By Rick Hinton
Darkness falls. The armor we’ve worn throughout the day becomes a little weaker as daylight whispers into nighttime hours. This armor is a shield against anything foreign that may come across our path as we tend to day-to-day affairs – fully confident we will rise above any obstacle before us. We are most comfortable with the familiar, wanting it to stay that way. But it will not. The day will end – as it always does – and darkness blankets us into another realm, where the certain can easily become the uncertain.
No, this is not about any apocalypse or flesh-eating zombies, but rather the sense of uncertainty and vulnerability that comes at night. The mind dwells upon the possibilities … what will these hours bring? What could possibly happen? Is it increased crime, a lack of security, a sense that tells you that all is not right in your world, or a loosening of morals with strange powers at work? We tend to wonder about these things. …
Many feel another realm of power takes over as daylight transitions into the shadows of the night. It is, after all, not unfamiliar ground; we live it every day. Being alive for any length of time guarantees a daily evolution that is as assured as the clock ticking down the hours of our lives. It’s a safety blanket, assuring that life is running a normal course. The American Indian (back in the day) felt that day to night was a transformation of forces; a consensual changing of the guard, so to speak. We become the masters of the daylight hours as life takes on a normalcy, not only comforting, but also commonplace. The familiar is what keeps us grounded; always has, always will. Yet, the night – and darkness – becomes the abode of completely something else!
While the daylight does not restrict paranormal occurrences (there are truckloads of daytime sightings), it would seem that night, and the gathering darkness, gives these paranormal happenings a sense of significance and foreboding. Doors are opened, while others of rationality and normalcy are slammed shut.
The darkness has become a large part of my own personal paranormal evolution. Sometimes I feel as though I am living in it, yet it grows on you. I’m comfortable about it now but wasn’t always. And, the years have been kind as I’ve tried to make sense of a world that can suddenly change when darkness takes hold; one that seems normal in the daylight but can flip at a moment’s notice as it grows dark. As a paranormal investigator – one who tries to make sense of shadows and feelings – I feel I have arrived into a different world when darkness makes the shadows more pronounced. It’s humbling.
