I would open the door as I’m not average human height.

That’s okay—although it is not your hole and it was not made for you, assume for the purposes of the question that it’s of a size and shape roughly comparable to your own, and that this is not notable to the point of being unsettling.

Further clarification:

It is not a sinister hole. There is nothing weird about it, other than being kind of quirky. It is located in a place that is mundane but where “fun” interior design choices are to be expected, like a dentist’s office or a zoo or an art museum.

The question is not whether or not you could fit through the hole, but whether or not you would try for the novelty of it. If you are very tall or fat or use a mobility device, the hole appears to be roughly the right size to accommodate you; it might take more effort than opening the door, but not so much that you would worry about getting stuck or tripping. It’s just a human-shaped hole that would probably fit you if you tried, just not in a supernatural or unsettling or suspicious way.

Ship the more you add to this post the more it sounds like fae propaganda.

It is definitely a normal human-shaped hole in a normal door and there is nothing about it to be afraid of.

Na-ah. Nope. I've read enigma of amigara fault. You're not gonna trick me 🔪

It’s NOT your hole and it was NOT made for you. It doesn’t lead anywhere except into the room immediately in front of you. The door is a normal thickness for doors, so like, an inch probably. The hole is not interesting or compelling in any way except that it’s made to look like somebody smashed through it like in a cartoon.

it looks like the answer to your question is that ANY human shaped hole in a door causes a lot of people intrinsic unease and they definitely would not go through it. Doorways are by definition liminal spaces and thus this distrust is likely to crop up in various places and times and cultures, but particularly in anyone who's familiar traditional Irish and British folklore.

The distrust is probably made worse for those not average human sized/requiring a mobility aid but yet the hole could accommodate, because that's going to feel more personalized no matter how many times you insist the hole is not made for them particularly. Those of us who aren't average are too used to to things not accommodating us to trust random holes that do.

however, a library I frequently has two arched entrances to it's kids' room, both through a brief "tunnel" and one is tall enough for most adults and the other is clearly meant for children and I absolutely always hunch and go through the kid one, so if you could convince me that a random person shaped hole in a door was safe, which you cannot, available evidence suggests I would probably try to fit through it.

no the distrust comes from people playing too much D&D and reading too much manga

in the real world people are not inherently suspicious about the mystical powers of whimsical zoo doorways

The distrust comes from the observer effect + glumshoe's reputation

THIS IS THE ONE TIME I’M NOT TRYING TO LURE ANYONE INTO A TRAP

I was Going to go through the hole, but then you kept talking and it immediately became safer to not do that lmao

Me, grabbing my cat and running for the door: My, my, what a perfectly ordinary door *wink* *wink* no one could possibly get kidnapped by fae by stepping through that. Just a regular door I see.

Speaking as a non-average sized person who was raised with lots of folklore and fairytales and an Irish folksinger father, I am well aware that this perfectly reasonable hole is definitely fae propaganda, and I am FUCKING GOING THROUGH IT. If I am lucky, this liminal space will finally bring me home.

I was also the child who walked between the bars of the speed limit sign near my house, hoping to be transported to fairyland.

Oh yeah

Yeah this post immediately reminded me of alertly walking under a lot of signs on purpose as a kid