Even when you know the mechanics behind it, presentation can mean a LOT. This Dragon Prince fanfic introduces vancian magic as this forbidden art. Despite recognizing a fireball spell when it's cast, the way the spell's nature is described and how the preparation/loss works actually manages to create a real sense of wonder about it for me.

The creepy skull that leers at you from the darkness may be "just a stupid spell," but the image painted of its glowing eyes being the first thing you see, and slowly resolving out of the darkness, can be a potent bit of imagery.

Now, I don't really know the spell very well, so maybe it doesn't have glowing eyes.

"Skulls everywhere!" gets old as a motif, if only because it's Metal Cover Decoration #3 and also adorns every demon and necromancer lair from Acheron to Pandemonium. But when any of those skulls could be that "stupid spell" spying on you, and when attention is called to them casually, it still creates the atmosphere.

The difference between a chilling encounter with a Wight and "just another Wight fight" isn't really in not knowing what it is, but in how it's executed. Wights are skilled at stealth. Play them up like a rogue with a penchant for the dramatic, and have them taunt from the darkness. Have them attack light sources, knowing that their own darkvision will help them but not a low-light vision or human-vision dependent party. Maybe they even go for the dwarf or gnome first, using ambush and hit-and-run tactics to eliminate those who are able to see in the dark as well.

THe wonder is in how it's used, and in how omnipresent the scene feels to the game. The easier it is to forget that they're in a mine shaft with earthen walls crumbling around them, barely held up by the rotting wooden timbers, the less wondrous the scene will feel. The more it feels like a game board where the scenery is just window dressing, and not a consistent reminder of the hazards or wonders it evokes, the more this "it's just a game" problem arises.

Atmosphere - which wonder is an element of - is all about maintaining awareness of the scene. But it's not about constant purple prose, either. It's about subtle reminders. Carefully-chosen adjectives and descriptions, one to five words of fluff for each action, perhaps. Quick, but flavorful.

It's a skill, and not even all professionally published authors are any good at it. There's a balance to strike between boringly long-winded description and constant subtle reminders of what the scene feels like to all your senses.