann'' ("the Black Man"). "Schwarz" does not refer to the color of his skin, but to his preference for hiding in dark places, like the closet, under the beds of children, or in forests at night. There is also an active game for little children which is called ''Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann?'' ("Who is afraid of the Black Man?"), and an old traditional folk song ''Es tanzt ein Bi-Ba-Butzemann in unserm Haus herum'' ("A Bi-Ba-Bogeyman Dances Around in Our House").
* Greece – In Greek, the common translation of "Bogeyman" is "Baboulas" ( el, Μπαμπούλας)), which is pronounced babʊlas. It is used by the parents to scare their children so they will not misbehave. This creature is supposed to be some kind of cannibal that eats the children. The most used phrase about the creature is " el, Ο Μπαμπούλας θα έρθει και θα σε φάει", which means "The Bogeyman will come and eat you".
* Haiti – In Haiti the Boogeyman is known as Mètminwi (The Master of Midnight) it is depicted as a very skinny two story tall man who walks around late at night and eats anyone left on the streets. This story is told to the Haitian children to deter them from going out late at night.
*Hungary – The Hungarian equivalent of the Bogeyman is the ''Mumus'', which is a monster-like creature, and the ''Zsákos Ember'', a man with a sack, which is the literal meaning of his name. A third creature is the ''Rézfaszú bagoly'' ("Copperpenis Owl"), a giant owl with a copper penis.
* Iceland – The Icelandic equivalent of the Bogeyman is Grýla, a female troll who would take misbehaving children and eat them during Christmas Eve. However, as the story goes, she has been dead for some time. She is also the mother of the Yule Lads, the Icelandic equivalent of Santa Claus.
* India – In India, the entity is known by different names. Urdu

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases