Antjie Somers - South Africa’s Mysterious Bogeyman

Have you ever heard the phrase “Antjie Somers kom jou haal!”? If you grew up in South Africa, you probably did. Antjie Somers is one of the country’s most famous spooky legends — a mysterious figure who has frightened children for over a hundred years.

Some say he (or she?) was a ghost, others say a river spirit, a highway robber, or even a creepy child-snatcher. The stories stretch all the way from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, and across the Karoo.

A Scary Disguise

No one’s quite sure where Antjie Somers comes from. What made Antjie Somers so strange was how they looked: dressed like a woman, but with very manly features — big hands, hairy arms, large feet, and a deep voice. Some people thought Antjie Somers was a man in disguise. Others said Antjie Somers was a spirit who could switch between being male and female.

Most South African kids knew Antjie Somers as the creepy figure who would snatch them if they were naughty or stayed out after dark. Some versions describe a giant woman with boots and a sack big enough to carry off a child.

Forgotten, But Not Gone

By the 1980s, Antjie Somers was starting to fade from children’s stories. These days, new urban legends have taken Antjie’s place — like Pinky Pinky, the creature said to hide in school toilets. But in Afrikaans, “Antjie Somers” still lives on as a phrase for anything creepy, strange, or fear-inducing.

So even though this legendary figure isn’t as popular today, the message in the stories still matters: people aren’t always what they seem, and it’s important to be careful — especially with strangers.