The bogeyman is a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behaviour. Bogeymen take a variety of different forms both male and female, around the world, shaped by local customs and culture, but they are most commonly depicted as monsters who punish children for misbehaving. Bogeymen are often invoked by authority figures for the purposes of discouraging a child from a specific act or general misbehaviour. The term is sometimes used as a non-specific personification of, or metonym for, terror – and sometimes the Devil.