Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Sack Man

The Sack Man, also referred to as the or Man with the Sack, is a recurrent folkloric akin to the , depicted across various and Latin American traditions as an ominous figure who traverses the night carrying a large sack to ensnare and remove disobedient children, thereby functioning as a mechanism for enforcing moral behavior through . This motif manifests in regional variants such as the Bulgarian Torbalan, a sack-bearing entity invoked to intimidate unruly into , often portrayed lurking in forests or shadows to abduct the wayward. In Iberian and Latin American , equivalents like el hombre del saco emphasize the figure's role in capturing children for unspecified dire fates, reflecting pre-modern societal efforts to regulate juvenile conduct absent empirical substantiation of the entity's existence. The 's persistence underscores a causal reliance on threat-based deterrence in child-rearing, with historical echoes possibly tied to practices of collection for labor during the 15th and 16th centuries, though direct evidentiary links remain anecdotal.

Origins and Etymology

Historical Roots

The Sack Man figure emerged within as a variant of the , embodying parental threats of abduction for misbehaving children, with the sack symbolizing capture and removal. Its earliest documented associations appear in Iberian traditions, where el hombre del saco reflects longstanding anxieties over child safety amid itinerant beggars, gypsies, and occasional real kidnappings for labor or during the late medieval and early modern periods. While precise origins remain folkloric rather than precisely dated, the motif parallels broader archetypes dating to at least the in English and Scottish ballads, where shadowy figures punished the disobedient through seizure or harm. In , the legend gained vivid historical reinforcement from 19th-century sacamantecas criminals—literally "fat extractors"—who murdered victims to harvest body fat for purported medicinal uses, fueling tales of sack-wielding abductors. A notable case involved , convicted in 1853 for at least nine killings in , , where he claimed lycanthropy but confessed to extracting fat from corpses for sale as a cure-all. This merged with Sack Man , portraying the figure as a diseased or desperate prowler collecting children not just for discipline but for gruesome consumption or extraction. The myth intensified with the 1910 Gádor crime in , where Francisco Leona, a tubercular , orchestrated the and of seven-year-old Bernardo González Parra to drain his blood and render his fat as a tuberculosis remedy, administered to Leona's brother. Court records detail how the child's remains were processed and portions consumed, amplifying local of the Sack Man as a real threat lurking in rural shadows. These events, while postdating the core legend, provided causal realism to the tales, transforming abstract fears into cautionary narratives grounded in verifiable atrocities that preyed on vulnerable families.

Linguistic Variations

The Sack Man figure manifests in under designations that typically emphasize the sack or bag used to abduct misbehaving children, with primary variations concentrated in Romance-language traditions of the and their colonial extensions in . In , the most prevalent terms are el hombre del saco (literally "the sack man" or "the man with the sack") and el hombre del costal ( "the man with the large bag" or "the costal man," referring to a coarse burlap sack), alongside el roba-chicos ("the child-snatcher"). These names underscore the figure's punitive role, often invoked in parental warnings during evening hours. In , the equivalent is homem do saco ("sack man"), prevalent in and , where the term evokes a similar nocturnal threat of capture and transport to an undisclosed fate. Extensions of this motif appear in other European languages with sack-carrying bogeymen, though less uniformly tied to the "Sack Man" archetype. For instance, in Hungarian folklore, zsákos ember directly translates to "man with the sack," aligning closely with the Iberian model in function and imagery. Broader Indo-European bogeyman variants, such as the Polish bebek or Slovak bubák, occasionally incorporate sack elements but prioritize shape-shifting or monstrous traits over the sack as the defining feature. In French-speaking Swiss regions, related figures like Père Fouettard ("Father Whipper") sometimes carry sacks alongside whips, blending disciplinary tools in winter folklore, though the sack is secondary to corporal punishment. These linguistic parallels suggest diffusion through trade, migration, and oral transmission, adapting to local phonetic and cultural emphases while retaining the core sack symbolism.

