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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.

External links

• The Bogeyman of Earthquake Prediction (an example of the metaphorical use of "bogeyman")