# Bogeyman and other fictional characters to scare children



## Cracker Jack

It's almost witching hour. I would just like to know if the Boogeyman, an imaginary evil person or creature to scare kids off also exists in your culture. If so, how do you call them. Also if there are folkloric creatures in your country, can you describe them.

In my country, we call them MOOMOO. Thank you very much and Happy Halloween.


----------



## ixoxe

Hola Cracker, 
en mi país asustan a los niños con "el viejo de la bolsa" para que se porten bien.-


----------



## Gustavoang

Hello.

You may find interesting this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogeyman

In my country, we have two Boogeymen: "El coco" and "La mano pelu'a" (La mano peluda).

We also have several similar-stories, such as La Sayona y El silbón.

Have a nice weekend.


----------



## AlxGrim

In my country there's the "Uomo Nero" ("The Black Man"), generally used to scare children and convince them to eat, to sleep, to behave... otherwise "the Black Man will come and take you AWAAAAAYYYYYYY.."


----------



## AlxGrim

Oh, about folk characters: we have the "Befana", which in my experience is only typical of my country (please, let me know if she's active anywhere else!).
La Befana is somehow the female counterpart of Babbo Natale (Santa Claus), an ugly witch, dressed in black, with a long spiky hat, flying on her broom on the night of January 6th. She brings (sugar-made!) charcoal to those kids who have been naughty, and all kinds of candies to the good ones. In spite of her scaring look, she's very loved by children. But that's no big surprise... children love whoever brings them candies... 
January 6th is an official holiday here in Italy, and traditionally, here in Rome, people gather in Piazza Navona, a wonderful square in the middle of the town, where lots of people sell food, candies and other children stuff, and street artists make their shows. It's lovely!


----------



## Mei

Gustavoang said:
			
		

> Hello.
> 
> You may find interesting this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogeyman
> 
> In my country, we have two Boogeymen: "El coco" and "La mano pelu'a" (La mano peluda).
> 
> We also have several similar-stories, such as La Sayona y El silbón.
> 
> Have a nice weekend.


 
Hi, 

We have "el Coco" too! And "the Man with the Sack" ("l'home del sac" in catalan)

Cheers

Mei


----------



## Monnik

Well, apparently, the "Coco" is very well known, for we also have him in Mexico!! He must be a busy man... 

And as far as folkloric characters go, we have the ever-grieving "La llorona" (the lady weeper), who is said to wander the streets in a never-ending search for her children, whom she killed, while moaning "Oh, my children! Oh, my children!"    

Saludos...


----------



## Vanda

To scare very little children who don't want to eat or go to
bed  we call BICHO PAPÃO (an animal that eats children).
When they are growing older there are other BICHOS (animals)
to scare them, most of them not an animal at all!


----------



## LV4-26

I guess the French equivalent would be a croquemitaine.
There's _un ogre_ as well, that is supposed to eat children.

But they're old fashioned nowadays and I'm sure very few French children have heard of them, especially the former.

Now, they're much more afraid of the monsters or the ghosts they see in Japonese cartoons or American horror movies. (when they're allowed to watch them - which I disapprove of).

EDIT : _ogre _exists in English as well and is spelt the same.


----------



## Brioche

The bogyman lives in Australia, too.


----------



## timpeac

In the UK we talk of "the boogey man" who goes round frightening children but he isn't well defined - I don't think you would find everyone knowing or agreeing what he looks like in the way that you do for this Befana in Italy or Michael Jackson in the US.


----------



## kiro

timpeac said:
			
		

> In the UK we talk of "the boogey man" who goes round frightening children but he isn't well defined - I don't think you would find everyone knowing or agreeing what he looks like in the way that you do for this Befana in Italy *or Michael Jackson in the US*.


Hehe, good one. 
I agree, but I've always heard him described as the "b*o*gey man"... "the b*oo*gey man" sounds like someone who, as well as scaring the crap out of you, also plays a mean Blues guitar. (Possibly at the same time ).


----------



## Gustavoang

Monnik said:
			
		

> And as far as folkloric characters go, we have the ever-grieving "La llorona" (the lady weeper), who is said to wander the streets in a never-ending search for her children, whom she killed, while moaning "Oh, my children! Oh, my children!"


We have "La llorona" too! 

Cheers.


----------



## mandarina_82

for me "el hombre del saco", "el coco" y "el tio camońas"


----------



## Cracker Jack

Thanks a lot.  I had the idea about el coco or el viejo de la bolsa or l'home del sac.  But I wasn't very sure so I asked.  Gustav's link was very useful.  I first thought that in Italy it was known as Uomo Negro.  But the explanation in the link provided by Gustav was enough to clarify how Uomo Negro became Uomo Nero.

However, Nero is confusing with the fiddler.  Anyway, it is identified with something undesirable, right Alx?  LV, croquemitaine to me sounds like croque monsieur. Hahaha. Timepeac, the link you included is invalid.  Monnik abd Vanda were right.


----------



## Vanda

Ok, now I can't sleep tonight.


----------



## Mita

In Chile we have "el cuco", that is the same as "el coco", and also "el viejo del saco", like Argentinian "viejo de la bolsa" or "el hombre del saco" from Spain.


----------



## CLEMENTINE

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> I guess the French equivalent would be a croquemitaine.
> There's _un ogre_ as well, that is supposed to eat children.
> 
> But they're old fashioned nowadays and I'm sure very few French children have heard of them, especially the former.
> 
> Now, they're much more afraid of the monsters or the ghosts they see in Japonese cartoons or American horror movies. (when they're allowed to watch them - which I disapprove of).
> 
> EDIT : _ogre _exists in English as well and is spelt the same.


 

Hello,

I think there is still a famous "monster" that many French children have heard about *"le Grand Méchant Loup"* (the big bad wolf (?))- still my nephews are learning songs with this horrible wolf.

But I am not sure that today children know about *"le Père Fouettard"* (kind of equivalent of the Italian Babbo Natale witch). "Le Père Noël" (Santa) is the good man carrying presents for children that had been good during the year, whereas "le Père Fouettard" (with his strap) would come for naughty children. I remember that when I was younger, my grandparents were asking me who, from le père noël or le père fouettard, would come for me for Christmas (but I did not know who le père fouettard was)... 

All new generations forget about some monsters and create new ones...


----------



## *Cowgirl*

The Boogeyman lives in the US too.


----------



## Vanda

Actually I've found that Brazilians youngest nowadays fear
"o homem do saco" just like Argentinians.


----------



## fenixpollo

kiro said:
			
		

> I agree, but I've always heard him described as the "b*o*gey man"... "the b*oo*gey man" sounds like someone who, as well as scaring the crap out of you, also plays a mean Blues guitar.


No, I think that would be "the *boogie* man".  

Actually, I always thought the correct spelling in English was "bogey" man, even though I've always heard it pronounced "boogey" man.  I don't know why the disparity.  

In Haiti, the bogeyman is called *Tonton Macoute*, although his name has been used to make the people fear real men... so for many Haitians, the bogeyman really exists.


