In English
folkloreFolklore consists of culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those...
, a
boggart (or
bogart) is a household fairy which causes things to disappear, milk to sour, and dogs to go lame. Always malevolent, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee. In Northern England, at least, there was the belief 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.
It is said that the boggart crawls into people's beds at night and puts a clammy hand on their faces. Sometimes he strips the bedsheets off them. Sometimes a boggart will also pull on a person's ears. Hanging a
horseshoeA horseshoe is a U-shaped item made of metal or of modern synthetic materials, nailed or glued to the hooves of horses and some other draught animals. Like a shoe on a human, it is used to protect the animal's feet from wear and tear...
on the door of a house is said to keep a boggart away.
In the folklore of North-West England, boggarts live under bridges on dangerous sharp bends on roads, and it is considered bad luck for drivers not to offer their polite greetings as they cross.
The
ScottishScottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not include Scots depending on the observer.The main, formal variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English...
variant is the
bogleA bogle, boggle or bogill is a Northumbrian and Scots term for a ghost or folkloric being, used for a variety of related folkloric creatures including Shellycoats, Barguests, Brags, the Hedley Kow and even giants such as those associated with Cobb's Causey .The name is derived from the Middle-English...
(or
boggle).
The Farmer and the Boggart
In one old tale said to originate from the village of Mumby in the
LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It also borders Northamptonshire for just 19 metres , England's shortest county boundary...
countryside, the boggart is described as being rather squat, hairy and smelly. The story goes that a farmer bought a patch of land that was inhabited by the boggart. When the farmer tried to cultivate the field the boggart got angry, but after much arguing they decided to work the land together and share the bounty. The farmer, however, being greedy, began to ponder a way to cheat the boggart out of his share. When they were debating what to plant, he asked the boggart, 'Which half of the crop do you want for your share, the part below the ground or the part above it?' The boggart thought for a while before answering 'The part below the ground.' The farmer sowed the field with barley. At harvest time the farmer boasted a big pile of barley while all the boggart had to show for his work was stubble. It flew into a rage and screeched that next time it would take what lay above the ground. The next time the farmer sowed the field with potatoes. At harvest time the farmer laughed as he claimed his massive pile of potatoes while the boggart was yet again left with nothing to show for his efforts. Simmering with rage, the boggart stormed off, never to return again.
This story is identical to the European fable
The Farmer and the Devil, cited in many 17th century French works. (See
Bonne Continuation, Nina M. Furry et Hannelore Jarausch)
Geographical names
A variety of geographic locations and architectural landmarks have been named for the boggart. There is a large municipal park called '
Boggart Hole CloughBoggart Hole Clough is a large urban park in Blackley, a district of Manchester, England. It occupies an area of approximately , part of an ancient woodland, with picturesque cloughs varying from steep ravines to sloping gullies...
,' which is bordered by
MostonMoston is the name of:*Moston, Cheshire East, Cheshire, a civil parish west of Sandbach*Moston, Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire, a civil parish north of Chester*Moston, Greater Manchester, a suburb in the city of Manchester, England....
, Greater lpo there is a place called Boggle Hole. In the local mythology, a Boggle is the local name for a hobgoblin, mischievous 'little people' that were thought to live in caves along the coast. Boggle Hole is a natural cave formed by wave action where smugglers used to land their contraband in past times.
There is a Boggart Bridge in Burnley,
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
, where tradition says that whoever crosses the bridge must give a living thing to the boggart or forfet his or her souls.
On
PuckPuck is an inner moon of Uranus. It was discovered in December 1985 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The name Puck comes from Celtic mythology and English folklore. The orbit of Puck lies between the rings of Uranus and the first of Uranus' large moons, Miranda. Puck is approximately spherical in...
, a moon of
UranusUranus is the seventh planet from the Sun, and the third-largest and fourth most massive planet in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...
, there is a crater named "Bogle," in deference to the system of
nomenclaturePlanetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. The task of assigning official names to features is taken up by the International...
on this satellite, whose features are all named after various mischievous spirits.
Popular culture
Boggarts feature prominently in a number of popular
fantasyFantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place in fictional worlds where magic is common...
novels, in various incarnations. These include the "boggles" of
C. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as Jack, was an Irish-born British novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist...
's
Chronicles of Narnia, the boggarts of
J. K. RowlingJoanne "Jo" Murray, OBE , better known under the pen name J. K. Rowling , is a British author best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, the idea for which was conceived whilst on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990...
's
Harry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series, the boggart in the
Septimus Heap Septimus Heap is a series of fantasy novels written by English author Angie Sage and featuring a protagonist of the same name. Five novels, entitled Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste and Syren, have been published, the first in 2005 and the most recent in 2009...
series, and the boggarts in
Joseph DelaneyJoseph Henry Delaney is a British former educator and currently an author of science fiction and fantasy books.-Life and career:On first leaving school, Delaney started work as an apprentice engineer. Upon the completion of his schooling, he went on to become an English instructor, with his initial...
