bejeezus |biˈjēzəs| (also bejesus)
noun informal
an exclamation traditionally attributed to the Irish, used to express surprise or for emphasis. (First known use 1861).

Well, I can surely tell you WHERE it originated. Some poor schmuck came upon this statue in 1861, a statue which NOW sits very near my home….
……and…….. it scared the bejeezus out of him. The guy hurried home. His name was Lloyd, by the way. He said to his wife, “It smells liked cooked cabbage in this place….. but nevertheless Helen, guess what just happened to me?” (his wife’s name was Heloise, but everyone called her Helen.) Anyway….. He say’s…. “Guess what happened Helen? I was walking by Nate Russell’s house…… saw this horribly creepy statue, and it scared the Living Bejeezus out of me.”

And that’s how it happened… on this very date….. in 1861. One hundred and forty years later, it is still scaring the bejeezus out of people………. concisely….. me.

(Who would make something like this……? Really……?)