----------



## panjandrum

I can assure you all that in Ireland it is bogeyman, with a short "o". No boogeymen here.
The more frivolously-inclined of you may enjoy THIS LINK, which I can assure you is relevant, as it explains that:


> "Jackie, there's no such thing as Irish," replied de Valera. "It's just something made up to scare kids, like the bogeyman or Michael Jackson."


----------



## Cracker Jack

Hi Kiro, Panj and Fenix. I have always known it to be bogeyman wayback in grade school and even in kindergarten.  However, when I looked it up at my Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, BE spelling is with 1 o while that of AE may be 1 or 2 o's.

I also accessed the Internet Movie Database for a movie of the same title this year and it is spelled as Boogeyman.  It also appears in publicity materials, still photos and posters.  So I opted for Boogeyman spelling.  But let's just wait what our other American and British friends would say.


----------



## Brioche

panjandrum said:
			
		

> I can assure you all that in Ireland it is bogeyman, with a short "o". No boogeymen here.
> quote]
> 
> In Australia the 'o' can be like the 'oo' in book, or like the 'o' in grow.


----------



## foxfirebrand

In AE, the "o" in "bogeyman" is the same vowel as in "book" or "sugar." If you boogie on down the road, you are trucking along-- if you simply boogie on down, you're dancing. Same vowel sound.

American Heritage dictionary gives the long vowel in "boo" as a secondary pronunciation for "boogie" meaning dance or get on down the road, but this is *wrong.*  I don't care if it is the dictionary, "boogie" pronounced in this way is an insult term for a black person.

A "bogey" in golf is a one-over par score.  "Bogie" is a nickname for Humphrey Bogart-- long o's in both cases.

"Booger," the word that got Johnny Fever fired before he signed on at WKRP, rhymes with "sugar," and it means solid matter picked from the nose.

It's boggy going, when you try to boogie through a swamp-- you're unlikely to keep the proper pace, and will end up doing something more like _slogging._ Boggy rhymes with "foggy," and in AE it has nothing to do with the loo-- which we don't really have in AE either, except in arcane ivory-tower type phrases like "in loo of." Well skip to _my_ Loo, perfesser.


Whoa-- I see I'm in the "cultural issues" forum, not discussing terminology on the "English only."  Sorry if that's more than y'all ever wanted to know about "boogie" in AE.
.


----------



## Yang

foxfirebrand said:
			
		

> Whoa-- I see I'm in the "cultural issues" forum, not discussing terminology on the "English only." Sorry if that's more than y'all ever wanted to know about "boogie" in AE.
> .


 
It's good to learn something new everyday. 
Though I can't understand the part with American culture background and don't get it why it's an insult term for a black person if 'boo' is pronounced in long vowel /u/.

Stephen King...Yeah, the first time I saw 'boogeyman' was in his novels.
King's boogeyman(s) always hide/live in the closets and usually don't have definite appearance. But that won't reduce the horror. Even though you are not a child anymore, you could still not dare to stretch your hands or feet over the edge of the bed after reading King's novels.

As for Taiwan, there truely is a folk character called 虎姑婆(an terrifying old lady). People say parents would use 虎姑婆 to scare children by saying 虎姑婆 will come for them at night and eat their fingers one by one if they are not behave. However, it's just a flok tale and nobody would really be scared of 虎姑婆. I think no one will take 虎姑婆 for real. It's just a folk tale character for us.

Novertheless, there are something of which not only the child but also the adults would be scared. It is ghost, which mostly refers to dead people, with no definite appearance. No one knows exactly how it looks, but everyone knows it is horrible. 

When I was a little child, my cousins used to tell ghost stories. Each time after listening to it, I would not dare to go to the toilet alone. When I finally had the nerve to go to the toilet, I was always afraid there would suddenly be a hand offering me the tissue. The scare could last for a period of time, the same effect if you read King's novels.

--
Please feel free to correct me if there is any mistake.


----------



## foxfirebrand

Yang said:
			
		

> Though I can't understand the part with American culture background and don't get it why it's an insult term for a black person if 'boo' is pronounced in long vowel /u/.



Well, _boogie_ pronounced with the long oo as in "boob" is an insulting term, but pronounced with the short oo as in "book" means something else.  I'm sure there are words in your language that mean something okay when pronounced a certain way, and something bad when pronounced another.

Also there are _parts_ of words that strike a little note, but aren't in themselves offensive.  An American schoolteacher was actually fired for using the word "niggardly" in class, by administrators who didn't know what the word meant, and assumed it was a racial epithet-- or was intended to _sound_ like one, no matter what it meant.  Well, I wasn't there-- maybe it was used with a certain tone, or a smirk or a wink, or maybe it was innocent, and the ignorant reaction to it unfair.

You can dance a jig, and you can say "boo," but the word _jigaboo_ is a racial insult, and it is sometimes simply shortened to _jig._  So words get tainted and can't be used any more-- try using "gay" in its old sense of lightheartedness, and no sexual overtones.  There used to be a weight-reduction product that came in the form of phony fudge cubes you could eat when you were hungry-- they had no calories, but supposedly satisfied the craving for a snack.  They were also popular enough, the company that made them turned a profit-- until a certain disease arose in the late 1970s and became a sare-word, and then the product disappeared.  Those little fudge cubes were called Ayds.

Scary things, scary words.  We are in an area of semantics, with bogeymen and ghosts and things you scare children with-- that has the potential for racial "sensitivity" in the U.S.  The bogeyman himself, even pronounced with the short-u sound, is right on the border of being insensitive.  Consider that he's called "il uomo nero" in Italian, as a couple of people have mentioned.

He's not just scary, he's *dark* and scary.  And in the Deep South, a couple generations back, when little white kids were being told scary stories of the bogeymen coming to get them-- you can bet there was no question he would come in the form of a Negro.  I'm surprised that the word "bogeyman" in any form hasn't become taboo.  Didn't an American politician recently just about lose his career by referring to someone as a "spook?"  He was talking about him being a spy, and that's a slang term for spy-- one most of you have heard, and I'd say all native English-speakers have.  But it's also an insult term for a black person.

Now there's an example of a bogeyman-word that can be acceptable or insulting, and both forms are pronounced the same!
.


----------



## Yang

foxfirebrand said:
			
		

> I'm sure there are words in your language that mean something okay when pronounced a certain way, and something bad when pronounced another.


Yes, I think I know what you mean. 



> Also there are _parts_ of words that strike a little note, but aren't in themselves offensive. An American schoolteacher was actually fired for using the word "niggardly" in class, by administrators who didn't know what the word meant, and assumed it was a racial epithet-- or was intended to _sound_ like one, no matter what it meant. Well, I wasn't there-- maybe it was used with a certain tone, or a smirk or a wink, or maybe it was innocent, and the ignorant reaction to it unfair.


Things like this happen a lot, whether eastern countries or western countries.



> There used to be a weight-reduction product that came in the form of phony fudge cubes you could eat when you were hungry-- they had no calories, but supposedly satisfied the craving for a snack. They were also popular enough, the company that made them turned a profit-- until a certain disease arose in the late 1970s and became a sare-word, and then the product disappeared. Those little fudge cubes were called Ayds.


