bogeyman

noun

1. A menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories.

   “Near-synonyms: bogeyperson, bogeywoman”

   “Lay your head down child I won't let the boogeyman come Counting bodies like sheep To the rhythm of the war drums Pay no mind to the rabble Pay no mind to the rabble Head down, go to sleep To the rhythm of the war drums”

2. (broadly, figuratively)Any make-believe threat, especially one used to intimidate or distract; a real threat greatly exaggerated for those purposes.

   “Near-synonyms: bug-a-boo, bugaboo, chimera”

   “The bogeyman of a Halloween-candy poisoner behind every door has animated occasional moral panics against trick-or-treating.”

   “With no original ideas or solutions, they've now resorted to bringing out a tried-and-tested bogeymen in a last-ditch attempt to derail much-needed legislation.”

   “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.”

   “If there’s a down side to the film, it’s that “Soros” probably doesn’t devote enough time to the way its subject has become a favorite bogeyman to conservatives that paint him as the guiding hand behind grassroots campaigns by those intent on discrediting them.”