“My mom used to scare me by telling me about the Mumu. Like a Filipino monster sort of that would take you away in the night if you didn’t behave. Like a boogeyman. Supposedly it was a miniature monster that looks kind of like a cat, and it knew when all the kids are misbehaving and not sleeping and doing all the things moms tell kids they shouldn’t be doing. And if you did do that thing, when you went to bed it would come to your house and kidnap you.”

The informant tells us of a creature called the mumu, which sounds just like the boogeyman. It is something parents tell their children in order to get them to behave or listen to directions. It is convenient for parents to have a monster that can keep watch over the children at all times, and this theme is found in many other stories parents tell their children, including the boogeyman or even Santa Claus. It is also interesting that these creature will always attack after bedtime, when the child is most vulnerable unless they are in bed under the covers. The effect is all the same. Kids are afraid to stay up past their bedtime, read with a flashlight, or misbehave in general.