Wow.....




> Now there's an example of a bogeyman-word that can be acceptable or insulting, and both forms are pronounced the same!


 
Thank you for your comprehensive(I just learned it from English forum ) article.


----------



## se16teddy

CLEMENTINE said:
			
		

> Hello,
> 
> I think there is still a famous "monster" that many French children have heard about *"le Grand Méchant Loup"* (the big bad wolf (?))- still my nephews are learning songs with this horrible wolf.
> 
> But I am not sure that today children know about *"le Père Fouettard"* (kind of equivalent of the Italian Babbo Natale witch). "Le Père Noël" (Santa) is the good man carrying presents for children that had been good during the year, whereas "le Père Fouettard" (with his strap) would come for naughty children. I remember that when I was younger, my grandparents were asking me who, from le père noël or le père fouettard, would come for me for Christmas (but I did not know who le père fouettard was)...
> 
> All new generations forget about some monsters and create new ones...


 
Le Pere Fouettard / Zwarte Piet is still very active in Belgium and the Netherlands, but at St Nicholas rather than Christmas.


----------



## emma42

I wonder whether the AE "boogyman" is taking over the BE "bogeyman", in part because of the alternative meaning of "bogey" in BE (something horrid that comes out of your nose)!?


----------



## Papalote

When I was doing my field work in the State of Hidalgo (Mexico), I was told about the chupacabras. A sort of animal that looked like a dog and killed goats and other animals by sucking all ther blood. I had never heard of it as a kid, but I figured it was because I grew up in the city.

Here is a link (in Spanish) which explains that the legend of the chupacabras has been around for only 30 years. Which is more or less the time I started hearing about it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/specials/newsid_3894000/3894631.stm

Sorry about the link being only in Spanish. It also has other links to other *espantos* around Latin America.

Wishing you a restful night!

P


----------



## Vanda

Funny, but we have chupa-cabras as well.


> *Há algum tempo vem-se falando no chupa-cabras, que teria aparecido nas zonas rurais da cidade de Sumaré, Monte Mor, Capivari e Rafard, municípios vizinhos de Campinas-SP principalmente em 1997*


Anyway, it's new for us, according to the article (sorry, PT only) it appeared in 1977. I'd never heard of it before that time.


----------



## natasha2000

In Serbia, we have BABAROGA, which literraly means, old woman with horns.

In old slavic culture there was also DREKAVAC which means "He who screams" who lived in caves and ate little children...

But today, it is more common to scare children with Babaroga...


----------



## se16teddy

The Russians have Baba Yaga, a witch who eats children.


----------



## maxiogee

Ireland used to have "the Pooka" which is detailed in the link. One thing which isn't mentioned is a tradition my father knew. It was alleged that at Hallowe'en (a pre-Christian time of the dead) the Pooka (in the guise of a horse) galloped across the country urinating on nut-bearing/fruit-bearing trees and wither their bounty. This "explained" the feasting children did at that time.
It is thought to be associated with the British "Puck" but a touch more evil.

As children in the Dublin of the 1950s we were in fear of the bogeyman. Has anyone come across Fungus the Bogeyman - the tale by Raymond Briggs (creator of The Snowman)?


----------



## natasha2000

se16teddy said:
			
		

> The Russians have Baba Yaga, a witch who eats children.


 
It seems that Baba Yaga is not only Russian, but Slavic Boogieman... the same as Serbian Baba Roga...

From Wikipedia:


> Baba Yaga is known as *Baba Jaga* (Czech), *Baba Jaga* (Slovak), *Baba Jaga* (Polish), *Jaga Baba* (Slovene), *Баба Рога* (Macedonian), *Бáба-Ягá* (Russian), *Баба Яга* (Bulgarian), *Баба Яґа* (Ukrainian), and *Baba Roga* (Croatian and Serbian)


----------



## ewhite

maxiogee said:
			
		

> Ireland used to have "the Pooka" which is detailed in the link. One thing which isn't mentioned is a tradition my father knew. It was alleged that at Hallowe'en (a pre-Christian time of the dead) the Pooka (in the guise of a horse) galloped across the country urinating on nut-bearing/fruit-bearing trees and wither their bounty. This "explained" the feasting children did at that time.
> It is thought to be associated with the British "Puck" but a touch more evil.



I seem to remember the Pooka playing a role in some of my Grandfather's stories. If I remember correctly, if you saw a Pooka at night you were compelled to follow it.

Due to my grandparents' story-telling abilities, I to this day have a healthy respect for leprechauns (beware! they are not merry little creatures!) and take precautions never to fall asleep on a fairy mound.


----------



## maxiogee

ewhite said:
			
		

> I seem to remember the Pooka playing a role in some of my Grandfather's stories. If I remember correctly, if you saw a Pooka at night you were compelled to follow it.
> 
> Due to my grandparents' story-telling abilities, I to this day have a healthy respect for leprechauns (beware! they are not merry little creatures!) and take precautions never to fall asleep on a fairy mound.



Yeah, but fairies are protective of their mounds (a quality they share with some humans) and it is difficult to find one you can get close enough to to fall asleep!


----------



## ernest_

*Mod note:*
*This post was a begining of a new thread. I merged it with the older thread, as they both treat the same topic.*
*Reminder: please search the forum before opening new threads to avoid repetitions.*

*Thanks *

Hello!

In our country, when a bairn is doing silly things their mother or father (but most usually their mother I think) will tell them to stop being a wee silly boy or some hideous creature will make appearance. There are many such creatures, but the most notorious are the "man of the sack", a man who wanders around carrying a sack, and the "papu". Nobody knows exactly what a papu is, or what it looks like, but it is understood that is some kind of evil monster, probably a mutant. So, do parents employ these sort of tactics with bairns, in your country? What characters do they talk about?

Thanks!


----------



## Etcetera

Hi Ernest.

Oh, there's plenty of such creatures in Russian "mythology", I believe. One of the most "popular" monsters is, undoubtedly, Baba Yaga - she appears in a number of fairy tales. You can read about her in this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga

But it seems to me that such tactics isn't a common one in Russia. My parents certainly never employed it, neither with me nor with my junior sister. I have the impression that such tactics could have been pretty common in old Russia, before 1917. But nowadays it would sound rather unusual to try and scary your child in this way. I doubt it will impress them - taking into account what they can see on TV every day.


----------



## tinlizzy

My grandparents would say the 'Bogeyman' will get you if you get out of bed. My parents really disliked this and I didn't talk about scary things with my child.


----------



## alexacohen

They used to be:
"El ogro", a big green semi-human creature that ate children who did not behave. 
"El coco", unidentified monster who ate children who did not like soup.
"El lobo feroz", well, this one is known: the big bad wolf ate children who disobeyed.
"La bruja", she ate children who stayed out late (being somewhat more refined, she cooked them first).
"El hombre del saco", he kidnapped children who sneaked away from parents and put them inside his big sack (presumably he ate them later on).

