Articles General Paranormal Fear of the Dark
Ever wondered why we're afraid of the dark? Yeah yeah, I've heard it before: "Hey, I'm a man, I'm not afraid of the dark". C'mon Bruce Wayne, let's admit it: At some point in our life we've ALL been afraid of the dark. I'm not a jumpy person and would like to think that I'm pretty brave. But even then, when you're on an investigation, and it's the darkest of dark, and you hear a sudden "BANG"... you're gonna jump. Heartbeat's are gonna go up and you're automatically gonna go into defensive mode. Just go on... admit it!
But have you ever wondered why this is? Is it something instilled in us from an early age or is it instinctive? Does it have to do with "Halloween", "Friday the 13th", and "Psycho"? Maybe. That definitely has something to do with it. But personally, I think it's pretty simple. Unlike cats, we can't see in the dark. We don't know what can be there staring back at us. We feel vulnerable and at a clear disadvantage against any unseen force. Maybe it's because we generally associate darkness with evil. After all, from experience, most dark shadows in the paranormal realm aren't your average "Casper the Friendly Ghost".
Maybe it's something in the human race, somethign that goes back thousands of years. Back in the ol' days, we'd run around in a loin cloth in the day hunting, then at night, we run from the things that hunted us. Or haunted us. As time went on, religion set in and then the theory of the devil was instilled in us. Demons and the boogeyman came out at night. And now in modern times, look at crime: The majority of crime occurs at night. Kidnapping, murder, theft, violence, burglary. Is it just that over time we've come to expect bad things to happen at night? Most voodoo rituals take place at night. Most satanic worshipping is done at night. Ouija boards are usually used at night. Seances, talking to the dead. What is it about night that's just mysterious? Me... I like the night. I like the darkness. Seems calm and peaceful from my perspective. But I will admit that there's times when I do get "spooked"! Hey, I'm not above admitting it!
Some say love is the most powerful emotion. I disagree. I think it's fear. Yep, it's definitely fear.
Anyway, what's YOUR theory? Why are we "just" afraid of the dark?