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"), 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. 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. •
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 charcters that replaced the unfamiliar original archaic charcters. •
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. •
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 to the
čert (
Krampus, or lit.
devil) who, along with
St. Nicholas is traditionally believed to visit families on
December 5. •
Egypt – The "Abu Rigl Maslukha" (ابو رجل مسلوخة), which translates to the "Man With Burnt/Skinned Leg". It is a story that is traditionally told by parents when children misbehave. It is a monster said to have been burnt as 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 creature called Awd Goggie. • In
Devon, local versions of
Spring-Heeled Jack included a "bogeyman" who "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. • 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 in the
West Riding and performed the same function. • Tom Dockin had iron teeth that he used to devour bad children. •
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 is said to inhabit 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. •
Germany – The Bogeyman is known as
Der schwarze Mann ("the Black Man"). The word black/
schwarz does not refer to the colour of his skin, but rather to his preference for hiding in dark places, such as in the closets or under the beds of children. •
Greece – In Greek culture, there exists a mythical creature called Baboulas (). It is used by parents to scare children into behaving. It is said to be some kind of
cannibal which eats children. A common phrase involving it is: "", meaning "The Bogeyman will come and eat you". •
Haiti – In Haiti, a Bogeyman-like entity exists known as Mètminwi / The Master of Midnight. It is depicted as a skinny, extremely tall man who walks around late at night and eats those on the streets. The story is told to children to deter them from going out late. •
Hungary – The Hungarian equivalent of the Bogeyman is the
Mumus, which is a monster-like creature, as well as the
Zsákos Ember, literally meaning "a man with a sack". 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 is said to take and eat misbehaving children on
Christmas Eve, despite supposedly having been dead for some time. She is also the mother of the
Yule Lads, an Icelandic equivalent of
Santa Claus. •
India – In India, the entity is known by many names across the subcontinent's numerous cultures.
Urdu speaking peoples refer to Bogeyman-like creatures by names including
Shaitan, Bhoot and
Jin Baba.
Hindi speakers call them
Baba and
Bhoot. In
Bihar, parents use a demon named
Bhakolwa as a Bogeyman. The terms
Petona and
Kaatu are also used. In
Rajasthan, parents use the name
Haboo. In
Karnataka, the demon
Goggayya (roughly meaning "terrible man") is a Bogeyman counterpart. In the state of
Tamil Nadu,
Rettai Kannan (the two-eyed one) or
Poochaandi (பூச்சாண்டி) are equivalents. In
Andhra Pradesh, the equivalent of the bogeyman is
Boochodu. In central
Kerala, the bogeyman is referred to as "Kokkachi", who is said to take away disobedient children. In South Kerala, the bogeyman is called "Oochandi". Among
Konkani speakers on India's western coast, "Gongo" is the Bogeyman equivalent. Among
Marathi speaking people (predominantly in
Maharashtra), parents threaten the misbehaving children with a male ghost called "Bāgul Buā" (बागुल बुवा). In general, the "Buā" is supposed to kidnap children when they misbehave or do not sleep. In the eastern state of
Odisha, the Bogeyman is a ghost figure called "Baaya" (ବାୟା). In West Bengal among Bengali speaking people, the equivalent is Juju (জুজু). •
Indonesia – In Indonesian mythology, particularly on
Java,
Wewe Gombel is a benevolent
ghost which takes away children mistreated by their parents. She keeps the children in her nest atop a
palm tree and takes care of the children until the parents decide to mend their ways. If they truly want their children back, Wewe Gombel will return them unharmed. •
Iran – In Iran, a popular children's folklore creature known as "لولو خورخوره" (Lulu Khor-Khore). Perception of it varies widely, but it's commonly represented as coming out at night and eating misbehaving children. •
Iraq – Iraqi folklore has the
saalua, a half-witch half-demon
ghoul who "is used by parents to scare naughty children". She is briefly mentioned in a tale of the
1001 Nights, and is known in some other Persian Gulf countries as well. •
Ireland – In Ireland, "An fear dubh" is similar to "L'uomo nero" in Italian folklore. • Petticoat Loose is the shade of a woman, damned for killing her children who haunted the South of Ireland. •
Italy – In Italy, "L'uomo nero" (meaning "the black man") is a demon who can appear as a black man or black ghost without legs, often used by adults for scaring their children when they do not want to sleep. In some parts of the country, it is known also as "babau". •
Marabbecca is a malevolent water monster from the mythology of
Sicily that was said to reside in wells and reservoirs and to come up and drag in children who played too close to the water. •
Latvia – referred to as the "Bubulis", an abstract masculine evil being who comes for disobedient children. •
Lithuania – referred to as the
Baubas, an evil spirit with long lean arms, wrinkly fingers, and red eyes. He harasses people by pulling their hair or stifling them. •
Netherlands – The
Bokkenrijders or "buck riders" are ghostly thieves who ride flying goats. •
