John W. Campbell's classic novella of Golden Age science fiction and John Carpenter's modern horror masterpiece - both absorb new meanings in the age of Covid, identity politics and generative AI
Another great piece, Alec. I should make more of an effort to read more of your posts, but I'm swamped with Substack sludge! I'll remedy that.
Coincidentally, I rewatched The Thing recently with my adult daughter (who is more of a horror buff than I am), and it was heartening to see how well it stood up in her eyes - the special effects are still as creative and disturbing, if now slightly campy. We've lost some of that with CGI, as now there are no limits to force creativity.
Interesting that the original alien was based upon Campell's mother! Can't help but draw the curious parallel with Ridley Scott's Alien and the monstrous feminine, which becomes more of an explicit theme in Cameron's Aliens. Why is that, do you think? Because unknown life calls to mind the dark recesses of Nature?
Cheers, Gareth! I'm in exactly the same boat as you with regards to reading. There's absolutely NO WAY I'd be able to keep up if it weren't for the read-aloud function on the app. :P Anne Bilson (I think) did a brilliant BFI essay on The Thing in which she goes into great detail about how the Thing itself is the only female character in the movie. Alien (like Frankenstein) says a lot about the male horror of birth, I think (among other things). While the Thing itself is more about the (also male) fear of loss of autonomy and control. Now that's enough of me trying to sound clever for the day. Have a good one, Gareth, and thanks so much for reading!
You sound spot on! There seems an overlap between body horror and male loss of control/fear of the feminine/Nature. I have tried the read-aloud function, but it's a bit hit and miss - it might help if you could choose the voices and accents. The best posts are where the author reads their own (not hinting, but...). :)
Agree on that overlap, though I’d add there’s also a sense of male AWE. What dude doesn’t love gazing at an awesomely designed or awesomely gross monster? And yeah that read-aloud function isn’t perfect. Much prefer it when the writer narrates their own. Haha! I’m slowly getting around that myself… Made a start by reading an H.G. Wells ghost story called The Red Room. Hang on, I'll dig it out...
Ooh, I'll give that a listen! You have a fine reading voice! I'm tempted to have a go myself, but I don't know how I'd get around the home-production issues (unless I wallpaper my office in egg cartons).
Yes, there is awe there too, isn't there? We're ambivalent toward Nature.
Excellent, excellent newsletter edition, Alec! I was just thinking of re-watching The Thing recently. The background origins and history you shared are fascinating.
What an AMAZING post! I already had Campbell's novella on my reading list (as well as Carpenter's movie on my watch-again list). But after reading your assessment, I'm interested in reading and watching all the other stuff you talked about as well. I love how you thoughtfully showed all the connections. (And, perhaps oddly, your discussion of Campbell's flaws makes me even more intrigued to see for myself how all these pieces fit together.)
Did you know that the guy who manages the estate for Campbell is writing a new trilogy based on the original short story? His first one is already out, 'The Things From Another World'.
Wrote a short story and script myself based on the two modern movie versions for a sequel that ties them together.
I can see now why Campbell bought H.P. Lovecraft's "At The Mountains of Madness" to run in "Astounding". Not so much for the similar story and themes, but for the fact that they clearly shared attitudes about crafting fiction out of science (and, unfortunately, many unfavorable political beliefs). Had Lovecraft not died in 1937, Campbell might have aided him in developing fiction beyond the particular mythos he crafted in "Weird Tales".
Cheers, David. I think it was actually the previous editor who bought Mountains, back when it was still called 'Astounding Stories.' But, yeah, that would have been interesting to see how the two might have gelled...
Thank you for the viscerality. The prose; the illustrations. I’m going to keep an eye on you. But don’t worry- I mean that in an intellectual sense.
Haha! Stalk away, Stourley. Glad you liked the post. :)
Or do I?
🫣
Another great piece, Alec. I should make more of an effort to read more of your posts, but I'm swamped with Substack sludge! I'll remedy that.
Coincidentally, I rewatched The Thing recently with my adult daughter (who is more of a horror buff than I am), and it was heartening to see how well it stood up in her eyes - the special effects are still as creative and disturbing, if now slightly campy. We've lost some of that with CGI, as now there are no limits to force creativity.
Interesting that the original alien was based upon Campell's mother! Can't help but draw the curious parallel with Ridley Scott's Alien and the monstrous feminine, which becomes more of an explicit theme in Cameron's Aliens. Why is that, do you think? Because unknown life calls to mind the dark recesses of Nature?
