The Boogeyman’s Lullaby is a chilling short play that turns an ordinary night into a frightening bedtime story. When Mrs. Conner hires Sophie, a polite and mysterious babysitter, everything seems normal—until bedtime. As Sophie sings a strange lullaby, young Matt learns that the Boogeyman might not just be a story to scare children. This suspenseful play reminds us that sometimes, the monsters we fear most are the ones we invite inside.
CHARACTERS:
MRS. CONNER
SOPHIE (BABYSITTER)
MATT
THE BOOGEYMAN
SCRIPT:
Act I – In the Living Room
(The room is neat but quickly prepared for the evening. Mrs. Conner is on the sofa talking on the phone. Sophie knocks at the door.)
MRS. CONNER: I have to hang up… No, I can’t. I’ll call you later. (She hangs up the phone, stands up, and opens the door.)
SOPHIE: Good evening.
MRS. CONNER: Hi, you must be Sophie. I’m Mrs. Conner. Please come in.
(Sophie enters. She takes a deliberate, almost measuring look around the room.)
SOPHIE: (A soft voice) You have a beautiful house.
MRS. CONNER: Thank you. Please, sit down. (They sit) My friends told me wonderful things about you. I need you to watch Matt for just a couple of hours.
SOPHIE: I’ll be glad to help. I love working with children.
MRS. CONNER: He’s not a bad kid, but you should know he has trouble falling asleep. I swear, it’s a nightly ritual. When he’s in bed, he gets thirsty, then he has to use the bathroom, then the TV “just turns on.” Anything to stay up!
SOPHIE: (Eyes fixed on Mrs. Conner, a calm, unwavering smile) I can assure you, he won’t do that anymore,not after tonight.
MRS. CONNER: (A nervous, quick laugh) I… I really hope so. (She looks at her watch and stands up) Oh, it’s getting late. I have to go now.
SOPHIE: (Stands up. Her tone is eerily reassuring) Don’t worry at all. When you come home, he will be sleeping just like a little angel.
MRS. CONNER: (She quickly hands Sophie a piece of paper) That’s my cell phone. Call me if you need anything.
SOPHIE: (Takes the paper, neatly folds it, and tucks it away) Sure. But there is nothing to worry about.
MRS. CONNER: Let’s go to Matt’s room. He should be in bed now.
(They leave the room/scene.)
Act II – In Matt’s Bedroom
(The room is dark save for a nightlight or dim bedside lamp. Matt is already in bed. Mrs. Conner and Sophie enter.)
MRS. CONNER: Matt, this is Sophie. She’s the babysitter. Don’t misbehave and go to sleep early. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.
MATT: Yes, Mom.
MRS. CONNER: (To Sophie) Please, take good care of him.
SOPHIE: He will be perfectly fine.
(Mrs. Conner kisses Matt on the cheek and leaves quickly. Sophie moves a chair and sits beside the bed. She does not look friendly anymore.)
MATT: I’m not sleepy.
SOPHIE: (In a low, steady voice, not sweet at all) I’ll sing a lullaby song for you. You’ll fall asleep really fast.
MATT: If you say so.
SOPHIE: Close your eyes and just relax. (Matt closes his eyes. Sophie begins to sing. Her voice suddenly drops in pitch and volume on the final line, becoming sharp and menacing.)
SOPHIE: Sleep, little boy, sleep fast and soon, or the man with the sack will COME and eat YOU!
MATT: (Snapping his eyes open. He is immediately unsettled.) Who’s the man with the sack?
SOPHIE: The man with the sack… is the Boogeyman.
MATT: (Scared) If… if I don’t fall asleep, the Boogeyman is going to come… and eat me?
SOPHIE: That’s right.
MATT: And who’s the Boogeyman?
SOPHIE: You don’t know who the Boogeyman is? The man who lives under this very bed.
MATT: What?! That’s not true!
SOPHIE: Yes, it is. You have to believe me. When children don’t go to bed early, or when they sneak out for water, or when they misbehave, the Boogeyman comes out from under the bed and takes them to a horrible place. Sometimes… a place of no return.
MATT: (His eyes are now darting nervously toward the floor.) I didn’t know that.
SOPHIE: Do you want to know why he lives under the bed?
MATT: (Scared whisper) Why?
SOPHIE: Because it’s dark. He hides in the dark places. Some Boogeymen hide inside the closet… but yours is hiding under the bed!
(Matt turns his head suddenly. He hears a faint, low scratch coming from beneath his mattress.)
MATT: (Scared, trembling voice) How do you know?
SOPHIE: Have you seen your closet lights flickering on and off?
MATT: Yeah… sometimes.
(The closet lights flicker on and off once.)
SOPHIE: Have you heard any… scratching sounds coming from inside the locked closet?
(A dull, guttural THUMP comes from inside the closet, followed by the sound of scratching.)
MATT: Yeah… sometimes.
