Post by Daniel-LaSpirits on Oct 11, 2007 18:24:21 GMT -5
The boogeyman, also spelled bogeyman, is an imaginary monster often believed in by children. Adults have traditionally used the boogeyman to threaten children into going to sleep on time, although this practice seems counter-intuitive. The boogeyman may also be used as a threat to induce children to finish their meal or to behave in general. Versions of the boogeyman exist almost universally, and some psychologists believe that the monster may stem from an evolutionary need in prehistoric times to discourage children from wandering away from the safety of the group.
The boogeyman has a nearly endless number of incarnations, as anything frightening or repulsive will suffice. The monster is usually said to live under a child's bed or in the closet and to appear at night, although in some regions of the United States, he scratches on the window of a child's room. Usually, the boogeyman is more or less humanoid, although he may be much larger or smaller than regular people. He is often dressed in black and may carry a sack or basket with which to kidnap children. Some cultures believe in a female, witch-like equivalent of the boogeyman.
The word boogeyman is first attested as bogeyman in the 16th century. It is probably related to the earlier bogle, first appearing in print in 1505 with the sense of "ghost." By extension, boogeyman is now used to describe any imaginary or irrational fear, while retaining its original meaning of a monster that terrorizes children.
There are a few well-known boogeyman figures in the English-speaking world, including the Irish creature Rawhead and Bloodybones and the character Freddy Kreuger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films. The boogeyman has also been variously portrayed in children's entertainment, from Oogie Boogie in the film The Nightmare Before Christmas to the Boogie Man in the Powerpuff Girls cartoon show. The Disney film Monsters, Inc. postulates a world of closet monsters who make their living by scaring children at night and collecting their screams.
The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, or boogeyman, is a legendary ghostlike monster often believed in by children. The bogeyman has no specific appearance, and bogeyman can be used metaphorically to denote a person or thing of which someone has an irrational fear. The bogeyman legend may originate from Scotland, where such creatures are sometimes called bogles, boggarts, or bogies.
The most common childhood conception of the bogeyman is that of someone (usually a monster) lurking in bedrooms (e.g., behind the door, in the closet, or under the bed), where he lies in wait before attacking the sleeper.
Bogeyman tales vary by region. In some places the bogeyman is male, in others, female. In some Midwestern states of the U.S. the bogeyman does not enter bedrooms but instead scratches on the windows. It is said that a wart can be transmitted to someone by the bogeyman. Bogeymen may be said to target a specific mischief ¨C for instance, a bogeyman that persecutes children who suck their thumbs ¨C or just general misbehavior.
Popular portrayals of bogeymen include Raymond Briggs' Fungus the Bogeyman, as well as Victor Herbert's 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland, where they lived (unsurprisingly) in Bogeyland. The former relies on the children's slang word "bogey" meaning dried nasal mucus, a substance of which these particular bogeymen are particularly fond. "The Bogeyman" was a recurring villain in the successful 1980s children's cartoon series The Real Ghostbusters, whose episodes are regarded as the series' most popular. In 1999 Disney's TV Movie Don't Look Under the Bed, the main character Francis Bacon is being framed for a series of practical jokes by the Bogeyman, She gets help from an imaginary friend named Larry. Pixar's animated film Monsters, Inc., (2001) depicts an entire economy that dictates the operations of the various monsters that scare children at night. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, the bogeyman is called Oogie Boogie, an animated sack of bugs who enjoys gambling. In Terry Pratchett's Discworld, bogeymen are depicted as tall, rangy, hairy beings who are vaguely apish. They hide under beds, behind doors, and in closets, for no reason anyone can understand, or at least no reason they are willing to disclose; in Ankh-Morpork bogeys sometimes pop off to Beirs for a quiet drink.
The word bogey is linked to many similar words in other European languages, which may be cognates; p¨²ca, pooka or pookha (Irish Gaelic), pwca, bwga or bwgan (Welsh), puki (Old Norse), pixie or piskie (Cornish), puck (English), bogu (Slavonic).
In Ireland they were a type of faerie that lived in the bog and kidnapped children so they could play with them. They made them stay a year and a day.
