The final day of the challenge. Thank you to Paul Brookes for this fascinating October folklore challenge. You can see today’s images and read the responses here.
Inspired by 2.31 The Sack Man
The Sack Man
The Sack Man will take you away,
if you are not good, if you do not obey,
he’ll toss you in his sack
and never ever bring you back.
So say parents, teachers, priests, and nuns–
while their children cry at night,
see shapes in shadows,
ghouls and ghosts that glower–
midnight’s power–
frozen in fear, tongue-tied in terror,
they wait for daylight,
forever–
they feel love mixed with panic,
hope rusts, never gleams–
they are too scared to dream.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
That it such a sad truth, that children’s stories were usually aimed at terrifying them into obedience.
Thank you. That just struck me so hard.
Our attitudes towards children and childhood are still changing. Not sure it’s always in a good way.
There’s a fine line between too little and too much, I think.
Not so long ago a child was just a miniature adult. Then it became a sort of precious doll. We seem to be going back to the miniature adult theory. But adults have lost the plot…
Hmmm. . .I was thinking more of the sort of hands off approach my parents had with my more hands-on parenting, and then the super helicopter parents today. That seems to be that kids are kept children longer–though they are sexualized earlier now.
That’s part of what I meant. Adults want to keep children ‘infantile’ and so many of them stay infantile themselves. Hard to criticise child marriage and pedophilia when we think those awful beauty pageants and kids in drag shows are okay.
Oh, I don’t have any trouble condemning those things!
🙂
It’s the Bogey Man!
You told this perfectly, in your poet’s words.
Baba used to tell this, in her warning words. He had a sack, and would put the bad kids in it. However, I was safe at home with her.
Of course Baba was to be believed. She knew everything.
Haha! When I was a snotty nosed kid, and she wanted me to blow my nose she would hold the handkerchief and I would blow my nose in it. Then she would look and tell me what colour it was. It was a veritable pack of crayons.
Thank you for the insight, Resa. I’m glad you weren’t terrified. Where was Baba from?
The snot story–🤣🤣
She was born in Poland. She came over at the turn of the century, as a boat child. Her little brother died on the trip over. Her mother in Poland died during the trip.
I found some articles on Home Children from the UK at that time, but they came from all over Europe.
I read an article years ago, and it was called Boat Children.
Parents would save and scrape and send their children, steerage, to the New World for a better life.
People would wait at the docks for these boats to come in. Baba was about 12. She became a maid to rich people.
She had a hard life. Thank you for sharing her story.
All of my grandparents came from Belarus and Ukraine, but they came with family–except for my mother’s father. He came by himself as a young man, right before WWI. His father and half-sisters stayed there. I don’t know if there had been a plan to bring them over, but then war and the Russian Revolution made it impossible? He had been married, but his wife died. My mom didn’t even know about that until she was grown.
Poor Ukraine!!!!!!
We are countries of immigrants. Our forefathers endured a lot so we could have better lives. We have had.
Families kept many secrets back then.
There was a scandal about my grandmother when she was still a maid. Her and the rich people’s son. I found out in my 40’s, but details are slim.
Now, I don’t know where it’s all headed. It seems like there are too, many people on the planet, many fleeing, trying to get into countries that are in better shape, for the poorest to try their luck.
Climate change is exacerbating this.
Yes to all of this. 💙
💙
Oh wow, what a scary story for children! The old stories are the best and the worst.
I agree, Luanne! 😊
Frightful! Perfect scare for Halloween. Nothing more fun than scaring little children 🧙♀️Come here, my pretties! 👹 😆
Fear is no way to raise a child. (K)
I couldn’t agree more, Kerfe.
Thank you–yes.
You’re welcome.
I agree.
A frightening reality for some children, well told. And well done for completing the series.
Thank you so much, Derrick.
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