Amongst spookysongs collectors, there’s always that nagging question of “which was first? Were there any before this?” The history of “novelty” records goes back to the very first recordings made. There are entire collections of songs recorded in the 1920s about death, ghosts, and other evil entities. One great one is “Here Comes the Bogeyman” (or ‘Boogeyman’ in American English) by Henry Hall, from 1932.
Henry Hall was a bandleader in England in the 1920s through the 1960s, hitting his greatest fame during the 1930s with the recording of this song and its equally creepy partner “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic”.
The age of this recording ups the creepy factor by at least four hundred. Vocalist Val Rosing has that “old-timey radio guy” voice that always seems a bit far away, slightly out of focus… something you might here playing quietly from your basement at 3am. Then you pay attention to the lyrics and your hair stands on end.
The song politely tells us the Bogeyman is coming to “catch” us. No word on what he’ll do after, but I’ll bet it’s not good. We are given lots of ways to trick the Bogeyman into thinking we are something else – a crocodile, a bear, even Henry Hall himself (Bogeymen hate him)!
The song jauntily hops along, until the final, very weird verse:
“Here’s One Way,
To catch him without fail:
Just keep a little salt with you
And put it on his tail!”

This is where the song takes a leap from “aw shucks” to “holy crap, Henry Hall, you’re telling us we’re dealing with an actual demon and have to perform a ritual to get rid of him!?” Historically, salt rings are used to keep out demons and evil spirits. So, if acting like a cat or dog doesn’t work, full-on witchcraft should! Thanks, Henry Hall!
Side note: It’s always bugged me that the “true” spelling of boogeyman is “bogeyman”, which to me rhymes with “hoagie man”. I used to think it was a typo, but apparently it’s just one of those things.
One of the best episodes of The Ghostbusters revolves around The Bogeyman taking children. I loved his in-between dimension of closets and m.c. escher staircases. What I hated were his tiny legs.