Another possible source for the word is the Russian word §Ò§à§Ô (God), pronounced "boge", rhyming with "rogue". Demonizing things, notions, even the name of God, from Eastern Europe and beyond is not without precedent in Western Europe and North America.
The boogeyman has a nearly endless number of incarnations, as anything frightening or repulsive will suffice. The monster is usually said to live under a child's bed or in the closet and to appear at night, although in some regions of the United States, he scratches on the window of a child's room. Usually, the boogeyman is more or less humanoid, although he may be much larger or smaller than regular people. He is often dressed in black and may carry a sack or basket with which to kidnap children. Some cultures believe in a female, witch-like equivalent of the boogeyman.
The word boogeyman is first attested as bogeyman in the 16th century. It is probably related to the earlier bogle, first appearing in print in 1505 with the sense of "ghost." By extension, boogeyman is now used to describe any imaginary or irrational fear, while retaining its original meaning of a monster that terrorizes children.
There are a few well-known boogeyman figures in the English-speaking world, including the Irish creature Rawhead and Bloodybones and the character Freddy Kreuger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films. The boogeyman has also been variously portrayed in children's entertainment, from Oogie Boogie in the film The Nightmare Before Christmas to the Boogie Man in the Powerpuff Girls cartoon show. The Disney film Monsters, Inc. postulates a world of closet monsters who make their living by scaring children at night and collecting their screams.
The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, or boogeyman, is a legendary ghostlike monster often believed in by children. The bogeyman has no specific appearance, and bogeyman can be used metaphorically to denote a person or thing of which someone has an irrational fear. The bogeyman legend may originate from Scotland, where such creatures are sometimes called bogles, boggarts, or bogies.
The most common childhood conception of the bogeyman is that of someone (usually a monster) lurking in bedrooms (e.g., behind the door, in the closet, or under the bed), where he lies in wait before attacking the sleeper.
Bogeyman tales vary by region. In some places the bogeyman is male, in others, female. In some Midwestern states of the U.S. the bogeyman does not enter bedrooms but instead scratches on the windows. It is said that a wart can be transmitted to someone by the bogeyman. Bogeymen may be said to target a specific mischief ¨C for instance, a bogeyman that persecutes children who suck their thumbs ¨C or just general misbehavior.
Popular portrayals of bogeymen include Raymond Briggs' Fungus the Bogeyman, as well as Victor Herbert's 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland, where they lived (unsurprisingly) in Bogeyland. The former relies on the children's slang word "bogey" meaning dried nasal mucus, a substance of which these particular bogeymen are particularly fond. "The Bogeyman" was a recurring villain in the successful 1980s children's cartoon series The Real Ghostbusters, whose episodes are regarded as the series' most popular. In 1999 Disney's TV Movie Don't Look Under the Bed, the main character Francis Bacon is being framed for a series of practical jokes by the Bogeyman, She gets help from an imaginary friend named Larry. Pixar's animated film Monsters, Inc., (2001) depicts an entire economy that dictates the operations of the various monsters that scare children at night. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, the bogeyman is called Oogie Boogie, an animated sack of bugs who enjoys gambling. In Terry Pratchett's Discworld, bogeymen are depicted as tall, rangy, hairy beings who are vaguely apish. They hide under beds, behind doors, and in closets, for no reason anyone can understand, or at least no reason they are willing to disclose; in Ankh-Morpork bogeys sometimes pop off to Beirs for a quiet drink.
The word bogey is linked to many similar words in other European languages, which may be cognates; p¨²ca, pooka or pookha (Irish Gaelic), pwca, bwga or bwgan (Welsh), puki (Old Norse), pixie or piskie (Cornish), puck (English), bogu (Slavonic).
In Ireland they were a type of faerie that lived in the bog and kidnapped children so they could play with them. They made them stay a year and a day.
Another possible source for the word is the Russian word §Ò§à§Ô (God), pronounced "boge", rhyming with "rogue". Demonizing things, notions, even the name of God, from Eastern Europe and beyond is not without precedent in Western Europe and North America.