After a challenging autumn, I decided to take a mini vacation by myself to a cabin in the woods for several days over Christmas break. My kids were both away and my husband had to work, so I figured, why not go to the most remote part of the state where the cell service is spotty, and people are outnumbered by wolves?

It all sounded pretty wonderful to me.

Of course, peeing alone in the bathroom without someone walking in on me also sounds pretty wonderful, so I don't have a particularly high bar.

I arrived midday and everything looked magical. The landscape was completely covered in snow, and the only sound was a steady drip, drip, drip of ice that melted and then froze again each day. But that night, without any lights, the darkness, for some reason, felt threatening and it all seemed a little less magical.

Now, I'm not usually frightened by things that go bump in the night, but having recently encountered a ghost in my house, my scary-things-in-the-dark-that-might-kill-or-possess-you radar was on high alert.

I decided to distract myself by watching a movie I'd downloaded, but soon realized that watching "The Revenant" or "The Shining" was probably not in my best interest. I decided on a rom-com instead, which put me in a much lighter mood. But when I got up to make popcorn, I glanced outside, and that's when I saw it.

"There's a giant grizzly bear in the yard," I said with alarm to my husband as the phone cut in and out.

"How do you know it's a grizzly?" he said.

"I can see it! Sort of. It seems to be standing up on its hind legs, completely still, and I'm sure it's staring into my window, thinking, 'Hmm, I haven't eaten a suburban housewife in a long time. I wonder if they still taste as good as I remember.'"

"Are you sure it's a bear?" he said.

I actually couldn't be certain it was a bear because of the aforementioned darkness outside, but since I didn't dare go outside to look closer, I just assumed it was a grizzly and freaked out accordingly.

"Honey, I doubt it's a bear but if you're worried, just stay inside and I'm sure it will leave," he said.

I nodded and hung up. That's when I realized I was standing right in front of the window, and with the lights on, I'm sure I was looking like an easy target. So, I quickly shut off the lights, drew the curtains, and moved away from the window. After five minutes, I peeked through the curtain.

The bear was still there. It hadn't moved an inch. Apparently, it had the patience of a tree. That's when I had a thought.

I ran off to the kitchen and dug through the drawers until I found a flashlight. Then I went back to the window and shined a light at the bear.

And that's when I discovered my bear wasn't a bear.

It was a stump.

Given, it was a very large stump. More like a dead tree, actually. But in no way was it a grizzly bear.

I laughed at my overactive imagination, turned off the flashlight and went back to my rom-com.

And that's when I heard the howling.

I called my husband.

"I have a new problem," I said.

"What's that?"

"There's a werewolf in the yard."

Tracy Beckerman is the author of the Amazon Bestseller, "Barking at the Moon: A Story of Life, Love, and Kibble," available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online! You can visit her at www.tracybeckerman.com. To find out more about Tracy Beckerman and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: DanielAlon at Pixabay