Regional Traditions

Iberian Peninsula and Latin America

In Spain, the Sack Man is known as El Hombre del Saco, depicted as a gaunt, ugly old man who roams at night carrying a large sack to abduct disobedient children, whom he purportedly eats or sells. This figure serves as a tool for parental discipline, with warnings that misbehavior summons him to drag children away unseen. A variant, El Sacamantecas ("lard-stealer"), emerged in 19th-century northern , where the man was said to kill children and collect their body fat for tanning leather or medicinal uses, blending with reports of actual crimes like those attributed to Francisco Ortega in 1905 near . In , the equivalent is Homem do Saco, similarly an elderly wanderer with a who targets children venturing out without permission, emphasizing themes of parental authority and nocturnal peril. The figure's portrayal underscores rural traditions, where he is invoked during evenings to curb wandering or defiance, with no fixed appearance beyond the and ragged attire. Colonization spread these motifs to Latin America, yielding variations such as El Viejo del Saco ("Old Man of the Sack") in and , and Homem do Saco in , where the Sack Man captures naughty children for consumption or enslavement. In these regions, the legend adapts to local contexts, often tied to rural or urban , with parents using it to enforce or household rules amid sparse historical records predating the . Unlike the more amorphous El Coco—a spectral without a sack—the Sack Man retains the explicit abduction device, though the two sometimes overlap in oral traditions for scaring children.

Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

In Bulgarian , the Torbalan, also known as Dyado Torbalan or "Grandpa ," is a figure depicted as a sinister old man who roams at night carrying a large sack to capture and abduct misbehaving children, often threatening to take them to a or devour them. This tradition persists in rural areas, where parents invoke the Torbalan to enforce bedtime and good conduct, reflecting a broader Balkan pattern of sack-bearing punishers tied to oral tales from the onward. Among groups in , equivalents include the Babay (or Babai) in and traditions, a shadowy, elderly night spirit described as pitch-black and crooked, who uses a and cane to snatch children who disobey parents or stay awake late, with accounts dating to pre-Christian beliefs adapted into folklore collections by the . In , the bebok (or ) serves a similar role, portrayed as a sack-carrying entity that kidnaps unruly youth, as noted in regional legends used for discipline. These figures emphasize nocturnal predation and physical restraint via the , distinguishing them from more supernatural entities like by their direct, parental enforcement function. In the Caucasus, particularly Armenia and Georgia, the "Bag Man" (or equivalent local variants) threatens children with abduction in a bag for poor behavior, a custom embedded in family lore where the figure wanders villages at night to enforce obedience, with parallels to Indo-European bogeyman motifs but localized through oral transmission in mountainous communities. This usage aligns with cross-regional patterns but lacks the formalized depictions found in Slavic sack men, relying instead on verbal warnings without widespread artistic representation.

Asia and Africa

In the Caucasus region, encompassing parts of Western Asia such as Armenia and Georgia, folklore includes the "Bag Man" (known locally in variants that parallel the Sack Man), depicted as a threatening figure who carries a large bag to capture and remove misbehaving children, often invoked by parents to enforce obedience. This entity functions as a nocturnal wanderer targeting disobedient youth, with tales emphasizing the bag's role in abduction as a deterrent against poor behavior. Further west in , Lebanese oral traditions reference Abu Kees, or the "Man with a Bag," a bogeyman-like character who uses his to ensnare naughty children, reflecting a disciplinary adapted to local storytelling without strong ties to European holiday figures. Documentation of such sack-bearing punishers remains limited outside the , with broader Asian folklore favoring other spectral enforcers like Japan's or China's mountain demons, which lack the signature but share child-scaring purposes. In , the most direct analogue appears in South African folklore, particularly among Afrikaans-speaking communities in the , where Antjie Somers serves as a who slings a bag over his shoulder to catch and carry off unruly children. First referenced in print around , Antjie Somers originated from 19th-century legends of a bandit or spectral wanderer who preyed on travelers at night, evolving into a child-snatching threat used by adults to promote discipline. Scholarly analysis traces the figure's ambiguity—blending human robber, hag-like spirit, or gender-nonconforming entity—to colonial-era oral tales, though primary accounts vary on exact abduction methods. Beyond South Africa, sack-wielding bogeymen are sparsely attested in African traditions, where equivalents like the Zulu tokoloshe or West African spirits prioritize shape-shifting or nocturnal mischief over sack-based capture, suggesting the motif's limited diffusion outside areas of European settler influence.

