This post is haunted.
Haunted not by any malicious ghoul or ghost, but haunted by the necessity of me actually not being here at my computer on October the 1st. I'm writing this on September the 28th, the eve before I head out. I'm the ghost haunting this post, the ghost of September Past working on spooky words early. As such, we need to be quick about things. I've no time to watch a movie, no time for a lengthy reread of a book, no time to play through a big game. Luckily for us, brevity can be a powerful tool. Here, then, is a one-off short story in manga form which manages to be more terrifying than many feature films, a quick work that is not unlike an expert sword slash of horror. One swipe, one cut. That's all it takes to bring something utterly horrific to life. I give you... Junji Ito's The Enigma Of Amigara Fault. The link right there will take you to it and it will not take you long to read. Of course, maybe you're already familiar. Either way, now you know the terror. Now let's talk about that terror, shall we? As we are to do for the next 30 days, of course.
What strikes me most about this one is the implicit theme of compulsion. The terrible earthquake which rips through H_____ Prefecture is said to have devestated several towns and villages, but it also opens up the titular fault. What it's opened back up to the world is the unnatural phenomenon of the human-shaped holes, and the rest of the story is about the compulsions that the people who see them feel and succumb to. Our lady protagonist, Yoshida, specifically came to the fault because of said compulsions. She saw a hole shaped exactly like her silhouette and could not resist the compulsion to physically travel to the fault itself and see it for herself. Male protagonist Owaki, on the other hand, seems to be there just to check out a weird phenomenon. That's a lesser compulsion, but still a compulsion nonetheless. Even the scientists and professors and whatnot here to study the holes are acting under a compulsion of sorts; one to learn more about the holes. Of course, it's another character who pops up and first acts on their major compulsion. He's seen the holes, and found "his" hole. Look how easily he slips into it, sliding into the darkness for reasons too terrible and horrific to contemplate. Whatever fascinating hold the holes have on his mind, he's slipped away. Owaki has a nightmare about him stuck in the darkness, trapped forever inside the mountain. So we can add claustrophobia to the list of easy terrors in this story.
Most of the rest of the story is Yoshida's battle with her own compulsion. She's found her hole, and some instinctive part of her knows it was made for her and that she has to give in eventually and enter it... and that fact is enough to fill her with fear. As more and more people fall victim to this affliction, finding their holes and going in, the questions pile up. Who made these holes? What's their purpose? How do they have such an effect on people? There's no answer. Good. This is an unknowable terror, something that knowing would make less effective. The fault is a cosmic horror of sorts, a thing that exists which drives us mad for reasons our limited perceptions cannot comprehend. Owari's attempt to fill up Yoshida's hole with rocks is admirable, as is his staying in Yoshida's tent. His dream that night about being an ancient convict sentenced to eternity wandering in a him-sized hole that slowly stretches out his limbs as he travels? Prophetic, and a possible answer... but is it the secret of the holes being communicated to his subconscious, or an interpretation? We don't know. What we do know is that Yoshida couldn't fight her compulsion, and neither can Owari. He's found his hole, and his eyes practically glaze as he stares into it. His compulsion's caught up with him, and now he must delve into the depths.
Of course, then we get the great shock ending with the other end of the fault, and the twisted shapes in the rock face, and the thing that was once a human shambling forward with the gleefully twisted "DRR... DRR... DRR..." sound effect. The compulsion of the holes has forced these people to lose their humanity, turning into twisted effigies of what once was. This is where we end, and what a way to end. Their twisted forms are both a vivid horror image and the perfect symbolism for what their compulsions have done to them; they've been twisted via those compulsions. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that's the vibe I get from this story. Regardless, it's an effective little piece of storytelling that withholds plenty from you in order to not ruin the scares while also giving you enough to utterly terrify. It's a great way to start this marathon. Where to next on the terror-filled journey ahead? Just slip inside, that's all you need to do. We can crawl through the darkness and come out a little different. There's 30 long days down here in our maze of twisty passages, all alike. Just remember, as we journey through it.
This is your marathon. It was made for you.
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