--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was as if the city itself was…" description: "\"“It was as if the city itself was preparing for some impending catastrophe. There had always been talks of ghost and darkness here, even in his boyhood..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/k-j-wignall-34270_darkness_it-was-as-if-the-city-itself-was-prepari_1790245.jpg" --- # It was as if the city itself was preparing for some… ![“It was as if the city itself was preparing for some impending catastrophe. There had always been talks of ghost and darkness here, even in his boyhood, and now that darkness seems to be seeping from the stones and timbers as much as it was descending from heavens.” quote by K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/k-j-wignall-34270_darkness_it-was-as-if-the-city-itself-was-prepari_1790245.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/k-j-wignall-34270_darkness_it-was-as-if-the-city-itself-was-prepari_1790245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/k-j-wignall-34270_darkness_it-was-as-if-the-city-itself-was-prepari_1790245.jpg) > ““It was as if the city itself was preparing for some impending catastrophe. There had always been talks of ghost and darkness here, even in his boyhood, and now that darkness seems to be seeping from the stones and timbers as much as it was descending from heavens.”” [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage conveys a foreboding atmosphere where the city feels alive with looming disaster, reflecting collective dread and supernatural overtones. **In simple terms:** The city feels haunted and on the brink of disaster. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront hidden anxieties. Themes foreboding urban decay supernatural collective fear Mood eerie tense melancholic Type literary descriptive atmospheric When to use this quote - urban planning - creative writing - mental health counseling - film set design - game world building Key Concepts apocalypse psychology of dread environmental metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What unseen forces shape a community’s fear? - How can we balance mythic storytelling with realistic response? A Different Perspective The vivid description may exaggerate danger, obscuring practical solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boyhood Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boyhood-darkness-1939260/) [City Preparing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-preparing-1939263/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Boyhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-boyhood-1939262/) [Darkness Seeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-seeping-1939261/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Impending Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impending-catastrophe-956985/) ## Related quotes > [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. 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For me, war is horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/one-day-if-i-had-to-do-a-horror-movie-it-will-be-a-very-realistic-war/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [What I love about watching classic horror films is that they take you on a ride and they obviously make you scared because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-holmes/what-i-love-about-watching-classic-horror-films-is-that-they-take-you/) [Katie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-holmes/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I will say that when it comes to the horror genre, for me, the scariest thing is when something is actually in the frame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/i-will-say-that-when-it-comes-to-the-horror-genre-for-me-the-scariest/) [Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/) > [“In the attempt to find the just measure of horror and terror, I came upon the writing of Carole Gill whose work revealed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-gill/in-the-attempt-to-find-the-just-measure-of-horror-and-terror-i-came/) [Carole Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-gill/) ## More by K.J. Wignall > [“She stared back at him, and he knew they didn't have very long, that he had to get away from there quickly. But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/she-stared-back-at-him-and-he-knew-they-didn-t-have-very-long-that-he/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“Oh well, back to the crypt, I suppose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/oh-well-back-to-the-crypt-i-suppose/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“You're nearly eight hundred years old and here you are, sitting on our sofa, and you're a vampire who needs our help. Of course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/you-re-nearly-eight-hundred-years-old-and-here-you-are-sitting-on-our/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“You know, I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you. You're like some old-fashioned knight." "Thank you, though it's been a while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/you-know-i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-met-anyone-quite-like-you-you-re/) [K.J. 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Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“She almost looked in danger of being won over, but as if remembering her former frostiness, her face hardened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/she-almost-looked-in-danger-of-being-won-over-but-as-if-remembering/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“Don't you see? The catastrophe is me. My very existence is an affront to everything that is natural and good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/don-t-you-see-the-catastrophe-is-me-my-very-existence-is-an-affront/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“If I didn't taste like dinner, I'd kiss you right now." "If you didn't taste like dinner, I'd kiss you back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/if-i-didn-t-taste-like-dinner-i-d-kiss-you-right-now-if-you-didn-t/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“The more that's known about the world, the more people seem determined to search for what is lost or hidden. There are archaeologists, treasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/the-more-that-s-known-about-the-world-the-more-people-seem-determined/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“It was instinct that drove him to hibernate, not choice, but he would have chosen it at that moment anyway because he saw that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/it-was-instinct-that-drove-him-to-hibernate-not-choice-but-he-would/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) > [“It's hard for me to describe the terror I felt upon waking because I knew only one thing and knew it instantly, that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-wignall/it-s-hard-for-me-to-describe-the-terror-i-felt-upon-waking-because-i/) [K.J. Wignall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) [Explore all 14 K.J. Wignall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-wignall/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was as if the city itself was preparing for some impending catastrophe. There had always been talks of ghost and darkness here, even in his boyhood, and now that darkness seems to be seeping from the stones and timbers as much as it was descending from heavens.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K.J. 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