Functional Role in Folklore

Enforcement of Parental and Social Discipline

The Sack Man functions as a mythological enforcer in folklore traditions, primarily invoked by parents to compel children's obedience and adherence to behavioral norms. In Portuguese and Brazilian variants, known as Homem do Saco, caregivers threaten misbehaving youth with capture by the figure, who stuffs disobedient children into his sack for unspecified punishment, often implied as enslavement or consumption, thereby deterring actions like refusing bedtime or wandering unsupervised. This tactic leverages fear of abduction to reinforce immediate compliance, with parents portraying the Sack Man as an omnipresent nocturnal prowler who targets those who ignore authority. In Spanish-speaking regions, the Hombre del Saco similarly serves to police social boundaries, such as prohibiting children from venturing out after dark or engaging in petty theft, by promising transport to remote locales for sale or devouring. accounts emphasize its utility in communal settings, where elders relay tales to instill collective vigilance and respect for familial hierarchy, extending beyond individual households to broader societal expectations of restraint and propriety. The figure's symbolizes inescapable consequence, transforming abstract rules into tangible peril and aligning personal conduct with group survival imperatives like avoiding danger in pre-modern environments. Cross-culturally, the Sack Man's disciplinary role underscores a pragmatic of to child-rearing, where correlates with high-risk behaviors in agrarian or urbanizing societies, such as straying from home amid limited oversight. Parents in North variants, like Algerian Bouchkara, deploy analogous threats to curb exploration beyond safe zones, embedding the narrative in oral warnings that prioritize hazard avoidance over moral abstraction. This enforcement mechanism persists in contemporary retellings, though diluted, as a low-cost behavioral regulator absent formal institutions.

Psychological Mechanisms and Evolutionary Purpose

The Sack Man exploits fundamental psychological processes such as and threat detection biases, which are hardwired in the to prioritize survival-relevant dangers like predation or . Children, with their underdeveloped limiting impulse control, respond strongly to vivid narratives of an amorphous, sack-bearing figure who enforces for misbehavior, associating disobedience with immediate peril and thereby internalizing social norms through operant avoidance learning. This mechanism draws on the amygdala's rapid activation to unfamiliar or punitive stimuli, rendering the figure more effective than abstract verbal reprimands, as evidenced by patterns where such entities embody parental authority amplified by dread. Evolutionarily, the Sack Man and analogous bogeymen likely persist as cultural adaptations that simulate ancestral threats—such as or resource scarcity—without incurring real costs, preparing offspring for environments where compliance with kin directives enhanced . Under parental investment theory, caregivers deploy these low-effort tools to curb exploratory risks in juveniles, whose high curiosity could lead to fatal encounters with predators or outgroups, mirroring how narratives across societies evolve to encode adaptive fears like or violation of group taboos. Biocultural analyses indicate that such stories are not mere but psychologically tuned to exploit hyper-vigilance systems, fostering cautionary behaviors that boosted in pre-modern settings dominated by immediate physical hazards. Empirical support from underscores this purpose: exposure to controlled frights via correlates with heightened memory retention of moral lessons and reduced in rule-breaking, as the brain's threat-simulation circuitry—extended from dreaming mechanisms—rehearses responses to hypothetical crises, yielding anti-phobic rather than chronic anxiety when calibrated appropriately. While modern critiques highlight potential overgeneralization of fears, the cross-generational transmission of Sack Man variants attests to their utility in aligning juvenile conduct with ecological demands, prioritizing empirical patterns of behavioral modification over unsubstantiated concerns of harm.

