Moonless, overcast and still autumn nights out in middle of nowhere are one of most scary feelings I have experienced. True primal fear.
A spot of light around your dwelling, and a sea of nothing around. Barely able to make out the treeline against the sky. Hearing grows keener, mind amplifies the sound of every falling leaf into a predator stalking the forest. Standing there in the light you feel horribly exposed, everything can see you.
The lizard brain awakens and screams at you to get out, get away, hide! Your consciousness brain knows that the worst thing out there is probably a fox. But the primal parts responsible for your basic survival want none of that logic. They scream for a hiding hole.