What is bughuul?

Bughuul is an obscure Pagan deity that feeds on children, serving as the main antagonist of the film Sinister. He would manipulate the lives of children, have them kill their families, and then consume the child's soul.

Bughuul was a Pagan deity depicted in engravings during the Dark Ages. Many of these engravings were destroyed by Christians as those that looked at the images would be hypnotized and/or abducted by Bughuul; children were most vulnerable to Bughuul's powers.

Starting from 1966, Bughuul would manipulate the minds of the children into killing their families, filming the murders on a Super 8 film reel. Each film would consist of innocent-looking clips taken of the family, then the murders would be filmed. In the "Extended Ending" section, the child would then come closer to the camera before making a "shushing" gesture at the camera. Bughuul would make a very subtle appearance in each of the films.

Each child would then draw the murders on a long piece of paper, labelling each dead body "Mom," "Dad," or their sibling's name. The drawing would include Bughuul, though he is labelled as "Mr. Boogie." Bughuul would then consume the children's soul.

Pool Party '66 is chronologically the first film to be taken and the fourth to be shown. It was taken in 1966. In this home movie, a family is seen playing in a swimming pool.

Then, the film cuts to the pool at night, with each member of the family, Vicky, Amber, and the parents, strapped to pool chairs. The filmmaker then pulls a rope, pulling each of the pool chairs into the swimming pool, leaving the family to drown to death.

The boy appears, makes a shushing gesture at the camera, and enters the pool.

Bughuul is seen in the reflection of the water.

BBQ '79 is chronologically the second film to be taken and the second to be shown. This home movie was taken in Sacramento, California in 1979. In this home movie, the Martinez family is chained inside their car, which is parked in their garage. The missing child, or the unseen figure, lights the car on fire, burning the family to death. Bughuul can be spotted for a moment by the side of the car. His symbol also appears in this home movie, drawn on the car hood.

Lawn Work '86 is chronologically the third film to be taken and the last to be shown. This was taken in 1986 and occurred to the De Luzia family. In this home movie, an unseen figure runs a lawnmower through a yard before running over the members of the family. The extended ending reveals that the person pushing the lawnmower was a young girl in the family.

Sleepy Time '98 is chronologically the fourth film to be taken and the third to be shown. This film was taken in 1998 by Christopher Miller in St. Louis, Missouri. In this movie, Christopher walks through the house and shows his parents, who are restrained to their beds. Christopher slits both their throats with a kitchen knife. The other child, Jake Miller is also shown tied down, and is stabbed to death. Bughuul is very briefly seen in a mirror, and his symbol is seen painted on a wall.