Associations with Holidays and Rituals

Christmas and Winter Festivals

In Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and northern Italy, the Sack Man manifests as Krampus, a demonic figure who accompanies Saint Nicholas during celebrations on December 5 and 6. Krampus carries a sack or basket to capture naughty children, whom he either beats with birch rods, drowns, or transports to hell for punishment, contrasting with Nicholas's gifts for the virtuous. This tradition, rooted in pre-Christian winter folklore, peaks during Krampusnacht on December 5, where costumed participants parade through towns, rattling chains and wielding switches to scare children into obedience. Similar punitive sack-bearing figures appear in other European winter festivals tied to . In the , devils dressed in fur and horns accost children on , bundling misbehaving ones into sacks for a mock journey to before releasing them, reinforcing moral conduct amid the holiday season. These rituals, observed annually, blend Christian saint veneration with older pagan elements of seasonal discipline, using fear of abduction to promote social norms during the darkest months. In Iberian and Latin American Christmas observances, el Hombre del Saco serves a comparable role, lurking during December festivities to threaten kidnapping of disobedient children in his burlap sack, often for consumption or enslavement. This figure, invoked by parents around Nochebuena on , parallels gift-giving customs while emphasizing consequences for poor behavior, persisting in oral traditions despite modernization. Such associations underscore the Sack Man's integration into winter holiday cycles as a counterbalance to benevolence, leveraging for across cultures.

Other Seasonal or Ritual Contexts

In various cultural rituals beyond explicit winter holiday observances, the Sack Man functions as a narrative device in parental and communal storytelling practices aimed at enforcing obedience among children. In Spanish folklore, parents invoke el hombre del saco during routine evening rituals, such as bedtime routines or warnings against wandering at night, portraying the figure as an itinerant collector of disobedient youth to deter mischief independent of seasonal events. This usage extends to Portuguese traditions, where o homem do saco similarly emerges in family lore to promote respect for elders and household rules, often without calendrical ties. In Latin American variants, particularly in and , the Sack Man (homem do saco or hombre del saco) appears in informal rituals tied to child-rearing, including admonitions during community gatherings or to curb , reflecting a broader application as a deterrent against perceived social threats like , rooted in historical concerns over and child safety rather than festival cycles. Documentation of these invocations lacks strong seasonal markers outside , indicating the figure's ritual role emphasizes perennial discipline over alternative harvest or autumnal feasts, such as sparse references in All Saints' contexts that conflate it with general boogeyman archetypes without unique ceremonial elements. Modern adaptations occasionally reposition the Sack Man in non-traditional seasonal events, like Halloween-themed narratives in diaspora communities, where it merges with global spook to evoke fear during celebrations, though this represents rather than continuity. Such extensions highlight the figure's adaptability but underscore its core embedding in Iberian-Latin disciplinary customs over diverse calendars.

Comparisons and Distinctions

Relation to the Bogeyman

The Sack Man embodies a localized variant of the archetype, characterized by its use of a sack to abduct misbehaving children, a that underscores threats of removal or to enforce obedience in and Latin American folklore traditions. This figure parallels the bogeyman's broader role as an undefined, fear-inducing entity deployed by caregivers to deter disobedience, reflecting a pattern where threats embody parental authority and social expectations. Key similarities include the reliance on ambiguity and terror to target children's vulnerabilities, with both figures often invoked orally in bedtime stories or warnings to curb behaviors like wandering at night or ignoring elders, thereby serving as proxies for real-world dangers such as abductions. Unlike the more amorphous , which may manifest as shadows or generic monsters without props, the Sack Man's sack provides a , visual element that heightens immediacy, sometimes linking it to historical practices like collection or in 16th- and 17th-century . In comparative terms, the Sack Man exemplifies how bogeyman narratives adapt to regional contexts, incorporating everyday objects like sacks—common for transport or begging—to render abstract fears tangible, while maintaining the evolutionary function of promoting caution and compliance through imagined peril. Certain variants, such as the Portuguese homem do saco, emphasize daytime threats to unsupervised children, contrasting with nocturnal iterations elsewhere, yet both exploit the same causal dynamic of for behavioral control.

Unique Attributes and Variations

The Sack Man's most distinctive attribute is his large sack, utilized as a tool for abducting misbehaving children, symbolizing imminent capture and relocation rather than abstract terror. This concrete implement sets him apart from amorphous variants that rely on or , emphasizing a tangible threat of bundling and transport. Regional variations in Iberian and Latin American traditions portray the Sack Man, or El Hombre del Saco, as a gaunt, haggard elderly figure who stuffs naughty children into his sack for fates including consumption, sale into servitude, or processing into food products like sausages. In folklore as Homem do Saco, the emphasis often falls on children who venture outdoors without , highlighting themes of unsupervised wandering as a peril. In certain European contexts, such as German Der Mann mit dem Sack, the figure functions as a punitive companion to benevolent holiday patrons like , selectively targeting the undeserving for sack-bound removal during winter observances, thus integrating moral enforcement with seasonal rituals. This contrasts with standalone Latin variants where the Sack Man operates independently as a perpetual nocturnal prowler unbound by calendar events. Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan iterations, including the Italian Babau or Bulgarian Torbalan, retain the sack motif for child-snatching but may amplify monstrous traits, such as elongated limbs or nocturnal shrieks, diverging from the vagrant-like humanity of Western depictions to evoke primal, beastly predation.

