Origin of the Bogeyman?

Question

I never thought I would post a question here, but maybe this fits the theme. I've been wondering just how old the meme of the bogeyman is in our culture and where it came from originally. I wonder of maybe this notion goes all the way back to Neanderthal and the great fear and probable disgust that subspecies caused in our (white) ancestors. One way of testing that would be to see if African or Asian or Native American cultures have something that is essentially equivalent to the bogeyman. If they don't, then my hypothesis might be worth considering. Sasquatch and Yeti might come close to blowing my theory. Whaddya think?

Answer 1

the boogeyman story has been passed down from generation. Something the old timers used to say to us kids to make us go to sleep.

Answer 2

Huh? Maybe Native American.

Answer 3

An Indonesian tourist brochure I once read claimed the Bugu or Buga, extremely capable sailors with a long history of p****y from near the Singapore straits, whom you definitely did not want to meet at sea, as the original bugamen, hence bogeymen. Louis L'Amour made reference to them from some of his knocking about in the area of New Guinea, ("Education of a Wandering Man") and used one as a character in several books, including "West from Singapore."

Answer 4

Actually, that is a very cool idea. Let me see if I have any good input for this.

If you look at the wikipedia article someone linked to, you can see that many cultures do have an equivalent of the bogeyman, but most of them involve actions that would be a bit uncharacteristic of neanderthal thinking, like putting children in bags and selling them. Still, they may have a root in prehistory. Perhaps the legend changed with different cultures.

Also, I see that Native American, African, and Asian cultures do go virtually unrepresented on the list, either because they have not been added or because your theory is a possibility. Interesting! I would think that it would be something scientists would investigate. Maybe someone will look into it.

As for sasquatch and the yeti, I don't think so. They bogeyman seems to usually be just that, a man, if a strange one. And usually they have characteristics of humans, like carrying around bags, wearing clothes, and selling children. So I doubt the yeti theory.

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By the way, I looked more closely, and there are quite a few myths featuring a monster or man that steals children and eats them. Maybe derives from ancient predators? Perhaps the neanderthals had some kind of natural enemy that would attack children. Over time, this could evolve into the bogeyman.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogeyman

Answer 6

some crazy people made it up

Answer 7

The bogeyman, boogyman, or bogyman or the 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.

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogeyman

Answer 9

irritated babysitters.

Answer 10

I believe K.C. and the Sunshine Band is the origin of the boogy man.

"I'm your boogy man, that's what I am. I'm here to do whatever I can."