darkness is not the mere absence of light; there is something positive about it. while light space is eliminated by the materiality of objects, darkness is filled, it touches the individual directly, envelops her, penetrates her, and even passes through her: hence the ego is permeable for darkness while it is not so for light; the feeling of mystery that one experiences at night would not come from anything else.

-excerpt from mimicry and legendary psychasthenia by roger caillois