Bogeyman

Goya's Que viene el Coco' (Here Comes the Boogeyman/The Boogeyman Is Coming), c. 1797

The bogeyman (/ˈbɡimæn/; also spelled or known as bogyman,[1] bogy,[1] bogey,[1] and, in North American English, also boogeyman)[1] is a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearances, and conceptions vary drastically by household and culture, but they are most commonly depicted as masculine or androgynous monsters that punish children for misbehavior.[2] The bogeyman, and conceptually similar monsters can be found in many cultures around the world. Bogeymen may target a specific act or general misbehaviour, depending on the purpose of invoking the figure, often on the basis of a warning from an authority figure to a child. The term is sometimes used as a non-specific personification of, or metonym for, terror – and sometimes the Devil.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d "Definition of bogeyman noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary". Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  2. ^ Shimabukuro, Karra (2014). "The Bogeyman of Your Nightmares: Freddy Krueger's Folkloric Roots". Studies in Popular Culture. 36 (2). Popular Culture Association in the South: 45–65. JSTOR 24332650 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ D'Costa, Krystal. "What's the Bogeyman?". Scientific American Blog Network.