# Are You/Were You Ever Scared of the Dark?



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

It seems many children and adults are afraid of the dark. Maybe this is out of instinct. Maybe those who study human behavior can shed some light on this.

Are you afraid of the dark or used to be afraid of the dark (say when you were a child)?


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Not at all! I remember walking through the woods in autumn night was pretty cool


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Used to be terrified, having watched some horror movies at a young age, like Exorcist from age 5. I tried keeping one eye open when sleeping. Sometime in my 20's I lost it. I even chanted the Bloody Mary in front of a mirror in the middle of the night, to test my fear. Anybody afraid to do the Bloody Mary thing?

I hiked in the dark in bear country one time, and hiking in a canyon with bats around, that was probably pretty dumb.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Phil loves classical said:


> Used to be terrified, having watched some horror movies at a young age, like Exorcist from age 5. I tried keeping one eye open when sleeping. Sometime in my 20's I lost it. I even chanted the Bloody Mary in front of a mirror in the middle of the night, to test my fear. Anybody afraid to do the Bloody Mary thing?


I think I convinced a friend I was a victim of that, but had actually fallen when climbing a broken cabin with nails sticking out, resulting in 3 bad "scratches" on my cheek


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Phil loves classical said:


> Used to be terrified, having watched some horror movies at a young age, like Exorcist from age 5. I tried keeping one eye open when sleeping. Sometime in my 20's I lost it. I even chanted the Bloody Mary in front of a mirror in the middle of the night, to test my fear. Anybody afraid to do the Bloody Mary thing?
> 
> I hiked in the dark in bear country one time, and hiking in a canyon with bats around, that was probably pretty dumb.


 You watched _Exorcist_ from age 5. I would have been terrified. I watched it a few years ago and I was terrified.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> Not at all! I remember walking through the woods in autumn night was pretty cool


Night strolls are good fun when there is fun moon and a clear sky. The moon is like as bright as day.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I've always loved the night (daytime also).


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

ArtMusic said:


> Night strolls are good fun when there is fun moon and a clear sky. The moon is like as bright as day.


There was no fun moon


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

As a child, I could be, but I am no longer. Of course, being say on a lonely forest track on a bike with very little light at night can be inconvenient, even to a worrying degree, though.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I was afraid of the dark when I was a kid, and when I was a teenager, I was more chary than afraid. When I found God at age 21, I lost my fear. That was a nice side benefit of the experience.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

I find the dark comforting.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> I find the dark comforting.


It can be more relaxing than the day depending on how you absorb it.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I’m a night person much to my wife’s annoyance. I don’t need much sleep so I tend to be up well past midnight, my favourite listening time.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm a night person much to my wife's annoyance. I don't need much sleep so I tend to be up well past midnight, my favourite listening time.


Do you listen using headphones at that time of night?


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> Not at all! I remember walking through the woods in autumn night was pretty cool


aren't there scary troll monsters living in those Norwegian forests?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I am scared of lots of things but the dark has never been one of them.


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

I was utterly terrified of the dark as a kid, so I slept with a lamp on for years. It was logic that finally pulled me out, though: for some unknown reason, it suddenly clicked with me that almost all houses and windows were dark at night, so my light made me more conspicuous to whatever or whoever might be out there to get me. That thought killed the fear in an instant, and no more light. Now, I want it as pitch black as possible


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## ToneDeaf&Senile (May 20, 2010)

No, I'm not afraid of the dark. There are times when I'm afraid while in the dark, just as there times when I'm afraid in broad daylight / artificial lighting. Now, I'll admit that if something occurs that frightens me, I might well be more frightened if that event occurs in the dark. Even then it wouldn't be darkness that triggers my fright, only worsens it.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I'm not afraid of the dark - but I am mightily concerned with what lurks there


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Malx said:


> I'm not afraid of the dark - but I am mightily concerned with what lurks there


Yes, I think that's the source of the fear/what's driving it.


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