The Bog Man

It is well known that all kinds of awful things lurk in the Forest of Shadows. It is home to countless monsters; vampires, huge parasitic worms, angry trees, murderous mundane wildlife driven mad by fungal infections, twisted trolls that have merged with trees and even worse things.
But the legend goes that that Bog Man is worse than all of these, because unlike most of the things that keep to the forest or even the vampires that can be held at bay through known means, The Bog Man comes in the night and walks right into settlements, taking who he pleases and dragging them off to a horrible fate.

Summary

The story goes that The Bog Man comes out of one of the bogs in the Forest of Shadows (usually Chokewater Swamp but sometimes one of the smaller ones), seizes victims from their beds and drags them, screaming, into the night, never to be seen again.
Sometimes the stories indicate that whatever happens afterward is so horrible and so slow that the victim's screams echo through the forest for hours afterward.

Historical Basis

The Bog Man is based on a powerful druid-turned lich named Scethalicus. He operated in the forest of shadows about 115 years ago, and he's still out there, though his kidnappings and murders have mostly stopped as his research has progressed to the point where he no longer needs random victims as frequently.

Spread

The legend of The Bog Man has spread throughout Karkovia but it's very consistent that he is a threat specific to the Forest of Shadows and not bogs or forests in general.

Variations & Mutation

One of the most common variations is that The Bog Man would come for bad or disobedient children. This isn't actually true; Scethalicus really didn't care about his victims's character at all; he selected them for various physical traits.