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- DictionaryBo·gey·man/ˈbo͝oɡēˌman/
noun
- 1. an imaginary evil spirit or being, used to frighten children: "we kept the blankets pulled over our heads to keep out the bogeyman"
A bogeyman is a monstrous imaginary figure used in threatening children or a terrifying or dreaded person or thing. Learn more about the word history, synonyms, examples, and related articles from Merriam-Webster dictionary.
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A bogeyman is a monster that punishes children for misbehaviour, often used by adults to frighten them into good behaviour. The term has different spellings and equivalents in various languages and cultures, and the bogeyman's appearance and personality vary across stories.
A bogeyman is an imaginary evil character used as a threat, especially to children. Learn the origin, history and usage of the word bogeyman with examples from various sources.
A bogeyman is an imaginary evil person who harms children, often used as a threat to make them behave. Learn how to say bogeyman and bogymen in different languages and see examples of usage.
- Overview
- Creation of the bogeyman
- Cultural variations of the bogeyman
- Portrayal of the bogeyman in Western pop culture
bogeyman, any of a variety of fictional and oftentimes folkloric monsters described in stories designed to frighten children. Tales of the bogeyman and various analogues have been used for centuries all across the world to influence children to behave as their parents command and to exercise caution in dangerous situations or areas. The term is als...
The word bogeyman, used to describe a monster in English, comes from the Middle English bugge or bogge, which means “a frightening spectre.” Bogeyman itself is known from the 15th century, though bogeyman stories are almost certainly much older. Because of the nature of the tales and the often indistinct or changing nature of the monster, it is impossible to trace the character to a single origin in any culture, much less globally.
It is generally thought that the bogeyman was invented to serve as a caution or deterrent to children. By warning children that a bogeyman will capture them if they stray into the dark woods, for instance, parents might better ensure that children are cautious about where they go and when. In this way, the bogeyman may serve as a shorthand for the various dangers to lone children in the woods. Instead of explaining that they may fall into a ravine, be attacked by an animal, touch something poisonous, and so on, a parent may more easily say “if you go into the woods at night, the bogeyman will get you.” The bogeyman also represents a supernatural presence that can do things a parent cannot do and go places a parent cannot go. Children may know what punishments their parents are capable of assigning, but a bogeyman’s capabilities and motivations are unknowable—thus, all the more terrifying.
In some cultures, the bogeyman is amorphous, shapeless, and perhaps described as just a dark figure or something seen out of the corner of the eye. It may even be said to change its shape into anything it chooses or any number of terrible things. It may have claws or nails to scratch against doors or windowpanes, glowing eyes that can be seen in the dark, or horns like an animal. In other cultures, the bogeyman may have a more specific appearance or a recognizable role or belong to another species. It may be a witch, goblin, or ghost, or it may have animal characteristics. La Llorona is a Mexican bogeyman who is the ghost of a woman who wears a white dress. The vodnik (also called vodyanoy) of the Czech Republic is a water spirit who can assume many different forms to entice humans to the banks of rivers and lakes. The Yara-ma-yha-who of Australia looks like a frog with bright red fur, and the Kludde of the Flemish countryside (northern Belgium) is a large doglike demon with a beak, scales, fur, and sharp claws.
Most bogeyman stories involve the punishment, capture, or assault of a disobedient child. Hombre del saco (Sack Man) of Spain spirits children away in a sack, either to sell them or to eat them. The namahage of Japan look for disobedient children on New Year’s Eve; they take away children who don’t mind their parents or who are lazy or cry too much. A Brazilian lullaby warns children that if they do not go to sleep, they will be taken by a cuca, a crocodile woman.
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The pervasive fear of unknown spectres has led to a variety of depictions of bogeymen in popular media. Arguably, any number of supernatural horror movie icons—such as Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger, of the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street film franchises, respectively—are bogeymen of sorts. Michael Myers, the slasher from the Hallowe...
- Alison Eldridge
noun. boo· gey· man ˈbu̇-gē-ˌman. ˈbü- variants or less commonly boogerman. ˈbu̇-gər- ˈbü- : bogeyman. Examples of boogeyman in a Sentence. Recent Examples on the Web Maslany stars as a suburban mother who begins an affair with the boogeyman living under her son’s bed.
A bogeyman is an imaginary evil spirit that is used to frighten children. Learn how to pronounce, spell and use this word in different contexts with examples and synonyms.
