Le Père Fouettard

Le Père Fouettard (French for "The whipping Father") was a character who went with Saint Nicholas in his rounds at Christmas giving the naughty children the whip while St. Nick gives gifts to the well behaved.
He wore a long, dirty, dark colored robe and had a beard that was poorly groomed.
He is known mainly in the Eastern regions of France. In Alsace, Le Père Fouettard is synonymous with the bogeyman.