Bogeyman

The bogeyman, also boogeyman and bogyman, is a ghost-like monster that children often believe is real.

The bogeyman has no specific appearance. He is sometimes equated with specific real-life persons, such as serial killer Albert Fish.

Sometimes parents will, as a way of controlling their children, encourage belief in a bogeyman that only preys on children who misbehave. Such bogeymen may be said to target a specific transgression—for instance, a bogeyman that persecutes children who suck their thumbs—or just general misbehaviour.

The term "bogeyman" is also used metaphorically to mean a person or thing of which someone else has an irrational fear.