This experience haunts me to this day.

When I was three or four years old, we had a tree stump in our backyard (it has since been removed.) One night I was looking for my father, since my mother was still working then and she was working night shift. I couldn't find him anywhere, so I went out onto my back porch to see if he was there. Our yard has a porch surrounded by wrought iron, and the back fence is brick, so my house is very secure. I thought maybe my dad had heard something like a coyote, so he was on the lookout for one. I looked around my yard, but I couldn't see him. Then, I looked to where the tree stump was, and I froze. There, on the stump, was a bluish-gray figure of an old man, smoking a pipe. I gulped a little bit, and the figure looked at me. His eyes were cold and empty-looking, which scared me a lot. I was frozen for a couple of seconds, but when I saw the figure stand up, I ran back into the house screaming for my dad. I never saw the figure after that night, but then again, to this day I won't go into my backyard after dark.