the monster under the bed

After I read that one of the candidates in the recent French presidential election had called the other "the bogeyman of the unemployed," I began to wonder how you say "bogeyman" in French. Here's what I found.

Sometimes he's known as "le Croque Mitaine" (the Mitten Biter), perhaps from his habit of nibbling at fingers left carelessly hanging over the side of the bed. In another incarnation he's "le Père Fouettard," (Father Whipper) who travels with Saint Nicholas, carrying a bundle of switches and a large sack on his back. Unlike St. Nick's, however, the sack of le Père Fouettard is empty -- at least until he stuffs it full of bad children who are never seen again. In Quebec, the bogeyman is called "le Bonhomme Sept Heures" (the Seven O'Clock Man), named for the time he starts to make his rounds, looking for children still out playing in the street.

I saw the bogeyman once. I woke to the sound of tapping at my window and there he was, perched in the tree branches, his face and body the color of bark, his claws in his mouth. I watched him for a while, then went back to bed. I didn't sleep, but lay on my back, my eyes squeezed shut, conscious of my breath as it went in and out, willing it not to stop.