#WeirdScienceWednesday The Boogeyman 8/11/2021

Welcome to #WeirdScienceWednesday! I am here to talk about the strange and unusual because let’s face it, I am strange and unusual lol Paranormal, aliens, conspiracies, Bigfoot… I am here to bring you some information! Enlighten you… maybe make you a new believer! I have studied all things weird since I was 8 years old. It’s time I shared my knowledge with SOMEONE!

The Boogeyman Legend

One of my favorite horror movies to hit the scene in the 2000’s was the movie Boogeyman that later turned into a franchise of B rated horror flicks. What was it that I loved so much about the original that the sequels seemed to leave high and dry? The legend that came with the monster in the closet! Throughout history, and across the world globally, there is some form of a bedtime story where a monster in the closet or under the bed will come out and drag the children to either monster land or hell itself. Adults have told the stories for generations as a way to keep kids in bed and not roaming around at night. But where exactly did they learn the stories from?

The descriptions vary from story to story but one thing they all share in common is that the boogeyman has sharp claws, talon like fingers, and sharp teeth. All of this imagery invokes the fear in the child that the monster is going to eat them. The word arose in the mid-19th century and most believe it to be another word for the rapid spreading fear of the Devil in Christian mythology. However, the different legends also depict the boogeyman as a demon, witch, or some other type of legendary mythological creature that would ensure fright. Some stories even have the boogeyman depicted with animal parts, horns being one of the favorites along with hooves and tails (since in Devil mythology he has horns, hooves, and a tail).

Where did the story of the boogeyman originate? No one really knows. Many assume that it came from the 1500s when the stories of fairies began to circulate and hobgoblins were being told as tales. One particular form of a hobgoblin is a bogey. However, locality didn’t explain for the massive spread of fear as parents across the globe told children about the evil witch or the horned beast that would drag them to hell for misbehaving or eat them for fun. Sack Man, El Coco, A Cuca, Babau, and Butzemann are just a few examples of the different legends created around a creepy, humanoid type creature that punished children. Each one is from a different area on the globe as well.

However, not all of the boogeyman legends are full of fright and horror. In Indonesia, the Wewe Gambel kidnaps children that are being abused by their parents and refuses to return them until the parent realizes their mistakes and learns to treat the children better. Many other legends tell of how the boogeyman protects the children or takes those that misbehave no matter the age. If you watch modern horror, you might have seen the movie Sandman. A child has a boogeyman invoked to protect her whenever anyone tries to harm her.

In Switzerland, the Böllima or Böögg is a part of their seasonal changes and is recognized as winter/death.

All across the world is this wonderful phenomenon of boogeyman tales and some even lend to other myths and legends like the Jersey Devil of the US. Or Grýla in Iceland that is the mother of the Yule Tide Lads myth.

Tell me, have you ever had an experience with a boogeyman? Or was it all just your imagination?

#WeirdScienceWednesday Hellhounds of Appalachia 3/24/2021

Hellhounds of Appalachia

Last week, I touched on the Black Dog myth that lent rich mythology to the source of hellhound creation. The Black Dog of the Blue Ridge is one tale many that are native to Virginia have read and heard as a tale urging them to be safe while in the woods. In Botetourt, Virginia, there is a path that many would use to travel to Bedford County. In 1683, after the whispers had spread throughout that there was a beast guarding the path from passage, a group of young cavaliers decided to take the beast head on. Their horses refused to go anywhere near the dog and no one would believe them. So they went back with intentions of killing the dog and taking his hide as a prize. However, no matter how many times they shot the dog, he acted as if none of the bullets had stricken him, and there wasn’t any visible evidence to say that had either.

A beautiful woman came forth years later looking for her husband that had used the path to try and make a new home for them. She was met with the tale of the Black Dog but did not care. She knew the dog wouldn’t hurt her. So, men led her to where the black dog had been witnesses and she walked alone until the dog appeared, benevolent. The dog led her to a shallow grave where she found the bones of her husband and the bones and hair of the dog. Since she was able to lay his bones to rest, no one ever witnessed the apparition of the dog again. However, that is just one story of many of the Black Dog in the Appalachia.

Many stories stem from the Blue Ridge, through West Virginia, and even down into Kentucky about seeing the devil dog that was larger than any normal dog. I have seen many different breeds of large dogs that are European. Those who lived in early America were from Europe. They had seen the size of dogs there. To imagine a dog larger than a Neapolitan Mastiff, the Great Dane, the Irish Wolfhound, or even a Newfoundland begs to wonder how much larger dogs were in the earlier centuries prior to watering down their blood lines to create specific breeds.

In Pike County, Kentucky, there have been sitings of a dog that is 4 feet tall at the shoulders and 7 feet in length with a hump on its back. The Discovery Channel has a show called Mountain Monsters that have captured the creature on film.

Based on these images, the siting of the hellhound looks nothing like an actual dog, but rather a hyena mixed with some sort of wolf breed. Are Hellhounds, or even Black Dogs, actually dogs, or another breed yet to be discovered? What are your thoughts? Have you ever witnessed one of the devil dogs of the Appalachia?