Antigonish and the hairy toe
This poem by William Huges Mearns gives me the heebie geebies:

As I was going up the stair
I saw a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish, he’d stay away.

And "The Hairy Toe" by Daniel Postgate. Gah!!!
(GirlOfTheWorld, Wed 9 Jul 2008, 14:33, 3 replies)

I like the following variation
When I was going up the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today;
I think he's from the CIA.
(ThomsonsPier consumes, Wed 9 Jul 2008, 14:50, closed)

I thought the last line was
"Oh how I wish he'd go away"
( Madam Marlboro wonders if you've found her yet, Wed 9 Jul 2008, 18:49, closed)

I thought it was
"I wish that man would go away"

.. but in any case, I utterly agree with you.

I read it once as a child and it gave me the proper fear; still does whenever I remember it.
( teedyay, Wed 9 Jul 2008, 23:28, closed)