difference in meaning?

[alinel]

I have been discussing with some other students (we are all non-native speakers of English) about whether there exists a difference in meaning between the two expressions "the still of the night" and "the stillness of the night". Some of us felt a slight difference between "still" and "stillness" but none of us could come up with an explanation. What do you think?

[Tdol]

The former is much more common, so the latter is sometimes used for effect- mainly emphasis IMO.

[fabiopepper]

I think there´s a novel by Dean A. Koontz called "In the still of the night"
I have a question for you and your friends Alinel...what does "in the dead of night" mean???does it mean the same as "in the still of the night"?