Bogeyman


 * For the Bogeyman in Silent Hill: Homecoming, see Pyramid Head.

The Bogeyman is an antagonist who appears in Silent Hill: Downpour. He served as Murphy Pendleton's personal tormentor, akin to that of Pyramid Head or the Butcher, though not as exclusively as the latter two. Murphy encounters him several times throughout his trek through Silent Hill, menacing him on numerous occasions.

Beyond Murphy, the Bogeyman also haunted Anne Marie Cunningham, in which she was directly confronted by the monster during the climax of the story. He wields his hammer and follows Murphy and Anne relentlessly.

The Bogeyman also appears in the spin-off game Silent Hill: Book of Memories. He stalks the protagonist everywhere (even in Howard's Shop and the library with the save function) and is temporarily invincible whenever he is clouded by darkness.

Appearance
The Bogeyman appears as a massive humanoid, towering over every other individual in the game. His huge frame is housed in a heavy black raincoat, with his face completely obscured by an S10 gas mask, which is reminiscent of toxic radiation suits. He also wears heavy rubber boots and thick rubber gloves. The Bogeyman's coat has several chains, studs, and stitches adorning it. He doesn't have any immediately recognizable deformities or torture implements in his appearance, unlike almost every other monster in the series—at least none that can be seen with his obscuring coat. The Bogeyman's signature weapon is a massive sledgehammer, which appears to be made from a cinder block at the end of an elongated fire axe handle.

Character
The Bogeyman's behavior is that of pure menace, plodding around with his massive hammer and intimidating stature. His movements are slow and deliberate, yet always conveying a kind of ruthless brutality. He is also shown to be a relentless murderer, going so far as to snap a child's neck with one hand, while making a "hush" gesture towards the horrified Murphy. The Bogeyman's raw strength is also inhuman, able to lift a grown man with one hand and fling him across the room. This strength is even more dangerous with his sledgehammer in hand, as he is able to outright kill even the toughest monsters with one slow, but devastating swing. He is also able to send out strangely accurate shockwaves that travel great distances, as well as destroy surrounding architecture.

Silent Hill: Downpour
The Bogeyman is first directly seen during one of the Centennial Building Otherworld's Void chase scenes, walking down a hallway that is also Murphy's only escape route. The Bogeyman turns to glance at him just in time for the floor to collapse and Murphy to plummet to another part of the Otherworld. The Bogeyman's bellowing cry is also heard several times throughout the exploration of both the Otherworld and the Fog World, usually accompanied by a tremor.



Murphy comes face-to-face with this creature once again after collecting a poem to ward off "the Bogeyman", as specified by a young boy resembling Murphy's son Charlie. The boy seems oblivious to the titan as Murphy struggles to recite the poem from memory, having to stop to scream profanity at the Bogeyman as his memory fails him. The Bogeyman lifts the boy up, watching Murphy closely, as if he is waiting for him to finish the poem, but snaps the boy's neck with one hand before the last verses could be said, making a "shush" gesture with his hand before walking away.



The Bogeyman is seen several times throughout the orphanage's Otherworld sequence, destroying the environment as Murphy gives chase to a mysterious girl to protect her from the masked giant. Despite the Bogeyman confronting Murphy several times to impede his progress, Murphy awakes from the Otherworld in the chapel morgue. The nun there asks Murphy to sign for his son's dead body, to which Murphy claims he buried Charlie years ago. The nun yanks the sheet off the huge mass, revealing a seemingly comatose Bogeyman with the key to DJ Ricks's boat, "Freedom", on a chain around his neck. Murphy has a breakdown, admitting to having made grave mistakes, before finally trying to take the keys. The Bogeyman springs to life, grabbing Murphy and hurling him across the room, causing him to awake in what seems to be his old house.



Murphy hears Charlie's cries for help before running down to the lake shore, only to find the Bogeyman rising out of the water. A brief confrontation occurs, Murphy finally staggering the giant and smashing his head in with his own sledgehammer. Murphy awakes back in the morgue, the Bogeyman's mask now gone, revealing a face that switches Murphy and Patrick Napier's likenesses between light flickers. Murphy laments his son's death, but a vision of Charlie congratulates him on his defeat of the Bogeyman and tells him not to blame himself for his death; however, Murphy sadly admits that Napier's death really didn't accomplish anything, the exact opposite of what he thought his vengeance would achieve.



