A children's ghost story character or goblin, typically portrayed as a frightening figure covered in blood and bones.
Compound of 'bloody' and 'bones,' referring to a folklore creature used to frighten children. This term appears in 19th-century children's literature and oral traditions as a bogey figure.
Every culture has scary stories to make kids behave—'bloody bones' was the English equivalent of monsters under the bed, passed down through centuries in nursery rhymes and folktales to keep children from wandering off.
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