Emphasis Preaching Journal

It may be difficult for us today to appreciate a real fear of darkness like that of people long ago. From about 1500 into the 1830s, people talked about being "overtaken" by the night, "shut-in," "covered." Night may have meant fear of demons, witches, and nighthags. In one English parish, Lamplugh, of the 52 premature deaths recorded between 1650 and 1663, four people were frightened to death by fairies, seven were bewitched, and one was led into a horse pond by a will-of-the-wisp. Additionally, there was a belief that night actually did fall, with malignant air descending.