History Literature / JohnDiesAtTheEnd

* AnyoneCanDie: As a result of CloningBlues, almost every named character [[spoiler: (including John, though, ironically, at the beginning, not the end, and he comes back anyway)]] dies at one point in the novel, most of them onscreen.

* CloningBlues: [[spoiler: Dave discovers near the end of the book that ''he'' is the clone, rather than the dead Dave in his tool shed. He becomes depressed enough to contemplate suicide, but eventually gets over it with support from Amy and John (who jokingly refers to him as Monster Dave).]]

* KilledOffForReal: Interspersed with CloningBlues so that nearly every named character can die onscreen, often violently.

* EldritchAbomination: Korrok -- it certainly doesn't help his case that he is a towering monstrosity able to predict the future and talk telepathically.

* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler: Dave, in the ending, turns out to be the one who was dead - and he was killed halfway through the novel, to be replaced by a Korrok clone…whom people seem to think preferable to the original.]]

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Subverted. The inhabitants of Korrok's world are concerned their manner of dress will upset John and Dave, and so go naked except for hoods. Many of them are noted as being elderly. The whole effect just makes the experience stranger and more alien, especially [[HeroicBSOD when John sees what's under them]].

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:Korrok is a violent, tyrannical, evil, petty, narcissistic, sadistic, racist, homophobic, know-it-all organic supercomputer from another dimension, with the maturity of a 13-year-old playing an online game. It's a tower of flesh and nerves bigger than the Statue of Liberty, wants to rule the entire multiverse, and eats people wrapped in bacon.]]

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "Describe yourself to me, [[spoiler:Arnie]]. Physically. Tell me what you look like."

* AsciiArt: John is proficient with it. Also used in the story to depict the pi-symbol [[spoiler: Korrok uses to mark cloned humans and animals]]. There's a short segment in which there's a passage quoted by a tribe about Korrok - the reasoning is that it's supposed to be Korrok angrily projectile vomiting and pissing at the same time. (Turn the pi symbol on its side, so the curvy part is down.)

* BigBad: Korrok.

* ClusterFBomb: "Fuck that. Fuck that idea like the fucking Captain of the Thai Fuck Team fucking at the fucking Tour de Fuck."
* CityWithNoName: Dave always refers to his town as "Undisclosed." Interestingly, the city was originally called Rockville until the author learned that there was a real city with that name, and his book was leading people to vandalize it.

** We don't get to see all of the stuff that happens to them, but it apparently occurs enough that the main duo's attitude to this is "I hate it when they do that." [[spoiler:Especially when it happens to Dave and Arnie.]]

-->"Welcome to Undisclosed. Dreams Interpreted for Beer."

* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler: Subverted: John doesn't die at the end, just toward the beginning, but he gets better. Dave dies about halfway through the book, although we don't realize it until after the climactic showdown. Amy's clone dies at the end, though, and it saves John and Dave's home dimension from invasion, as her body was infected.]]
* FirstPersonSmartass: David Wong is a snarker to the Nth degree.

--> "A key. Good. Now, if I know what's going on here, and I think I do, we'll have to wander around looking for that door. Behind it we'll meet a series of monsters or, more likely, a whole bunch of the same one. We'll kill them, get another key, and then it'll open a really big door. [[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity Now right before that we'll probably get nicer guns.]] It may require us to backtrack some and it might get really tedious and annoying."

-->"Dude, I can't believe you ain't all paralyzed by the pure, naked horror of this place."\\
After a long, long pause John said, "Uh, thank you."

** Averted in the middle of the novel where John and Dave witness a little boy painfully melt, ''in graphic detail'', and be turned into a pig for slaughter. It is so shocking that [[CloudCuckoolander John]] lets out a "Mother. Fucker."

* NoNameGiven: There are a number of recurring characters who receive no name, though Dave usually gives them some sort of nickname. We do eventually learn the black detective's name, but Dave still refers to him as "Morgan Freeman." The large man in Shit Narnia is called "the large man" for a while, then "Largeman," and finally "Largey Largeman."

* OneParagraphChapter: Chapter 10 is: "Looking back, if I had gone in and seen what was in the toolshed, I would have put a bullet in my own skull one minute later."

* PetTheDog: John is usually a pretty silly MilesGloriosus, but on a few occasions he reveals himself to be a caring guy. Dave reveals that John always referred to Amy by name rather than Dave's cruel nickname "Cucumber" or "that girl without a hand." John also accepts [[spoiler:Monster Dave as his friend without any hesitation]].

* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler:The extradimensional conqueror Korrok is surprisingly juvenile. His representative Shitload has the personality of a 13-year-old who just discovered hip hop and cursing. Dave notes that the supernatural changes that follow him around seem to have an adolescent sense of humor. Korrok has the telepathic voice of a small child. Korrok's first words in person to Dave are, "Welcome. Your wiener is even smaller in person."]]

* PowderTrail: [[spoiler:John lights a giant self-wrapped cigarette that acts as a PowderTrail to the bomb that destroys part of the building in Shit Narnia.]]
* PragmaticAdaptation: The movie loses a lot of subtlety but still delivers a movie that feels like the book.

* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler:Dave was held down by a number of bullies who did something unspeakable to him, which he refuses to elaborate on. It drove him to brutal retribution]].

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: When the heroes plan even slightly ahead, things go wrong in as fast and messy a fashion as possible. Rolling with the punches and grasping on what little luck they get winds up saving the universe. Also the source of the most terrifying phrase John can say: "Dave, I have a plan."

Which can be translated as "One small lie saves an infinite amount of explanation." I use it all the time. I've used it on you already.
** There are also small parts where Dave wasn't present and John tells the story instead. These parts have a suspiciously high occurrence of backflips. John also resolves a chase scene by "stealing a nearby horse" in spite of driving a car before and after the scene. As David points out early on, "If you know John, you'll take the details for what they're worth. Please also remember that, where John claims to have "gotten up at three-thirty" to perform this investigation, it was far more likely he was still up and somewhat drunk from the night before."

A web serial-turned-published-book by author David Wong (actually Creator/JasonPargin, former head editor of Website/{{Cracked}}), written in autobiographical style, narrated by [[AuthorAvatar a character named David Wong]] about his and his best friend's adventures featuring the paranormal.

Dave and John are two college dropouts living in the middle of an "Undisclosed" town in Illinois. John is a deranged, irresponsible, carefree, slacker/rocker/drug enthusiast. Dave is an apathetic, bored, snarky withdrawn young man with a traumatic past and the tendency to get dragged along with whatever John happens to be doing. After a run-in with a living hallucinogenic drug at a party, the pair gain the ability to see ghosts, demons, and into other dimensions. HilarityEnsues. So does violence. And monsters. And weirdness. And swearing. And an ''unbelievable'' amount of dick jokes and ToiletHumor.

Once available for free at http://www.johndiesattheend.com, but now that it's being published, there's just a humorous promotional blog addressing the (supposed) rumors that the events of the story [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie really happened]].[[note]]It's also an Alternate Reality Game with clues hidden in the blog images and filenames.[[/note]]

Three sequels, titled ''[[Literature/ThisBookIsFullOfSpidersSeriouslyDudeDontTouchIt This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It]]'', ''[[Literature/WhatTheHellDidIJustReadANovelOfCosmicHorror What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror]]'' and ''[[Literature/IfThisBookExistsYoureInTheWrongUniverse If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe]]'' have been released as of 2022.

The [[Film/JohnDiesAtTheEnd film adaptation directed by Don Coscarelli]] was released on January 25th, 2013 and is also [[https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/john-dies-at-the-end/id586527823 available on iTunes]]. Its trailer can be watched [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19477_john-dies-at-end-teaser-trailer.html here]] on Website/{{Cracked}}.

** The film actually averts the paradox, as the reänimated corpse says "That’s the same axe that slayed me!", which (even ignoring the use of "slayed" instead of "slew"—as if the corpse of a Nazi skinhead ''wouldn't'' care deeply about grammatical norms!) is just plain wrong, as the skinhead had been slain by being shot to death, and is explicitly stated to have been dead on decapitation.

* TheseusShipParadox: Like the film, the book begins with exploring this question. David beheads a body, but the handle breaks on the last swing. He replaces it. He later chips the head on another [[WeirdnessMagnet supernatural creature]], and replaces it. When the guy he beheaded comes BackFromTheDead, the reanimated corpse points to the axe and says "that's the same axe that beheaded me," to which David asks the reader "is he right?" This is {{foreshadowing}} that [[spoiler:Dave at the end of the story isn't the same Dave that was there at the start]].

* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler: Dave, in the ending, turns out to be the one who was dead - and he was killed halfway through the novel, to be replaced by a Korrok clone.]]

* JumpedAtTheCall: John. Though, in the epilogue, even he thinks [[spoiler:the world on the other side of the gate on the basketball court]] is too lame to save. Don't worry, some kids do it for them.

* RefusalOfTheCall: Dave has no desire to be the Chosen One, and actively fight against attempts to nominate him as such. A notable early example is when Molly starts barking and, after acknowledging that she wants them to follow her, Dave promptly climbs in his car and drives the other way.

** Shitload

** There's also the first chapter, in which Dave describes [[AnAxeToGrind decapitating a neo-nazi cannibal with an axe, who comes back to life a year later for round two.]]

* CatScare: Not in the story, but for the ''reader''; while viewing the partially finished sequel (now available online again) on the website, [[UncannyValley highly disturbing]] faces pop onscreen unexpectedly at random intervals.

* UncannyVillage: [[spoiler:Shit Narnia, the world that Dave and John visit, appears to be peaceful at first. It's the home universe of Korrok.]]

Two sequels, titled ''[[Literature/ThisBookIsFullOfSpidersSeriouslyDudeDontTouchIt This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It]]'' and ''[[Literature/WhatTheHellDidIJustReadANovelOfCosmicHorror What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror]]'' have been released. The fourth book in the series, entitled ''If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe'', is scheduled to be released in 2022.

