The Night Fear

After I watch the movie The City Dark, I was thinking a lot about why we show fear for the night. Some ideas come to me as I try to figure out the answer to such a question. Roger Ekrich, Virginia Tech historian, says, “The early impetus, as recently as three (or) four hundred years ago, for public lighting was crime. Virtually every ancient civilization that has left clues or some sort, stone tablets or works of history, every civilization had a fear of the night” (qtd. In City Dark). It means that our ancestors through time have shown fear for the night, and it could be because they felt unprotected and threatened by savage animals. For example, during prehistoric times, men had to fight in order to stay alive. When they discovered fire, that became their first source of light in the dark, they noticed that they could see everything around them, and it was an advantage because they could warn animals that threatened them away. They discovered that many animals showed fear of fire or the light that the fire produced, so they used it as a protection tool. Also, they discovered that the fire produced heat that they needed for surviving in extreme cold weather and to finally cook their food. This discovery was useful because the light helped them feel strong and protected.

Now we continue showing such fear for the dark because we, like ancient men, still associate bad things with the night. For example, many criminals take advantage of the night to commit crimes because they can hide in the dark and nobody can identify them while they steal cars or assault a store. Illicit activities such as drugs, prostitution, and violence usually happen at night because the streets are alone and the majority of people are sleeping at that time except criminals.

People increases their fear of the dark when they make up all kind of horror stories about dark creatures that come alive during night, such as vampires that sleep in the day and wake up at night to kill people, stories about haunted houses that come alive during the night, and the dead coming out of their graves or zombies that eat and scare people.

I think that our society has passed on this fear, generation through generation, but we can have many good things happen in the dark. We need to see the night differently in order to stop perpetuating this fear of the dark. For instance, we can go on a date with our loved one under the moonlight. We do not have to pay anything for a nice night outing like this, or we could use candles for lighting at night instead of electricity, because it looks magical and anyone can enjoy it. We can also learn to appreciate nature and its power because the stars are magical and can bring two people together at night. If we gaze at the night sky for a long time, we experience peace, strength, and eagerness to move on because the night sky inspires us due to its incredible stars, constellations, and the moon.

Glancing at the sky is for me the hope for a better life, a relationship with God. I know that he is in a place that I have not seen, but I know for sure that he exists because nobody else could create something as perfect and as immense as the universe.