The bogeyman is a world-renowned fictional figure. It is one of the most traditional ways that parents or guardians use to put fear in a child, in the sense of associating this fictitious monster with the child's contradiction or disobedience in relation to the order or advice of the adult.
Since the time of the Crusades, the image of an abominable being was already used to generate fear in children. Muslims projected this figure on King Richard, Heart of the Lion, stating that if the children did not behave as expected, slaves would be taken by the melek-ric (bogeyman): “Be good if not the melek-ric come and get you”.
The bogeyman image varies according to region. In Brazil and Portugal, the term “bogeyman” is used. In the Netherlands, the monster takes the name of Zwart Piet (Black Peter), who is tasked with catching the mean or disobedient children and throwing them into the Black Sea or taking them to Spain. In Luxembourg, the bogeyman (Housecker) is an individual who puts children in the bag and beats their buttocks with a small wooden stick.
According to popular tradition, the bogeyman hides in poorly educated children's bedrooms, in closets, in drawers and under the bed to frighten them in the middle of the night. Another type of bogeyman appears on moonless nights and puts lying children in a bag to make soap. When a child does something wrong, he must apologize, otherwise, according to legend, he will receive a visit from the monster.
