Darkness, the cooler air, minimal activity, and silence make any sudden break from those conditions stick out like a spooky, sore thumb.
Even things that are normally acceptable, even expected elements of daily life are put on an eerie, solitary pedestal when night falls.
These moments may come in or out of the house, far away or just in front of you. Either way, they're a kind of creepy that has an extra layer: the feeling that a thing once familiar and relied upon has been corrupted, made dangerous.
nooyork asked, "What's normal during the day but creepy as f*ck at night?"
Well This Must Be Urgent
"Hearing your letterbox on your door have something inserted into it. Definitely not the mail man, that's for sure." -- okoktadok
"Not any less creepy if it is the mail man." -- CityLimitless
"It's even worse when it is the mail man and you see him pressed against the door with both hands on the glass, and the letterbox opening and shutting quickly." -- IOnlyEverDisagree
Ya Hope It's a Sleep Walking Gardening Situation
"Digging holes." -- llcucf80
"My neighbor dug all his tile drains in the middle of the night because it was a really hot summer and during the day it was really windy and the dust from the backhoe was blowing all over his house."
"He would go out and dig at night because the wind would die down. Still looked suspicious as f*ck though." -- kg1206
Horror Movies Ruined Kids' Laughter
"I live up the hill from a public park. During the day, it's normal and pleasant to hear kids playing. But when I hear voices and the squeak of swings in the middle of the night, it gives me chills." -- White_Wolf_Dreamer
Always the Site of it All
"Corn fields - seriously." -- Blishter64
"Yeah man. I was once stuck on a train in the middle of a corn field for 8 hours. That is spooky, and surprisingly loud when its windy." -- OpalHawk
Very Real Horror
"As a man, walking behind a woman. Creepy for her, awkward for me cause I don't want her to think that I'm gonna do something bad to her." -- CharlieLovegood7
"As a woman, I feel that. I am not bothered if a man is walking behind me, but 9 times out of 10, he will speed up to pass me even if I am going on a jog or walking fast." -- NinjaSquirrel1996
Mystery Changes Tone
"The ocean. During the day it's bright blue endless adventure. At night it's murky black depth that consumes all." -- Fragraham
"I've legit had an anxiety attack over this." -- KCoyote123
"You'll dislike cruises then. Late at night it's quiet cause everyone's gone and you look off the side and it's just black. Pure black." -- wafflesDOTexe
The Creeper and the Creeped
Sitting on my deck with no lights on, smoking a cigarette."
"I scared the sh*t out of my neighbor one night when she went to check her mail (which in it's self is creepy)."
Is It Better During the Day??
"Hospitals. Not bad enough that it's where people go to die."
"Whenever I go there at night, i feel like i'm going to be dissected (until the 2 hours in the waiting room kick in)."
Silhouettes Are Bad News
"Mirrors" -- A_Very_Cool_Bean04
"I hate rooms with big mirror closet right next to bed." -- obeyaasaurus
"Well duh, the bigger the mirror, the bigger the portal for a hell spawn to mosey on through wearing your face." -- N7even
What Is Going On Behind Those Eyes
"When my cat stares in a random way and then starts suspiciously meowing." -- 130864
"Walking to the store late one night, I noticed a neighbor's cat staring at an empty spot in the road. Looked around because it's pretty creepy and saw no less than 5 cats staring at the same spot. I left and took another way home." -- Transcendentalcat
Mountain Lions: A Very Realistic Fear
"Hiking without flashlights."
"A couple friends and I went on a night hike in some local hills. Creepiest experience ever. If the ghost stories and satanic cult legends weren't enough, you had the constant threat of mountain lions with nothing but moonlight to light your way."
-- ilovesushi25
Too Expansive
"Swimming in a lake or other natural body of water." -- Exnixon
"Last summer I swam in a pool of a hotel at night and it was f*cking terrifying. Thought I wasn't gonna make it out. Although I guess natural water is much worse I'll never do that again." -- Xalita_diG
Not for Children
"A Furbie. Like, their eyes glow and scare the sh*t out of me." -- Depressedpanda48
"When I was a kid, my sister's randomly spoke to us in the middle of the night. Yup. Nightmare fuel." -- Pussy_Boots
"Nah those things are creepy during the day too." -- 24cupsandcounting
Dr. Frankenstein
"My weird-a** neighbor. During day he just regular guy cutting grass etc but at night all kinds of saws going and I don't see any furniture going out the garage door."
"Don't have the cajones to ask what is going on." -- PhilShiftley
Tactile Escalation
"Sitting still in a chair on your front porch." -- ZephyrMcGillicuddy
"Slathering yourself with sunscreen." -- Viscount61
"Staring at neighbors in your living room window. Naked. Eating a bowl of captain crunch cereal." -- ionakana511
"Why Did I Come Back Here?!"
"When there was an after school event, like a dance or open house, and the hallways were dead silent. That sh*t made me uneasy as a kid. It just felt weird." -- bagingospringo
"Same!!!! Very creepy, like the world ended." -- static1053
Household Figures
"My curtains. By day they are regular curtains but when I turn out my lights at night they are definitely shadow monsters looming over my bed." -- DreyaNova
"My mom was once a clothing artist and still has a mannequin in a closet in my house. I go in there everyday (usually at night). And when I was 12 it scared me so bad I stabbed it with a fork and left 4 holes on the face." -- GameFilms
The Unmentioned Horrors of Parenthood
"Small kids coming up to you and stand there are fine during the day...but at night as a parent when I wake up in the middle of the night to one of my kid standing there by the bed in the dark I come to a point where I nearly have a heart attack or sh*t my pants."