“The Old Gray Wolf Comes: The Boogeyman and Why This Character Type is Still Needed in Fantasy Fiction”

Written By Noelle Hollar

Introduction

“We make our own monsters, then fear them for what they show us about ourselves.”

~ Mike Carey

“Keep clear of those woods - especially after dark.” The warning has been spoken by just about every local you’ve come across since arriving in this quaint little town. No one will tell you why, of course. They just tell you to do it. Don’t go in the woods. Keep inside after dark. End of story.

The rebellious streak in you, in all of us really, wants to do exactly that: go into the woods and see just what has everyone so jumpy. So, one night, you decide to test it, just a little, and of course you go after dark. What’s the point in being rebellious if you don’t do it all the way, right?

The woods are dark. No surprise there. What is surprising is the quiet. The stillness. There’s no sound of another animal in these woods. No matter how hard you strain your ears, not a trace of life can be heard.

It’s cold. You brought a coat, of course, and a pair of gloves just in case, and you’ve put every layer on in the last ten minutes. It offers little relief. The cold isn’t just a chill on the air. It’s the kind of cold that seeps through every stitch of clothing and down into your bones. You can’t stop shivering. You’re rapidly losing sensation in your fingers, your face, just about every extremity you can think of. You can barely breathe.

And then, suddenly, you wish you couldn’t breathe, because you’re hit with an indescribable, unholy stench. Like the cold, it’s everywhere. There’s no hope for even a gasp of fresh air, not with this stink all around you - the stink of rotting flesh, of death and decay. Your eyes are watering as you choke on it, coughing in a desperate attempt for air, any air at all. Between the darkness and the watery film clouding your vision, you can’t see a thing.

Including the thing standing right in front of you. 

The boogeyman is a favorite around this spooky time of year, with characters such as Pitch Black from the 2012 film Rise of the Guardians, the Babadook from the 2014 film of the same name, and Oogie Boogie from the 1993 holiday classic The Nightmare Before Christmas - because nothing gets you in the Halloween spirit like a bug-hungry pillowcase with a gambling problem - but this character isn’t just a figment of films and children’s books. The boogeyman is a prolific presence throughout mythology and folklore across the world, from a cannibalistic hag in the Slavic woodlands to a tragic specter haunting Mexican rivers to a monster of terrible proportions and ravenous appetite that haunts the cold forests of North America. In honor of this creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky time of year, we’re going to visit some of the boogeymen that haunt both realm and rumor across the world, from North America to Ancient Greece to the wild plains of Africa, then spend some time discussing the top three reasons that our fantasy fiction stories still need a boogeyman. 

Character Examples

“Myths and legends from around the world provide us with a wealth of creatures to use in our stories…Not all of these are monsters, but all are strange, wondrous, and fabulous creations and their stories are waiting to be continued in the hands of the skilled author.”

~ Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction: How to Create Out-of-this-World Novels and Short Stories

Lamia

Arguably the original boogeyman, Lamia’s story is a familiar tragedy to those acquainted with Greek mythology. Once a beautiful queen of Libya, Lamia’s looks attracted the attention of the infamous womanizer, the king of Olympus himself, Zeus. Their affair produced several children and eventually came to the attention of Zeus’ perpetually slighted wife, Hera. The accounts vary on what happened next; some versions say Hera stole Lamia’s children and hid them away forever, or simply killed them, while the most terrible version says that Hera caused Lamia to kill and devour her own children in a temporary fit of insanity.

However it came about, the loss of Lamia’s children broke the queen’s heart, but Hera wasn’t satisfied with her punishment yet. Again, the accounts vary on what exactly Hera inflicted on Lamia, but one of the most popular tales says that Hera cursed the queen with such insomnia that Lamia couldn’t sleep or close her eyes - though it should be noted that some accounts say that Zeus later gave her the ability to remove her eyes and therefore sleep. Day after day, Lamia was forced to see mothers with their children, each time reinforcing the pain of losing her own offspring, and eventually, it drove her mad. She began snatching and devouring any child she encountered, and these monstrous acts slowly took a toll on Lamia’s body, transforming her into an equally monstrous being with a woman’s head, goat’s feet, the body of a lion, and the tail of a serpent. The once radiant and gentle queen of Libya had become Lamia the Child Devourer.