SOPHIE: Mm. Then the Boogeyman must be inside your closet, too.
(Matt sees the Boogeyman’s hand—large, gray, and skeletal—emerging from under the bed. It stays still beside his pillow, then slowly pulls back.)
MATT: You’re scaring me. I want to go with my mother.
SOPHIE: What for? He wanders through every room in the house. But this is your room. This is your bed. You cannot escape from him because he is with you… always.
MATT: I can go to my sister’s room!
SOPHIE: Matt, the Boogeyman lives under your bed. That is… any bed where you sleep.
MATT: (A breathy sound of resignation) Ups!
SOPHIE: And what does he do with the kids? First, he puts them inside a sack.
(The Boogeyman comes out quickly from under the bed on the opposite side. He is hunched over and holding a large, empty burlap sack. He shakes it open, silently displays it to Matt, then sinks back under the bed.)
SOPHIE: And then he takes them to a dark cavern he has under the bed. Sometimes he eats them, or he sells them to the Witches of the Deep Caves.
MATT: What do the witches do with the children?
SOPHIE: As punishment, they make them work really hard.
MATT: What if he doesn’t eat them… or sell them?
SOPHIE: Well… he just locks them up, and sets them free when they promise to be good and behave.
(Matt sees the Boogeyman’s hand emerging from under the bed with a large, ornate, rusty key. The hand taps its finger on the key’s teeth—a quiet, metallic CLICK—before the hand hides again.)
SOPHIE: That’s why you have to sleep early. It’s the only way to keep him from coming out! Every child should be able to sleep all night long without getting out of bed.
MATT: Not even to drink water?
SOPHIE: Not even to drink water.
MATT: (Speaking with the finality of an oath and a tone of desperate surrender) If that’s the only way… from now on I will always fall asleep early… good night. (He closes his eyes tightly.)
SOPHIE: Good night, Matt.
(Mrs. Conner enters. She smiles, relieved.)
SOPHIE: (In a low, hushed voice) Shhh. He’s sleeping.
MRS. CONNER: I can’t believe it! He’s sleeping like an angel, just like you said! How did you do it?
SOPHIE: I just sang a lullaby song. That’s all.
MRS. CONNER: You have to tell me which one!
SOPHIE: (Sweetening her voice again) Oh, it’s any lullaby song. Kids love them!
MRS. CONNER: Good. I’ll try it!
SOPHIE: (Her voice returning to its steady, unsettling calm) Mrs. Conner… I don’t think he’ll ever have trouble falling asleep.
MRS. CONNER: (A weak, nervous breath) I hope so!
SOPHIE: (Stands up) I have to go. Mrs. William is expecting me. She wants me to take care of Susie.
MRS. CONNER: Oh, she’s such a sweet little girl! Thanks for everything, Sophie. I’ll call you if I need you again. Come on, I’ll take you to the door.
SOPHIE: (Blows a kiss to the sleeping Matt, a slight smirk on her face.) Bye, Matt.
(They leave. The stage lights dim to near-blackness. Then, a single, deep, inhuman laugh echoes through the silence. It cuts off abruptly. The closet lights flicker on and off rapidly several times.)
The Boogeyman’s Lullaby blends fear and imagination into a story children will never forget. It’s perfect for Halloween or classroom performances that explore mystery, courage, and the power of stories that come alive in the dark.
The End
Author: K I D S I N C O
Moral of the Story: Even our deepest fears lose their power when we face them with courage—and remember that sometimes, not every bedtime story is meant to be believed.
Moral Values:
- Courage – Facing your fears helps you grow stronger, even when you’re afraid.
- Imagination – Our minds can turn simple things into frightening stories.
- Trust – Be careful about whom you trust, and always tell your parents when something feels wrong.
- Awareness – Learn to tell the difference between imagination and reality.
- Calmness – Staying calm helps you see clearly, even in scary situations.
- Good Behavior – Obeying and being responsible can prevent unnecessary fear or trouble.
- Wisdom – Not everything people say is true—think before you believe.
👉 Explore our full collection of free play scripts for kids, perfect for classroom performances
👉 External Resources:
- The Boogeyman – Wikipedia
The Boogeyman: Folklore and Fear
The Boogeyman is one of the world’s most enduring and amorphous figures of folklore, used across centuries and cultures primarily to frighten children into good behavior. Unlike more specific monsters, the Boogeyman has no single, fixed appearance; it is the shapeless embodiment of a child’s deepest dread, often lurking in dark spaces like the closet or, most famously, under the bed. In Spanish-speaking countries, similar figures include El Coco or El Cucuy, while in parts of Europe, the Sack Man (El Hombre del Saco) is a variant who carries misbehaving children away. The common thread is always the same: it is a monstrous, often violent, entity that threatens to punish, snatch, or even consume children who disobey authority, stay up late, or stray where they shouldn’t.
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