Medusa effect

The Medusa effect occurs when there is more than one patch in any middle texture of a two-sided linedef that is visible in the display window. Due to a game engine limitation, animation in vanilla Doom will slow to a crawl and make play nearly impossible until the offending wall is out of view.

The effect is named for Medusa, the creature in Greek mythology who had live snakes for hair and was so ugly that a single glance at her would turn the beholder to stone.