Fungus the Bogeyman

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Suddenly Shouting: By the end of the night, Fungus is so frustrated at the futility of Bogey life that he shouts "WHY?" at his wife. Bogeys never shout at each other. Call a Human a "Meatbag": Bogeys call humans "drycleaners" or "DCs" for short, likely because we're much dryer than them and we clean ourselves and our belongings. The story s basically a day in the life of Fungus. The book also delves into the language and life of all bogeymen. Fungus goes to work up where the ‘drycleaners’ live, traelling very slowly on his flat wheeled bike. When Fungus reaches work the reader is shown the bogeyman’s labour, which is frightening humans. Tapping windows, tugging blankets, creaking stairs, making babies cry and hanging around graveyards are all in a nights work for the bogeyman. Fungus has been doing this for many years and is beginning to question the meaning of his life. He seeks solace in the pub, the library and in his home. The end comprises of him confiding in his wife Mildew. She reassures him and we are shown that bogeyman, disgusting as they are potrayed in this book, still possess the strongest human emotion, love.

Lazy Bum: All Bogeypeople are quite lazy and the only things they really make an effort about are keeping damp and dirty and their work. Raymond Briggs is one of the foremost creators of illustrated books for adults and children, including the unforgettable The Snowman and Father Christmas. He was born in Wimbledon Park on the 18th of January 1934 and currently lives in Sussex. Life under ground in Bogeydom is full of snot, smells, slime, scum and other unspeakable things. The Bogeymen that live there revel in every kind of nastiness imaginable - especially their day-job of scaring human beings. But there's one Bogeyman who isn't so sure he wants to be part of Bogeydom after all . . . Bogeys love sleep and the outdoors is dotted with dreamholes, whey they will retire for a nap. When their problems appear insurmountable, they simply retreat form the world and may go to sleep for up to a year in specially created graveyard-like zones called "interests".The book follows a typical day for Fungus the Bogeyman, starting when he wakes up and ending just before he falls asleep. As his day progresses, he undergoes a mild existential crisis, pondering what his seemingly pointless job of scaring surface people is really for. He is a member of the Bogey society, which is very similar to British society, but Bogeymen enjoy things which humans (called Drycleaners because of their contrasting environmental preferences) would not be comfortable around; for example darkness, damp, cold and over-ripe food. The book depicts the mundane details of Bogey life in loving detail, with definitions of Bogey slang and numerous annotations concerning the myths, pets, hobbies, literature, clothing and food of the Bogeys. Much of the humour derives from word play. For example, Bogeymen are shown to enjoy eating and sharing flies in a similar way to human cigarettes; one brand of fly is the "strong French Gallwasp", a pun on the cigarette Gauloises. Experience a day in the life of a Bogeyman in this brilliantly gross picture book for older children.

Delusions of Eloquence: Bogeys are fond of profound-sounding platitudes, which they usually misquote. First published in the 70s, this book feels very dated. As a children’s book today, I would not recommend it: there are many references to British culture in the 70s that simply would not be understood; the vocabulary used is quite advanced (at times fantastical) and thus I would not even be sure at what age group this book should be aimed; and as the book is so dated, it feels sexist and racist by today’s standards. Additionally, the humour and complexity are more suitable for adults. However, as much as I do enjoy both the concept and appreciate much of the humour, I actually remain a wee bit disappointed with and by Fungus the Bogeyman. Now I do find the societal reversals of Fungus' underground domain and the everyday human world above ground both entertaining and massively appealing (basically distorted mirror images of one another with, for example, Fungus and his wife relishing a slimy and cold bed whilst the humans above ground would of course desire their beds to be warm and dry). But that all being said, the constant and continuously recurring anally, body fluid and excretions based humour does tend to feel and become rather overly exaggerated and overused (even to the point of wearing more than a bit thin and thus no longer even being all that humorous to and for me, and mostly like a buzzing mosquito, somewhat annoying and recurringly tedious).People often ask about the technique in (The Snowman)... it is done entirely with pencil crayons, with no line in pen or pencil and no washes of ink or watercolour.' Odd Name Out: Fungus is the only one of his family whose name doesn't start with an "M". His wife's name is Mildew and their son's name is Mould. In Fungus the Bogeyman I wanted to show the petty nastiness of life - slime and snot and spit and dandruff, all this awful stuff which is slightly funny because it detracts from human dignity and our pretensions.' The dwine is doing very well. Fungus is proud of it. Everything is dying nicely. There is not a bloom to be seen. The air is full of the scent of decay. The acid soil smells, the rotting vegetation smells. It is a real Bogeydwine.”