"L'uomo nero" is the bogeyman. In Italian, the phrase literally translates to "the black man" because he's dressed in a long black coat with a hood hiding his face. ("Black man" has no racist connotations.) "L'uomo nero" doesn't usually harm kids, but he does take them away to a scary place. There's even a lullaby where he takes them away for a whole year.

I asked Italian school teacher Emanuela Marsura about the "l'uomo nero" (the black man). Here's what she wrote:

"Our 'black man' (l'uomo nero) is a character of fantasy that every mother and father mentions to his child to persuade him he has to go to sleep or eat without a tantrum.

We also have a game about the 'black man'. Here's how you play it..."

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Emanuela Marsura for contributing this game with the translation and commentary!