I don't remember if children were really afraid of any of these characters.
I quite loved the poor big bad wolf and was rather angry at the awful treatment lovely wolves received in fairy tales.
Those characters would be useless nowadays: Etcetera is absolutely right when she says children can see on the telly worse beings than a poor and lonely big bad wolf.


----------



## Musical Chairs

In Japan they say if you aren't good the thunder (if it is thundering) will come and steal/eat your penis.


----------



## mirx

What about when they scare you with non-fictional caracters?

In México -or at least where I am from- we have the man of the sack, el coco (nobody knows exactly what it is, so this somehow keeps children fearful and untrusty).

In my case, my parents used "the man of the sack", which by the way, had a name and face and everything. He used to collect worn out clothes in rich houses a then seld them again in poorer ones. My parents made us believe that, along with the clothes, he also took misbehaved kids.


*VIVA MÉXICO*​


----------



## Horazio

The man of the sack exists also in Italy , and maybe in the majority of western countries.
But flolklore is disappearing....grandmothers used to scare kids with these tricks.


----------



## CrazyArcher

Well, besides Baba Yaga, a scary personality in Russian folklore is Babay - mostly described as an old man, who comes at night and takes with him kids who don't behave well. This creature is closest to boogeyman, I think.


----------



## Nanon

Folklore is disappearing?...
An old French song about "Le grand Lustucru", with versions from Brittany... and Saskatchewan.


----------



## avok

We have "öcü" here, I don't know why but my grandparents used this word to mean a wolf


----------



## LaReinita

Musical Chairs said:


> In Japan they say if you aren't good the thunder (if it is thundering) will come and steal/eat your penis.


 
WHAT????  Oh my goodness!!!  And they say something similar to little girls?  It saddens me to say, but this would probably not scare many boys here unless they were very young!


----------



## avok

Musical Chairs said:


> In Japan they say if you aren't good the thunder (if it is thundering) will come and steal/eat your penis.


 
Wow, this is so Freudian


----------



## Vivita24

My mother is from Panama and I recently took a trip there. It seems what is used to scare children over there is "El Duende", which I guess is an elf or gnome. 

The strange thing is that although it seems to be used to scare children it seems that even some of the older folk believe in "El Duende". My grandma described that she was watching a little boy who went to play near a river and he told her that one of his friends was calling him to the other side of the river. Apparently that little boy was somewhere else that day and it was impossible that he was at the river, so they deduced that it was a "duende" that was calling him and trying to trick him so it could take him away or something like that. I would normally chalk this up as my grandma just trying to tell a scary story or something but it turned into a long discussion and everyone was telling anctedotes about their run-ins with "duendes". Pretty neat and a little weird/spooky I have to admit.


----------



## Trisia

I'm not very familiar with all the stories, but we do have a bogeyman, called *BauBau*. I'm not sure what he looks like (more like a shadow), but he will surely come to get the naughty children, and if you've been disobedient it's always a good idea to check under the bed before going to sleep - that's where he'll probably hide. Well, there and any other dark corner of the room.

*Baba Cloanţa* is, I believe, our version of the Russian Baba Yaga (they both seem to have iron teeth).

There are some tales of the *Big Bad Wolf *(*Lupul cel rău*), but since my parents never used this kind of "education" on us, my big brother and I would invent our own Wolf/BauBau stories to keep us properly spooked at night.

We must be a very racist nation, but I've heard way too many parents scare their children that, if they're naughty, a certain ethnic minority representative would come and get them in his sack.

 Oh, and yes... I involuntarily played the role of the bogeyman once, when in a fast food (memo to self - don't ever go there again) - a child was misbehaving and I chanced to pass by their table, just to hear the mother say: "if you don't behave yourself, this girl will take you away. Won't you, miss?" Well, I must say the kid didn't look half as scared as *I* felt at that moment.


----------



## alexacohen

Maybe I'm off topic now, because what I'm going to say was not used to scare children, but adults; but I'm now in rural Galicia, northwest Spain. 
And rural people still believe in:

The "lobisome", the werewolf who will take children if he can, but whose preference are young women. 
Apparently the lobisome has a real name and personality: a serial killer of long ago.

The "Santa Compaña": a long trail of living-dead which wanders through forests and villages in moonless nights. If you are unfortunate enough to find them, the last living-dead of the trail will give you its torch and you'll be forced to join the trail.


----------



## Vanest

Hello everyone,

In Ecuador, the 'cuco' takes away naughty children who don't eat their soup or go to bed early. My parents never scared us with this, but my cousin used to be terrified of the cuco, and believed in its existence until she was about 10 years old...

In the indigenous people's folklore, there is a 'duende' (evil goblin) called the 'chuzalongo' or 'chuzaluncu'.  He punishes lazy young girls by raping them.  Whenever a single woman gets pregnant and she doesn't want to reveal the father's name, she will blame it on the chuzalongo. In other versions of this myth, he rapes and kills all of his victims, both men and woman. He is supposed to be small and very ugly and his penis is supposed to be the same size as that of a horse. Of course, this myth isn't told to small children, rather, people of all ages are afraid of him... I guess it's kind of off-topic, than. Oh well. 

Saludos,

Vanest


----------



## germinal

When I was very young my father would threaten us with a visit from Old Granny Greenteeth.    He had a little rhyme:

Run lads! Run lads! run for your life,

Old Granny Greenteeth is coming with a knife!


----------



## Lingvisten

I actually don't know, to what extend this is being used in Denmark. It wasn't used on me in my childhood. In the old days, people where very afraid that "de underjordiske" (those who live underground) should take the unbabtised child and replace it with there own offspring. such "changelings" would be ill treaded so "de underjordiske" would take it back, out of pity. This unfortunatly resulted in the death of many children, who where a little different. to protect the child, you would lay cross and steal in the craddle, and best of all an open pair of scissors.
In resent years i think the english/american boogieman has taken over, and is called "bøh-man" or "bussemand" in Denmark.


----------



## sokol

AlxGrim said:


> In my country there's the "Uomo Nero" ("The Black Man"), generally used to scare children and convince them to eat, to sleep, to behave... otherwise "the Black Man will come and take you AWAAAAAYYYYYYY.."



The Black Man _(der Schwarze Man) _also scares off kids here in Austria and I think that he is a very close relative to the Italian _Uomo Nero_ (if it's not the exact same person, that is ).

Because he, too takes away children not behaving properly. But alas, today children aren't really scared any more from the Black Man. They've got other monsters today - Disney and toon monsters, if you know what I mean: they're so much more hip, really ...


----------



## Encolpius

I dare to say we Hungarians have the most mysterious animal living only in Hungary, it is a type of owl having a penis made up of copper. You can check it here. It is called "*rézfaszú bagó*" [the owl with the copper cock ]and if childen are mischievious this owl takes them away.  I know Portuguese have gambozinos but they do not scare children.


----------



## jsvillar

There is another one from Spain, used to be very famous many years ago. It is the 'sacamantecas'. If you don't behave, he comes with a sack (so maybe he is the same as the man of the sack), takes you and then kills you to use your fat. It is based in two real stories, one from the mid 19th century and another from the early 20th century.


