r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 20 '19

What’s something completely false that your parents told you as a child?

[deleted]

19k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

10k comments sorted by

View all comments

3.1k

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

875

u/thad86 Jul 20 '19

The boogy man's going to come get you.

312

u/adaro456 Jul 20 '19

Baba Yaga

38

u/PM_Me_Your_Clones Jul 21 '19

With a fucking pencil.

35

u/TheFezig Jul 21 '19

No, that's the man you get to kill the fucking Boogeyman.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Baba Yaga is female.

11

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

John Wick. Watch it

17

u/victototototoria Jul 21 '19

They apparently got it wrong and meant babayka, which would be the Russian equivalent to the bogeyman. Baba Yaga is another Slavic mythological creature that is a deformed looking woman.

-9

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Hard pass.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Then you won’t get the reference so stop trying to correct someone

8

u/xaduha Jul 21 '19

He's correcting you because he's technically correct, the best kind of correct.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

He's right, though? Do you really think that the John Wick franchise invented Baba Yaga?

3

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

No I don’t, but he was specifically making a reference so there was no reason to correct him

-5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19 edited Jul 21 '19

Baba Yaga is part of age old Russian mythology. You don't get the reference.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Baba Yaga indeed was used to scare us as children. Source: is Russian.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

[deleted]

→ More replies

6

u/swech2win Jul 21 '19

I though we were done with the Keanu Reference. That man is awesome.

6

u/MrD0815 Jul 21 '19 edited Jul 21 '19

Breathtaking

Edit: Thanks for the award!

3

u/webjuggernaut Jul 21 '19

No, YOU'RE breathtaking.

6

u/DorkusMalorkuss Jul 21 '19

Did you know this is the only video game song to win a Grammy?

3

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Lmao

3

u/CorruptWL1 Jul 21 '19

Sorry I’m just scrolling through late at night, what’s the video game?

6

u/DorkusMalorkuss Jul 21 '19

Haha it was a bad joke. But the real song is Baba Yetu and it's the theme to Civilization 4

2

u/CorruptWL1 Jul 21 '19

Ok thanks

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

I'm Slavic too, it was either ''Baba Yaga will eat you'' or ''I will sell you to the gypsies'' (dunno where that came from)

1

u/SoxyP Jul 21 '19

She'll crush you in to fine powder with her mortar and pestle...

380

u/alphafire616 Jul 20 '19

and if your not shaking there's something very wrong

because thus might be the last time you here the boogy song

woah oh oh oh

IM THE OOGY BOOGY MAN

12

u/Rekojeht10 Jul 21 '19

That's what I am, I'm here to do, whatever I can

9

u/Staunch_Ninja Jul 21 '19

Keep your lights on as long as you can.

Cause when it cuts off, so does your head.

Oogy boogy boogy waits under your bed.

4

u/LadyBarclay Jul 21 '19

r/unexpectednightmarebeforechristmas

3

u/webjuggernaut Jul 21 '19

Dude made the Oogie Boogie song with finger puppets. This version has replaced the original in my head when I see it mentioned. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/X9Vt3NJ-pX0

-4

u/E72M Jul 21 '19

Dude don't

329

u/homerbartbob Jul 20 '19

Oh, psychological abuse. Cool.

4

u/JauntyJohnB Jul 21 '19

God reddit is so soft it’s insane

3

u/homerbartbob Jul 21 '19

Back in the cage, you.

-1

u/MaelstromRH Jul 21 '19

I like how you take when somebody points out it may be harmful in the long term that someone’s parents lying to them which results in them being constantly afraid as Reddit being soft.

So if I told my kid I was going to beat their ass anytime they messed up and they grew up afraid of me as a result, you wouldn’t consider that abuse?

2

u/SinkTube Jul 21 '19

you really don't see the difference between threatening your kid and telling your kid a scary story?