's
The Wardstone ChroniclesThe Wardstone Chronicles is a dark fantasy series of books written by the author Joseph Delaney and published by Random House. The series is about a seventh son of a seventh son, Thomas J. Ward , who can see and sense creatures of the dark and other things that others cannot...
. Other books, including
Tasha TudorTasha Tudor was an American illustrator and author of children's books.-Biography:Tasha Tudor was born in Boston, Massachusetts as Starling Burgess. She was originally named after her father, the naval architect W. Starling Burgess, known as "the Skipper"...
's
CoriThe Welsh Corgi is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. Two distinct breeds are recognized: the Pembroke Welsh Corgi and the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, with the Pembroke being the more common. Corgis are healthy dogs, living into their early or middle teens; however, both do suffer...
-related picture books and
The Spiderwick ChroniclesThe Spiderwick Chronicles is a series of children's books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into Spiderwick Estate and discover a world of faeries that they never knew...
, feature brownies which turn into boggarts when angered.
In the
CITVCITV is the brand name used for the majority of children's television output on ITV's television stations, including the ITV Network, breakfast broadcaster GMTV and the ITV plc-owned CITV Channel as well as non ITV plc owned regions...
children's show
The Treacle PeopleThe Treacle People was a children's television programme shown on CITV in the United Kingdom, in 1995. It only had two series, each with 13 episodes. The programme was short lived due to a lack of viewers. In a similar vein to other shows by the same writer, the humour worked on two levels for ...
, Boggarts are furry, gremlin-like creatures that originate from the Treacle Mines. They are mischievous, frequently playfighting and causing a mess. They serve as pets, friends and pests to the townspeople. They have the ability to walk up walls and other inclined surfaces due to their feet, which resemble plungers.
Boggarts can also be found in a variety of role-playing games. In the
LorwynLorwyn is the 66th Magic: The Gathering set, 43rd expert level set, and the first set in the Lorwyn Block, released in October 2007. It is codenamed "Peanut"...
and
ShadowmoorShadowmoor is an expansion set, codenamed "Jelly," from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. It was released on May 2, 2008. The pre-release events for this set were held on April 19-20, 2008.-Set Details:...
blocks of the
Magic: The GatheringMagic: The Gathering is a collectible card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic is the first example of the modern collectible card game genre and still thrives today, with an estimated six million players in over seventy...
trading card game, Boggarts are that block's version of Goblins. The
White WolfWhite Wolf is a publisher of role-playing games, notably the World of Darkness.White Wolf may also refer to:-Non-fiction:*Arctic Wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family, and a subspecies of the Gray Wolf...
game
Changeling: The DreamingChangeling: The Dreaming was part of White Wolf Game Studio's original "World of Darkness" role playing game line. Player characters are changelings, fae souls reborn into human bodies, a practice begun by the fae to protect themselves as magic vanished from the world...
contains "Boggans" as a playable race, which are portrayed as helpful, gossiping creatures who enjoy housework.
See also
- Bogeyman
The bogeyman is a legendary monster. The bogeyman has no specific appearance and conceptions of the monster can vary drastically even from household to household within the same community; in many cases, he simply has no set appearance in the mind of a child, but is just an...
- A legendary creature who derived from the Boggart
- Bogle
A bogle, boggle or bogill is a Northumbrian and Scots term for a ghost or folkloric being, used for a variety of related folkloric creatures including Shellycoats, Barguests, Brags, the Hedley Kow and even giants such as those associated with Cobb's Causey .The name is derived from the Middle-English...
- Brownie
- Buggane
In Manx mythology, a was a huge ogre-like creature, native to the Isle of Man.Bugganes were said to be covered in black hair, with claws, tusks and a large red mouth...
- Domovoi
A domovoi is a house spirit in Slavic folklore. Domovois are masculine, typically small, and sometimes covered in hair all over. According to some traditions, the domovoi take on the appearance of current or former owners of the house and have a grey beard, sometimes with tails or little horns...
- Hob
Hob or HOB may refer to:* Hob , a household spirit in Northern England* A generic term for various Dwarf-like and Elf-like magical creatures in Germanic folklore* A devil* The top cooking surface on a stove* A male ferret...
- Hobgoblin
Hobgoblin is a term typically applied in folktales to describe a friendly but troublesome creature of the Seelie court.The most commonly known Hobgoblin is the character Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck, however, is only another name given to a much older character named Robin...
- Kobold
The kobold is a sprite stemming from Germanic mythology and surviving into modern times in German folklore. Although usually invisible, a kobold can materialise in the form of an animal, fire, a human being, and a mundane object. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures...
- Poltergeist
is in mythology and folklore a ghost, spirit, entity, demonic spirit or being that manifests itself by creating noise or moving objects....
- sprite
The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairies, and similar beings , but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts...
- Tomte
A tomte or nisse is a mythical creature of Scandinavian folklore. Tomte or Nisse were believed to take care of a farmer's home and children and protect them from misfortune, in particular at night, when the housefolk were asleep. The Swedish name tomte is derived from a place of residence and...
- Bogart (disambiguation)