I jumped out of bed at 5 a.m. ready to take on the new day! I fed the dogs, made my protein drink, caught up on the news, and was ready to take my pups for a walk! I looked outside and it was pitch black! I’m not comfortable taking my dogs for a walk in the dark. This may be related to my childhood, when I was afraid of the dark, whether outside or inside, in my bedroom. I just never felt comfortable roaming around in the dark. This is called “Nyctophobia!”, an irrational fear of darkness or night. This is supported by countless Hollywood movies that capitalize on people’s fear of the dark. Vampires only come out at night! Daylight kills Vampires!
Many predators are nocturnal, and up to 50% of predators hunt at night! Owls, Cats, Bats, Coyotes, Foxes, Tigers, Raccoons, Skunks, Leopards, Hedgehogs, Honey Badgers, Snakes, Lions, Jaguars. In the movies: Bigfoot, Abominable Snowman, Werewolves, Psychopaths, Aliens, Shapeshifters, The Thing, Creature from the Black Lagoon. The film “Pitch Black,” “Night Beasts,” “The Grey,” “The Silence,” “The Exorcists,” “The Village,” “The Host,” “Jaws.”
The saying “Nothing good happens after midnight!” is true because people are often tired, under the influence, and making poor decisions. How many movies and TV shows have you watched where you yell out, “Don’t go outside!” Don’t open the door!” Don’t go into the basement!” Don’t go out into the darkness!” They never listen, do they? They open the door, go into the basement, then the music rises to a scary crescendo, and something bad happens to them. If only they had listened. High-crime areas have more bad things happen at night!
Who doesn’t just love lying in bed, just about to fall asleep, enveloped in warmth and darkness, and then it happens, you hear a whining buzzing sound that experience has taught you means you are being stalked by a blood sucking mosquito! You wave your hands around like the “Robot” in the “Lost In Space” television show, “Warning..Warning Will Robinson…Danger!!!!!” You get up, turn on the light, and look for the flying beast, but there’s nothing. You listen for the faint sound of the little vampire, and you hear nothing. You turn off the light, get under the covers, and as you fall asleep, you hear the familiar buzzing getting closer and closer. You pull all of the blankets over your head and fall asleep. You wake up in the morning with a mosquito bite on your big toe that became uncovered when you pulled up the blankets. The next night, you go to bed and a song rolls around in your head, “Hello darkness my old friend….” The Sound of Silence…….
“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – Joel, Author of “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer”. [email protected] © Joel M. Vernier October 9th, 2025
