The Fear of El Cucuy
by J’aime Rubio
With Halloween around the corner, there are young and old alike who are looking forward to the dark vibe this ghoulish day casts on the
month of October. The common thought in the imaginations of children anticipating their exciting night full of trick-or-treating, parties or
evenvisiting haunted houses is the idea of ghosts in graveyards, monsters, witches and zombies coming out to play on this night once a year.
But not all sinister beings are left only to roam on Halloween night. In fact, there is a tale of something who is believed to be around all year
long. Who is he? El Cucuy, well known in Hispanic communities of North and South America, El Cucuy (also known as El Cuco) is a mythical
monster or sinister entity that lurks in dark places.
For hundreds of years, stories have been told to children, claiming that naughty children’s behavior invites the Cucuy to kidnap them and take
them away. These stories are told to instill fear in them to obey parents or adults. The idea of what happens to the children after he takes them
is what strikes terror in them the most. The fear of the unknown. Some folklore says he devours the child, some say he kidnaps them to
another realm. Either way, they are taken and never return. Just like the European “Boogeyman” that is believed to be an omnipresent entity,
always watching for a child to misbehave, sitting on rooftops and turnstiles of front gates, the Cocu or El Cucuy is always lurking in the
shadows, waiting for a child to disobey or act bad.
Origins of El Cucuy…
History records going back to Europe prove that the origins of El Cucuy started there as “El Coco.” Based on the myths of “El Coco” in
Portugal and Spain, this sinister being was the evil presence lurking under your bed, behind your drapery or even in the dark corners of your
closets waiting to take children away in the night. Spanish artist, Francisco Jose De Goya painted his famous piece paying tribute to “El Coco”
in 1799, titled “Que Viene el Coco” (Here comes the Coco/ !