Bogeyman

The **Bogeyman** (/ˈbəʊɡimæn, ˈboʊɡi-/; also spelled **boogeyman**, **bogyman**, **bogieman**, **boogie monster**, **boogie man**, or **boogie woogie**) is a type of mythical 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 "Bogeyman" is sometimes used as a non-specific personification or metonym for terror, and in some cases, the Devil.

## Etymology

The word *bogey* is believed to be derived from the Middle English *bogge* / *bugge* ("something frightening", "scarecrow"). Theories on its origin include a root meaning "goat", or a cognate of the German *bögge*, *böggel-mann* ("goblin"). It could be influenced in meaning by Old English -budda used in compounds for "beetle". A related word, *bugbear*, from *bug*, meaning goblin or scarecrow, and *bear*, was imagined as a demon in the form of a bear that eats small children, and 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 could also be linked to many similar words in other Indo-European: *bogle* (Scots), *bûzeman* (Western Frisian), *boeman* (Dutch), *Butzemann* (German), *busemann* (Norwegian), *bøhmand* / *bussemand* (Danish), *bòcan*, *púca*, *pooka* or *pookha* (Irish), *pwca*, *bwga* or *bwgan* (Welsh), *puki* (Old Norse), *bucca* (Cornish), *puck* (English), *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* (Greek, μπαμπούλας), *bua* (Georgian, ბუა), *babau* (Italian), бабай (Ukrainian), baubau (Romanian), and *papu* (Catalan).

In Southeast Asia, the term is popularly supposed to refer to Bugis or Buganese pirates, ruthless seafarers of southern Sulawesi, Indonesia's third-largest island. These pirates often plagued early English and Dutch trading ships of the British East India Company and Dutch East India Company. It is popularly believed that this resulted in the European sailors bringing their fear of the "bugi men" back to their home countries. However, etymologists disagree with this, because words relating to *bogeyman* were in common use centuries before European colonization of Southeast Asia.

In Luo dialects in Eastern Africa the term 'bwogo' (with pronunciation sound like 'booga') means to scare. This correlation is most likely spurious as Nilotic language roots predate the modern concept of civilization itself.[*clarification needed*]

### Physical description and personality[edit]

While the description of the Bogeyman differs on a cultural level, there are often some shared similarities to the creatures. Many of the Bogeyman are depicted as having claws, talons, and sharp teeth. Along with that, the majority of Bogeyman 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 Bogeyman, 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 Bogeyman 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 protect people and only punish those guilty, regardless of age.

### Other putative origins[edit]

Because of such a global impact, it makes it 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 1500s. 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[edit]

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

### Sack Man

Main article: 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 Chile, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and the countries of Spanish America, where he is referred to as *el "Hombre del costal"*, *el "hombre del saco"*, or in Portuguese, *o "homem do saco"* (all of which mean "the sack/bag man"), or el roba-chicos, meaning *child-stealer*. Similar legends are also very common in Eastern Europe (e.g. Bulgarian *Torbalan*, "sack man"), as well as in Haiti and some countries in Asia.

### El Coco

Main article: Coco (folklore)

El Coco (also *El Cuco* and *Cucuy*, sometimes called *El Bolo*) is a monster common to many Spanish-speaking countries.

In Spain, parents will sing lullabies or tell rhymes to children, warning them that if they do not sleep, *El Coco* 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 (Spanish: *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 El Coco, 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 *El Coco* is also used in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, although there it is more usually called *El Cuco*, as in Puerto Rico, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Among Mexican-Americans, *El Cucuy* 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 *El cucuy* 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 Brazil folklore, a similar character called *Cuca* is depicted as a female humanoid alligator, or an old lady with a sack. There's a famous lullaby sung by most 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 (in Romania, Bau-bau) is also called *l'uomo nero* (Romanian: *omul negru*) 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

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) and 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 Dark 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?")