Was there anyone in your nieghbourhood you were scared of as a child?

There was this particular man we were scared of when we were kids. He lived on a hill all by himself and he was very masculine. His hair was all white and he had a booming voice and laugh. He was an old english soldier.

The community children would spread stories about him how much he will eat children. Now that was enough to get any child started. We did our best never to be caught alone when we encountered this man. It could be quite an encounter too as we tried to become invisible by not looking at him. I bet he used to have a laugh.

As I got older I was told that my Godmother and cousin was his daughter. Ha ha ha. My aunt had a child with the scary man.

Was there anyone like this that you were afraid of as a child? What was so scary about the person?