----------



## kloie

Vanest said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> In Ecuador, the 'cuco' takes away naughty children who don't eat their soup or go to bed early. My parents never scared us with this, but my cousin used to be terrified of the cuco, and believed in its existence until she was about 10 years old...
> 
> In the indigenous people's folklore, there is a 'duende' (evil goblin) called the 'chuzalongo' or 'chuzaluncu'. He punishes lazy young girls by raping them. Whenever a single woman gets pregnant and she doesn't want to reveal the father's name, she will blame it on the chuzalongo. In other versions of this myth, he rapes and kills all of his victims, both men and woman. He is supposed to be small and very ugly and his penis is supposed to be the same size as that of a horse. Of course, this myth isn't told to small children, rather, people of all ages are afraid of him... I guess it's kind of off-topic, than. Oh well.
> 
> Saludos,
> 
> Vanest


 
I read about something like it in a peru language site the man was living in a cave raping people.


----------



## Encolpius

And I learnt today in Galicia they call those beings: *Biosbardos*.


----------



## Vukabular

There are many mythical creatures in Serbian folklore such as:

*Psoglav* is demon from Serbian folklore. It is represented as chimera, with horse hind legs, human torso and dog's head with one eye and iron teeth. It lived in caves with plenty of gemstones, but without Sun. It ate people, sometimes and dug their graves to feast on their corpses. 

*Todorac* is the most powerful and evil demon from Balkan folktales that is half-human, half-horse. *But it should not be mistaken for Greek centaur.*
They look like riders sprouting from horse's back who are wearing cloaks that obscure their faces. Nobody ever saw their faces. While they are passing trough villages and towns, they kill everybody on their path by stomping them. Somewhere at the end of winter, there was Todor's Saturday and it was the only day when they appeared. Among them there was Great Todor, who was lame, white demon covered in white cloak and carried rattling chains. People then had special ritual to appease them and to banish them. They created cookies that looked like horse hooves and portion of those cookies was always given to horses. At that day, children were forbidden to get out of house and people didn't work.

*Osenja* is female demon from folklore of Eastern Serbia. She is represented as woman in white clothes. She could be seen on bridges, close to roads or on hills in middle of night. Osenja had habit to seduce men and to lead them across forests and fields, making them tired at dawn.

*Babaroga* is represented as very ugly, hunchbacked old woman with horn on head, who live in dark caves. According to folktales, Babaroga likes to steal naughty children and to bring them to her lair.  

*Poludnica* is spirit that appears on summer grain fields in the noon. It is represented as pale girl in white dress. She likes to grab men and women who appear on fields and throw them on the ground mercilessly.

*Drekavac *(Screamer) is demon from Serbian folklore, created from dead, unbaptized toddlers. It is represented as tiny hairy creature with long sharp claws and long fur, which he stomps upon and yells in mixture of child's cry, scream and wolf's howling. He could scream so loudly that people could get deaf from him. He lives on graveyards, in forests or shores of rivers, generally, in places where it died as human. If human approaches him, he could jump on their back and force them to run until first calls of rooster. If human resists Drekavac, their face could be shredded with claws. Drekavac is afraid of light and dogs. 

*Bukavac *is demonic creature from Serbs that live on northern part of Serbia. Similar to Drekavac, it likes to yell very loudly, but unlike Drekavac, it lives close to swamps, rivers and lakes and has different look. It has six legs, slimy skin, big mouth, long tail and long curved horns on head. It likes to drown people and animals who happen to walk close to their watery lair at late night.

*Čuma* is embodiment of Black Death disease from Serbian folktales. According to them, it is represented as ugly old woman with big eyes and messy hair. Čuma appeared at night from attic or chimney, carrying clay bowl with arrows. People tended to wash their dishes before sleep, because Čuma had habit to scratch them with her dirty nails and to poison them.  

*Beda* (misery) is demon from Southern Slavic folklore that is far descent from ghosts and close to Čuma. She wanders across the world, attacks people and torture them. There are sayings that ''Beda found them'' or ''Beda follows them from cradle to grave''. Beda is bony and slimy creature that breeds very quickly, likes to steal things from people and to dig them deep into the ground.

*Vila*  is creature from Serbian beliefs that is usually benign to humans. She is imagined as very beautiful and eternally young girl with bird or butterfly wings, golden hair, white dress and armed with bow and arrows. By beliefs, her power was in her hair. She lives far from humans, in forests, close to lakes and rivers or in clouds. It is believed that Vila is born from dew, certain flowers or when rainbow appears on sky. She could transform into any animal, especially falcon, wolf, swan or mare. She could be seen riding horses or elks in hunting, but very often could be seen dancing in circle with other Vilas. She could seduce heroes in fairytales or sometimes be their sisters-in-law, healing their wounds with various herbs that are created in battles. Human girls used to appease her for beauty or protection. Vila hardly forgives insults and could kill the offender with her eyesight or bow and arrows. Even in cases when she causes evil things, she still remains beautiful and seductive. She can become loyal to human by stealing her clothes or she can become ordinary woman if somebody takes out her wings. It is believed that seeds of garlic plant give her eternal youth. During times of New Moon, she becomes similar to Rusalka and therefore dangerous to humans.

*Rusalka* is type of fairy that lives close to lakes and rivers. Pretty much like Vila, they are imagined as beautiful, eternally young girls with red or green hair, however they are extremely hostile toward humans. They like to seduce men and to drown them, or to kill them with loud laughter. They are created from souls of young girls that are drowned or faced violent death. The most powerful repellent against Rusalke is wormwood or garlic.

*Vilenjak* is male version of Vila. Vilenjak is as tiny as flower of clover and could be summoned only if somebody finds or eats four-leaf clover. It is believed that they bring good luck to people. 

*German*  is creature  tied to weather. He could cause hailstorms, rain and thunderstorms. People used to create little figures out of clay to evoke rain during Summer Solstice (or Kupala celebration). 

*Danica* is Serbian name for Venus planet which could be seen as morning ''star'' that calls upon the dawn. In folk tales, it is represented as sister of Sun or Moon, sometimes even as daughter of Sun.

*Balačko*  is 3-headed giant from. From one head he could spit fire, from second one he could breathe cold wind. When he depletes his magical weapons, he was easy to kill.


