Yeah this is what I thought as well. Never heard of “The Enigma of Amigara Fault.” GUESS I SHOULD START READING.
Horror is subjective.
I couldn’t get into this one personally, because there are all sorts of inventions and ways we could do that would explore the holes without ya know… jumping into them?
Like, I dunno, throw a cell phone camera in there and see where it goes?
I guess the “horror” was the mass hysteria that caused people to mentally link themselves to a hole and think they had to jump in. But psychology doesn’t work like that, as far as I’m aware (and there’s some psychological horrors in the real world, like schizophrenia, that do scare the bejezus out of me).
But yeah, I realize everyone else thinks its a masterpiece. But… I just couldn’t take it seriously. But give it a try, maybe it works for ya!
But the scariest part of this story isn’t the holes, it’s the irresistible urge to go in…
Yea, it’s the fact that it seems impossible to resist. Yes, there are better ways than described to check out the holes, but it doesn’t ruin the story for me. I get those impulsive thoughts to jump off of cliffs or drive off roads so this story is the fear of following those thoughts.
it’s the irresistible urge to go in
Psychology doesn’t work like that though… and there’s some really messed up crap in real world Psychology that’s horrific enough. No need to make something up.
The modes where-in the human brain malfunctions is easily understood and can be manipulated by various actors (be they accidental, or purposefully). Well, understood from the perspective of a manipulator, I don’t think scientists / doctors know exactly why our brains do this. But these defective modes are well understoood and well studied.
I think this one rings true to a lot of people who struggle with intrusive thoughts. It’s not about logic, it’s about that weird urge to do the worst possible thing. You get the urge to climb in because it’s scary. So scary you can’t focus on anything else. But maybe if you just did it, at least you could stop worrying about it.
If people’s minds were so weak to give into intrusive thoughts, I’d have committed suicide maybe a year or two into my intrusive thoughts.
As I said before: what happens in this comic is unrealistic. People who struggle with undiagnosed depression can (and do), survive for years despite thinking about killing themselves every day, every hour, for years.
I know. I went through this. You don’t just “give up” randomly (and emperically speaking: people at this stage don’t often commit suicide IIRC), though the feeling does wear you down and make you anxious over time. There’s “stages” of depression and suicide, and if its just intrusive thoughts that are messing with you every waking hour of the day, you’re not quite at the depths of suicide quite yet. (Yes, it gets worse than just thoughts. Although you probably should seek help if you are at this stage).
As I’ve said in the other comment: real life is far worse than what’s presented here. Those who HAVE gone through this can’t relate to it, because the people who jump into the holes were so far less weak-willed than any real world person.
There are “stages” after intrusive and chronic long-term thoughts… when your brain starts to actively plan to do something harmful. An entire tier of thoughts and planning that goes far deeper than the horrors that was in the holes story.
The horrors of living with suicidal depression for months, years, is knowing what lies on the other side of the hole, but deciding to jump in anyway. Real world is far worse than what happens in the hole story. I know I’m going to die if I give into the thoughts. Its not some mystery or drive to explore or something that’s causing my brain to think those thoughts. (And honestly, if it were “just” a feeling to explore or figure out the mystery, it’s far less horrific).
They… they don’t jump in though. They press themselves into their hole slowly, and continue to press themselves deeper in, so slowly that they are physically pressed and molded into something monstrous.
Like… yeah, mass hysteria doesn’t work exactly like that, but it’s fiction? It in no way resembles something that could take place in real life. The fear comes from putting yourself into the headspace of everyone around you seeming to lose control of themselves, and then the same thing happening to you, but you don’t seem to care, you just slowly begin to yearn desperately for the tight pressure of the hole that fits you perfectly.
