Friday 28 April 2017

Boogeyman




I don’t know who he is
or where he is
but expect to find him there,
under the bed,
behind the drapes or
maybe snuck in
behind the closet door.    
Waiting for me he is,
scared stiff I am
as I imagine the unimaginable.

He will wait til me in deepest sleep
and then creep out he will,
maybe poke out my eyes, stitch up my lips
or maybe he’ll just smother me.

I promise I am good (I am)
and should he come tonight
I’ll tell him that and maybe
he’ll believe me then
and leave me then
and go and find another child,
a child that’s really bad
and poke out their eyes,
stitch up their lips before
he (maybe) finally smothers them.

I do so hope he will…

Anna :o]

Rommy at Toads has us writing of the dreaded boogeyman and above is my offering.  My words are based on the procedures I had as a child before daring to climb into bed and my thoughts and fears once I had.  I was not that young when I stopped doing this either…

Image:  Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Author:  Ernst Barlach

19 comments:

brudberg said...

What at terrifying thought that you had to wish for the boogeyman to come visiting others... and the poking at eyes was especially terrifying....

Kerry O'Connor said...

I had a fear of half-open cupboard doors at night. i still always close them.

Anonymous said...

Oh this is so innocent...'anyone but me' 'get the bad ones' ;)

Rommy said...

This was very vividly written. The child's perspective was extremely well done.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

I agree, this was soo vivid and terrifying! Well penned.

Frank Hubeny said...

Nice description of a boogeyman. I suppose later in life when real threats arise, it is good to prepare in advance for them as a child.

De Jackson said...

Whew. There's a bit of Tim Burton in this, I think. In a good, terrifying way. ;)

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm not staying at your house. What an imagination.

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

I wrote of one who infested my dreams – but I also knew this kind of terror, and used to take a flying leap into bed from the middle of the room, so that the bogeyman couldn't grab my foot from underneath the bed.

Susie Clevenger said...

My insomnia began when I was a child. I refused to sleep so nightmares wouldn't come with another monster.

grapeling said...

creepy!

The Bizza said...

I gotta tell ya, your boogeyman is quite terrifying. I like that you tried bargaining with him.

Gillena Cox said...

"as I imagine the unimaginable.

He will wait til me in deepest sleep
and then creep out he will,
maybe poke out my eyes, stitch up my lips
or maybe he’ll just smother me."

therein lies our boogeyman; the unimaginable and the maybe are where we house him
(✿◠‿◠)

much love...

Jim said...

Oh Dear. I don't know who invented the B Man but he/she needs to be tarred and feathered and strung up.
..

Claudia said...

oh heck - made me think of my grandpa who used to tell me stories like that and i was so afraid - didn't ever tell my kids about the boogeyman and such

Outlawyer said...

Ha. I love the child's sense of power here--siccing the bogeyman on someone else! There's a great sense of humor at play and very human, thanks. k.

kaykuala said...

The bogeyman is something real in many a child growing up. It may even spook them right through to adult life if not handled well. Very true Anna!

Hank

Jenny Woolf said...

Wow, we forget how scary these ideas are to a child. I can remember being terrified by my dressing gown hanging on the back of the door....

ADDY said...

This reminds me of my childhood too. I've often wondered why children in particular (and even adults) are scared of the dark and need nightlights, for example. It must be some primeval fear of being attacked in the dark or when you are asleep and therefore defenceless.