Poll: Are you afraid of the dark?

[sevreon]

I didn't think I was, but recently I was trying to sneak into a carnival or something (therefore saving a whole £4!) via about half an acre of some bushes and trees, and I found I just couldn't do it. Not cause I was afraid of getting caught, but because I would be walking for about a whole minute in total darkness.
Bloody terrifying.

 

[Randomorific]

In my house yes or any other building for that matter, I'm afraid at what lurks in the shadows!!!! So I turn the lights on when I get in a room and turn the TV if I'm home alone. If I'm outside in woods or something I would freak out, unless I was with someone I feel very safe with. However I'm absolutely fine to walk in town in the dark on my own, less so in rougher areas but I'm still not overly scared in town, unless a group of rough looking people walk towards me, but then thats being scared of them not the dark.

 

[Mcface]

I cant see them, they cant see me.

 

[Colonel Joson]

Well... I wouldn't say scared, I just don't like being in the dark on my own, all the time I spent trying to play though FEAR finally caught up with me.

 

[Pyromaniak3]

If anything I like the dark... It in itself is silence and calm its what can happen that scares people. All of the scary movies that we watch when we grow up makes the dark a bad and scary thing. So it is just our subcontious that makes us think back to those times as a child when we get scared.(in my opinion)

 

[HentMas]

i am 25, and if i´m sleeping alone in my room i have to have the TV on without sound to be able to consile sleep, i usually wake up if it turns off (IE: sleep mode/blackout) and feel... overwhelmed by the feeling of not being able to see anything, and any kind of noise makes my hair stand on end, i know its not rational, i know what the noise is, but i cant for the life of me calm down if there is no light, which makes me not being able to sleep...

yeah, i would call that being afraid of the dark

 

[Merkavar]

how can you be afraid of the dark. arent people actually afraid of whats in the dark. vashna nirada and all that

I can make myself a little scared if i watch a scary movie then walk around my house in the dark thinking about stuff.

I am rarely in the dark though. i have a clock that gives off a little light, and normally have my laptop open cause i use it as an alarm clock. the microwave and phone give off heaps of light. Also the street lights shine inside a little. So im never really in the dark.

i do sleep most nights with a fan on to block out noises. Like noises of people walking around the house that can sometimes get my imagination going and scare me. but its mainly to block out noises like music from next door or the tv my dads watching at max volume (he turns it up cause he cant hear it, but as the volume goes up the sound distorts, so he cant hear it, so he turns it up more) or my dad yelling at the neighbours to turn down the music

So the fan noise makes it so the darkness + noises dont make me think about zombies and home intruders etc.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

I said no, but only because the dark only scares me under certain situations.

Dark in my house/house I know: Not Scary.
just generally dark: not scary
Down a dark alley downtown: Makes me nervous
Somewhere I'm not familiar with and it's PITCH BLACK (like I can't see a single thing): Very nervous.
Waking up in pitch black after a nightmare: Ok, PROBABLY scared.
Waking up after being hit over the back of the head by something and I have no idea where I am and it's dark: DEFINITELY SCARED!

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

For some bizarre reason, yes, but only in specific locations.

I freak out like I'm being chased whenever I'm going up the stairs in my house, or my church. Also, in my bathroom at school, my room mate's towels hanging up always look like the Slender Man...

 

[Illesdan]

I AM the reason you should be afraid of the dark.

 

[marurder]

Where is this study of which you speak? I suspect there are other factors, such as other stimuli (sounds for example).
Put it into a horror game and yeah sure, music, the random object falling when you enter the room in an FPS... sure scary, but afraid of the dark. No. It's the fear of the 'something'.

 

[The Heik]

Studies have shown that over 66 percent of all persons over 18 years old is afraid of the dark.
Are you one of them?

Well fundamentally, we are all afraid of the dark. Darkness represents the unknown, something that may be beyond our comprehension, whether it be dangerous or helpful. And that simple lack of knowledge makes us feel vulnerable. Humans are known for trying to find explanations for everything, and when we can't, we're scared. It's why we're all afraid of death too (you know, aside from the instinct part).

All we can really do is accept that the unknown exists, and that whatever will come from it will come, no matter what we do. We'll never be fully free of that fear, but we can understand why we're afraid, and that gives us power over our fear.

I think that's where courage comes from.

 

[DarkPegasus333]

Not really, no. Only if I let my mind get the better of me. I'm absolutely fine with walking around at night and exploring old, abondoned mansions at 2 A.M. (yeah, that's right).

But if there's a really dark room I always have to quicken my pace when passing it. I also have a problem with closed shower curtains.

 

[SwimmingRock]

This was precisely the realization that allowed me to stop being afraid of the dark. I'm 6'1 with long hair, a beard and absurdly wide shoulders. Once it occurred to me that I'm actually what makes most people afraid of the dark, I didn't see why I should be. Seriously, people will run away or cross to the other side of the road if they see me walking towards them at night. What do I need to be afraid of?

Great, now along with Wolves, burglars/rapists, world killing meteors and various darkness/vision-based SCPs, I have to deal with the threat of running into YOU whilst going for a glass of water because I didn't leave the light on this time. Thanks a lot.

Relax, I'm harmless. I just look scary. If it were actually me, I'd get you the glass of water with a smile and ask if there's anything else I could do for you. Think of me as a friendly teddy bear.

 

[neoontime]

Yeah!

That's where rapist hide!

 

[joshuaayt]

Of course I am- if my vision is impaired, my ability to respond to a threat is significantly reduced.

I'm always surprised when people simply do not fear such things- why wouldn't you be afraid of heights, for example? Heights are like the most dangerous thing around.

 

[DaJoW]

I prefer not to be in it, but I'm not exactly afraid of it.

 

[noxymoron19]

Im uncomfortable in complete darkness at first. The longer im there the more I stop caring about the unknown.

I remember when I was 8-9 at my grandparents cabin and I was forced to go to the bathroom outside at the outhouse during the night. I would dip hard there, piss as hard and fast as I could and book back. I look back now and find it halarious.