Psychology of Creepiness

Today's post is a short one, and fascinating rather than creepy.

While poking around the internet for future material, I found this video on reddit's /r/scared shitless page. It's an interesting look into what makes us consider things creepy, and how the creeps differs from a generic fear reaction. I've loved being creeped out for as long as I can remember, so it's cool to see that feeling explained.

The Cannibal town

NOTE: I don't speak Japanese. I'm translating with a chart of Japanese characters and Google Translate. If I make a mistake (and I'm sure I will), please please PLEASE correct me! I'll edit this with whatever changes are necessary to make it accurate.
Thank you to the anonymous Japanese speaker who commented with some translating help!

With the popularity of Aika village, aka "The Horror Village", many more players have been turning their Animal Crossing: New Leaf towns into live-action creepypastas. I've visited quite a few myself. Most are unfinished, some are uninteresting, and at least one seems to be trying to make a sequel to Aika itself. But there's one that I found fascinating, richly detailed, and chilling: the cannibal town.

The town's name is Hitokui, which Google translates as "non-specific", but I guess literally means Cannibalism (thanks for the translation, leofrida!)

The town itself is quite beautiful: lots of flowers and shrubs and bamboo. It's raining and probably early morning, so it's rather peaceful. It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?

 The outside of this house reminds me quite a bit of a temple or shrine, which is fitting when you go inside.

King K.K. is playing in this room, and it sounds really ominous with the testing tone from the TV.

This is Sawai. What she's saying seems to translate to something like "The cook is behind you. Who are you?" (when that popped up in the translator, bricks were shat I was rather surprised)
(I guess it can also translate as simply "Who is that behind you?", but both seem to work in context, so I'm keeping the old translation as well.)

On an interesting note: I'm not sure whether this was intended or not, but this character reminds me a lot of Kuchisake-onna

In the room to the left is a Japanese-styled funeral. That picture is a little creepy...

The symbol on those lanterns is a recurring one, and one of the many,many patterns made for this town. Unlike the other horror towns I've been to, you can actually get the patterns from Wendell! They're really well done.

This room seems to be a kind of shrine. You can't see it in the photo, but in front of the sword is a basket of persimmons and a broken pot- offerings of some kind. The walls are plastered with paper talismans... not a good sign.

The room to the right is another shrine. There aren't quite as many talismans in this room, but the song K.K. Folk gives it a sort of ritual/festival feel.

Upstairs is a collection of wardrobes turned into Buddhist altars for dead relatives. I have no idea what the sewing machine or spinning wheel are doing up here, but the framed certificates lined up on the wall are reminiscent of the framed photos lining the walls of the room where such altars are kept in old Japanese houses.

The third shrine. I kept expecting a hand to come out of the well...

This is a bit off-topic, but I saw Coco just over the horizon, and had a little heart attack. I love her to death, but in this context her face is just plain freaky.

Yes, that is blood on the path up there. The grates don't bode well either...

Now, this room is very weird. K.K. Waltz is playing and with that song, the colors, and the nurses outfit it reminds me of the more bizarre Japanese horror films, like the works of Takashi Miike or Sion Sono.

Apparently this place is a hospital. There's really not much to say about this room, though.

And here we have the laboratory. For some reason, Pondering is playing in the background. I've never really liked that particular K.K. song, but in this environment it really sets me on edge. And yes, that is a blood bag by the hamster cage (you can get the pattern, so I'm guessing she put it on a white cushion).  It's the details like this that really make this town come alive!

I'll be honest, I have no idea what this room is. Test subject storage?

I guess you can't have an Animal Crossing horror town without Hypno K.K. This room carries some of the imagery from Aika village, but is unique enough that I really didn't notice most of it at first. Seems like someone (a child, probably) was kept here until the end of their short life...

Again, I have no idea what's going on... but K.K. Lullaby is always pretty.

This guy (Zoru? I feel like I'm failing badly with my translation attempts) seems to be a doctor. His message is "I won't let you go."

This is Kozu. She's saying either "My back hurts" or "Does your back hurt?". I have no idea what this has to do with a cannibal town, though. Is it an idiom of some kind? Am I missing something? Let me know!

The next house seems to be a church of some kind. K.K. Chorale gives it that feeling, and they seem to be using a bird bath in place of a baptismal font.... odd, but kind of a cool detail.

To the left is the living quarters of whatever kind of clergy this place has. I was curious as to what wall and floor this room has, but the Prima guide doesn't list either. If someone knows what it's called, tell me!

The back room is the graveyard/mausoleum. The way that statue is placed beneath the stained glass window reminds me a bit of the first level of the game Sanitarium.

At first this room confused me a bit, but then my Catholic upbringing kicked in: it's a confessional!

And upstairs, we have.... I really don't know what. It looks like the dead bird's blood was used in that painting, but is it art? A ritual?

It's almost impossible to see in these photos, and I didn't notice it till my 2nd or 3rd visit, but that's blood on the broken vent. It looks rather like something broke out...

This guy is Edogein-- a play on Ed Gein is my guess. It's kind of awesome, but it strikes me as a little odd that a random Japanese person would know who Ed Gein is. I guess I might be underestimating his fame... and this guy's message is "Would you like some delicious meat dish?" Hell no! Um... I'll pass..... *backs away slowly*

The last house is a restaurant, and one to make any Animal Crossing player jealous. K.K. Bossa sets the mood.

Off to the side is a private dining area set up for fruit fondue.

In the back is an industrial kitchen all decked out. (I really want this kitchen!)

A bathroom is off to the right. Anyone have any idea what that picture is supposed to be?

Upstairs is the owner's apartment. The mess and K.K. Metal on the radio kind of gives you an idea of this guy's character.

 ... and this is where the other shoe drops. I have to admit, I literally felt a little nauseous when I first saw this. And I will never, EVER hear K.K. Parade the same way again.

Oh, and there's this. (and that happy image in the background is the town flag)

All in all, I think Hitokui is better than Aika. It's very atmospheric in a way photos just can't explain, so check it out for yourself!
Dream code: 2600-1856-4772

I'm finishing this at midnight, so please forgive any weirdness.

EDIT: HatboxGhost on Animal Crossing Community pointed out a few things that I missed, so took a few more screenshots.

It's very hard to see, but by the table here in the lab is a crime against humanity cushion that seems to be made out of flesh-- you can see three eyes and a mouth.

And it looks like the graveyard has its very own elderitch abomination!