‘There’s Something In The Dark’

Since the beginning of time, the dark has terrified us.  When we’re awake, we stay vigilant of its presence.  When we sleep, we cower under the covers.  The imagination creates new and terrifying entities that could come out of the dark and kill us.  The dark is scary enough without worrying what is hiding inside it.

I can’t help but wonder what’s more scary: The dark or something that’s hiding within it.  There are times when I would hear a dog bark.  I know dogs will bark at anything.  I would go and check only to find nothing outside but the dark.  I then begin to worry if the dog sees something that I don’t.  Is there an evil specter that only animals can see?

When a noise or an image appears out of the dark, we become frightened.  We try to find comfort in the reason that monsters don’t exist.  A small part of us wonders what is out there.  There have been many times when an evil creature turns out to be a tree or a clump of bushes.  An owl’s hoot sounds even more scary because we can hear it but we never see the owl.  When you hear a noise, your imagination creates something more terrifying that what is really there.

Let’s not forget that magical moment when the darkened sky becomes just a bit lighter.  Your heart races as you smile.  You know dawn is coming.  However, you still feel that last bit of fear.  Dawn is coming and yet there is just a small bit of darkness left.  The sun is coming but not fast enough.  The darkness is staying around long enough to scare us one more time.  The next time you’re scared of a sound or an image from the dark, ask yourself this: Do you really want to know what’s out there?