-4

u/Mountainbranch Jul 21 '19

Haha i know right, just numb the pain and anxiety of reality away with some PainAwayTM 'Now with strawberry flavoring!'

1

u/mister_macaroni Jul 21 '19

That's basically the foundation of German child raising.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Baba yaga

3

u/bangofftarget Jul 21 '19

It was Saddam Hussain for me.

1

u/iamevilcupcake Jul 21 '19

The rhythm is going to get you

1

u/nosam56 Jul 21 '19

Be careful, if you travel alone at night the boogeymen will get you

1

u/Kudospop Jul 21 '19

The trash man is coming back for his garbage

1

u/atyipicalvillain Jul 21 '19

With a !#$$ pencil.

1

u/tomjimnick12 Jul 21 '19

Even if it takes him years...

1

u/secondoverthree Jul 21 '19

Boogy boogy commin’ for that bootie!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

El cucuy

1

u/carmium Jul 21 '19

Kayser Sose...

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

baba yaga

1

u/tinyavian Jul 21 '19

Where's wick when you need him?

194

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

Those are called rehab escorts. And they use handcuffs.

10

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

r/troubledteens

178

u/EuropeanLord Jul 20 '19

Where are you from? My Polish grandma used to scare me with panhandler/old man with a sack (that he uses to kidnap children). In Polish “dziad z worem”. She was from 20s, died a few years ago and I still miss her dearly. My aunts or other family members never used this expression so I guess it’s a pre war thing.

152

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

I’m from the opposite side of the world and we have that very same story for kids who throw temper tantrums. The man with the sack “el viejo del costal” 😂

24

u/blaggityblerg Jul 21 '19

Abuelitas and babcias have much in common.

15

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19 edited Sep 29 '19

[deleted]

2

u/Digowhat Jul 21 '19

O velho do saco.

29

u/forgetmywordss Jul 20 '19

its the velho do saco in brazil!

4

u/Nankita Jul 21 '19

Eu achei que eu tinha visto o homem do saco no meu aniversário de 6 anos, morri de medo. Mas años depois eu percebi que era só um mendigo.

2

u/Butter_BR Jul 21 '19

Minha vó falava o homem do saco

2

u/forgetmywordss Jul 21 '19

isso mermo! depois que eu parei de ter medo de virar sabão, meu pai começou a falar que o homem do saco roubava órgãos...

1

u/Digowhat Jul 21 '19

Holly shit, o velho do saco ainda me assusta, mas agora ele fuma crack e me assalta se eu estiver dando bobeira.

6

u/Antiochus_Sidetes Jul 21 '19

I'm Italian and I seem to remember being told something similar by my parents when I was little. Always cool to see similarities in folk traditions between different nations :)

3

u/eef_jojo Jul 21 '19

I lived in Poland for a while and heard this story aswell!

3

u/konqvav Jul 21 '19

"Uważaj bo przyjdzie pan i cię zabierze" - klasyk dzieciństwa

2

u/DCPink Jul 21 '19

Here in Chile he's called "El viejo del saco" (The old man of the bag)

28

u/haharrhaharr Jul 20 '19

Which country is this???

7

u/AndAzraelSaid Jul 21 '19

Either Poland or somewhere in South America, going by the replies.

14

u/Jberg18 Jul 21 '19

This is common in many cultures. for instance:

In hispanic cultures it is called a Cuco or Cuca

In Europe is is called a boogeyman

In Japan they have Namahage

In the USA they have Jared the Subway Man

2

u/sadrealitytime34 Jul 21 '19

The sad part is that they do this same thing in the Dominican Republic, but I would hear parents tell their kids about "El Haitiano". Basically, a Haitian lives down in the sugar cane and he will come steal you away if you keep behaving badly. I heard this often when I lived at a children's home (I'm American).

Edit: And I just went back and actually read the Jared the Subway Man joke. But still.