Modern Depictions and Debates

Representations in Media and Culture

The Sack Man has been portrayed in contemporary horror cinema, particularly in films adapting Iberian and Latin American folklore variants. The Spanish film El hombre del saco (2023), directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández and starring Iván Renedo, centers on a family haunted by the titular figure, depicted as a spectral entity emerging from shadows to enforce retribution on disobedient children, blending psychological terror with traditional sack-carrying imagery. Similarly, the American production Bagman (2024), directed by Colm McCarthy and featuring Sam Claflin, reimagines the legend as a curse afflicting a father and son, where the Sack Man manifests as a grotesque, burlap-masked predator abducting the naughty, emphasizing visceral gore and familial dread over folklore's disciplinary roots. These cinematic representations amplify the figure's menacing for , often exaggerating its monstrous traits—such as elongated limbs and nocturnal predation—while retaining the core of child capture via sack, as seen in promotional materials and synopses. Unlike passive warnings, such depictions position the Sack Man as an active , influencing subgenres focused on urban legends and parental fears. In literature and broader popular culture, explicit Sack Man narratives remain limited, though the figure informs cautionary tales in Latin American children's media and urban legend anthologies, where it serves as a variant of the boogeyman archetype without prominent standalone works. Cultural references occasionally appear in discussions of global bogeyman equivalents, underscoring the Sack Man's role in cross-cultural storytelling for behavioral enforcement, but without the commercial prominence of film adaptations.

Controversies on Psychological Impact and Cultural Utility

Critics of fear-based disciplinary , including figures like the Sack Man, argue that invoking such myths can induce lasting anxiety in children, potentially exacerbating emotional vulnerabilities rather than fostering self-regulation. A 1993 study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry examined the effects of frightening stories on children aged 4 to 11, finding that exposure significantly heightened state anxiety levels immediately after hearing the tales, with anxious children showing a preference for re-exposure as a maladaptive . Similarly, analyses of threat-based parenting tactics, such as those employing bogeyman-like entities, indicate reliance on amygdala-driven fear responses bypasses higher cognitive processing, yielding short-term compliance but failing to instill reasoned behavior or moral understanding. These concerns align with broader empirical findings on aversive , where parental use of threats correlates with elevated childhood stress markers, though direct longitudinal data on Sack Man-specific traditions remains sparse due to their oral, culture-bound nature. Conversely, proponents highlight the adaptive psychological benefits of controlled exposure to fear-inducing narratives, positing that they cultivate and emotional mastery akin to "recreational fear" experiences. A 2025 involving over 1,000 children aged 3 to 12 reported that 93% engaged in and derived enjoyment from scary stimuli, such as monsters or horror play, which facilitated to anxiety and enhanced problem-solving under duress without evident harm in moderated contexts. scholars further contend that tales of punitive figures like the Sack Man serve an evolutionary function by encoding cautionary heuristics—warning against straying into peril—mirroring how ancestral environments demanded vigilance against predators or social transgressors to ensure group survival. This utility is evident in persistent cross-cultural transmission, where such myths correlate with reduced juvenile risk-taking in high-threat ecologies, though is challenged by variables like parental reinforcement. Debates on cultural utility underscore a between preservation of disciplinary traditions and contemporary child welfare norms, with some viewing Sack Man as a low-cost mechanism for enforcing prosocial norms in pre-modern societies lacking formal institutions. Ethnographic reviews of Iberian and Latin American variants describe the figure's role in reinforcing bedtime routines and awareness, potentially buffering against real hazards like in agrarian settings. However, progressive critiques, often rooted in academic , frame these practices as precursors to internalized or authority aversion, drawing parallels to meta-analyses showing associations with antisocial outcomes in 12 reviewed studies. Empirical scrutiny reveals methodological biases in anti-fear research, frequently prioritizing self-reported parental surveys over observational data, while overlooking folklore's role in collective —processing communal fears through . Truth-seeking evaluation favors nuanced application: uncalibrated threats risk dysregulation, yet culturally embedded myths, when paired with reassurance, may enhance adaptive fear calibration without net detriment, as evidenced by children's voluntary pursuit of similar scares in and play.

