It's not about how psychology works, it's the unknown pull to go in. AFAIK our physiology doesn't turn us into weird gangly monsters if you put pressure on our neck and limbs, but you don't seem to have a problem suspending your disbelief in that way, at least not in any way you mentioned. I think the urge to enter the holes is framed as almost supernaturally strong. Maybe it was written with a basis in the idea of intrusive thoughts, but its more like a cognitohazard that enters your mind when you see "your" hole that compels people to climb inside. I find the horror comes more from the idea that you might find a hole that you become convinced is yours and would travel all the way there just to enter. (And then the claustrophobic darkness too)

[–] dragontamer -4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If we leave the realm of "real", then we've got much worse "cognitive superpowers" IMO.

Lets put this into DnD terms. The Enigma of Amigara Fault is roughly on the level of a "Suggestion" spell (level 3 in DnD). That is: you magically compel someone into thinking "X" is a good idea, and they'll work to try to do X. It doesn't mean that they'll "do" X, only that they think its a good idea now.

I'm not necessarily saying higher-level spells are scarier, but there's "Dominate Person" (ex: become a mind-slave to someone entirely). As well as body-horror like stuff (ex: Magic Jar. Your very soul is swapped out and another entity takes over your body entirely)... as well as alignment-change magic (Helm of Opposite Alignment) that can magically compel you to actively change who you are, and turn into something you never wanted to be originally. Stuff on a higher power level than just a magically-compelled Suggestion.

I mean, "Charm Person" can be a horror story if written well enough. Magically befriending people, and causing those "friends" to have harmful behaviors can be horrific. But there's a reason why Charm Person is a level 1 spell, and "Dominate Person" is a higher level spell.

Or perhaps in Anime Terms: both Code Geass and Death Note, far more popular manga/anime, have more horrific mind-compulsion mechanisms than what I've seen in The Enigma of Amigara Fault.

So its not about the "power" of the compulsion, there's more powerful stuff in anime. The question then comes down to the values and subjective feeling that this story offers that other stories do not offer. And that's clearly where Enigma of Amigara Fault tries to connect with the audience. But for me, it failed to connect with me.