As myths do, Lamia’s story has evolved over time. Initially, mothers and nannies would use her name to frighten a misbehaving child into good behavior, lest the Lamia steal them away to her cave, kill and devour them. Other versions during this time softened the myth a bit, saying the children were swallowed alive and therefore could be rescued. In the late classical period, Lamia’s design shifted to that of a creature with the upper half of a beautiful young woman and the lower half of a serpent with glittering scales that seemed to add to her beauty. In this form, she was less a threat to children and more to young men, operating as a seductive being that brought men into her embrace, fornicated with them, and then devoured them. 

Interested in learning more about Lamia’s tragic tale? Check out the links below:

La Llorna

The haunting spector of La Llorna (literally, “the weeping woman”) has been a part of Hispanic culture in the Southwest since the days of the conquistadores. A tall, thin figure of natural beauty with long, flowing black hair, La Llorna wears a white gown and roams the rivers and creeks, wailing into the night. Any children unlucky to be caught in her sights will be dragged to a watery grave before anyone can hear them scream.

There are three popular versions of how La Llorna came to be. One version says she is a grieving woman that is the spirit of one or more Aztec goddesses who has been weeping from her first appearance, perhaps as an omen foretelling the slaughter of the Aztecs by the Spanish invaders, and continues weeping today. Another version says she is the ghost of Doña Marina (otherwise known as La Malinche), lover of and interpreter for Hernan Cortés, said to have drowned her children fathered by Cortes in revenge for his affair with a Spanish woman. The third and arguably most famous version of La Llorna’s tale says she was once named Maria, a woman of humble origins and stunning beauty. One version of Maria’s tale says she loved to go out in the evenings to be courted and attended to by the village’s young men, leaving her two small boys alone. The little boys were eventually found drowned in the river, either through Maria’s neglect or by her own hand. A second variation paints Maria as a caring woman married to a wealthy womanizer and alcoholic who left her to marry a woman of his own class. Her former husband only returned home to visit his children, leaving Maria’s broken heart to build up more and more resentment until, one tragic evening, her rage finally boiled over and she threw her children into the river. When her temper cleared, Maria realized her mistake and frantically rushed to save them, but to no avail. 

The common thread across La Llorna’s varying tales depicts the spirit of a doomed mother who drowned her children and now spends eternity searching for them in lakes and rivers. To this day, it is said that she can be seen moving along the river shore on dark nights, weeping loudly for her children. As such, children are warned to stay indoors after dark, lest La Llorna snatch them up and toss them to their deaths in the flowing waters.

Interested in learning more about La Llorna? Check out the links below:

Baba Yaga

Coming from the wonderfully strange world of Slavic mythology, Baba Yaga is a figure of ambiguous nature and alternating portrayals. Sometimes she is a maternal, mother-nature figure willing to help those in need, while other times she is considered a villainous figure who enjoys eating those who fail to complete her assigned tasks. Depicted as either a single old woman or a trio of old sisters, Baba Yaga’s physical appearance is described as unusually skinny, with iron teeth and a nose so long it touches the ceiling when she sleeps. She rides through the woods on a mortar, wielding a pestle as both flying aid and wand, and uses a broom to wipe away her tracks. When not out and about, she can be found in her home deep in the woods, a hut that stands on magical chicken legs and is surrounded by a fence jointed with human bones. Inside her hut, an enormous stove stretches from one side to the other, wherein those who failed to complete their assigned tasks will be cooked and eaten. Despite Baba Yaga’s ravenous appetite, she is always portrayed as skinny and bony, hence her nickname, “the bony one.”

Baba Yaga’s character is one that has avoided being pinned down. She seems to follow little or few morals, is usually self-serving in her generosity, and is said to hunt for, kidnap, and eat children. One story in which she is depicted in this villainous role, but ultimately unsuccessful in her pursuits, is that of Baba Yaga and the Peasant Children, in which the hunted children only escape because Baba Yaga decides pursuing the children is more trouble than it’s worth. However, despite these aspects of her nature, there are a number of stories in which Baba Yaga acts as a catalyst for the hero or heroine to complete their respective quest, such as the popular story of Vasilisa the Beautiful, in which a final aspect of her character is revealed: whatever promise she has made to the hero or heroine upon successful completion of the tasks, she always keeps it. Even if she doesn’t like it.

