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In 1934, John W.
Campbell published
one of the most
chilling and influential
science fiction
stories ever written:
the novella, Who
Goes There?
A remote scientific
research expedition
at the North Pole
is invaded by a
monstrous alien:
a cunning shape-changer
who assumes the
forms of those it
destroys. Soon it
is among the expedition,
killing and replacing
them one by one.
Who Goes There?
had an autobiographical
impetus: Campbell´s
mother and aunt
were identical twins
who enjoyed the
"game"
of substituting
for one another
in his care as a
young child, confusing
him again and again
with false identity.
It was his susceptibility
to masquerade and
his terror at the
game which funneled
into this greatest
of his works.
In 1951, the first
film version of
the story was made,
and although classic
in its own way,
it's a very loose
adaptation with
none of the shape-shifting
elements of the
original idea.
It was John Carpenter
who captured the
gripping horror
of the tale in his
1982 version.
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