References

  1. [1]
    Bulgarian Torbalan tale | USC Digital Folklore Archives
    Apr 29, 2017 · There is a creature, a midivil creature in Bulgaria thats called Torbalan. The legend is that he has a huge bag and he puts children in there.
  2. [2]
    The Scariest Creatures In Bulgarian Mythology - Slavorum
    Jul 2, 2019 · The myth claims that if a child misbehaves, Torbalan will come to kidnap him or her from the safety of his/ her house and will carry the ...
  3. [3]
    Bogeyman: Myth or More? | Into Horror History - J.A. Hernandez
    Jan 31, 2023 · Bogeyman Around the World · Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and more: el Hombre del costal, el hombre del saco, o ...
  4. [4]
    El Hombre Del Saco (the Sack Man) - Espooky Tales
    Feb 4, 2021 · El Hombre Del Saco is a boogeyman tale, often depicted as an old man who kidnaps children in a bag, and eats them. He is mostly heard in Spain.Missing: credible | Show results with:credible
  5. [5]
    “The Sack Man Cometh…” | Eric Edwards Collected Works
    Nov 17, 2013 · In the folklore ballads of Scotland the Sack Man demon is called a Lammikin who stabs and bites infant children in order to waken their mothers.Missing: credible | Show results with:credible
  6. [6]
    TIL about the 'Sacamantecas' (Spanish for "Fat Extractor"), a ... - Reddit
    Jan 24, 2024 · A bogeyman in Spanish folklore similar to the sack man, based on Manuel Blanco, Spain's first documented serial killer who abducted people to extract their ...
  7. [7]
    Los casos reales que alimentaron el mito del hombre del saco
    Nov 15, 2024 · Dos terribles crímenes cometidos en Gádor y Vitoria crearon la leyenda del hombre del saco en España; Te contamos cuál es la razón por la ...Missing: origins | Show results with:origins<|separator|>
  8. [8]
    El hombre del saco: la terrorífica realidad detrás del mito
    Sep 20, 2025 · Para ejecutar el plan, contrataron a Julio Hernández, apodado El Tonto, quien secuestró al pequeño Bernardo González Parra, de 7 años, ...
  9. [9]
    THE MOST EVIL AND DEMENTED KILLERS IN SPAIN'S HISTORY
    Francisco Leona was a ruthless faith healer who directed the kidnapping and brutal murder of an innocent 7 year old boy called Bernardo, in 1910. This ...
  10. [10]
    15 Terrifying Boogeymen From Around The World - Babbel
    In some cultures, a figure like Sack Man works as Saint Nicholas' evil sidekick. illustration Baba Yaga, a witch with a broomstick. 5. Baba Yaga. Russia. AKA ...
  11. [11]
    What is the Boogeyman called in your country? : r/AskEurope - Reddit
    Sep 21, 2021 · In Finnish the most common name for a boogeyman is Mörkö which is sometimes translated as Ogre in english.words that are offensive in other languages : r/languagelearningHow do we know what Ancient Egyptian (or any ancient language ...More results from www.reddit.com
  12. [12]
    An International Survey of Spooks: From Baba Yaga to El Hombre ...
    Latin America, Spain, Brazil, and Portugal. The legend of a man carrying a large sack into which he puts disobedient children is common ...<|separator|>
  13. [13]
    The Sack Man (also called the Bag Man or Man with the Bag/Sack ...
    Nov 25, 2022 · Africa In the Western Cape folklore of South Africa, Antjie Somers is a Bogeyman who catches naughty children in a bag slung over his shoulder.Fascinating- anyone aware or attest to this? - FacebookAppalachian myths & monsters, including the Bell Witch - FacebookMore results from www.facebook.comMissing: credible | Show results with:credible<|separator|>
  14. [14]
    El Hombre del Saco - StudySpanish.com
    It seems that the legend is based on a horrible crime committed in a village in the southern province of Almeria, Spain. A man nicknamed ¨El Moruno¨, who ...Missing: galicia bernardo
  15. [15]
    All About El Hombre del Saco: The Dreaded Sack Man of Spain
    Sep 6, 2022 · Apart from Spain, variations of his story are also found in countries like Portugal and Brazil. According to legend, the terrifying figure of El ...
