Quote by Terry Pratchett
Cards and boards, [Johnny] thought. And the dead. That's not dark forces. Making a fuss about cards and heavy metal and going on about Dungeons and Dragons stuff because it's got demon gods in it is like guarding to door when is really coming up through the floorboards. Real dark forces... aren't dark. They're sort of gray, like Mr. Grimm. They take all the color out of life; they take a town like Blackbury and turn it into frightened streets and plastic signs and Bright New Futures and towers where no one wants to live and no one really live. The dead seem more alive than us. And everyone becomes gray and turns into numbers and then, somewhere, someone starts to do arithmetic...
Summary
This quote highlights the idea that true dark forces are not overtly sinister or supernatural, but rather the insidious and subtle influences that drain the vibrancy and joy out of life. The symbolism of cards and heavy metal in popular culture is used to emphasize the distractions that people focus on while ignoring the underlying issues that truly affect them. The grayness represents conformity, fear, and the loss of individuality in society, where people become mere numbers and their lives are reduced to sterile calculations. In this context, the dead appear more alive because they are not bound by these restrictive forces.