Bogle
| Grouping | Folkloric creature |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Household spirit |
| Similar creatures | Boggart |
| Mythology | Northumbrian Folklore |
| Other name(s) | Boggle Bogill |
| Country | Scotland and England |
| Region | Lowland Scotland/Northumbria |
| Habitat | Within the home |
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,Barghests,Brags,the Hedley Kow and even giants such as those associated with Cobb's Causey (also known as "ettins", "yetuns" or "yotuns" in Northumberland and "Etenes", "Yttins" or "Ytenes" in the South and South West). They are reputed to live for the simple purpose of perplexing mankind, rather than seriously harming or serving them.
The name is derived from the Middle-English Bugge (of which the term bogey is also derived) which is in turn a cognate of the German term word bögge (of which böggel-mann ("Goblin") is derived) and possibly the Norwegian dialect word bugge meaning "important man". The Welsh Bwg could also be connected, and was thought in the past to be the origin of the English term; however, it has been suggested that it is itself a borrowing from Middle English.
One of the most famous usages of the term was by Gavin Douglas, who was in turn quoted by Robert Burns at the beginning of Tam O' Shanter:
Of Brownyis and of Bogillis full is this Buke.
There is a popular story of a bogle known as Tatty Bogle, who would hide himself in potato fields (hence his name) and either attack unwary humans or cause blight within the patch. This bogle was depicted as a scarecrow, "bogle" being an old name for "scarecrow" in various parts of England and Scotland. Another popular Scottish reference to bogles comes in The Bogle by the Boor Tree, a Scots poem written by W. D. Cocker. In this ghostly ode, the Bogle is heard in the wind and in the trees to "fricht wee weans".
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