The Boogeyman

The enduring popularity of horror fiction is largely due to its ability to tap into universal fears and anxieties. Horror stories provide a safe space for readers to confront their darkest fears while allowing for a cathartic release. In the Foreword of Night Shift, King asserts that “the great appeal of horror fiction through the ages is that it serves as a rehearsal for our own deaths” (14). The author suggests that all human fear stems from the comprehension of our own mortality. He explains, “Horror fiction is like a central subway station in the human psyche between the blue line of what we can safely internalize and the red line of what we need to get rid of in some way or another” (16). The genre allows readers to confront their mortality at a safe distance.

The roots of horror literature can be traced back to ancient folklore and mythologies. The concept of the “boogeyman” (originally the bogeyman) used in King’s story dates back at least as far as 15th-century England. The author highlights how this monstrous entity is used to embody our darkest fears, as Lester’s increasing terror of the Boogeyman demonstrates how the monster feeds on the power of the imagination. Essentially, “The Boogeyman” is a story about The Nature of Fear.

Additionally, horror literature often serves as a reflection of societal concerns and anxieties, highlighting the preoccupations and fears of different eras. In “The Boogeyman,” King tackles two such collective fears. The doctor’s verdict on Denny and Shirl’s causes of death reflects parental fear of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The disease was formally coined in 1969 after studies were completed on the phenomenon of the sudden and unexpected death of infants, usually during their sleep.

The story also taps into societal unease over the Vietnam War, which was two years away from its conclusion when this story was first published in 1973. Lester brings up the Vietnam War twice in his account. The first reference appears when Lester describes what Denny looked like when they found him dead. He tells Dr. Harper that his son’s eyes were wide open and glassy, “[l]ike pictures you see of those g--- kids over in Nam. But an American kid shouldn’t look like that. Dead on his back” (103). Lester’s suggestion that the death of a Vietnamese child is more palatable than Denny’s highlights how American citizens were conditioned to accept the atrocities of the Vietnam War. The second reference to the conflict occurs when Lester describes the brief period of happiness his family experienced when they moved to a new house in Waterbury, saying, “Oh, the war in Vietnam was still going on, and the hippies were still running around with no clothes on [...] but none of that touched us” (108). Here, King hints at the moral obliviousness required to live the “American dream” while the country was involved in a brutal conflict. While some American citizens condemned the USA’s involvement in the Vietnam War as unjustifiable and unethical, others (like Lester), failed to question it. The Boogeyman of the story hints at the darkness underlying American society.