Why is it so scary at night?

Question

Why are things that go 'bump' in the night so scary, but you never get the least bit scared by the things that go 'bump' in the daytime?

Things that go 'bump' in the night scare the living daylights out of me.

Answer 1

Night conjures images in the mind of uncertainty. During the day, your primary sense is seeing. At night, we are forced to use other senses - like smell, touch and taste. The ratio of "things that go bump" during the day is indirectly proportional to "things that go bump" during the nighttime - which makes the level of scariness grow on an exponential scale.

If you factor in the other senses being heightened because of the lack of one sense - Sight, being used; It grows in product by a function of the number of senses missing in addition to the square of the measured bump intensity factor (BIF).

As a corollary, consider the amount of bad things(tm) that happen at night in horror movies vs. all other movies. Many of the examples lack the auditory que of a "bump" by any B.I.F. value. When we are lucky enough to be made aware of the situation, tipped off to danger - if you will; It causes a false loop to occur and raises the B.I.F. rating by at least two points. During the day, this is not possible.

I hope my answer is sufficient and you find it helpful

Answer 2

From the beginning of time, humans have had to defend against enemies (other humans; predatory animals; natural disasters) in order to survive. When the sun goes down, humans tuck themselves away in a "safe" and "secure" place for rest and sleep. However, in pre-historic times, the "safe" places were not always safe! Nocturnal beasts of prey were lurking and hunting for food. (Other humans were not adverse to killing and stealing food.) To cope, natural instinct evolved to associate night and dark with potential threat. Things that went "bump" in the night were dangerous! Somewhere in our psyche we still harbor those instincts. Survival depends on fear which produces adrenaline and the "fight or flight" factor kicks in! Therefore, when you awaken suddenly at night to the sound of an owl or a neighbor's dog barking, or hear normal "day" sounds that seem amplified and somehow scarier just because it's dark, that is your survival instinct at work!

Answer 3

You can see what goes bump in the day. We are scared of the dark because the dark is a mask hiding whatever it may be that goes "bump." So in all reality, it is not the dark we are afraid of, but rather the unknown.

Answer 4

I am never afraid of the dark, see rather well in the dark so I prefer it to daylight. Once you get the idea that there is no such things as aliens, ghost, or any other supernatural crap out there then those "noises" don't seem so scary.

Answer 5

I think it's because You can't see much and for many years now people have made up Scary stories about ghosts,vampires,witchs,etc.. which mostly they aren't true. and when you hear a bump in the night some people think of something spooky,but really it could be your Mom or dad getting up for a glass of water or theres a rat in your house....or burgler oooo....wouldn't want it to be that huh?Anyway alot of people know it's nothing to worry about, could be their pet or the house is just getting old.

Answer 6

Sensory impairment would be my first guess. You can't really see very well (at least the majority can't), most people aren't acutely aware of what everything sounds like without seeing how something makes noise, and your weakest sense (smell) all of a sudden becomes a vacuum for even the faintest odor that seems even slightly out of place.

Answer 7

1. We are taught/conditioned that way by todays media, like movies and such...

2. The night has a stillness that seems to be noticed more than the daylight hours; ex: no birds chirping, less automobile noise.

That's just my opinion

Answer 8

because on the fact that you can't see what is going bump in the night but you can see what goes bump in the day time.

Answer 9

Its a sociological thing in the daytime, your eyes, nose, ears, and feelings all work together. but in the night time, only your ears and nose work. you need all the senses to understand things completely including your mind which tends to run wild and assume that things are wrong if you can't see, hear, smell ,and feel things. so. it is a mind trick that your mind and Brain are not working together to fix.

Answer 10

Oh yes I do get scared of the things that go bump in the daytime...what was that???...Did you hear it? I did..what was it???