Why does the dark feel scary when we can?

The dark feels scary because it hides things we can’t see, even though we can use our eyes to look.

When it’s light, you can see everything, your toys, your dog, even the little spider on the wall. But when it gets dark, those things hide, like going into a closet and turning off the lights. You know something is there, but you can’t see it clearly anymore, so it feels mysterious or even spooky.

Imagine you’re in your room at night, and you hear a squeak, maybe it’s your little brother playing with his toys. But because it's dark, you don’t know what’s making the noise. It could be something fun, like a toy falling, or it could be something that goes boop, like a ghost (or just a cat). Not knowing what is there makes it feel scary, kind of like when you hear a loud noise in your closet and don’t know if it’s your dog or something bigger.