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Culture·January 2026·5 min read

Why We Fear the Dark

Every culture in human history has had a word for the fear of darkness. But what lurks in that darkness — real or imagined — is never the same.

Ancient Fear, Modern Anxiety

The Greeks feared Nyx, the primordial goddess of night. Medieval Europeans feared demons and the undead. We fear something far more shapeless: the unknown, the unseen, the uncontrollable.