If Daniel has nyctophobia,,,

[Mechavomit]

I kind of wish the Shadow was literally just the evil darkness - it'd explain why you counter-intuitively fear the dark (which protects you from monsters) rather than embrace it, and I find it much more creepy than some goofy fleshy thing that roars.

You should watch "Vanishing on 7th street" if you haven't already seen it. It's cheesy, nothing is explained in the end, but it's thrilling and has almost exactly what you described.

To stay on topic: archaeology doesn't necessary mean spending a lot of time in the dark, I think (: And if I remember correctly, he was nervous when in that tomb/temple.