Bogeyman

Mythological antagonist Goya's Que viene el Coco (Here Comes the Boogeyman/The Boogeyman Is Coming), c. 1797 The bogeyman (/ˈboʊɡimæn/; also spelled bogyman, bogy, or bogey, and known as boogeyman in the United States and Canada) is a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behaviour. Bogeymen take a variety of different forms both male and female, around the world, shaped by local customs and culture, but they are most commonly depicted as monsters who punish children for misbehaving. Bogeymen are often invoked by authority figures for the purposes of discouraging a child from a specific act or general misbehaviour. The term is sometimes used as a non-specific personification of, or metonym for, terror – and sometimes the Devil. Etymology The word bogeyman, used to describe a monster in English, may have derived from Middle English bugge or bogge, which means 'frightening specter', 'terror', or 'scarecrow'. It relates to boggart and bugbear, a bear-like demon (bug) who eats 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. Bogeyman itself