Two sequels, titled ''[[Literature/ThisBookIsFullOfSpidersSeriouslyDudeDontTouchIt This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It]]'' and ''[[Literature/WhatTheHellDidIJustReadANovelOfCosmicHorror What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror]]'' have been released. The fourth book in the series, entitled ''David Wong Dies In This One'', is scheduled to be released in 2022.

Two sequels, titled ''[[Literature/ThisBookIsFullOfSpidersSeriouslyDudeDontTouchIt This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It]]'' and ''[[Literature/WhatTheHellDidIJustReadANovelOfCosmicHorror What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror]]'' have been released. David Wong is also the author of ''[[Literature/FuturisticViolenceAndFancySuits Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits]]'', an unrelated science fiction novel that has a similar sense of humor.

* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: Dave works at a video rental store and needs to use his sick days carefully if he wants to save the world without ending up homeless. John also works, but never seems to hold the same job for long.

* ImprovisedWeapon: "[=TestaMints=]," little mints that have Bible verses on them to be given to unsuspecting demons, a [[Batterup baseball bat]] with a Bible and tape recorder strapped to the end, [[HomemadeFlamethrower a flamethrower made from a water spray gun]], and after taking the Soy Sauce John and Dave make a bomb from ordinary household objects by ''analyzing their molecular structures''.

* AbnormalAmmo: When John and Dave get somewhat famous due to the Sauce, people begin sending them bizarre things. One of them is a package of explosive bullets for David's pistol. Later, John uses the Soy Sauce's properties to convert a Super Soaker into a proper flamethrower. Finally, the heroes [[spoiler:blow up Korrok's universe with dog shit.]]

* ImprovisedWeapon: "[=TestaMints=]," little mints that have Bible verses on them to be given to unsuspecting demons, a baseball bat with a Bible and tape recorder strapped to the end, a flamethrower made from a water spray gun, and after taking the Soy Sauce John and Dave make a bomb from ordinary household objects by ''analyzing their molecular structures''.

** John makes a flamethrower out of a super-soaker and uses it while spouting fire-based puns.

* InfantImmortality: The dog version, with TeamPet Molly, who survives a miraculous amount of things. The ending strongly hints that [[spoiler:Molly is actually a disguised [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angel]], who takes on the form of Fred Durst to explain this (and a bunch of other stuff) to the narrator. Note when he says he's been "dogging" Dave around. Quotes included in the original text.]] [[{{Cliffhanger}} May or may not be the case]] in the sequel, where Molly's [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice]] is explicitly compared to Jesus and [[spoiler:how martyrs unite people]].

* CosmicHorrorStory: A bunch of geeks are desperately trying to fight off the invasion of [[spoiler:an organic supercomputer EldritchAbomination with the power to predict the future]]. What really pushes the plot into Cosmic Horror territory, though, is the fact that [[spoiler:although individual incarnations of Korrok can be destroyed, he has already either been built in or taken over most of the infinite parallel universes, making it all but impossible to truly stop him.]]

A web serial-turned-published-book by author David Wong (actually Jason Pargin, former head editor of Website/{{Cracked}}), written in autobiographical style, narrated by [[AuthorAvatar a character named David Wong]] about his and his best friend's adventures featuring the paranormal.

* NamesTheSame: Jennifer Lopez, in a BaitAndSwitch comment. Subverted with "Morgan Freeman", who Dave notes doesn't look, sound, or is even named anything like his namesake (his real last name is "Appleton"). Dave admits he has a habit of naming random people he comes across after famous celebrities, regardless of actual resemblance.

* AuthorAvatar: David Wong. In a book written by David Wong. Yeah.

* {{Adorkable}}: Amy.

Once available for free at http://www.johndiesattheend.com, but now that it's being published, there's just a humorous promotional blog addressing the (supposed) rumors that the events of the story [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie really happened]][[note]]It's also an Alternate Reality Game with clues hidden in the blog images and filenames.[[/note]]

* DemonicPossession: Which turns out to actually be [[spoiler:PuppeteerParasite using Korrok's OrganicTechnology]].

* TheseusShipParadox: Like the film, the book begins with exploring this question. David beheads a body, but the handle breaks on the last swing. He replaces it. He later chips the head on another [[WeirdnessMagnet supernatural creature]], and replaces it. When the guy he beheaded comes BackFromTheDead, the reanimated corpse points to the axe and says "that's the same axe that beheaded me," to which David asks the reader "is he right?"
** Arguably clever foreshadowing that [[spoiler:Dave at the end of the story isn't the same Dave that was there at the start]].
** Arguably Averted: a.) Dave ''shot'' the skinhead to death; the axe would have beheaded not the skinhead, but his corpse, b.) Even if you consider the corpse to have been the skinhead, the axe wouldn't have beheaded him, Dave would have.
** There is a hidden-in-plain-sight Theseus Ship, though: It is stated that the skinhead had "found a new head", adding the additional layer of whether or not the skinhead was still the same person.