I just finished re-playing SH2 for the first time in a couple years, and when I came across and played through the Labyrinth, for some reason I was more weirded out than any other part in the game.

And I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's just plain old hallways. The bottom level doesn't scare me at all, as that looks like the walls are made out of old cheese. It's the top floor, and it's damned plain old hallways.

The best I can come up with is that everything leading up to the Labyrinth is standard old twisted and creepy, that when you get to a positively dull spot, the positively dull becomes unique and unsettling. Confused? I am, and I wrote it.

So does anyone else feel the same way; is anyone else find the Labyrinth strangely unsettling, or am I the odd man out on this one?

Well, partly because the Labyrinth's architecture is impossible in the real world, but that's just me.

i totally agree, if the labyrinth you're referring to is the one where you fight the abstract daddy. something about the plainness combined with what aura said, maybe? the interior decorating of the place creeps me out more than anywhere else in the SH games. it reminds me of being in a boxed maze made out of cardboard or something.

plus, james has to draw the map himself, further proving that the place doesn't really make sense.

The creepiness when I played was the fact that you just keep going down and down, into a deeper and darker hell of plainess. I had the sinking feeling that something horrible was at the bottom, then was shocked to see that I had only traversed about 2 stories from the entrance of the Historical Society.

I think that sounds about right. I mean, you have a downward tunnel, then a grotty old dungeon, then a rusted and abandoned prison, then a horrible morgue, and then you wind up in an elevator that keeps going down, until you're sure you're headed into either hell or the earth's mantle, and think that the walls of the elevator should be starting to glow red at any moment. And then, where do you end up? In a place that looks like a 1950's era high school, all it needs is rows of lockers and maybe a couple of drinking fountains.

It always rattled my nerves everytime I went to that section so bad that I had to call it quits to calm me down before continuing and I had played through it 10+ times!
I think what creeps me out is I'm afraid subconsiuosly that I'll get lost and never find my way out. It doesn't help when pyramid head is roaming around one of the underfround tunnels
and it is almost claustiphobic

I get so nervous in the lower part with the water floor and dirt walls. I played once and PH was down there. So the fact that you can't see around corners and you can hear the Lying figures sloshing around, combined with the darkness scares the hell outta me. I'm always just praying for that part to be over.

I hear ya on how creepy the 'plain' maze is. I have a lot of bad memories of houses that are just 'plain,' so I get a little scared then, too.

Ugh...I know. The top and bottom both scare the shit out of me. One time me and a buddy were playing SH2 and I was on the bottom part, and I turned the corner and PH was standing right in front of me. I didn't realize, in fact I stood in front of him for about 3 seconds and I even yelled "MOVE!" then I realized it was him! I nearly shit a brick as I turned and ran, not even caring if I was going the right way. I barely missed his attack, too. Scariest fucking moment ever.

QFT

I agree. It's how out of place everything seems that makes it frightening.

I never really thought about it, but yeah, it does freak me out. I mean, you spend hours running through foggy streets, creepy hospitals, and almost everywhere you go is decayed looking and damaged in some way. So you encounter things that could never happen in the real world.
Then, you end up in a place that feels locked in time. It is so plain, and it is a place that looks like maybe it could happen somewhere in reality, and yet you know you are no longer anywhere near reality. Creepy.

The Labyrinth does give me an odd feeling. While the whole of SH2 creeped me out, the feelings I get from the Labyrinth are a bit different.

Like the OP said, the atmosphere leading up to the Labyrinth is "standard old twisted and creepy." I can't speak for everyone, but the first feeling I have when entering the Labyrinth is one of relative comfort, of relief. I'm relieved that everything doesn't look "twisted and creepy" here, but rather easy on the eyes, or normal. Still, I know something isn't right about the place.

It almost feels like the game is enticing me to let my guard down, but I have a feeling something bad will happen if I do that.

well the fact that you go down oles and ladders and elevators to end up not as far as you thought really creeps me out and the hanging men with the puzzle also send a few shivers up my spine.

Right... much of the Labyrinth's scare factor is what leads up to it. Especially that morgue, which I think is the most horrible location in the entire game. The way those corpses are just so indifferently stuffed into holes and left to rot... urghhh.

If the game began in the labyrinth, it wouldn't be nearly as scary.

ll when james says" did one just move" so u like scream check it again and hes like "its just a body" or something like that then u jump down a bloody hole

I agree, I think it is because you cannot see what is around the corner.

lol i played it last night and i like just ran so fast even dwain chambers would not be able to keep up. Dwain chambers drugs, james drug is fear lol. That part ive nearly finished and i HATE it but love it to lol

I feel the same way about the prison, I have a feeling of dread the whole time I am in the place.

I keep expecting the dead hanged men to bite me or something...
And that DAMN hand drawn map! When you think about the person drawing it...yeah. It feels too quiet down there, makes me feel like I'm waiting for the boogeyman to jump out or something.
That and the music is screwed up too.

the Labyrinth level is a mixed bag to me personally, the part you mentioned is indeed creepy, but I find the part where you're running around the sewer like part annoying