History Literature / WhoGoesThere

* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Thing has three of them, and a murderous DeathGlare. The characters are majorly creeped out long before it comes back to life.

''Who Goes There?'' is a {{science fiction}} novella written by Creator/JohnWCampbell. It was published under the pen name Don A. Stuart in 1938 in the magazine ''Magazine/AstoundingStories''. It directly inspired the 1951 movie ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'' and the 1982 Creator/JohnCarpenter movie ''[[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]]'', and indirectly influenced the next few decades of science fiction by inspiring other authors to rip it off. ''Series/TheXFiles'', for instance, adapted it ''twice''.

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Several of the men loose it, particularly Blair and Kinner. If they were still men at that point, that is.

''Who Goes There?'' is a {{science fiction}} novella written by Creator/JohnWCampbell. It was published under the pen name Don A. Stuart in 1938 in the magazine ''AstoundingStories''. It directly inspired the 1951 movie ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'' and the 1982 Creator/JohnCarpenter movie ''[[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]]'', and indirectly influenced the next few decades of science fiction by inspiring other authors to rip it off. ''Series/TheXFiles'', for instance, adapted it ''twice''.

You can read the novella [[http://nzr.mvnu.edu/faculty/trearick/english/rearick/readings/manuscri/Who%20Goes%20There/Who%20Goes%20There%20Index.htm here]].

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: The Thing plays on the expectations of the researchers by acting in ways that seem self-destructive, but actually further its goals in the long run.

* GenreSavvy: Aside from thawing The Thing out in the first place, everyone is extremely rational about the situation, possible consequences, and lines of action. DeathByPragmatism is '''completely''' averted.

* RedHeadedHero: [=MacReady=].

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Several of the men loose it, particularly Blair and Kinner. If there were still men at that point, that is.

* TheAssimilator: It's a little different (and less nightmarish) than the movie version created by John Carpenter. While the thing can absorb people and create multiple copies, the creature is less like a virus and more of [[BlobMonster highly morphological plasticity]]. While pieces of its body will act independently of the main body, they cannot infect and devour people from within. Instead this version of the thing seems to envelop and [[YouAreWhoYouEat digest organisms to copy them]] and grown more copies. Still horrific but less so than an enemy that can [[ParanoiaFuel attack you on a cellular level]].

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan

* RedHerring

* TheStoic

* AsYouKnow: Commander Garry begins the story with "you know the outline of the story..." to his base personnel before letting McReady tell the parts of the story the rest of the men don't know.

* TheSociopath: {{Invoked}}; one character is so freaked out by the alien that he insists it "spent its childhood torturing the local equivalent of kittens".

* AsYouKnow

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:[[spoiler: Benning is a mauve shirt throughout, but generally tags along with Barclay and [=MacReady=], but his final fate isn't revealed. It can be assumed he survived, as he was not mentioned by [=Macready=] when he lists a few things, and the odds were generally in his favor.]]

* TheSociopath: {{Invoked}}; one character is so freaked out by the alien that he insists it "spent it's childhood torturing the local equivalent of kittens".

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:[[spoiler: Benning is a mauve shirt throughout, but generally tags along with barclay and macready, but his final fate isn't revealed. It can be assumed he survived, as he was not mentioned by macready when he lists a few things, and the odds were generally in his favor.]]

* PanUpToTheSkyEnding: Combines with TheEndOrIsIt, as [[spoiler: The Blair-Thing is killed, but there is a possibility another Thing might have been in the body of an early albatross that the heroes saw flying north.]]

* ParanoiaFuel: Yeah, trapped in the middle of nowhere, stuck in an ice base by storms and cold, with a shapeshifting alien that can eat you and duplicate you while making multiple copies of itself. There's a good chance you won't be getting any sleep tonight while your clutching a weapon glaring at the door.

* [[TenLittleMurderVictims Thirty-Seven Little Murder Victims]]: The extreme cold outside forces the researchers into close proximity where they can all see each other easier, but the creature can also assimilate them easier.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:[[spoiler: Benning is a mauve shirt throughout, but generally tags along with barclay and macready, but his final fate isn't revealed. It can be assumed he survived, as he was not mentioned by macready when he lists a few things, and the odds were generally in his favor.]]

'''"Who Goes There?"''' is a {{science fiction}} novella written by Creator/JohnWCampbell. It was published under the pen name Don A. Stuart in 1938 in the magazine ''AstoundingStories''. It directly inspired the 1951 movie ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'' and the 1982 Creator/JohnCarpenter movie ''[[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]]'', and indirectly influenced the next few decades of science fiction by inspiring other authors to rip it off. ''Series/TheXFiles'', for instance, adapted it ''twice''.

* [[spoiler: LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard: Blair.]]

* TheAssimilator: It's a little different (and less nightmarish) than the movie version created by John Carpenter. While the thing can absorb people and create multiple copies, the creature is less like a virus and more of [[BlobMonster highly morphological plasticity]]. while pieces of its body will act independently of the main body, they cannot infect and devour people from within. Instead this version of the thing seems the envelope and [[YouAreWhoYouEat digest organisms to copy them]] and grown more copies. Still horrific but less so than an enemy that can [[ParanoiaFuel attack you on a cellular level]].

* PlantAlien: WordOfGod is the alien is closely related to carrots.

* TheAssimilator

* [[TenLittleMurderVictims Thirty-Five Little Murder Victims]]: The extreme cold outside forces the researchers into close proximity where they can all see each other easier, but the creature can also assimilate them easier.

'''"Who Goes There?"''' is a {{science fiction}} novella written by Creator/JohnWCampbell. It was published under the pen name Don A. Stuart in 1938 in the magazine ''AstoundingStories''. It directly inspired the 1951 movie ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'' and the 1982 JohnCarpenter movie ''[[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]]'', and indirectly influenced the next few decades of science fiction by inspiring other authors to rip it off. ''Series/TheXFiles'', for instance, adapted it ''twice''.

* IncendiaryExponent: The alien's spaceship is made of magnesium-alloy metal. It reacts...poorly... to the thermite-based attempts to defrost it.

* PhlebotinumDuJour: Since this was written before nuclear power, electricity and magnetism are the focus of all the high technology. The radios and planes are disabled by breaking their magnets, and the Thing is killed with a lightning gun.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting

* GetAholdOfYourselfMan

''Who Goes There?'' is a {{science fiction}} novella written by Creator/JohnWCampbell. It was published under the pen name Don A. Stuart in 1938 in the magazine ''AstoundingStories''. It directly inspired the 1951 movie ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'' and the 1982 JohnCarpenter movie ''Film/TheThing1982'', and indirectly influenced the next few decades of science fiction by inspiring other authors to rip it off. ''Series/TheXFiles'', for instance, adapted it ''twice''.

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Norris' nightmares. Turns out he's just picking up on The Thing's thoughts.