Boo! A spooky new Archetype our favorite game...

[Jared A. Sorensen]

the boogeyman

i did it before and i'll do it again
another time, another way to pay
 they'll lose their children 'cause i'm now back again 
they don't notice the way  i'll make them insane - project pitchfork,
"requiem"

attributes:  the boogeyman is the living embodiment of all that children
fear.  the dark, abandonment, evil clowns...all these things are the meat
and drink of this nightmarish creature.  although not inherently evil, the
boogeyman serves as a constant reminder to children that monsters are real. 
those that can defeat the boogeyman are one step closer to conquering their
own fears (especially the most potent fear; the fear of growing up).

despite it's name, the boogeyman need not appear as a red-eyed,
razor-toothed apparition.  he is the creepy old man that lurks near the
playground, the juggler who offers balloon animals to the brave little boys
and girls.  he is as sinister as he is seductive, beguiling those who dare
stray from the straight and narrow path.  for that is the boogeyman's true
purpose: to separate the weak-minded and weak-willed children from the
clever and confident.

not limited solely to children, the boogeyman is also a threat to those who
have grown up but have not gotten over their childhood fears.  for these
unlucky souls, the boogeyman is even more terrifying...because they know
that he isn't real -- and that's where he draws his greatest power.

taboo:     the boogeyman is the sum of all childhood fears and although he
can threaten a child with every conceivable torture under the sun, he cannot
harm actually him.  he is under no obligation to protect children, nor is he
prohibited from allowing harm to come to them.  he just cannot commit any
physical act that would endanger their safety.

it is also against the boogeyman's nature to reveal his true identity.  he
is the threat in the shadows...nothing more, nothing less.

symbols:  the dark, flickering shadows, candy apples and razor-blades,
half-open bedroom closets, creaking stairs, thunder and lightning, clowns,
shiny silver dollars, balloons, morbid nursery rhymes.  animals associated
with the boogeyman are snakes, spiders and worms (and anything else that's
creep or crawly).

suspected avatars in history:  because of the secretive nature of this
archetype, many avatars only exist through folklore and legend.  avatars of
the boogeymen seem to have histories recorded solely through literary
sources:  the pied piper of hamlin, pennywise the clown and even willy wonka
seem to represent this being in various popular stories.  in the real world,
the most famous person suspected to be an avatar of the boogeyman is none
other than john wayne gacy.  of course, his rise to ascension was cut short
by his darker appetites...

channels:
1%-50%:  with a successful avatar: boogeyman check, the boogeyman can create
minor unnatural phenomena (as described in the unnatural section of ua).
common tricks include: the sound of footsteps climbing a creaky staircase,
lights flickering on or off, heavy breathing that comes from everywhere and
nowhere and the perennial favorite, causing patches of urine to appear on a
child's mattress.

51%-70%:  the boogeyman is now able to conceal his true appearance from
children with illusionary disguises.  he can appear as anything from a
sinister clown to his victim's long-dead grandmother.  the boogeyman cannot
mimic the appearance of someone that the victim knows well and no matter
what the disguise, he always looks normal to adults (adults  who haven't yet
gotten over their childhood fears can still be affected).

71%-90%:  with this level, the boogeyman gains the ability to disappear from
plain sight.  children are still able to see the boogeyman out of the corner
or their eye but adults will be totally unaware.  the boogeyman may also be
seen in reflected surfaces.  

91%+:  you can now travel extremely quickly between bedroom closets and
underneath beds by warping time and space.  provided you know where you're
going, you can travel 100 miles in about about one minute.

example:  willy the local ice-cream man, an avatar of the boogeyman, is in
california and wants to visit another of his "special friends" in boston
before the sun comes up.  he slips into the shadows under little rebecca's
bed and a half-hour later, emerges in little tommy's room in massachusetts.