Bloody Bones

Today's Into the Paranormal topic is on Bloody Bones, a mythological creature from Irish mythology. It also goes by the names Rawhead and Bloody-Bones, Tommy Rawhead, or Rawhead. He tends to live near ponds or other forms of water. Although, Ruth Tongue in Somerset Folklore says he "lived in a dark cupboard, usually under the stairs. If you were heroic enough to peep through a crack you would get a glimpse of the dreadful, crouching creature, with blood running down his face, seated waiting on a pile of raw bones that had belonged to children who told lies or said bad words."

Other mentions I've seen of how he looks are that he can change his form to what he chooses, he's very tall and grotesque, and several others.

What else? Yep! You guessed it. He's basically a boogeyman to scare children into behaving. I first heard about him through the book Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton, and it seems like he's in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files graphic novel, Welcome to the Jungle. I haven't read that yet.

Interesting Tidbit:

• The first cited mention in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1550 as "Hobgoblin, Rawhed, and Bloody-bone."
• It's said the stories of Bloody Bones were most common in Lancashire and Yorkshire, UK and then the tales traveled to North America, specifically the South.
• For a list of Bloody Bones mentions in pop culture, click here.

And before I go, here's a clip from Supernatural the awesome TV show where Sam and Dean fight Rawhead.  http://youtu.be/XEkMe2Jze28 Sorry, I can't embed the video.

So what do you think of Bloody Bones? Have you heard of him before?