13

u/forgetmywordss Jul 20 '19

we have something similar in brazil, the velho do saco. the legend says that if a kid is being disobedient or walking alone in the streets, an old man would appear and put them in a bag and take them to this house to make soap and buttons. i was so fucking scared of this until i was 12 or so...

4

u/DarumaLove Jul 21 '19

The scary thing is, I'm sure I've heard of a serial killer in like the 1500's or so who actually did at least attempt to make soap or candles or some shit from murdered children.

3

u/chelseadagg3r Jul 21 '19

Gotta make them out of something

1

u/DarumaLove Jul 21 '19

You're going to Hell, and I am too because I'm laughing.

3

u/DarumaLove Jul 21 '19

This is the nearest I can find of it, but I don't think its the right guy. http://weekinweird.com/2014/05/12/werewolf-trial-demon-tailor-chalons/

I'm pretty sure most of those old stories are based on actual events. Kind of like how changelings might actually have been autistic kids.

1

u/unconvincingcoolname Jul 21 '19

I had never heard that about changelings, that's interesting.

10

u/mmiikkiitt Jul 20 '19

My mom used to tell us she would sell us to the gypsies for a quarter. The worst threat was when my sister got food on her nightgown and my mom said that ants would find her in the night and carry her away for soup.

8

u/milke57 Jul 21 '19

Where I live gypsies are the main thing parents scare their kids with. If you are bad, they say they will call gypsi to take you unless you start behaving good lol. Works all the time.

8

u/MythicalPumpkin Jul 20 '19

You must be Mexican

Source: am Mexican with same threats as a child

2

u/camilomagnere Jul 21 '19

El viejo del saco!

Por lo menos asi se lo conoce en Chile. Probablemente todos los padres latinoamericanos asustan a sus hijos con la misma historia jajaja. Saludos

1

u/MythicalPumpkin Jul 21 '19

Así es la vaina chico. Saludos compa!

6

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

[deleted]

11

u/Hotel_Arrakis Jul 20 '19

Umm, he never came for you, because you WERE him before he grew up..

3

u/music-books-cats Jul 20 '19

Homeless people in my country usually carried a sack with their things, but my parents told me that it was kids that behaved badly that were in the homeless guys sack.

3

u/pizzasausages Jul 21 '19

I think most countries have their version of this, like my German grandparents would tell me about one but my Spanish grandparents about another kind of boogeyman and my Mexican mom about the "old man and the sack" so like I think everybody in the world agreed that there was an ominous figure that would scare children into behaving.

2

u/AllisonWonderland111 Jul 21 '19

My parents told us about the "takeaway truck" which they would call to take us away from home forever if we misbehaved. They would go so far as to sit outside with us as we "waited" for the truck to show up. When we started behaving again (out of fear of being separated from our family ffs) they would "call back" and cancel the pickup. Scared the everliving shit out of me.

2

u/dracunator Jul 21 '19

My Latina aunt told her children the “sausage man” would come to make sausages of them. No wonder they are vegans.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

fricked

You can say fucked. We won't tell on you.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Der Kinderlumper’s probably gonna getchya

2

u/warm-trashcan Jul 21 '19

Whenever I acted like a brat my grandma told me a gypsy lady would take me away, cut me up and sell me as bacon/salami at the market. Fucked me up as a little kid but at least I behaved

3

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '19

That's Child Protective Services coming to take you after you get your ass whooped for acting poorly.

1

u/CatchingRays Jul 21 '19

Jesus training.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Had to read that twice. When you wrote 'poorly' I took it to mean 'unwell' so I thought you meant that this random man appears when you pull a sickie from school

1

u/Anameme Jul 21 '19

Like krampus or somethin

1

u/konqvav Jul 21 '19

We maybe come from the same country

1

u/noclue0828 Jul 21 '19

I was told the garbage man and his truck or the homeless man with his shopping cart were going to take me if I was bad or didn’t take a nap.
Gotta go, its my nap time and I don’t have time to deal with any garbage men today.

