Guardian Spirit?

Hey all, first time ever really writing about this stuff, so hopefully someone will be able to shed some light into what's really going on.

My parents have a solid history with hauntings, as my dad's home growing up had a few spirits in it - not that they did anything more than wander around the house, up and down the stairs, out on the porch, and occasionally open and close doors, not to mention that after using the Ouija at my aunts place, they had glasses and dishes flying around the room shattering against walls and such. I however, never really have.

Now, when I concentrate, I can see and feel energies to a degree, but nothing really conclusive. However, growing up there has been one somewhat constant being that I was able to see.

Walking down the hallway to and from my bedroom at night, with the lights off, I would occasionally in the corner of my eye see something in one of the dark rooms off of the hall. It was mostly there, and mostly when I was already in a somewhat creeped out mood for one reason or another.

It was a black creature, with the body shape and size of a bear, and a somewhat baboon like face. It would be covered in odd lines kind of like tattoos, but the whole thing looked... Negative. The areas that would be darker or shadowed were grey, and the parts that weren't were black or transparent. It kind of looked like an Incan or Mayan sculpture or painting, some kind of ancient South American tribe, based on the lines, or tattoos, or whatever.

Very scary looking monster for all intents and purposes, however, I was never frightened when I saw it. Nervous yeah, but it always made me feel calm inside, or at least less afraid of whatever had been running in my imagination.

Now, I also saw it occasionally out in the woods at night, in the backyard, other people's houses. Always in the dark, and always peripherally though.

Now, a few things I want to point out - Throughout my entire life, I have not even once had a nightmare that I've remembered. Not a single dream that I would consider to be scary. I've never woken up screaming or in a sweat, with or without memory of why. Nothing associated with nightmares whatsoever.

Secondly, when I've been in places that supposedly had very strong and evil energy, I've always felt safe and protected. Certainly not effected by the negativity at least.

Also, when I was a child, I was afraid of the dark. In particular, monsters that would come out of my closet or the other rooms down the hall, and try to attack me. Blankets around my head were an incredible shield. I swear I could feel the presence of evil things prowling about my room at that age, and remember seeing shadows of things walking back and forth against the wall, though I'm sure now that I was probably dreaming or imagining that bit.

Further, and this one I'm not sure if it's related, but I'm particularly curious about - Through my entire life, whenever I've been in a discussion about the occult, spirits, aliens that kind of stuff, my eyes have welled up, and I've felt like I was going to cry. No emotional change, just my eyes going all wet, and my throat tightening up.

I'd come to the conclusion that this creature was some kind of guardian spirit for me, that it stopped me from having frightening dreams, that it shielded me from energies that could otherwise harm me, that it took it's form to sort of remove the fear of "monsters" from me, considering the peace I felt within it, and that for whatever reason, my connection with it, and my family's history with spirits, cause my body to react whenever such topics are brought up.

Now, I haven't seen or felt this creature in years, pretty much since I started believing that it was some kind of guardian, but I still think it watches me, as I've still yet to have a single dream I'd consider scary, I still can go into places with negative energies and be unaffected, and I still get that teary reaction.

I should also mention my reason for feeling the creature took it's form the way it did, which is that a friend of mine who'd always been afraid of people breaking into his house, had once seen it in the same place as I at the same time, and saw it in the shape of a man in black clothes with a black hat, which was the form his guardian spirit took.

If anyone has any idea of what the creature really is, or why I react that way if it's not related, please let me know. I'm trying to really open myself up to energies and spirituality right now, and I'd love to be able to finally conclude as to what's been happening with me all my life.