The bogeyman (; 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 is known from the 15th century, though bogeyman stories are likely to be much older.
While the derivation of bogge is obscure, the word has apparent cognates in many other European languages, including bogle (Scots), púca (Irish), bucca (Cornish), Babay (Slavic languages), bampoúlas (Greek) and mumus (Hungarian).
Physical description It is often described as a dark, formless creature with shapeshifting abilities. The bogeyman is known to satiate its appetite by snatching and consuming children. Descriptions of the bogeyman vary across cultures, yet there are often commonalities between them including claws/talons, or sharp teeth. The nature of the creature also varies from culture to culture, although most examples are said to be a kind of spirit, with demons, witches, and other legendary creatures being less common variants. Some are described as having animal features such as horns, hooves, or a bug-like appearance.
Other putative origins Because of the myth's global prevalence, it is difficult to find the original source of the legends. The Bogeyman was first referenced for the hobgoblins described in the 16th century England. Many believed they were made to torment humans, and while some only played simple pranks, others were more foul in nature.
Cultural variants Bogeymen, or bogeyman-like beings, are common to the folklore of many cultures, with numerous variations and equivalents.
Sack Man The Sack Man is a variant of the Bogeyman folklore which, as its name suggests, stuffs children into a sack. It predominantly exists in the culture of Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and Brazil; as well as in Iberian culture (Spain and Portugal), where the variant originated and whence it was brought over to the Americas through colonisation.
It is sometimes referred to as , , , or in Portuguese, ; all such names meaning either "the sack man" or "the bag man". It may also be known as (in Spanish) or (in Portuguese), which mean "the old man with the sack". Another Spanish-language variation is , "the child-stealer".
Similar legends are present 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 another version of the Bogeyman, common to many Spanish-speaking countries. The (or Cucafera) monster is the equivalent in certain parts of Catalonia.
In Spain, parents will sing lullabies and tell rhymes to children, warning them if they do not sleep, will come to get them. The rhyme originated in the 17th century and while it has evolved over the years, it has still retained its original meaning to this day. Coconuts () received their name because of the hairy, brown "face" created by the coconut shell's three indentations, which reminded the Portuguese sailors of "Coco".
Latin America also has , although its folklore is different, commonly mixed with native beliefs and, because of cultural contacts, sometimes more closely related to the US version of the Boogeyman. 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 those who do not obey his/her parents by going 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 who 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."
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 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"), a series of short novels written for children which contain a large number of 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: "Ninna nanna, ninna oh, questo bimbo 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 German 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 bodies of water, 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 , which can be of gnome-like and other demonic or ghostly appearance. Other examples include the Buhmann (who is mostly proverbial) and der schwarze Mann ("The Black Man"),Iseabail MacLeod, Pauline Cairns: Bogeyman – Black Man. Concise English-Scots Dictionary, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 1999, , p.22. 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 who slaughters infants in their cribs and is invoked to frighten children into obedience. Burning wild rue seeds and fumigating the area around the baby is believed to 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 who frightens children into being good.Elsie (2001). p. 103. 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.Elsie (2001). p. 161. Algeria - The H'awouahoua is a chimeric monster made from various animal parts and eyes of flaming spit. Algerian parents warn their children to behave or the H'awouahoua will come for them and eat them and use their skin to mend his coat that's made of human skin. Azerbaijan – The Div is a hairy giant who 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. He is the protector of the forests and animals and was used to scare children from going out to play at night or going into the jungle, but he can also help those who are lost, who want to learn music or who want to find fortune. 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 authorisation, while "Bicho Papão" scares naughty children and hides under their beds, closets or roofs. In Inuit religion, there is a shapeshifter called the Ijiraq which is said to kidnap children, hide them away, and abandon them. If the children can convince the Ijiraq to let them go, they can use inukshuk to find their way home. Within Inuit mythology, there is also the Qallupilluit, human-like creatures with long fingernails, green skin, and long hair that live in the sea. They carry babies and children away in their parkas if the children disobey their parents and wander off alone close to the water. The Qalupalik adopt the children and bring them to live with them underwater. Canada – Within the culture of French Canadians the Bogeyman is called (En: The Seven O'Clock Man). Children are cautioned to go to bed by 7 pm, or else be taken by The Seven O'Clock Man. China, Hong Kong and Macau – Among Cantonese people, 鴉烏婆 (), roughly meaning "ugly old woman", refers to a mythical black-clad old hag who kidnaps children at night. This was used in the past as a cautionary scary tale to keep naughty children in line. However, the term does not refer to a "crow" even though the two Chinese characters used are those for "crow" in reverse. These are, in fact, phonetically similar modern choice of characters that replaced the unfamiliar original archaic characters. Cyprus – In Cypriot Greek, 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.