  16. [16]
    El Hombre Del Saco (The Sack Man) - Espooky Tales
    Jan 22, 2021 · El Hombre Del Saco is a legend told to children in Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Chile and Argentina (it is known as El Viejo Del Saco /the old ...
  17. [17]
    Hombre del Saco - Into the Wonder
    Oct 31, 2014 · Both mean “the sack man” or “the bag man.” This is a bogeyman found in many Latin countries including Brazil, Portugal, and Spain. He is ...
  18. [18]
    The Spookiest Latin American Monsters and Legends - SpanishDict
    El Hombre de la Bolsa. Region: Latin America. El hombre de la bolsa. (the Sack Man), also known as el hombre del saco. , el viejo del saco. , or el viejo del ...
  19. [19]
    The Torbalan | USC Digital Folklore Archives
    Apr 11, 2024 · The story goes that there's a Bulgarian monster called the Torbalan, who carries around a huge sack. The Torbalan kidnaps children who misbehave.
  20. [20]
    Torbalan is a well-known figure in the folklore of Southeastern Slavs ...
    Sep 14, 2025 · Torbalan belongs to the wider tradition of a "Sack Man" or “bogeyman” figures found across Europe, but in the Balkans he holds a special place ...
  21. [21]
    List of Slavic creatures | Myth and Folklore Wiki - Fandom
    In Russia, he is known as Babayka, and in Ukraine is known as Babayko. He is described as a pitch-black, old, crooked man who carries around a bag and cane. He ...
  22. [22]
    Folklore ,Traditions & Legends - The Sack Man (also called the Bag ...
    Jul 22, 2017 · In Spain, el hombre del saco is usually depicted as a mean and impossibly ugly and skinny old man who eats the misbehaving children he collects.Missing: depictions | Show results with:depictions
  23. [23]
    The first known reference to Antjie Somers, a South African bogy ...
    Mar 16, 2011 · It is alleged that Antjie Somers was a bandit dressed in woman's clothes who attacked travellers at night. Other sources claim that Somers was ...
  24. [24]
    (PDF) Antjie Somers, where are you from? On the origins of a South ...
    Antjie Somers was described as a town ghost, a mountain or river spirit, a legendary highway robber or a child snatcher in South Africa.
  25. [25]
    (PDF) Antjie Somers, where are you from? On the origins of the ...
    Antjie Somers was described as a town ghost, a mountain or river spirit, a legendary highway robber or a child snatcher in South Africa.
  26. [26]
    Homem do Saco/”The Bag Man” | USC Digital Folklore Archives
    May 14, 2013 · Often the Bag Man was threatened to visit kids who would ... Sack Man, they just kind of use it as a veiled threat. 'The Bag Man ...
  27. [27]
    THE THEME OF CHILD ABUSE IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
    stories of children being eaten are an efficient plot device used by parents to scare a child into obeying them. For example, telling a child that if they ...
  28. [28]
    The Boogeyman: Fear of the Unknown - Academia.edu
    The Boogeyman goes by various names with male, female, or neutral gender- Bogieman, El Coco, Sack Man, Ou-Wu, Babayka, El Ogro, The Devil, etc. The origins of ...
  29. [29]
    Monsters Evolve: A Biocultural Approach to Horror Stories
    Jun 1, 2012 · I argue that horror stories do not reflect empirical reality but rather the psychology of our species. The sustained generation and consumption ...
  30. [30]
    The evolution of monsters in children's literature - Nature
    Mar 17, 2020 · For children, scary monsters and frightening stories remain memorable as they themselves age. This is achieved through the presentation of ...
  31. [31]
    Your Terrifying Dreams Could Be Rehearsal for Real Life - Nautilus
    Jul 19, 2016 · Further evidence that dreams are a form of threat simulation: They have a tendency to feature negative emotions—fearful, angry, and anxious ...
  32. [32]
    Something Scary is Out There II: the Interplay of Childhood ...