Murphy himself never sees the Bogeyman again, but during a confrontation with Anne, it is revealed that she sees Murphy as a human-sized version of the raincoat-clad killer. During the conversation, Anne shoots Murphy in the shoulder, apparently causing him to black out. The player then gains control of the once-again gigantic Bogeyman, who has abandoned all likenesses of Murphy's personality. During the fight, he tries to defeat Anne, who maintains a steady stream of pistol fire and opens the nearby cells, releasing several Prisoner Juggernauts to aid her, though they are easily dispatched in one swing of his formidable weapon. One ending is obtained if the player lets Anne defeat the Bogeyman, which requires a degree of passivity from the player due to the Bogeyman's massive quantities of health.

Should the Bogeyman defeat Anne however, he hoists his sledge up for the killing blow, and the player has one last choice: whether to kill or spare Anne, which then directly affects the ending received.

Symbolism
The Bogeyman is seen as a ruthless monster in the eyes of those who demonizes his existence. He represents one's perception of a "monster" based on their respective circumstances. To Murphy, the Bogeyman is both Napier and himself, but to Anne, the Bogeyman appears to be Murphy. In this regard, unlike Pyramid Head, the Bogeyman does not represent a judgment or guilt figure.

The Bogeyman may represent the irrational thoughts of an individual's tendency to demonize another to avoid their own insecurities and misdeeds by placing the blame on the "Bogeyman". When Murphy simply accepted the loss of his son and the futility of his anger towards himself and Napier, he was able to defeat his version of the Bogeyman, retrieving the "freedom" key in the process. This is evidenced by the final stanza of the Bogeyman nursery rhyme: "Take heed, it's not too late. Mistakes needn't haunt you forever. Though you have regret, you can't just forget. You alone decide your fate."

In this regard, the Bogeyman represents the notion of self-destruction brought about by revenge and the dehumanization of it, as the relentless pursuit of vengeance can become just as destructive to oneself as that which caused the revenge-seeking behavior in the first place, e.g. both in the form of how Murphy's life "spiraled out of control" after Napier's death, and Anne employing whatever means necessary to punish Murphy in order to avenge her father's death. With Anne, she ended her relationship with Mark Cunningham, diminished her reputation, almost died falling off a cliff, and went through a journey in Silent Hill—all of which could be avoided if Anne let go of her desire for revenge, as difficult as it may be. This idea seems to echo the saying from Confucius "if you are seeking revenge, then first dig two graves".

The difference between Murphy and Anne is that Murphy is dealing with the aftermath of killing the Bogeyman, while Anne has not done so yet.

It has also been said that Murphy may feel regret (not guilt) about killing Napier.

The Bogeyman Rhyme
Poor little Steven Skelter Even the chaplain won't forgive you. Forever lies, your pleading cries But Suzy knows you felt her. Nowhere left for you to run, Every fault laid bare in the open. Along with your skin, splayed out from within, Once the monster has his fun. Take heed, it's not too late, Mistakes needn't haunt you forever. Though you have regret, you can't just forget, You alone decide your fate.

Trivia

 * The Bogeyman's mask is based on the British S10 NBC Respirator used by the SAS special forces regiment, with the circular front cover turned upside-down like its successor, the FM12.
 * In the first floor of the clock tower, there is a hole in the wall that can be examined. Inside the hole, there is a little flashback with shadows that shows the Bogeyman hitting someone with his sledgehammer. The flashback is actually Murphy (being represented as the Bogeyman) killing Napier.
 * The Bogeyman is the first and so far only playable monster in the Silent Hill series, save for Alex Shepherd's alternate costume in Silent Hill: Homecoming which portrays him as a Pyramid Head.
 * Unlike Pyramid Head and the Butcher, the Bogeyman does not drag his weapon across the ground.
 * Throughout the game, Murphy's radio will emit distorted vocalizations along with the ordinary white noise; the audio, although difficult to decode, becomes more decipherable when in St. Maria's Monastery after Murphy first sees the Bogeyman in the bathroom mirror. Some of these voices seem to say: "It's the Bogeyman!", "He's comin'!", and "He's gonna get'cha!". The voices are most audible during times of great tension in the game.
 * The Bogeyman shares its name with the Silent Hill: Homecoming version of Pyramid Head. Although their names are the same, any further similarities are minuscule.
 * The Bogeyman's appearance is related towards the eastern Mediterranean legend of the Babau, which is portrayed as a tall man wearing a long, heavy black coat, with a black hood or hat to hide his face.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories
Бугимен Hombre del Saco