----------



## Vukabular

*Vukodlak* (Werewolf) is actually human that shifts into half-wolf creature every night.  But in Serbian mythology, being werewolf is far different than Hollywood thing like ''getting bite or scratch''. One way for man to become werewolf is to skin killed wolf and to cover himself without tanning it (killing wolf in Serbian belief was the biggest sin, like ''rising hand against ancestor'' and being werewolf is considered as embodiment of Dazbog's punishment). Another belief is that when pregnant woman dies and when wolf passes over her body (Serbians used to burn bodies in funerals), her dead child can turn into werewolf and grows into adult over time, eventually popping out of her womb for hunt. It is believed that werewolf could cause eclipse by devouring Sun or Moon and spitting it out after certain amount of time. And unlike pop-culture werewolves, these werewolves do not transform others into one, nor they age, nor they make tribes/packs nor make wars with vampires. Some people believed that werewolves are siblings with Vampires, because they both are immortals, stuck between Yav (world of humans and mythical creatures) and Nav (world of dead) and they both share same food - human blood and flesh. They don't do tribal stuff (tattoos, jewelry, decorative feathers and religious rituals like Native Americans). They hunt alone and are craving for flesh once they transform. In general, they are acting like every canine with rabies. Werewolf can temporarily turn back into human by touching anything made of silver or gold and he can be killed by beheading with weapons made of same material. 

*Vampir* (Vampire) is the only Serbian word accepted in all world's languages. Everybody knows them as human-shaped undead blood-drinkers with fangs that pops up in almost all RPG games, cartoons, animes and movies. But original Serbian vampire is far much different from their Hollywood siblings. They usually came from people who were either truly evil while alive, or who ended their lives with suicide or being tortured. Sometimes, evil spirit possesses and bodies from innocent people and their living corpse or their ghost (belief is depending of region) comes to vampire's hometowns and attacks people, sustaining themselves with their flesh and blood. 
Unlike their siblings from pop-culture, Vampires are not charming and sparkling aristocrats, who wear goth-like clothes and act very calm and seductive toward their victims, nor they make wars with Werewolves, nor they have just two fangs. Original Vampires came from all classes of society and wear whatever they brought into their grave. They never make relationships with mortals and act very violent in search for blood - ripping off victim's throat, almost beheading them with their sharp teeth, much like their werewolf relatives. And their faces turn red when they are full. While Werewolves had human shadow and mirror image, Vampires don't have it at all.
Also they don't shift into bats. Vampires originally shapeshifted into butterflies or moths, as they have habit of gathering around moonlight. That ''shifting into bats'' is Hollywood thing, because vampire bats exist in New World.  The most known Vampir is Petar Blagojević - villager that lived in Serbian village of Kisiljevo who died in 1725. and became vampire few weeks later. That village was under reign of Austro-Hungarian Empire and every human died every day from plague that was apparently caused by him. There is also and story that his apparition came to his living wife, searching for opanci (Serbian shoes). When Austrian doctors came to that village and dug him out from grave, his corpse had fresh, red face and had blood on his mouth. And news that Vampire appeared caused massive panicking among people of Austro-Hungary. Thanks to Petar Blagojević, Vampires became known and beyond Serbian territory. The only common thing between original and Hollywood vampire is their treatment - they can be banished with garlic and Holy Cross and water. And can be killed either by beheading or by stabbing in chest with stakes made of whitethorn tree.


----------



## Vukabular

*Besomar* is demon that is connected to disgust and hatred that had similarities with Werewolf or Vampire. Sometimes, historians mistake Besomar with them, saying that it's just another name for same demon. Name is made from ''bes'' (anger, rage) with ''mora'' (torture, death).

*Bauk* is from Serbian beliefs. Parents used to scare children with him. Word ''bauljati'' is used when somebody walks weirdly. Bauk had weird walking and lived in dark places, in holes or abandoned houses from where he preys upon humans and eats them. The only way to banish bauk is to use light or noise. English word that is close to Bauk is ''ogre''.

*Mora* is night demon that, because of her name is usually mistaken with Morana. She is created from girl baby that is born with blood and had habit to sit on people's chest while they are sleeping and drink their blood. They could take form of hair or straw and could pass trough keyhole.

*Liko* is demon of misfortune known in all Slavic countries. She is represented as old skinny woman with one eye who is wearing black clothing. 

*Zmaj* (Dragon) is known in almost all World's cultures. However Zmaj in Serbian folklore is represented as rather benign creature, created from certain animals which lived up to 30 or 100 years (rooster, carp, horse, ox, ram or dog). It always had either one or even number of heads and traits from animal that it borrowed. It fought against Azhdaja and it was invisible to everybody, except to woman whom he falls in love. Relationship between Zmaj and human women could bring ''zmajevitu'' children (Dragonborn children) and they differed from humans by having large head or eyes and tiny wings under their armpits.

*Aždaja* is demonic version of Zmaj (Dragon). Created from serpent that lived up to 100 years or eaten another one. Usually in stories they have odd number of heads, rarely two. They spit fire, have terrible roar and have evil look on their faces. They live in caves or mountains, from where they escape and cause hailstorms or devour humans or cattle. They were so known in Serbian folklore that Christianity adopted it as perfect image for devil - being greedy and hungry all the time and extremely hostile to all living beings.

*Cikavac* is tiny bird that could be, according to belief, created when woman stole egg of black hen and put it under her armpit for 40 days. Until hatching, woman could not confess, pray, cut her nails or wash her face.  Once Cikavac is created, it remains very loyal to its master. It could steal honey or milk from nearby beehives or cows, then give it to its master. Also it could give its owner a power to understand animal language.

*Milosnice* are demons of plague, known in all Slavic countries. Their name in English would be ''merciful ones'' and Slavs called them like that, because they wanted to appease them and to avoid plague that they bring. They are represented as women in black and they walked in groups, rarely alone. Amount of Milosnice was measured by amount of sicknesses that they brought. There was no cure from them, but there was a way to appease them and to eventually avoid their plagues. People could light fires on crossroads and on village's entrance and they could share food and drink and even sing before fire.


----------



## Vukabular

*Žar-Ptica *it is imagined as tall, otherworldly beautiful bird that sleeps during day and gets out at night. Its feathers glowed like fire (they didn't burn like fire) and could illuminate whole areas like Sun. It is believed that whoever catch it could fulfill their wishes or bring hope. Unlike pop-culture Phoenix it didn't cremate itself to be reborn, but it's represented as immortal bird.

*Nezit* is tiny demon that could cause physical sicknesses in humans, making their teeth to fall out, making flu, deafen them and blind them.

*Domovoj* (or Domovik) is house spirit represented as tiny middle-aged man with fur cloak, he guarded houses and cared for cattle and therefore connected with God Veles. He could transform into dog, cat and cow, rarely and into snake or frog. He lived often in corner close to hearth, on attic or in garden. He could be heard, but it was dangerous to be seen. If people don't bring tribute to him (in form of bread or wheat), he could abandon their home and cause sickness of inhabitants and cattle.

*Sudjenice* (or Sudjaje) are trio of spirits known under different names across all Slavic countries. They are weaving destiny of every newborn child, including and how long child will live and how it will die and nobody can escape that. Slavs had habit to welcome them with clean house and clothing for mother and child who is surrounded by already made bread, wine, picked basil plant and gold and silver coins as tribute to them. Three days after child is born, they appear in their home. First sudjaya is very ugly and evil, she is telling the death of child. Second one is also evil and she threads child's dysfunctions, while third one is the most beautiful of them and she threads longevity of child's life and success in marriage. Usually, people pick second option that is neutral.

