Friday, October 26, 2012


The Bogeyman.

Many years ago parents would sometimes threaten their children with the words “if you don’t behave, the bogeyman will get you”. However, who or what was the bogeyman?

A bogeyman might live under the bed, in a wardrobe/closet, in a dark cupboard under the stairs or anywhere that might be dark or spooky. If you looked through the keyhole you may see an eye looking back at you...that may be the bogeyman looking back at you.

Bogeymen can appear as shadowy figures you see out of the corner of your eye but when you look there is nothing there.  They can change shape to look like black dogs, weirdly shaped trees with branches shaped like claws or glowing eyes that appear in the dark of night.  They may even stand behind you, causing you to feel uneasy sending a shiver up your back.

The bogeyman is a general term for a frightening figure that was used to frighten the vulnerable and the word itself may derive from the old Anglo-Saxon word Boh, meaning demon. This may also have given rise to the custom of creeping up behind someone and shouting “Boh” or “Boo” meaning “The devil is behind you”.

 Here in Ireland our bogeyman was also known as Bloody Bones or Rawhead and this bogeyman has spread throughout the U.K. and North America presumably through the Irish diaspora (Diaspóra na nGael).

Bloodybones was believed to live in places near water and this may be why he may be found under the sink hiding in the cupboard near the water pipes.  It was said that Bloody Bones would reward good children but naughty children would be taken down through the sink hole or drainpipes into the drains or sewers and there they would be drowned.

This Samhain/ Halloween be careful, if you see a rock that looks as if it has hair on it then it may just be a bogeyman. You may see a black dog covered in scabs or scars, is it really a dog? When you are out for a walk in the woods and you hear a noise or you are standing by a lake and you suddenly feel uneasy, who knows what may be lurking in the undergrowth or beneath the dark waters.  The bogeyman can take many shapes so don’t look over your shoulder.

Sweet dreams.

 

4 comments:

  1. The British band Siouxsie and the Banshees had a song called Rawhead and Bloodybones:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Mv0vbFEsE

    When I was younger, I was sure there was something like the bogeyman that occasionally followed me around. I'm still not sure if it was real or imagined...maybe both.

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    1. Hi there manbehindthecurtain and thank you for your thoughts. Maybe we should leave the last word to Hamlet when he said "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy". Who can know what lies behind the veil.

      Keep smiling.

      SilentOwl.

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  2. Ah' feck I remember being threatened with the Bogeyman ever so many times throughout my childhood my mother saying things like 'If you don't behave the bogeyman will get you" Well one day I decided to put him to the test and nothing happened other than a clout from herself, so the next time B-man was mentioned I laughed and he was never mentioned again.

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    1. Hi Heron.

      I remember when my biological would say "come here and I'll give ye a belt" Stupidly I did and sure enough I got the belt, how many times before I too learned not to respond. Some adults can be a bit strange to say the least.

      Keep smiling.

      SilentOwl.

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