Boogeyman by Stephen King

One of my favorite stories by Stephen King is his short story called the Boogeyman. It taps into everyones childhood fear of the shadows in the night.

The story takes place in a psychiatrist's office, as a disturbed man nervously explains to the doctor how his three children were killed one by one by what the man is convinced is a "boogeyman", a murderous creature that he believes hides in bedroom closets (as evidenced by the slightly-open closet door after each of their deaths).

The man is shown to be genuinely distraught by the deaths of his children, and visits the psychiatrist not in an effort to seek help, but just to tell his story. His first child, a boy, was killed after his father refused to get a nightlight, explaining it'd turn him into a 'sissy'. His second child, a female, was put into the same crib, the same room, as her dead brother. Months later she was killed the same way, even though he knew she would be, because it'd prove he was 'wrong' to his wife. His wife became pregnant a year after their daughters death and they moved into a different house far away. They had a good happy year together with their new son. Soon after, he knew the boogyman was back in his house, but this time his son still slept with him and his wife. When his wife must go and tend to her fatally sick mother, the man and his son are alone.

It's night time and the man knows that the boogyman will strike again, he sacrifices his son and when he is throttled to death by the boogyman, he runs away from the house. After the psychiatrist offers to prescribe him medication and longterm help, the man leaves for a short while and returns to find a mask of the psychiatrist's face resting on the couch and the Boogeyman stepping out of the closet wearing the psychiatrist's clothing and attacking the disturbed man.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boogeyman