# Fear of the Dark (song)

"Fear of the Dark" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Written by Steve Harris, the band's bass player and primary songwriter, it serves as the title track to Iron Maiden's 1992 album Fear of the Dark.
The song has been covered by several different artists. In 2008, it was covered by Fightstar for Kerrang! magazine's Maiden Heaven tribute album.
The Flight 666 version of the song was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series on 9 June 2009.

## Lyrics

The song's lyrics tell the story of a man who has always been intensely afraid of the dark. He recalls the many times he has walked alone, and recollections of the feeling of being followed while walking at night. Strictly, the song is about paranoid ideas (fear of being watched or harmed by other persons) rather than phobia (fear of objects and situations), even though the latter is referred to in the lyrics ("Have a phobia that someone's always there"); darkness seems to be the context rather than the reason for the fear.
According to Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris wrote this song because he himself was really afraid of the dark.

## Members

* Bruce Dickinson – vocals
* Dave Murray – lead guitar
* Janick Gers – lead guitar
* Steve Harris – bass
* Nicko McBrain – drums

## Album appearances

| Album title | Year | Type | Recording location and date |
| Fear of the Dark | 1992 | Studio | Barnyard – Essex, England (1991-92) |
| A Real Live One | 1993 | Live | Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992) |
| Live at Donington | 1993 | Live | Monsters of Rock – Donington Park – Leicestershire, England (22 August 1992) |
| Raising Hell | 1994 | Live | Pinewood Studios – Iver, England (28 August 1993) |
| Best of the Beast | 1996 | Live | Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992) |
| A Real Live Dead One | 1998 | Live | Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992) |
| Eddie's Head | 1998 | Studio/Live | Barnyard – Essex, England (1991-92) Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992) Monsters of Rock – Donington Park – Leicestershire, England (22 August 1992) |
| Ed Hunter | 1999 | Studio | Barnyard – Essex, England (1991-92) |
| Rock in Rio | 2002 | Live | Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001) |
| Edward the Great | 2002/05 | Live | Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001) Westfalenhallen – Dortmund, Germany (24 November 2003) |
| Visions of the Beast | 2003 | Live | Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001) Monsters of Rock – Donington Park – Leicestershire, England (22 August 1992) |
| The Essential Iron Maiden | 2005 | Live | Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001) |
| Death on the Road | 2005 | Live | Westfalenhallen – Dortmund, Germany (24 November 2003) |
| Flight 666 | 2009 | Live | Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste – Buenos Aires, Argentina (7 March 2008) |
| From Fear to Eternity | 2011 | Live | Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001) |
| En Vivo! | 2012 | Live | Estadio Nacional – Santiago, Chile (10 April 2011) |
| The Book of Souls: Live Chapter | 2017 | Live | Arena Castelão – Fortaleza, Brazil (24 March 2016) |
| Nights of the Dead | 2020 | Live | Palacio de los Deportes – Mexico City, Mexico (27–30 September 2019) |

## Covers

* Graveworm, for their 2001 album Scourge of Malice (often incorrectly attributed to Cradle of Filth or Children of Bodom).
* Alternative rock band Fightstar performed a cover of the song for the Kerrang! Maiden Heaven tribute album.
* Metal band Lonely The Brave covered the song and released as track 4 of Maiden Heaven Volume 2 tribute album in Kerrang Magazine Issue 1623.
* It was performed by Chuck Billy, Craig Goldy, Ricky Phillips, and Mikkey Dee for the tribute album Numbers from the Beast.
* The Finnish Metal/Rock band Sturm und Drang performed a cover of this song on their 2008 release Rock N' Roll Children as a bonus track
* A cappella metal band Van Canto covered it on their second album Hero.
* Doro Pesch performed with Blaze Bayley on a Classical live version in 2004 at Wacken Open Air with strings and acoustic guitars.
* Pentagram (a.k.a. Mezarkabul) (only live).
* The Hungarian cover band Zorall created a version from the song Ha volna két életem (If I had two lives) of the Hungarian group Piramis with using the musical theme of Fear of the Dark underneath.

## Live single

A live version of the song was released on 1 March 1993 to promote A Real Live One, a live album featuring recordings from various concerts throughout the Fear of the Dark Tour. This song was recorded at the Helsinki Ice Hall on 27 August 1992. It is the 26th single released by the band, reaching number 8 in the UK charts.
Different tracks taken from the same album served as B-sides, including "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", "Be Quick or Be Dead", and "Tailgunner", in addition to "Hooks in You", recorded in 1990 during the No Prayer on the Road tour. The initial pressing of the 7" cut-to-shape vinyl picture disc listed "Hooks in You" as the B-side but actually played "Tailgunner". This mis-press was quickly corrected by EMI on future pressings.
"Fear of the Dark" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1994 in the "Best Metal Performance" category, but lost to "I Don't Want to Change the World" by Ozzy Osbourne.
The single's cover art features Eddie playing Steve Harris' signature Fender Precision Bass.

### Chart performance

| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | 6 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 17 |
| UK Singles Chart | 8 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 200,000$^‡$ |
| Italy (FIMI) | Gold | 50,000$^‡$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Gold | 15,000$^‡$ |
| Poland (ZPAV) | Gold | 25,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## In popular culture
### Film

In Fear Street Part One: 1994, the character Josh Johnson wears an Iron Maiden shirt and is shown listening to the song Fear of the Dark.

### Video Games

In February 2024, Iron Maiden collaborated with the asymmetrical horror video game Dead by Daylight, which gave killers Eddie-inspired cosmetics and survivors Iron Maiden band shirts. This song was used as lobby music upon the launch of the collaboration, audible whenever characters had Iron Maiden cosmetics equipped.