If I were in Emma’s position I would be very suspicious of all of these seemingly unconnected people telling me the same crazy story. I think she’s assuming that all of these people are insane but is having trouble rationalizing how it is that every insane person in this town is imagining the exact same fictional world.
I LOVE her reaction in this episode when August is trying to get her to believe. It’s like they both know that she could believe, and she’s made the decision not to because she’s terrified that anyone might rely on her.