Fear of darkness and fear of invisible foes are specially strong in man, because of the deeply rooted fear instinct, but also because of his memories of accidents and dangers that have befallen him, and which may befall him. Man’s fears hang round dark places, gloomy corners and nooks, caves and forests, and more especially during the darkness and shades of night, appearing as treacherous visions and specters of lurking dangers. And still from the very nature of his being man must rest and sleep, hence the association of terrors with night time. He can only overcome his night terrors by living and sleeping in more or less secure corners, in the neighborhood of his fellow-beings who by the mere fact of numbers multiply not only the means of defense, but actually increase susceptibility for the scent of danger and possible speedy defense. In the society of his fellows the sense organs of the individual are increased by the presence of others who are in various stages of vigilance, and hence there is greater protection against dangers and invisible foes that lurk in the darkness of night, foes of which primitive man is in terror of his life.
The fear of the unknown, the mysterious, and the dark, peoples the mind of primitive man with all sorts of terrible spectres, ghosts, spirits, goblins, ghouls, shades, witches, and evil powers, all bent on mischief, destruction and death. Primitive man suffers from chronic demonophobia. Fear states are specially emphasized at night when the “demons” have the full power for evil, and man is helpless on account of darkness and sleep which paralyze him. Hence the terrors of the night, especially when man is alone, and defenseless.
The fear of solitude comes out strongly in the intense fear that obsesses man in the gloomy darkness of the night horrors. Fire and fellow-beings can alone relieve his night terrors. The fear of foes, of demons, of evil powers does not abate in the day, only it is relieved by reason of light, of association, and of wakefulness. Man, more than any other animal, is the victim of the fear instinct. Many tribes, many races of men perished, due to superstitions and fear obsessions.
The Homo sapiens is rare. We may agree with Tarde that Homo somnambulis would be a proper definition of the true mental condition of most specimens of the human race. For the human race is still actuated by the principle of “Credo, quia absurdum est.” I need not go far to substantiate the fact that this principle still guides the life of the average specimen of civilized humanity. Spiritualism, theosophy, telepathy, ghost hunting, astrology, oneiromancy, cheiromancy, Christian Science, psychoanalytic oneiroscopy employed in events and situations of individual and social life, and many other magical practices whose name is legion, based on the mysteries of communication with ghosts, spirits, demons, and unknown fearsome powers, still haunt the credulous mind, obsessed with conscious and subconscious horrors of the terrible, invisible spirit world.
Against the fears of diseases, the scares of the day and terrors of night, civilized man still uses the magic arts and mysterious, miraculous powers of the magician, the wizard, the witch, the mental healer, the shaman, the medicine man, the miracle man, and the psychoanalyst. Just at present under my own eyes I witness the pitiful credulity of man, driven by the terrors and horrors of the fear instinct. In San Jose, San Diego, in Los Angeles, and in many other Western “culture” centers mystic cults hold high carnival, swaying the minds of fear-crazed, deluded humanity. As typical specimens of superstitious fears and absurd beliefs, due to the fear instinct, we may take as illustrations the following occurrences in the centers of the far West, obsessed by the aberrations of the fear instinct (I quote from Los Angeles papers):
“Faith Healer at Los Angeles, Venice, California, after several wonder cures, orders sun’s rays to be darkened. ‘Brother Isaiah,’ called by thousands the ‘Miracle Man,’ claimed to have repeated the marvel of dimming the sun at Venice yesterday evening.
“At 6 o’clock the disciple of healing by faith raised his hands and announced that as evidence of his power he would blot out the brilliant solar rays. He gazed at the dazzling red ball above the waters of the Pacific, and his lips moved in low murmurs.
“‘It is done,’ he said. ‘I have clouded the sun. All those who have seen this miracle raise your hands.’ Hundreds of hands waved in the air.