    Jul 1, 2021 · The focus of the current study is to explore sex and cross-cultural differences in the pattern of fearfulness using evolutionary, developmental, and cross- ...
  33. [33]
    The seven most terrifying Christmas traditions around the world
    Dec 18, 2019 · Here are seven of the creepiest Christmas traditions around the world. 1. Krampus (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, northern Italy)
  34. [34]
    10 traditional winter festivals in Europe - The Guardian
    Nov 29, 2019 · Czech Republic. Being accosted by the devil, bundled into his sack, then carried away to hell doesn't sound like the most child-friendly ...
  35. [35]
    The Naughty List: Krampus, Other Dark Characters as Holiday ... - UCF
    Dec 5, 2024 · Nicholas arrives with a sack full of toys; Krampus arrives with an empty sack to stuff with children. Why Is Krampus Becoming More Popular?
  36. [36]
    The Sack Man: The Brazilian Legend That Hid a Real Horror
    Oct 2, 2025 · The legend of the sack man wasn't just a story. Here it was a warning. The adults never spoke of it directly but if you looked closely you could see the
  37. [37]
    Colombian Folklore & Lesser-Known Legends - Mythfolks
    Portrayed as a mysterious and malevolent character, the Hombre del Saco is said to roam the streets at night, preying on misbehaving children who stray from the ...Missing: discipline | Show results with:discipline
  38. [38]
    Under The Bed, A History of the Bogeyman - Synaptic Space
    Oct 15, 2020 · Elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world, children huddled in fear of a visit from the dreaded Hombre del saco, or “Bag Man”. This grim ...
  39. [39]
    Bogeyman / Boogeyman
    Bogeymen / Boogeymen. Stories about imaginary specters used to frighten children translated and/or edited by D. L. Ashliman © 2021-2024 ...
  40. [40]
    Here's What the Boogeyman Looks Like in Different Countries
    Oct 23, 2023 · Variations of the “Sack Man” exist across different Latin countries. In Egypt, the figure is called Abu Rigl Maslukha, which translates to ...
  41. [41]
    Bagman (2024) - IMDb
    Rating 4.7/10 (7,324) Release date · March 26, 2025 (United States) ; Also known as. El hombre del saco ; Production companies · Lionsgate · Media Capital Technologies · Temple Hill ...
  42. [42]
    REVIEW: EL HOMBRE DEL SACO (2023) - Spanish Fear
    Oct 8, 2023 · EL HOMBRE DEL SACO (2023) is a movie directed by Ángel Gómez (VOCES) and written by Manuel Facal, Juma Fodde and Ignacio García Cucucovich. Main ...
  43. [43]
    Unveiling The Mysteries Of Mexican Urban Legends- - ars medicina
    Rating 8.1/10 (145) 2 days ago · El Hombre del Saco: A cautionary tale for children about the dangers of misbehavior. These stories remind individuals of the values held dear in ...
  44. [44]
    The emotional impact of frightening stories on children - PubMed
    A study found that frightening stories increased anxiety in children, and preference for re-hearing correlated with anxiety after the frightening story.
  45. [45]
    Does the Boogeyman really work for disciplining a child? | News24
    Aug 23, 2018 · It is not a very effective way to control children's behaviour. Fear uses the lower levels of the brain, so children do not learn to think when ...
  46. [46]
  47. [47]
    [PDF] Violence and Fear in Folktales | Boudinot - UVicSpace
    The use of fear and violence in folktales is contentious, with some believing children should be shielded, while others see it as a way to teach safety and ...
  48. [48]
    The Bogeyman: Unveiling the Origins and Cultural Impact
    Dec 25, 2023 · From its role in enforcing social norms to its representation of the unknown and externalized fears, the Bogeyman continues to haunt our ...
  49. [49]
    MORE HARM THAN GOOD: A SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC ...
    One summary of the literature found that use of corporal punishment by parents was associated with more mental-health problems in all twelve studies examined.