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Tek-Tek and Krampus: creatures that scare children in different countries
Every nation has its own horror stories. This is understandable – after all, traditions are different everywhere.
In Russia, children are frightened by doctors, policemen, gray wolves and Babayka. Children of other countries do not understand these horror stories – why should they be afraid of a doctor or a law enforcement officer at all? With the gray wolf it is somehow more obvious, but Babayka … What kind of animal is this? Let’s tell you now.
This creature began to frighten children relatively recently, in the last century. Before that, devils, Baba Yaga and other traditional evil spirits did an excellent job with the role of a branded horror story. Babay is a word with Tatar roots. There they call an elderly person, grandfather. And in Russia Babay is something so terrible that there is no point in describing him. In Slavic folklore, Babai took root as a night spirit, usually appearing in the form of a terrible old man, black and lopsided, lame or armless. He has a bag with him where he “packs” naughty children.
Buka is another fabulous creature with which children were scared so that they would not leave the house at night. Buka has a huge mouth and a long tongue with which he grabs children and throws them into his mouth. By the way, Buka’s closest overseas relative is Boogeyman.
By the way, in America they know about Buka. Stephen King, the famous writer, the king of horrors, wrote a novel about him – Buka came and killed the children of the protagonist. It was from Buka that the Boogeyman grew up. He lives in the closet under the bed, he is small and very mean. He is seen only by children, whom he strives to drag off to his lair. For adults, it is not dangerous.
This is what Hans Christian Andersen had in mind when he described his Ole Lukkoye. Only Ole Lukkoye opened an umbrella over the children at night: over those who behaved well – a colored umbrella, over the disobedient – a black one. The first dreamed vivid and kind dreams, and the second did not dream anything. The sand man covers the eyes of children with magic sand to make them sleep. Good kids have good dreams, and bullies have nightmares.
Spain, Portugal, Latin America: El Cucuy
The myths about this ghost monster originated in Spain and Portugal. This evil spirit is also called Coco. Affectionate – but he himself is not affectionate at all. It is not known exactly what El Cucuy looks like. In some stories, it is analogous to the Boogeyman, a hairy creature that lives in a closet or under a bed. In others, a half-human, half-crocodile. Its victims are naughty children who do not want to go to bed. El Cucuy drags them away and eats them.
Latin America: Man with a bag
In the original, his name sounds like Ombre del Costal. Beautiful like music. But this creature is evil. Ombre del Costal behaves in much the same way as El Cucuy. Only he doesn’t live under the bed. He steals spoiled children to eat. Or, if you’re lucky, sell it into slavery. Ombre del Costal is a skinny and angry man with a sack full of screaming children. Better to sleep than to meet such.
Great Britain: Bendit-i-Mamay
Translated, his name means “mother’s blessing.” But considering that this is a rather malicious elf who steals horses and children, it is rather difficult to call him a blessing. Legend has it that Bendit-i-Mamai has a very good ear. They heard absolutely everything that people talk about. Remembering them with an unkind word in a conversation means calling trouble.
Actually, this character is more like Santa Claus. He climbs into the house through a pipe and brings gifts to the children. Not at Christmas, but on St. Nicholas Day. True, not everyone gets gifts. Black Pete has a little book with him, where all the good and bad deeds of the children are recorded. If there are more of the first, then the child is threatened with flogging. And especially naughty children are threatened with a trip to Spain in a Black Pete sack. By the way, he was called black because of his appearance – it is believed that he has dark skin, black curly hair and bright red lips.
Southern Bavaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria: Krampus
This is either an assistant or the opposite of Saint Nicholas. In any case, they work in pairs. On December 5 or 6, Krampus, along with the saint, bypass the children. Good children receive gifts from St. Nicholas. Bad gifts are not received. Rather, they themselves become a present – according to legend, Krampus takes them with him to a cave to cook for Christmas dinner. Or just throw it into the sea. Krampus looks like a classic demon: horns, wool, hooves, snake tongue.
A relative newcomer to the horror stories. They began to frighten children with them somewhere in the century before last, when such a profession appeared – chiropractor. From the doctors’ offices, creepy screams were often heard, from which it was not long to turn gray. It was then that surgeons were working without anesthesia. Thanks to the imagination of French moms and dads, the Kostoprav turned into a creature that gets out into the streets at dusk. What for? To hunt naughty children, of course.
Who knows a lot about horror movies, it’s the Japanese. But their horror stories are purely practical. Tek-Tek is half a woman. It is exactly half, from top to waist. The bottom half was cut off by a train. Do you understand children? Do not walk near the railroad. The woman’s name is Kashima Reiko. Her restless spirit crawls through the streets, leaving a trail of blood. Tek-tek-tek – knocking her elbows on the pavements. And God forbid meeting her a belated child – he will cut it in half with a scythe.
By the way, recently a character named Momo has become terribly popular – a creepy creature with very large and frightening facial features. They say that a game similar to the “Blue Whale” has even appeared on the Internet, which is terribly dangerous for children. In fact, Momo was born two years ago. The sculpture was created by a Japanese man named Keitsuko Aiso. And after her image was used by the developers of the Japanese company for the production of special effects. They gave her a name. Momo was so impressed by the Internet that her photo went viral, and her story instantly became overgrown with myths and legends. So, perhaps, we are seeing the birth of a new horror story for children.