*Lesnik* is creature known in all Slavic countries. His wife is called Lesovika. His role was to protect forests and wildlife that inhabited them. He could change his size from size of grass to the tallest tree. He had blue cheeks because of blue blood, pale skin, hair and beard created from grass and vines and vivid green eyes. Slavs thought that migrations of animals are actually Lesnik's orders. If human befriends Lesnik, they could learn everything about magic. Farmers and shepherds usually made pact with him, so he could take care of their animals and farms. Lesnik is known that he could lead people to wrong way in forest, where he could tickle them to death and people had habit to wear their clothes upside-down, so they won't get lost. If two Lesnici meet each other, they could wreak havoc upon forests, destroying trees and make animals scared and scattered.

*Nav* is demon known in all Slavic countries. As they shared name with ''Nav'' - realm of dead and are created from dead, unbaptized babies, they embodied death itself. They are represented as black birds with baby heads who attacked pregnant women and children. They also could attack and cattle and steal milk from them.

*Stratim* is the mother of all birds in the world. She is an assistant of the god of wind, Stribog. Just one movement of her wing may create a huge wave in the sea. Also, her screams can cause storms. Like the mostly Slavic mythological birds, she is imagined like bird with head and chest of woman. She is said to live close to the Ocean-Sea.


----------



## Starless74

Mr Tolkien must have visited Serbia back in the day, I reckon.


----------



## Vukabular

He alredy took alot from our mitology


----------



## Stoggler

He took a lot from various mythologies.  And many of Europe’s mythologies are related, stories have been told and retold as peoples moved around the continent.


----------



## nimak

*Macedonian*:

Some of the mythical creatures mentioned by @Vukabular are part of the Macedonian folklore too. But I will mention here only the Macedonian imaginary evil persons/creatures used to scare kids:

*Баба Рога* _or_ *Бабарога* (Baba Róga _or_ Babaróga) _n. fem._ - the Macedonian female "_Bogeyman"_​*Бубашар* (Búbašar) _n. masc._ - the Macedonian male "_Bogeyman"_​
It is interesting that these two are used with definite articles too, unlike other personal names, geographical names etc. which do not get definite articles in Macedonian. So, we have:
​*Бабарогата* (Babarógata) _"the Babaroga"_, and​*Бубашарот* (Bubášarot) _"the Bubashar"_.​

p.s. @Vukabular you forgot to mention *Караконџула* / *Karakondžula*


----------



## Penyafort

There are some local ones but the most widespread equivalent in Catalonia would be the *Papu*. For some it'd have the shape of a man, for others it could be like a threatening cloud or a sort of ghost, but the fact that it's so undefined is probably because it's nothing but trying to give some shape to Fear. Blackness/darkness is commonly associated to it, it's usually hidden, wears hoods or appears at night, when you can only see his eyes. When thought of as a stormy cloud, it may come down from the sky at any moment and eat kids or even adults.

I myself recall my grandmother telling me_ Afanya't que he vist el Papu... _'Hurry up, I've seen the Papu!' when we were getting late. In fact, not being told exactly what it was like often made it more terrifying in a child's mind.


----------



## Awwal12

Cracker Jack said:


> I would just like to know if the Boogeyman, an imaginary evil person or creature to scare kids off also exists in your culture.


In some manner, yes (babáy; búka). Although my grandmother was scarying me off with a policeman most of the time instead (may be considered another mythical monster of the Russian culture - and much more popular one, to think about it).


----------



## nimak

Awwal12 said:


> my grandmother was scarying me off with a policeman most of the time


Scaring kids with the "_policeman_" or with the "_doctor who will inject you_" is common among the Macedonians too.


----------



## Awwal12

nimak said:


> Isn't *Бaба-ягa* (Baba Yaga) used for scaring kids in Russia?


Maybe occasionally, I suppose.


nimak said:


> Unfortunately, scaring kids with the "_policeman_" or with the "_doctor who will inject you_" is common among the Macedonians too.


Well, the policeman at least makes some actual sense. But a doctor?..


----------



## nimak

@Awwal12 Unfortunately, yes.  Scaring disobedient kids with:
"_I will call the doctor to give you an injection!_" or
"_You see that woman? She's a doctor and will give you an injection!_"

And these kids later in their life develop phobia of doctors and injections.


----------



## Xamayca

Over here, we have : the Blackheart man, the bogey man, the duppy man, and the Coco man.

*Blackheart man*
As kids, we grew up hearing about him. We were told to be careful of strangers who might walk up and invite us into their cars or homes. They could also be found in the lonely countryside or in the gullies. They might even show up at schools and parks. So, it brought fear to us as youths every time we heard the name Blackheart man. He is known for kidnapping and ripping the heart from the chest. 'Di Blackheart man eh comin'.

*Bogey man*
The bogey man lives here, too.

*Duppy or duppy man*
A duppy is a spirit of the dead. Parents say things like, don't go outside after dark or the duppy man will take you away or if you don't eat up, the duppy man will come for you. If he hears children crying, singing or talking loudly at night, he also robs them of their voice.

*Coco man*
The Coco man a.k.a Cucu man (also known as el Coco) is known to strike fear into the hearts of many Hispanic and Latino children and also some kids here. This strange beast is not known to have a specific appearance, but is instead thought to be a shapeshifter that is ‘terrible to look at.’ In some regions, the Coco Man is thought to have the power to transform into the thing a child fears most.
He climbs onto the roofs of children who disobey their parents and waits until they fall asleep. It is then that the coco man sneaks into the room of the naughty child and kidnaps them for its next meal.


----------



## Vukabular

Vukabular said:


> *Vukodlak* (Werewolf) is actually human that shifts into half-wolf creature every night. But in Serbian mythology, being werewolf is far different than Hollywood thing like ''getting bite or scratch''. One way for man to become werewolf is to skin killed wolf and to cover himself without tanning it (killing wolf in Serbian belief was the biggest sin, like ''rising hand against ancestor'' and being werewolf is considered as embodiment of Dazbog's punishment). Another belief is that when pregnant woman dies and when wolf passes over her body (Serbians used to burn bodies in funerals), her dead child can turn into werewolf and grows into adult over time, eventually popping out of her womb for hunt. It is believed that werewolf could cause eclipse by devouring Sun or Moon and spitting it out after certain amount of time. And unlike pop-culture werewolves, these werewolves do not transform others into one, nor they age, nor they make tribes/packs nor make wars with vampires. Some people believed that werewolves are siblings with Vampires, because they both are immortals, stuck between Yav (world of humans and mythical creatures) and Nav (world of dead) and they both share same food - human blood and flesh. They don't do tribal stuff (tattoos, jewelry, decorative feathers and religious rituals like Native Americans). They hunt alone and are craving for flesh once they transform. In general, they are acting like every canine with rabies. Werewolf can temporarily turn back into human by touching anything made of silver or gold and he can be killed by beheading with weapons made of same material.


