Darkness in literature
In this year's series of seasonal readings, we consider the books that best represent the idea of darkness in literature
'When streets become supernatural': the joy of walking in cities at night
With technology whittling away at our attention spans, our sense of place is vanishing. In an extract from his new book, Nick Dunn explains how a simple night-time stroll can help us to profoundly reconnect with our surroundings
Darkness in literature: five great darknesses
In the final instalment of our series on darkness in literature, Stuart Kelly considers five versions of darkness, from the Bible to Joyce
Darkness in literature: Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Claire Armitstead: This black-as-pitch tale of a psychic haunted by her own childhood traumas is deeply disturbing, excruciatingly funny, and darker than dark
Darkness in literature: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Keren Levy: In this story of Alaskan winter, the long nights' darkness brings both fear and comfort
Darkness in literature: Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
Koestler's black indictment of Stalin's police state helped to alter the 20th century's intellectual climate. Sadly it's all too relevant today
Darkness in literature: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Charlotte Higgins: Reading Susan Cooper's gloriously Manichaean exploration of the dark through the life of 11-year-old Will Stanton is a Christmas ritual for me
Darkness in literature: Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
Justine Jordan: Darkness is enfolding and incantatory, cradling and haunted in a radio play that's best listened to with eyes closed
Darkness in literature: Saul Bellow's Something to Remember Me By
Wayne Gooderham: This late short story explores the dark reality of death, which underlies the apparently innocuous events of a single afternoon
Darkness in literature: James Joyce's Araby
Chris Power: In this short story, a young man's night-time journey to a deserted bazaar marks the end of carefree childhood
Darkness in literature: 'Nightfall' by Isaac Asimov
Richard Lea: The struggle between science and superstition in Asimov's classic short story rings as true today as it did 70 years ago
Darkness in literature: Chris Beckett's Dark Eden
Alison Flood: In a hostile world, an isolated family struggles with blinding night
Darkness in literature: Philip K Dick's A Scanner Darkly
Damien Walter: Philip K Dick explores the psychological horrors lurking in the shadows of sunny 70s California in his cult classic, A Scanner Darkly
Darkness in literature: Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes
David Barnett: Bradbury illuminates the night in this darkness-obsessed 1962 novel about a sinister carnival that pulls into a small US town
Darkness in literature: Jill Tomlinson's The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark
Imogen Russell Williams: Jill Tomlinson confronts the primal terror darkness inspires with wry humour and understated poetry in her classic, The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark
Darkness in literature: Sad Book by Michael Rosen
Sam Jordison: Michael Rosen's Sad Book, written after the death of his son, deals with spiritual darkness - but its devastating conclusion is also curiously uplifting
Darkness in literature: Kathleen Jamie's Darkness and Light
This December, a new series will look at the theme of darkness in literature. Sarah Crown begins by exploring a poet's search for 'starry dark' and solstice sunlight
