vulture lists

Get to Know Your Pop-Culture Boos

Bunheads has some distinctive character names: Truly, Fanny, Rico. But none stands out quite so much as Boo, one of the teenage dance students/”bunheads.” Boo, you say? Boo? Bunheads the show is still trying to figure out its place, but at least Boo has solid footing in the world of pop. She’s just the most recent in a long, proud line of Boos.

Boo, From Bunheads
Person or ghost? Person!
Origin of “boo”: Unclear.
Unusual habits: Eats cakes with her mom — typical behavior for humans, atypical behavior for ballerinas.

Boo Diddley, From Super Mario Bros. 3
Person or ghost? Ghost!
Origin of “boo”: Ghost-ness.
Unusual habits: Can’t bear to be looked at, so he only chases after his foes when their backs are to him. Spooky.

Arthur “Boo” Radley, From To Kill a Mockingbird
Person or ghost? Ghostly person.
Origin of “boo”: Neighborhood rumor-mongering.
Unusual habits: Saving children’s lives, being a shut-in, stashing shiny things in trees.

Alana “Honey Boo Boo Child” Thompson, of Toddlers & Tiaras Fame
Person or ghost? Person!
Origin of “boo”: Self-imposed. This is why 6-year-olds don’t usually name themselves.
Unusual habits: Drinking “go go juice,” appearing in pageants and reality shows.

Boo, the Unnamed Duped Partner in Nelly’s (and Kelly’s) Song “Dilemma”
Person or ghost? Person in ghost of a relationship!
Origin of “boo”: Term of endearment.
Unusual habits: Cannot tell that Kelly Rowland is thinking about Nelly instead of him.

Boo-urns, What Smithers Tells Mr. Burns the Crowd Is Cheering in The Simpsons Classic “A Star Is Burns”
Person or ghost?
Neither! Just a sound.
Origin of “boo”: The crowd really was just booing. (Except for Hans Moleman.)
Unusual habits: None. “Boo-urns” is the natural sound one makes when seeing A Burns for All Seasons.

Boo, From Monsters, Inc.
Person or ghost? Person! Adorable tiny person.
Origin of “boo”: Baby talk?
Unusual habits: Is not scared of Sully and instead is able to reduce him (and anyone with a heart) to tears of tender love.

Boo Berry, Associate of Count Chocula
Person or ghost? Ghost!
Origin of “boo”: Wordplay.
Unusual habits: There are not that many kinds of blue berry cereals. (Miss you, Blueberry Morning.)

Boo-Boo Bear, From The Yogi Bear Show
Person or ghost? Bear!
Origin of “boo”: Unknown.
Unusual habits: Wears a bow tie and nothing else.

Get to Know Your Pop-Culture Boos