Are You Afraid of Fear?

Halloween coming soon, I believe it is logical that I should pick out something… terrifying! Nevertheless, I opt to hold in store revenants, Jenny Greenteeth and other guys from it-will-eat-your-liver company, so I suggest that we begin with a more civilized and sophisticated creature called boggart.

No doubt, it would be surprising if the folk had been unanimous in their definition of any folklore creature or phenomena. This is what A Dictionary of English Folklore says about the boggart:

boggart. In the dialects of northern counties, ‘boggart’ was a general term for any supernatural being which frightened people, whether indoors or out, without specifying whether it is ghost, malicious fairy, or minor demon. [2]

bogeyman, bogey, bogy, bogie; bogle, boggle (rather Scottish). Any real or imaginary figure used by adults as a threat to coerce children into good behaviour is a bogeyman—often the final function of a belief that adults no longer share. [2]

I wish there had been survived more written records of folklore creaturs that could have provided us with more detailed description of the boggart, but it is always like this with all the things people know well – they do not go into detail. Were we to try and look for the boggart’s description, we would also see that the recorded folklore of boggarts is remarkably varied.

Many are described as relatively human-like, though ugly and often with bestial attributes. Other accounts give a complete beast-like form. I suggest that we look at but one description so that your imagination be boosted enough: ‘The "Boggart of Longar Hede" from Yorkshire was said to be a fearsome creature the size of a calf, with long shaggy hair and eyes like saucers. It trailed a long chain after itself, which made a noise like the baying of hounds.’ Suffice it to say that though descriptions of their appearance and behaviour differ from one tale to the next, shape-changing is a standard feature. [2]

In some tales, the boggart is attatched to a particular house or family, like a brownie, but as a nuisance rather than a helper. Other tales say that it might have been a helper once, quite respected by the family, but nothing is over until the fat lady sings, and you had to fear lest it be upset, as once it was angry with you or given a wide berth, and not honoured enough, or thought it was ill-treated, then it would turn into a beserk creature, kind of a warped brownie who would hate you and try to lead you a merry dance with its mischivous behaviour and genuinely frightening tricks.

Still, it was believed that house boggarts should be more tolerant and less cruel, which is not the case with land ones. The household form causes mischief and things to disappear, milk to sour, animals to behave strangely. Land boggarts, inhabiting marshes or holes in the ground, were considered capable of more serious evil doings, such as the abduction of children.

In Northern England, by the way, people believed that the boggart should never be named, for when the boggart was given a name, it would not be reasoned with nor persuaded, but would become uncontrollable and destructive.

There are also some similar humorous stories involving boggarts. ‘The most frequent anecdote on this theme is a humorous  one, found in several collections from northern counties, and also in Lincolnshire and Shropshire. It tells how a farmer was so pestered by the tricks of a boggart that he and his family decided to move house, much against their will; as they set out, a neighbour asked if they really were leaving. ‘Yes, we’re moving,’ said the farmer. ‘Yes indeed,’ came the boggart’s voice from among the piled-up furniture, ‘we’re all moving.’ So the farmer turned the cart round and went home, saying if they were to be tormented anyway, they’d do better to stay in their own old house.’

Perhaps, people wouldn’t have made up funny stories and jokes about the thing they really dreaded, or, on the contrary, it could be the way human consciousness react to scary things and concepts, turning them into humour. 
Anyway, we could put the legend to good use, stopping to think about the shape a boggart would take before us: what is it and why?

References

1.      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boggart

2.      A Dictionary of English Folklore by Jacqueline Simpson, Steve Roud, Oxford University Press

3.      Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-Lore by Charles Hardwich, 1872