A bogeyman (also spelled bogieman, or boogeyman) is a mythical creature in many cultures used by adults to frighten children into compliant behaviour. The monster has no specific appearance, and conceptions about it can vary drastically from household to household within the same community; in many cases, he has no set appearance in the mind of an adult or child, but is simply a non-specific embodiment of terror. Parents may tell their children that if they misbehave, the bogeyman will get them. Bogeymen may target a specific mischief—for instance, a bogeyman that punishes children who suck their thumbs—or general misbehaviour, depending on what purpose needs serving. In some cases, the bogeyman is a nickname for the Devil.
Bogeyman tales vary by region. The bogeyman is usually a masculine entity but can be any gender or simply androgynous.
Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
1.1 Other putative origins
2 Analogies in other cultures
2.1 Sack Man
2.2 El Cucuy
2.3 Babau
2.4 Butzemann
2.5 Other examples
3 In modern culture
4 See also
5 Notes and references
6 External links
Etymology[edit]

The word bogey is derived from the Middle English bogge/bugge (also the origin of the word bug), and so is generally thought to be a cognate of the German bögge, böggel-mann (English "Bogeyman"). The word could also be linked to many similar words in other European languages: bogle (Scots), boeman (Dutch), Butzemann (German), busemann (Norwegian), bøhmand (Danish), bòcan, púca, pooka or pookha (Irish), pwca, bwga or bwgan (Welsh), puki (Old Norse), pixie or piskie (Cornish), puck (English), lidérc or mumus (Hungarian), bogu (Slavonic), buka (Russian, бука), bauk (Serbian), baubas (Lithuanian), baubau (Romanian), babau (Italian), bida (Polish), papão or sarronco (Portuguese), torbalan (Bulgarian), Μπαμπούλας (Greek).[1]
The word bugbear, from bug + bear, suggests that the bogey eating small children takes on the appearance of a bear.[2] The word bugaboo probably arose as an alteration of bugbear.[3]
Other putative origins[edit]
In Southeast Asia, the term is commonly accepted to refer to Bugis[4] or Buganese[5] pirates, ruthless seafarers of southern Sulawesi, Indonesia's third largest island. These pirates often plagued early English or Dutch trading ships, namely those of the British East India Company or Dutch East India Company. It is popularly believed that this resulted in the European sailors' bringing their fear of the "bugi men" back to their home countries. However, etymologists disagree with this, because words relating to bogeyman were in common use centuries before European colonization of Southeast Asia and it is therefore unlikely that the Bugis would have been commonly known to westerners during that time.
Another theory is that of the bog-man, meaning someone hiding in the English peat bogs, something criminals might do when avoiding the police.[citation needed]
Analogies in other cultures[edit]

Bogeyman-like beings are nearly universal; common to folklore in many disparate countries.
Sack Man[edit]
Main article: Sack Man
In many countries, a bogeyman variant is portrayed as a man with a sack on his back who carries naughty children away. This is true for many Latin countries, such as Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and the countries of Spanish America, where it referred to as el "Hombre del costal", el "hombre del saco", el roba-chicos, or in Portuguese, o "homem do saco" (all of which mean "the sack/bag man"). Similar legends are also very common in Eastern Europe, as well as Haiti and some countries in Asia.
El Cucuy[edit]
Main article: Coco (folklore)
El Coco (also El Cuco and Cucuy, sometimes called El Bolo) is a monster common to many Spanish-speaking countries.
In Spain, parents will sing lullabies or tell rhymes to children, warning them that if they do not sleep, El Coco will come and get them. The rhyme originated in the 17th century has evolved over the years, but still retains its original meaning.