Pakistan – The Mamma is a large apelike creature who lives in the mountains and ventures forth to kidnap young girls. He will carry them back to his cave where he licks their palms and the soles of their feet which makes them permanently unable to flee. buka and
Baba Yaga, who are said to come for them at night if they misbehave. •
Saudi Arabia –
Abu Shalawlaw (أبو شلولو) is a Bogeyman-like creature said by parents to come to eat children who are disobedient, e.g., by not going to sleep on time or not completing their homework. •
Hejaz,
Saudi Arabia –
أمنا الغولة والدوجيرة or "Dojairah and Umna al Ghola", which means "Our mother the Monster", is used to scare children when they misbehave or walk alone outside. •
Scotland - Misbehaving children were warned of a goblin or demon known as the
bodach who would come down the chimney and take them. •
Serbia – The
Bauk is a bear-like mythic creature in Serbian folklore. Bauk is described as hiding in dark places, holes or abandoned houses, waiting to grab, carry away, and devour its victim; it has a clumsy gait and can be scared away by light and noise. •
South Africa – The
Tokoloshe or Tikoloshe is a dwarfish creature of
Xhosa and
Zulu mythology said to be summoned by
sangomas, a traditional healer of the region. It wanders around causing mischief and frightening children. It is also described as a small, muscular, hairy
witch-familiar with an unusually large penis which visits women in their dreams and sexually assaults them. •
South Korea – The "Net Bag Grandfather" (Mangtae Hal-abeoji, 망태 할아버지) is an imaginary old man employed by adults to frighten children into obedience. It is said to kidnap spoiled, misbehaving children and take them away to the mountains, where they are never seen again. •
Spain •
Catalonia – (lit. 'scare children' in
Catalan/
Valencian) is the general term for imaginary beings employed by adults to frighten children into obedience. Some examples include El , El , la , ''l'Home del sac'' (
Sack Man), les 'the enchanted (women)', la Cuca Fera, el (or "Mussa the Moor"), la , els , and l'
Home dels nassos. •
Sri Lanka - In Sri Lanka, the creature is called the
Goni Billa, which originated from when
India was kidnapping Sinhalese people for
slavery in about 130–150 AD. They would put sacks on their heads (
Goni in Sinhalese) and kidnap the Sri Lankans at night. •
Switzerland – In Switzerland, the Bogeyman is called
Böllima or
Böögg and has an important role in springtime traditions. The figure is a symbol of winter and death, and in the annual
Sechseläuten ceremony of
Zürich, a figure of the Böögg is burnt. In Southern Switzerland, people have the same traditions as in Italy. •
Tanzania – Zimwi is a figure of Swahili folklore used to scare disobedient children. •
Trinidad and Tobago – Most Trinbagonians (mostly rural peoples) use folklore to scare disobedient children. The most common beings invoked are the
Jumbee. Some "jumbies" are the
Soucouyant,
Lagahoo,
La Diablesse,
Papa Bois, etc. Bogeyman is also used in the same way, but it is more common in the cities. It is also called "The Babooman". •
Turkey – The
Öcü () is an equivalent monster in Turkish culture. Much like its English language counterpart, the form, powers, or even general temperament of the creature is undefined to the degree that it is unclear whether the word refers to a single being or a category or species of mythic creatures. •
United States – The Bogeyman may be called "Boogerman" or "Boogermonster" in rural areas of the
American South ("
booger" being an American English equivalent of the British English "bogey"), and was most often used to keep young children from playing outside past dark, or wandering off in the forest. During the
Green Corn Ceremony, young
Cherokee boys wearing caricature masks would make fun of politicians, frighten children into being good, and shake their masks at young women and chase them around. Male participants in this "
Booger Dance" were referred to as the "Booger Men". In some
Midwestern states, the boogeyman scratches at the window. In the
Pacific Northwest, he may manifest in "green fog". In other places he hides or appears from under the bed or in the closet and tickles children when they go to sleep at night, while in others he is a tall figure in a black hooded cloak who
puts children in a sack. It is said that a
wart can be transmitted to someone by the boogeyman. • The
Jersey Devil, which originated in the
Pine Barrens of
New Jersey in the early 18th century, was originally described as having a horse's head, bat wings, cloven hooves, and a serpent's tail. Regarding the famous Jersey Devil sightings of 1909,
Loren Coleman and
Ivan T. Sanderson offered the explanation that they were part of an elaborate real estate hoax, used by developers as a boogeyman figure to frighten residents into selling their property at lower prices. •
Bloody Bones, also known as Rawhead or Tommy Rawhead, is a boogeyman of the American South. Rawhead and Bloody Bones are sometimes regarded as two individual creatures or two separate parts of the same monster. One is a bare skull that bites its victims and its companion is a dancing headless skeleton. Bloody Bones tales originated in
Britain. • Cipelahq (or Chebelakw) is a dangerous bird spirit of
Wabanaki folklore, used in stories to scare children into obeying their parents. Chebelakw has an unearthly cry and resembles a large diving owl, with only its head and talons visible. Similar monsters called Stinkini and Big Owl were found in
Seminole and
Apache mythologies, respectively. •
Vietnam – In Vietnam, the
Ông Ba bị,
Ông kẹ or
Ngáo ộp is a creature often used by adults to scare children if they disobey. The Ông Ba bị is described as having nine jaws and twelve eyes ("Ba bị chín quai mười hai con mắt"). == In popular culture ==