The Boogeyman

A quiet horror about childhood fear, domestic violence, and the monsters we don’t talk about.

Eight-year-old Noah is terrified of the Boogeyman hiding in his closet. Each night, he braces himself for the sound of its footsteps, the creak of the floorboards, the whispers through the door. But as the shadows deepen, it becomes clear that the real monster isn't in his imagination - it's living in the house with him.

Told from a child’s point of view, The Boogeyman is a psychological short film that explores domestic violence through the lens of fear and fantasy. It reveals how children use stories not just to make sense of terror - but to survive it.

Director’s Note

The Boogeyman isn’t about a literal monster - it’s about the emotional logic kids create when they’re left alone with silence or uncertainty. I wanted to explore how fear can become a kind of language, and how imagination steps in when emotional connection is missing.”

- Nicole Favarelli

Inspiration & Goals

This short uses horror not for shock, but as a quiet language to express the fear that grows in silence. I wanted to create a story where the tension comes not from jump scares or gore, but from the slow, suffocating dread of a child left alone with what he can’t name.