*True story of werewolf and Count Dracula*
The story begins in the 14th century when The Dragon Order was established in the Balkans for defence against the frequent attacks by the Ottoman Turks. Some of the founders of the order were  Bohemian royal son Sigismund of Luxembourg King of Hungary,  Despot of Serbia Stefan Lazarević and The Prince of Wallachia Vlad II Dracul _("Dragon")_. Over time, the political situation changed and Matthias Corvinus _(Latin), Matija Korvin (Serbian)_ came to the throne of Hungary (in order to become king of Hungary he had to switch from the Orthodox to the Catholic religion) he was son of _Ioannes Corvinus (Latin), Hunyadi János (Hungarian), Sibinjanin Janko (Serbian) who was son of Vojk (Wolf) and grandson of Srb (Serb; Sorb; Serbe). At that time, Vuk Grgurević aka Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk ("Wolf the Fiery Dragon") cousin of Despot Stefan Lazarević was on the Serbian throne and Vlad lll Drăculea (son of dragon) was on the throne of Wallachia. The bloodline of the Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk and the Vlad lll Drăculea originates from the Serbian Dynasty Nemanjić. All three fought in the liberation of the city of Srebrenica from the Turks. The city is named after the silver mine, in Serbian silver - "srebro"... Serbs have an ancient relationship with wolves, so the wolf plays a significant role in Serbian folklore, so the  personal name "Vuk" (Wolf) and its variations are very common among Serbs, and even more common as root in Serbian surnames._


----------



## apmoy70

In Greek:

*«Μπαμπούλας»* [baˈbu.las] (masc.) --> _bogeyman_ of unknown etymology. Some philologists believe it's from the Byz. Gr. masc. noun *«βάμβουλας» bámboulas* and *«βούμβουλας» boúmboulas* --> _beetle_ < Classical masc. noun *«βομβυλιός» bŏmbŭliós* --> _large beetle, any humming insect in general_ < Classical masc. noun *«βόμβος» bómbŏs* --> _noise with a low tone_ (onomatopoeic).
Others take *«μπαμπούλας»* as being an onomatopoeia, a name created to scare children, with no specific meaning.

*«Αράπης»* [aˈɾa.pis] (masc.) --> _black man_ < Ottoman Turkish عرب‎ [aˈɾap] --> _black man_ < Arabic عَرَب‎ [ʕarab] --> _Arab_. *«Αράπης»* in MoGr is the non-pc word for the coloured person, which we tend to avoid. In the collective uncontiousness of the Greek society of late 19th-early 20th c. black men were identified with the North African/Arab slaves, whom the Ottomans employed to carry-through the devşirme system of abducting Christian boys; they then were transferring them to Istanbul, converted them to Islam and trained them to become Janissaries. The usual phrase with which mothers used to intimidate their children with, was: "Do such and such, or the _Arapis_ will come and take you away."

*«Γύφτος»* [ˈʝif.tɔs] (masc.) --> _gypsy_ < Late Byz. Gr. masc. *«Αἰγύπτιος» Eʝýptios* --> _Egyptian_ > **Αἰγύφτιος* with dissimilation > *«γύφτ(ι)ος»* with aphetism. When Roma people first appeared in SE Europe, they were wrongly believed to have come from Egypt. The usage is similar to «Αράπης» (the Ottoman Roma too, conducted devşirme).


----------



## tsoapm

Not my country, but I've heard of Krampus in Central Europe now via touristic translations and an episode of the Mythology podcast.


----------



## MrMuselk

We have the Sacamantecas in Andalusia. The worst thing is, it is based on a real crime that happened about 50 years ago, about half a kilometre from my house! Not joking! There are several cases of this crime, with different perpetrators, but in my region, it is based on the one I just talked about.


----------



## Linnets

tsoapm said:


> Not my country, but I've heard of Krampus in Central Europe now via touristic translations and an episode of the Mythology podcast.


Krampus exists in Italian- and Friulian-speaking Alpine regions as well, next to German-speaking ones. In Italy there's also the _gatto mammone_, an enormous evil cat.


----------



## grindios

La Sucia is alive and well in Honduras today as is La Llorona


----------



## AutumnOwl

In Sweden (and the other Scandinavian countries) we have *troll*, a kind of giants living in the forest and known to abduct human children.
Troll - Wikipedia

Then there are *näcken*, a male water spirit trying to lure people to the water and drown them. One way was to play on a fiddle.
Nixie (folklore) - Wikipedia

In the forest you could also meet *skogsrået/skogsfrun/huldran*, a beautiful woman when seen from the front, but her back was hollow and she had a tail. She was the warden of the forest and its animals. If you angered her she could get you lost in the forest.
Skogsrå - Wikipedia

Your farm/homestead is guarded by the *tomte/nisse*, if you treated him well he will help you with the chores and farm work, but he could have a short temper, so be careful. Today the tomte and the nisse is usually only remembered at Christmas time, he's just seen as the Swedish Santa Claus.
Nisse (folklore) - Wikipedia

On the island of Gotland lives *di sma undar jordi*, (the small ones underground), they are related to the old vætter in the Nordic mythology. Their role is similar to the tomte, to act as a guardian of the home, but they live in groups while the tomte is solitary. You have to be careful not to scald them by throwing out hot water on the ground, always give themill a warning.
Di sma undar jordi - Wikipedia
Vættir - Wikipedia

There are several kinds of keepers or warden known as a _*rå*_ in Scandinavian mythology, and you had see to keep a good relationship with them, as they could cause harm if you angered them.
Rå - Wikipedia


----------



## Terio

In Quebec, we had the *Bonhomme Sept-Heures* (Seven O'Clock Guy). Young children had to go to bed before 7:00 PM, or they would have to deal with him. We did not know exactly what the treat was, but we did not want to try it.

Some say that the name actually comes from English *bone setter*, a pretty scary figure  for a child, for sure.


----------



## pimlicodude

It is worth adding that "bog(e)yman" is British English. "Boog(e)yman" is American English, although maybe both forms are accepted in North America? The British pronunciation is (usually, as we are under American influence) /ˈbəʊɡimæ:n/.


----------



## Linnets

pimlicodude said:


> The British pronunciation is (usually, as we are under American influence) /ˈbəʊɡimæ:n/.


Jones/Roach pronouncing dictionary gives /ˈbəʊɡimæn/ (US /ˈboʊ-) for _bogeyman_ and /ˈbʊɡimæn/ or /ˈbuː-/ for _boogeyman_.


----------



## pimlicodude

Linnets said:


> Jones/Roach pronouncing dictionary gives /ˈbəʊɡimæn/ (US /ˈboʊ-) for _bogeyman_ and /ˈbʊɡimæn/ or /ˈbuː-/ for _boogeyman_.


Well, I don't think the OED has boogeyman. But this word is often found in the UK in its US form and pronunciation. I say "often", but it is not the most frequent word in the language. I added the lengthmark in the final vowel, as I find most dictionaries do not point out that the vowel in "man" is long (probably because there are dialects, e.g. in the north of England, where it isn't).


----------



## matakoweg

In Holland children were scared with ‘tien toon en elf rib’, literally ten toes and eleven ribs. It was a creature living below the surface of the water who grabbed children when they were too close to the water's edge.


----------

