Tradition / Region: Slavic Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Bogeyman, House dweller
The Myth
In Slavic folklore, Bomka is a vague and unnamed terror used by adults to frighten disobedient children. It belongs to the broad class of bogeymen—creatures invoked in warnings rather than described in stories.
Parents would threaten naughty children with words such as:
“I’ll put you in the golbets, and the Bomka will snatch you from there.”
The golbets, a dark storage space beneath the house or stove, was imagined as a place where Bomka could reach its victims.
Bomka has no fixed appearance. No specific shape, size, or features are known. It exists more as an idea than a creature—an unseen presence associated with darkness, hiding places, and punishment for misbehavior.
The power of Bomka lies not in what it is, but in what it represents: an unknown danger waiting in the dark, ready to take children who do not listen.
Gallery
Sources
Bestiary.us contributors. (n.d.). Bomka. In Bestiary.us, from https://www.bestiary.us/Bomka/
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Bomka