--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I look down past the stars to a…" description: "\"“I look down past the stars to a terrifying darkness. I seem to recognize the place, but it's impossible. \"Accident,\" I whisper. I will fall. I seem to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/john-champlin-gardner-jr-49637_darkness_i-look-down-past-the-stars-to-a-terrifyi_2853613.jpg" --- # I look down past the stars to a terrifying darkness. I… ![“I look down past the stars to a terrifying darkness. I seem to recognize the place, but it's impossible. "Accident," I whisper. I will fall. I seem to desire the fall, and though I fight it with all my will I know in advance I can't win. Standing baffled, quaking with fear, three feet from the…” quote by John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/john-champlin-gardner-jr-49637_darkness_i-look-down-past-the-stars-to-a-terrifyi_2853613.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/john-champlin-gardner-jr-49637_darkness_i-look-down-past-the-stars-to-a-terrifyi_2853613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/john-champlin-gardner-jr-49637_darkness_i-look-down-past-the-stars-to-a-terrifyi_2853613.jpg) > ““I look down past the stars to a terrifying darkness. I seem to recognize the place, but it's impossible. "Accident," I whisper. I will fall. I seem to desire the fall, and though I fight it with all my will I know in advance I can't win. Standing baffled, quaking with fear, three feet from the edge of a nightmare cliff, I find myself, incredibly, moving towards it. I look down, down, into bottomless blackness, feeling the dark power moving in me like an ocean current, some monster inside me, deep sea wonder, dread night monarch astir in his cave, moving me slowly to my voluntary tumble into death.”” [John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Narrates a terrifying descent toward death, confronting inner darkness and inevitability. **In simple terms:** Faces fear of death and inner darkness. Key Takeaway Acknowledge fear to confront inner demons. Themes existential psychology fear Mood dark intense Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - meditation - nighttime anxiety Key Concepts mortality inner conflict psychic imagery Questions to Reflect On - What does the abyss represent for you? - How can you transform fear into growth? A Different Perspective May romanticize self-destructive impulses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“If he was the sweet, terrifying darkness, I was the glittering light that only his shadows could make clear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/if-he-was-the-sweet-terrifying-darkness-i-was-the-glittering-light/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/vertigo-is-the-conflict-between-the-fear-of-falling-and-the-desire-to/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I've always had that feeling for the dark side, for the anger and the hate-rock. The music is just the way I deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-williams-iii/i-ve-always-had-that-feeling-for-the-dark-side-for-the-anger-and-the/) [Hank Williams III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-williams-iii/) > [You desire to fall inlove..just accept that it really hurts you much..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kds2/you-desire-to-fall-inlove-just-accept-that-it-really-hurts-you-much/) KDS2 > [I have been bullied and it has effected my entire life. I'm young and still have my entire life to live for. I'm getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-best/i-have-been-bullied-and-it-has-effected-my-entire-life-i-m-young-and/) Theresa Best > [For me, I've gotten away from feeling I'm too dark. we're all women of color, and a lot of us are doing some great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutina-wesley/for-me-i-ve-gotten-away-from-feeling-i-m-too-dark-we-re-all-women-of/) [Rutina Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutina-wesley/) > [One is responsible to life: It is the small beacon in that terrifying darkness from which we come and to which we shall return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-is-responsible-to-life-it-is-the-small-beacon-in-that-terrifying/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“vertigo is something other than the fear of falling. It is the voice of emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/vertigo-is-something-other-than-the-fear-of-falling-it-is-the-voice/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [There came to him an image of man’s whole life upon the earth. It seemed to him that all man’s life was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/there-came-to-him-an-image-of-man-s-whole-life-upon-the-earth-it/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/ralph-wept-for-the-end-of-innocence-the-darkness-of-man-s-heart-and/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More by John Champlin Gardner Jr > [“tedium is the worst pain. the mind lays out the world in blocks, and the hushed blood waits for revenge. all order, i've come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-champlin-gardner-jr/tedium-is-the-worst-pain-the-mind-lays-out-the-world-in-blocks-and/) [John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) > [“they hacked down trees widening rings around their central halls and blistered the land with peasant huts and pigeon fences till the forest looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-champlin-gardner-jr/they-hacked-down-trees-widening-rings-around-their-central-halls-and/) [John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) > [“I have eaten several priests. They sit on the stomach like duck eggs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-champlin-gardner-jr/i-have-eaten-several-priests-they-sit-on-the-stomach-like-duck-eggs/) [John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) > [“Standing on an open hill, I imagine muffled footsteps overhead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-champlin-gardner-jr/standing-on-an-open-hill-i-imagine-muffled-footsteps-overhead/) [John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) > [“I should have cracked his skull mid song and sent his blood spraying out wet through the mead hall like a shocking change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-champlin-gardner-jr/i-should-have-cracked-his-skull-mid-song-and-sent-his-blood-spraying/) [John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) > [“In a world where nearly everything that passes for art is tinny and commercial and often, in addition, hollow and academic, I argue--by reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-champlin-gardner-jr/in-a-world-where-nearly-everything-that-passes-for-art-is-tinny-and/) [John Champlin Gardner Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) [Explore all 7 John Champlin Gardner Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-champlin-gardner-jr/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I look down past the stars to a terrifying darkness. I seem to recognize the place, but it's impossible. \"Accident,\" I whisper. I will fall. I seem to desire the fall, and though I fight it with all my will I know in advance I can't win. Standing baffled, quaking with fear, three feet from the edge of a nightmare cliff, I find myself, incredibly, moving towards it. 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