Rather, it is playing on that concept of discovery of the unknown
But why must we jump into our hole? Why aren't these people driven to drop cell-phones into the hole and record what happens inside?
Because if you read the whole story you find out that the people whose holes these were did something horrific to deserve this fate over and over again. So their compulsion stems from an external source outside of their control.
I'm not against Karma in stories. Mind you, I don't believe in Karma, but I accept it as a storytelling mechanism. But things with karma don't get more horrific, if anything, it lessens the horror because "I'm a good person, so that won't happen to me". Innocent people dying in horrible ways is more horrific, at least to me.
But as I said before, horror is subjective. I've given this particular story a lot of thought and... it just doesn't scare me. And no matter how much I ponder on it, I can't make the story scare me. I don't know if its my personal experiences or something. But it just doesn't work for me.
It's metaphorical. To drop a camera into the (physical) hole is to take your first step into the (rabbit) hole of research and discovery.
Well, in Cosmic Horror, dropping the camera and perceiving what's in the hole only compels you harder to go in as it only strengthens the Great Old One's grip on your mind.
Which would have been a better story. The more you research, you (inadvertently) get pulled into the mind-virus more and more. That's why cosmic horror is... horrifying. The very act of trying to understand it only pulls you deeper into the horror.
I'm not saying "I don't want an answer" or that "space-magic" isn't cool. I'm saying that it was poorly written. A better written story should have had a good answer to the obvious "Try a cell phone first". The fact that none of the characters tried "obvious" solutions to the problem makes it incredibly unbelievable IMO.
This "hole compels you to jump in" crap is just not as horrifying to me as the better written stories out there. You have to have the main characters do something the target-audience would do, so that the target-audience can form a connection with the characters. Even if "magic" or "supernatural occult stuff" is the answer to the end, you can work around that.
But why must we jump into our hole? Why aren't these people driven to drop cell-phones into the hole and record what happens inside?
Because if you read the whole story you find out that the people whose holes these were did something horrific to deserve this fate over and over again. So their compulsion stems from an external source outside of their control.
I'm not against Karma in stories. Mind you, I don't believe in Karma, but I accept it as a storytelling mechanism. But things with karma don't get more horrific, if anything, it lessens the horror because "I'm a good person, so that won't happen to me". Innocent people dying in horrible ways is more horrific, at least to me.
But as I said before, horror is subjective. I've given this particular story a lot of thought and... it just doesn't scare me. And no matter how much I ponder on it, I can't make the story scare me. I don't know if its my personal experiences or something. But it just doesn't work for me.
It's metaphorical. To drop a camera into the (physical) hole is to take your first step into the (rabbit) hole of research and discovery.
Well, in Cosmic Horror, dropping the camera and perceiving what's in the hole only compels you harder to go in as it only strengthens the Great Old One's grip on your mind.
Which would have been a better story. The more you research, you (inadvertently) get pulled into the mind-virus more and more. That's why cosmic horror is... horrifying. The very act of trying to understand it only pulls you deeper into the horror.
I'm not saying "I don't want an answer" or that "space-magic" isn't cool. I'm saying that it was poorly written. A better written story should have had a good answer to the obvious "Try a cell phone first". The fact that none of the characters tried "obvious" solutions to the problem makes it incredibly unbelievable IMO.
This "hole compels you to jump in" crap is just not as horrifying to me as the better written stories out there. You have to have the main characters do something the target-audience would do, so that the target-audience can form a connection with the characters. Even if "magic" or "supernatural occult stuff" is the answer to the end, you can work around that.