Definition of "bogeyman"

bogeyman

/ˈbəʊ.ɡɪˌmæn/

noun
plural bogeymen
1. A menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories.
2. (by extension) Any make-believe threat, especially one used to intimidate or distract.
  Quotations
  Before the Internet it was television. And, if not that, it was radio, films, or games. All have taken their turn as the popular bogeyman, blighting the minds of the young.
  2013, Frances Booth, The Distraction Trap