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beware the baba yaga

What People From Around The World Colloquially Call Their Boogeyman, Mapped

Every country has their own Boogeyman. What are they called, where do they come from and what do they look like?

7 months ago · 61.6k reads ·

Horror filmmakers and Hollywood screenwriters have always taken cues from folklore and pop culture for cool-sounding names. Monsters and assassins in action movies have been known as The Boogeyman, Krampus, La Chupacabra, the Baba Yaga and the Jersey Devil.

These creepy cryptids are shared around the world in all cultures, as every country has their own spooky person or creature who will jump out and get you if you're either a child or a big "X-Files" fan. The Toy Zone mapped out what every country and continent calls their Boogeyman, and it turns out some other places have some very cool ways to scare kids into being well mannered.

And a shout-out to Canada's The Seven O'Clock Man, it's the best-kept secret that country has. What a cool character in a top hat with a sack over his shoulder.

Click the image to zoom in

Via The Toy Zone.

Comments

DMCDKNF 7 months ago

Seriously?! I would bet that most people in the USA who have even heard of the Jersey Devil only have because of an X-Files episode. I grew up in California we were warned that El Cucuy would get bad children, La Llarona would get kids that wouldn't stop crying, Shunka Warakin would get you if you were messing around in the pastures at night, and a generic bogeyman hid under kids' beds.
Eric Jorgensen 7 months ago

I am imagining a place where all these misunderstood people get together and just enjoy themselves and love each other.
Xavier 7 months ago

In Mexico, the more general boogeyman is El Cucuy, which fits in with other Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries in North and South America, as well as Portugal and Spain, that go by the names Cuco, Cuca, and El Coco.
Dasoman 7 months ago

Spain also has "El Coco". The difference being that the "Hombre del Saco" kidnaps children for unknown purposes, while the Coco just eats them.
Old Man Yells At Klo... 7 months ago

Alright, this feels like BS : I'm from France and I've never ever heard of Hans Trapp. It is probably a thing very specific to Alsace, a region bordering Germany (hence the german sound of the name). There's "Père Fouettard", originating from Lorraine, but the most general translation of Boogeyman would probably be "croque-mitaine".

I don't why i felt strongly enough about this to log in and comment, tho
parpy time 7 months ago

I'm Canadian. NEVER heard of a "Seven o'Clock Man," wtf...also there are LOADS of cool indigenous boogeymen! Look up the Wendigo, or Skin Walkers...there's lot's of good folklore
A W 7 months ago

I love how the Scottish are just afriad of a horse!
1. Joe Publique 7 months ago
  
  Lol. Shame it’s not true though. A kelpie is said to be a shape-shifting aquatic spirit that eats people. It can take several forms, only one of which is a horse. And to be more pedantic, ‘a kelpie’ and ‘the boogeyman’ are not the same thing in Scotland. Both are completely different things. Nice try whoever made the list though. I wonder how many more are wrong.