Curious about this strange witch of the Slavic world? Check out the links below:

The Kelpie

On the bonny banks of the Scottish lochs and rivers lives an aquatic spirit of many shapes and malevolent temperament. To attract children, the Kelpie will often take the form of a tame horse, either black and gray in color or white with smooth cold skin, with a sticky magical hide that will not allow children to dismount once they’ve climbed aboard. Once the child is trapped, they will be dragged into the river and devoured. Other forms the Kelpie is known to take is that of a hairy human lurking by the river, ready to leap out and crush unsuspecting travellers with a powerful grip, or a beautiful young woman lingering on the riverbank to lure young men to their deaths. And if they can’t lure their prey in with a clever disguise, they will summon a great flood upon the banks to sweep unwary victims away to their deaths.

For all their cunning and terrible tricks, the Kelpie has one weak spot: its bridle. Anyone fortunate enough to take hold of the bridle will have command over it - no small advantage, as a captive Kelpie is rumored to have the strength of ten horses and possess the stamina of plenty more. This is a popular aspect of the Kelpie lore, with many stories featuring Kelpies being captured and forced to work as common horses for the lords, lairds, and clan chiefs of Scotland.

For those not so fortunate, however, few tales have happy endings once unsuspecting prey has encountered the Kelpie. One such tale begins with a string of children falling victim to the malevolent spirit, one by one until a new child comes upon the great black horse and pets its nose with a single finger that soon catches on the sticky hide. The Kelpie then rushes toward the murky depths to devour its next meal. Through (thankfully) unspecified means, the child cuts off their own finger and escapes their terrible fate. 

Looking to learn more about this strange Scottish spirit? Check out the links below:

Werehyena

Along the horn of Africa - Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Sudan, in particular - a terrible creature stalks the night, eagerly seeking any victim foolish enough to be out after sunset. The werehyena likely holds origins connected to the natural adversarial relationship between humans and hyenas, but the elements of their legend is anything but natural. Unlike their cousins, the werewolf, a werehyena is said to be either human-born or a hyena disguising itself as a human. Tales say that they are capable of transforming at-will with the help of a magic stick or sprinkling of ash - or sometimes the smell of human flesh is enough to trigger the transformation.

The tale of the werehyena differs depending on the region. In Somalia, the werehyena uses a magic stick to transform at sundown, while in Morocco, they are believed to transform every night after sunset and then return to human form at dawn. In the Sudan, they are said to violently attack lovers after dark. In Ethiopian folklore, they have been historically referred to as bouda, or “the evil eye.” Over time, both the term and legend of the werehyena became synonymous with the “lower, uneducated artisan class” (“The Myth of the Werehyena and the Fear of the Other in the Horn of Africa”). Specifically, blacksmiths. For a terrible stretch of time, all blacksmiths in the Ethiopian culture were believed to be bouda, capable of wielding the power to transform into werehyenas at will.

Whichever part of the African plains their legend hails from, the werehyena is often invoked by mothers to reinforce the risks of wandering off at night, and the unknown dangers lingering outside the home after dark. If children don’t heed the warning, a beastly cackling may be one of the last things they ever hear.

To learn more about Africa’s shape-shifting predators, check out the links below:

The Wendigo

Found in Minnesota’s north woods, the forests of the Great Lake Region, and the central regions of Canada, a terrible spirit hunts, and hungers, for its next meal. The Wendigo is known by several different names - the Windigo, the Witigo, the Witiko, and the Wee-Tee-Go - but each name roughly translates to the true revelation of its nature: “the evil spirit that devours mankind” (“Wendigo - Flesheater of the Forests”). A staple of legends from the Algonquian, Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Saulteaux, West Main Swampy Cree, Naskapi, and Innu peoples, the Wendigo is historically associated with murder, insatiable greed, cannibalism, and the cultural taboos against such behaviors.

Common descriptions paint the Wendigo as a cannibalistic, malevolent, supernatural being with deep connections to the winter, the north, coldness, faminine, and starvation. Said to be created whenever a human resorts to cannibalism to survive, accounts of the Wendigo’s physical description vary from tale to tale. An Algonquian legend describes it as a skeletal giant with a heart of ice, or perhaps entirely made of ice, with missing lips and toes, while a legend from the Ojibwa people details a creature tall as a tree, lipless mouth failing to conceal jagged teeth, with footprints full of blood and a ravenous appetite for any man, woman, or child unlucky enough to enter its realm. Other Native American tales describe a fifteen-foot-tall spirit, once human but since transformed into a creature by magic, with glowing eyes, long fangs stained with old blood, terrible claws, and obscenely long tongues. They are said to be near-perfect hunters, knowing every inch of its territory and using it to the hunting advantage - in addition to incredible speed, stealth, and mimicry to disorient its victims.

