Random fic lore drop here: the Mist
Canonically, the Mist just somewhat tricks your brain into seeing what you expect. People expect to see two eyes on a person instead of a one-eyed cyclops. So they see a person with two eyes, get it?
Now, I bring to you; the Mist works worst on children and the best on old people. (I have no idea if this was done before but I need to put this somewhere or it'll be lost forever)
Children are naive, gullible, yada yada. But most of the time, they know nothing. That's why we have kids that can imagine the weirdest things possible and genuinely believe it will be true. And because they no nothing, they will also expect nothing. So according to the cyclops analogy, young children do not look at a person and expect two eyes immediately. Because they are not yet ingrained with the logic of how the world works yet. Of physics and science and common sense. So unlike adults, there is no expected result. Hence, the Mist would not be able to formulate a false image properly.
Teenagers are probably the most easily influenced by the Mist. Unless it's a super Sherlock genius or a chunnibyo, then it's another story. But normal teenagers are already growing out of their child-like mindset. And this is where the expectations start coming in. Cyclops analogy would be, they start telling themselves that you should see two eyes, one eye isn't possible. And teenagers usually have a relatively large amount of trust in what they believe to be true. Hence, stubborn teenage phase. So unless it's a teenager who's surrounded by people who tell them to keep their child-like qualities, they would be very easily affected by the Mist.
Chunnis and Sherlock level geniuses are exceptions because one has a near insane level of imagination and that they probably are hoping to meet something weird, while the other would operate under the 'When the impossible has been eliminated, whatever remains, however unprobable, is the truth.' type of mindset.
Old people, grandpapas and grandmamas, are a hit or miss I'd say. On one hand, really old people have seen many things. And would probably hold the most expectations if we follow the logic that has been guiding this entire ramble. They've seen more things, they know what will happen, that can guess what will turn out. But also, experience makes a person more open. So, we can't say they won't be easily influenced but also not really.
It would all depend on how tightly they hold on to their belief of logic and how flexible they are in their thinking.
(There's also this thing about when you can feel death coming for you and you have accepted the world and stuff but I don't really get that so it will not be here.)
