Middle of the night, at five years old, I was walking down a long hallway to use the loo.
The house was completely dark. As I walked past the door to the guest room I saw something move inside the room.
Unfortunately I turned my head to look. I was staring straight into the red eyes of a child-sized, hairy, needle toothed, smiling thing. It stood out from the blackness of the room as it’s own color was blacker than the shadows behind it. More dark than anything I’d ever seen.
Then it waved at me.

I froze, my eyes welled up with tears, my knees bucked, I fell to the floor. I woke up later in my bed.

I was never the same person after that. I began to have violent, vivid nightmares. Nightmares that would sometimes come true.