The Ojibwa legend joins other Wendigo legends in detailing one last terrible aspect: sometimes, in place of devouring its prey, a Wendigo will possess a person instead, transforming their victim into a Wendigo and dooming the poor soul to hunt down those they once loved and feast upon their flesh. Other legends suggest that a human who displays extreme greed, gluttony, and other forms of excess might also be possessed by a Wendigo.

Should you hear your name being spoken in the wind along the Canadian border, it is said that the Wendigo has marked you as its next victim. Wish, then, for death, lest you become a Wendigo yourself and be destined to wander the land, eternally seeking to fulfill an endless appetite for human flesh.

Looking to delve deep into the dangerous realm of the Wendigo? Check out the links below:

Why Do We Still Need the Boogeyman?

“The strongest human emotion is fear. It’s the essence of any good thriller that, for a little while, you believe in the boogeyman.”

~ John Carpenter 

I: The boogeyman creates opportunities for rich worldbuilding.

The boogeyman characters are steeped in the rich history of their respective cultures, and as such occupy the same physical world as the one we live in. The realms in which they can be found, however, are entirely different. The forests along the Canadian border look perfectly natural and unassuming on a map, but the deeper your protagonist ventures into the dense and dark woodland, the more the forest changes. The air grows thick, suffocating, the sun vanishes entirely, and the cold builds and builds to the point of physical pain. The environment, the atmosphere, the sound of the earth cracking beneath the feet… The longer your protagonist lingers in the dark heart of these woods, the less he feels like he’s part of the real world. And the less he’s confident that he can find his way back out.

Creating a realm for your boogeyman character to occupy is an opportunity to delve into the cultures and histories which originally birthed their legend. Varying accounts and differing details offer a plethora of descriptive elements from which you can build the Slavic woodlands wherein Baba Yaga’s hut can be found or the uncertain path to reach Lamia’s cave. Again, many of these worlds are grounded in reality, but the path to be traveled is where reality and fantasy weave together.

II: The boogeyman gives your protagonist a different challenge to face.

Your protagonist will encounter many obstacles across her journey, but not all of them will leave her triumphant. In fact, some will leave her with lessons learned the hard way and scars to remember each one. While it can be tempting to set the boogeyman up as the final battle, remember that these characters are rarely ones which can be overcome with bullet or blade. They are steeped in history, old if not ageless, and they’ve forgotten more than your protagonist could ever hope to know. Against the wits, wisdom, and cunning tricks of the boogeyman, your protagonist is not guaranteed a victory. More likely, they’re guaranteed to narrowly escape with plenty of wounds to lick.

While no one wants their protagonist to limp away bloodied and bruised from a fight, these encounters are the moments that impart knowledge upon your protagonist which is both vital for her journey and also for her personal growth. Her limits will be tested - physical, mental, and emotional - and lead to her first major loss. The loss can be anything from physical damage, like a horrendous set of scars that will cause her regular discomfort throughout the rest of her journey, or the shattering of her self-confidence, that she greatly overestimated her abilities and suffered for it. But even more importantly, this encounter with the boogeyman will teach your protagonist something about herself. Maybe her greatest weakness, maybe an important lesson on the dangers of pride, or maybe the burst of cleverness that, despite pain and humiliation, enabled her to escape and drag herself into the next step of her journey.

III: The boogeyman creates a sense of the unknown.

The boogeyman in your fantasy fiction novel doesn’t just open the world for your protagonist’s journey; it also opens the world of your readers’ imaginations. As the author, you’ve taken them on a fantastical journey where wendigos stalk the frosted woodlands, the Scottish banks are home to a wondrous but deadly spirit, and the African plains are plagued by a cackling beast hungry for human flesh. You have infused your fantasy world with rich cultures and history that readers may know little about, or have never heard of before they started on page one. Books and the internet will offer varying accounts, opinions, and details, but none will have the definitive answer, because the boogeyman cannot be pinned down. They were born into our world, but their legends have since transcended the space we live in to exist in a realm that we cannot touch - and, if we’re smart, would do well to not actively seek.

We may not be prepared for what we will find.

For more tips and tricks on how to incorporate the boogeyman and other fantastical creatures into your novel, check out these great reads:

Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction: How to Create Out-of-this-World Novels and Short Stories (Card, Orson Scott, Philip Athans, and Jay Lake. 2013)
The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic from the Editors of Writer’s Digest Books (1998)

Noelle Hollar
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