| AKA: Bogart Bogle Boggle |
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|---|---|
| Mythology | English folklore |
| Grouping | Folklore creature |
| Sub-grouping | Household fairy |
| Country | England |
| Region | Nationwide |
| Habitat | Within the home |
| Similar creatures | See here |
In English folklore, 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 horseshoe on the door of a house is said to keep a boggart away and you can leave a pile of salt outside your bedroom.
In the folklore of North-West England, boggarts live under bridges on dangerous sharp bends on roads as well as in chimneys. The Scottish variant is the bogle (or boggle).
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In one old tale said to originate from the village of Mumby in the Lincolnshire 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)
A variety of geographic locations and architectural landmarks have been named for the boggart. There is a large municipal park called Boggart Hole Clough, which is bordered by Moston and Blackley in Manchester, England. Clough is a northern dialect word for a steep sided, wooded valley; a large part of Boggart Hole Clough is made up of these valleys and is said to be inhabited by boggarts. Supposed mysterious disappearances over the years, particularly in the early 19th century, were often attributed to the Boggart of the Clough.
Half way between Scarborough and Whitby, on Robin Hood's Bay, there is a place called Boggle Hole. In the local mythology, a boggle is the local name for a hobgoblin, mischievous "little people" who 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, Lancashire, where tradition says that whoever crosses the bridge must give a living thing to the boggart or forfeit his or her soul.
On Puck, a moon of Uranus, there is a crater named Bogle, in deference to the system of nomenclature on this satellite, whose features are all named after various mischievous spirits.
In the Seacroft area of Leeds in West Yorkshire there is a council estate named Boggart Hill; Boggart Hill Drive, Boggart Hill Gardens and Boggart Hill were all given the name of the estate area.
Boggarts feature prominently in a number of popular fantasy novels, in various incarnations. These include the "boggles" of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, the boggart of Susan Cooper's The Boggart and The Boggart and the Monster, the boggarts of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, the boggart in the Septimus Heap series, and the boggarts in Joseph Delaney's The Wardstone Chronicles. Other books, including The Spiderwick Chronicles, Tasha Tudor's Corgi-related picture books, and Mark Del Franco's Convergent World books feature brownies which turn into boggarts when angered.
In the CITV children's show The Treacle People, 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 Lorwyn and Shadowmoor blocks of the Magic: The Gathering trading card game, boggarts are the most common variety of goblin. The White Wolf game Changeling: The Dreaming contains "Boggans" as a playable race, which are portrayed as helpful, gossiping creatures who enjoy housework.
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