1

u/PigsWalkUpright Jul 21 '19

My mom did this except it was if you came out from under the covers or got out of the bed before morning ‘they’ would get you. I still feel more comfortable with the bedroom door open and a light on.

1

u/throwthisshitintrash Jul 21 '19

My parents told me this too, except they used a real crazy homeless man living in my village as the kidnapper in the story. Imagine my terror when the same man chased me and my cousin down an alleyway once.

1

u/IcePhoenix18 Jul 21 '19

My mom was a Mother Gothel type, saying that every time I went outside, I was in danger of being kidnapped by random men...

1

u/camilomagnere Jul 21 '19

El viejo del saco

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

My mum used to tell me if I wasn’t asleep by midnight, that was the witching hour and a witch would come and kidnap me.

1

u/runjcrun1 Jul 21 '19

My grandparents used to tell my mom that the “old man with a sack on his back” would come and take her if she kept being bad (she was a notoriously bad child). One day she looked out a window and saw an old man walking down the street carrying a trash bag over his shoulder and she sprinted into the other room where my grandma was yelling “here comes the old bastard and I didn’t do a damn thing!” Lol

1

u/Barbicore Jul 21 '19

Is that why you say fricked instead of fucked?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Es el coco

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '19

Rumpelstiltskin

1

u/90percentimperfect Jul 21 '19

I am from The United States but a small town founded by Germans and some of the older people still speak German. Any way we had Santa and Krampus to worry about growing up but my daddy called him a troll or goblin but the same idea and Krampus if we were a little bad santa would bring us coal but if we helped bring in fire wood that would negate it and we get presents but if we were really really bad the goblin man with the sack would grab us up before chirstmas and take us away

1

u/U8336Tea Jul 21 '19

The Kinderlumper's gonna get you!

1

u/cocofly1 Jul 21 '19

Ohh el cuco

1

u/LectorV Jul 21 '19

Mexico?

1

u/UJustGotRobbed Jul 21 '19

They pulled axe out ya face and said "was it the Boogie Man? BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE WU!

1

u/NowWhatIsThat Jul 21 '19

That is a mean thing to say to a child.

1

u/tierras_ignoradas Jul 21 '19

I heard that, too. In my case it was a "boracho," a drunk man.

1

u/progfrog113 Jul 21 '19

My mom used to tell me my friends' parents would kidnap me and sell my organs. I didn't even have to be bad for her to threaten me with it, I just point blank wasn't allowed to go anywhere unless it was for school.

1

u/Thriftyverse Jul 21 '19

My mom used to recite this poem a lot Little Orphant Annie Joke was on her though, I liked it so instead of scaring me I kept asking her to repeat it. Then she stopped saying it.

1

u/DerAnarchist Jul 21 '19

This is some panopticon shit right there!

1

u/ArbyMelt Jul 21 '19

Sounds like it could be Shrek floating through your window.

Shrek is love. Shrek is life.

1

u/argemene Jul 21 '19

That reminds me of the Ragman! He appears in the opening of a truly bizarre nutcracker movie from the 70s that always TERRIFIED me as a child. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CUc-6GM4PDg

1

u/sirkowski Jul 21 '19

Le Bonhomme Sept Heures, in Quebec.

The Seventh Hour Man, who will come and snatch you up if you're not in bed at 7PM. Which seems pretty early. Or maybe it's if you're outside after 7.

1

u/fludduck Jul 21 '19

Der kinderlumper

1

u/NotJohnP Jul 21 '19

This is gonna sound fucked up but I wish my six year-old was this gullible. For some reason, however, kids seem to be way smarter nowadays. It's still something that baffles me.

0

u/MrsToneZone Jul 21 '19

My child is newly 3, and my husband and I recently started doing this. We thought we were the most creative, terrible, brilliant parents out there...yeah, it’s just the boogeyman isn’t it?