Cheers, Gareth! I'm in exactly the same boat as you with regards to reading. There's absolutely NO WAY I'd be able to keep up if it weren't for the read-aloud function on the app. :P Anne Bilson (I think) did a brilliant BFI essay on The Thing in which she goes into great detail about how the Thing itself is the only female character in the movie. Alien (like Frankenstein) says a lot about the male horror of birth, I think (among other things). While the Thing itself is more about the (also male) fear of loss of autonomy and control. Now that's enough of me trying to sound clever for the day. Have a good one, Gareth, and thanks so much for reading!
You sound spot on! There seems an overlap between body horror and male loss of control/fear of the feminine/Nature. I have tried the read-aloud function, but it's a bit hit and miss - it might help if you could choose the voices and accents. The best posts are where the author reads their own (not hinting, but...). :)
Agree on that overlap, though I’d add there’s also a sense of male AWE. What dude doesn’t love gazing at an awesomely designed or awesomely gross monster? And yeah that read-aloud function isn’t perfect. Much prefer it when the writer narrates their own. Haha! I’m slowly getting around that myself… Made a start by reading an H.G. Wells ghost story called The Red Room. Hang on, I'll dig it out...
https://open.substack.com/pub/alecworley/p/audio-of-weird-the-red-room-hg-wells?r=1l6e8a&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Ooh, I'll give that a listen! You have a fine reading voice! I'm tempted to have a go myself, but I don't know how I'd get around the home-production issues (unless I wallpaper my office in egg cartons).
Yes, there is awe there too, isn't there? We're ambivalent toward Nature.
Oh, and coincidentally, I just came across this by Michael Moorcock, which covers some of the same ground and reinforces what you say about Campbell.
https://libcom.org/article/starship-stormtroopers-michael-moorcock
Excellent, excellent newsletter edition, Alec! I was just thinking of re-watching The Thing recently. The background origins and history you shared are fascinating.
Cheers, J.Q.!
Alec..... I'm speechless, but feel compelled to comment on your wonderfully worded piece. I'll hunt down your other works like a penniless merc.
Thanks so much, Dan. : )
How long did it take u to write this - it’s awesome
Haha! A little while. Thanks, Andrew.
What an AMAZING post! I already had Campbell's novella on my reading list (as well as Carpenter's movie on my watch-again list). But after reading your assessment, I'm interested in reading and watching all the other stuff you talked about as well. I love how you thoughtfully showed all the connections. (And, perhaps oddly, your discussion of Campbell's flaws makes me even more intrigued to see for myself how all these pieces fit together.)
Thanks so much, Chris! Hope the post wasn't too spoiler-y. Happy reading!
Did you know that the guy who manages the estate for Campbell is writing a new trilogy based on the original short story? His first one is already out, 'The Things From Another World'.
Wrote a short story and script myself based on the two modern movie versions for a sequel that ties them together.
Is that in the 'Short Things' collection, the really popular Kickstarter one?
That Kickstarter was the start of it, yes.
That involved published SF authors to write about The Thing.
John had a separate one for his own ideas;
(https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wildsidepress/the-things-from-another-world)
And congrats on getting your own project in there!
Oh no, misunderstanding, my fault. I wrote a little story from years ago, and the script I wrote back during the pandemic.
You can read it on my substack, it's called "Chess". Nothing to do with the Kickstarter.
Ah! No worries, Theo. :D
Looks terrific. Love the Bob Eggleton cover!
I can see now why Campbell bought H.P. Lovecraft's "At The Mountains of Madness" to run in "Astounding". Not so much for the similar story and themes, but for the fact that they clearly shared attitudes about crafting fiction out of science (and, unfortunately, many unfavorable political beliefs). Had Lovecraft not died in 1937, Campbell might have aided him in developing fiction beyond the particular mythos he crafted in "Weird Tales".
Cheers, David. I think it was actually the previous editor who bought Mountains, back when it was still called 'Astounding Stories.' But, yeah, that would have been interesting to see how the two might have gelled...
Campbell at least might have known Lovecraft had also set a story among scientists in Antarctica before he began work on "Who Goes...".
DUDE! Best piece on every layer of this pivotal path through THINGstory ever! THANKS!!!
Thanks so much, John! :D
Blimey, this is mammoth!
Or ‘mammuff’ as we say in Lahndun.
You're 'avvin' a larffff.
Incredible article! Well done.
Thanks, Maura. X
A tour de force Alec, absolutely loved every line of this