El Cuco

This happened to me around 1996, in La Vega, Dominican Republic. I was 6 years old, and living with my Grandmother at the time. My mother emigrated to the United States with her new husband for a new beginning. Dominican Republic is a beautiful paradise country, but depending the area in which you live. I lived in a neighborhood where everyone knew each other for a long time. They would take care of each other and share food. Every night the lights would go out on different neighborhoods and people would have candles and gas lamps ready. Our house had 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. One of the bedrooms was next to the bathroom on the left and it had a window that looked out at the kitchen. My room was on the right side of the bathroom. On the far left side there is a door that connects to the master bedroom, which you can enter through my room and through the kitchen. One night I was playing outside on the side porch of the house with my grandmother and little brother. As usual the lights when out and all I heard were people shuffling around their houses and asking each other for the candles and the matches. My grandmother had a lamp that had a radio on it and it worked with batteries. She usually places it on the window that divides the kitchen with the other room . She does this so we have light in the kitchen and on our way to the bathroom. This particular night, after the lights went out, I went into the house and to my bedroom. Before going in my room I stopped at the bathroom to wash my hand. The other door in my room was closed and the windows were open. When I finished washing my hands, I walked in my bedroom. As I step in lights came on, on the streets and it illuminated the door in my room. I stand still as I see a figure on the door. It was this tall manly figure with a round hat and a long trench coat. Everything was black even as the lights from outside shined on it. I stood there for at least 1 minute looking at it. Froze to the ground I couldn't move. In my mind I was in shock thinking it might be El Cuco. And he appeared to take me from my family and I'll never see them again. I saw movement by where it was standing and ran outside. Shaking and with sweaty hands I hold my grandmother's hand and told my her what I saw. She told me that it wasn't real but I know what I saw. She went with me back to my room and turned the light on and showed me that nothing was there. I'll always remember that shadow on the door. I haven't seen it again since and I'm 30 now, but I know that if I stayed there longer something would had happened to me. It was a scary moment in my child hood. I didn't like the darkness and the shadows for a long time, but I know that it was El Cuco. El Cuco is a mythical creature used in Spanish speaking countries to scare kids from being outside at night and also when they don't behave. The saying would go like this, "if you don't behave El Cuco will come and take you". I know I saw El Cuco that night, I'm just glad I haven't seen it since.