Daniel's fear of the dark

[CorinthianMerchant]

According to the wiki, Daniel wasn't afraid of the dark itself, just to be trapped inside it, not being able to get out.

[Tindahbox]

He wasn't particularly afraid of the dark, but he had always disliked going into the basement. His father urged him on to fetch the red dye. As he stepped into the dark, he thought, "I will never escape this".

...He cried like the little boy he was. All alone in the dark basement, broken glass tearing at the flesh of his naked feet, and blood mixed with blue tint.

whoever guessed "childhood trauma" wins a prize!!

Plus being hunted by an otherworldly Lovecraft crazy-making nightmare-horror that is literally called "The Shadow" in a dark castle where you can't see the horrible monsters trying to murder you or the corpses around every corner and just sitting in the dark eating potato chips ??? and thinking about how the Shadow is all around you and going to kill you any second would be enough to make a nyctophobe out of me for sure

[MidnightBell]

I think his fear of the dark is ment to be in a way, symbolic. It represents the fact that he is trying to avoid the darkness within himself. Of course, I have to go and think that everything is symbolic in some way. ^^;

[aidan499]

Mabey theres something happend in the dark like his parents got murderd or something...

[Welsh cake]

He didn't have a traumatic past, just a really crappy childhood, arguably the same as the rest of us.

Daniel's nyctophobia, his apparent fear of the darkness, stems from the overwhelming feeling of dread that he may be unable to escape the darkness. Its a specific kind of claustrophobia, a horror he cannot escape from, a terror he feels more and more as the Shadow surrounds him. Gameplay wise the man can't stand a few seconds in the dark, he's a wreck after a few minutes, and if the Shadow captures him he gets to spend an eternity in darkness which to Daniel is his own version of hell and his worst fear finally fulfilled.