The Creepiest Horror Story Trope: Are You Real?

Dear Stella,

Over the weekend I watched "I'm Not a Robot," a prize-winning short film up for an Oscar. An office worker at her computer keeps failing those annoying CAPTCHA tests and is accused of being a bot. Horror ensues.

I think one of the scariest of horror-story tropes is realizing that an intimate—a child, a lover, or in this case you yourself—is not who they're supposed to be. Think "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (humans replaced by pod people) or "The Omen" (child replaced by Satan's spawn).

Along these lines, I also watched Jordan Peele's "Us" (2019). At first it seemed like a run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse, but it has an AI angle and raises chilling questions about who is authentically human.

The replacement of our dearest humans with counterfeits, with soul-less abominations, touches something primal in us. Our sanity depends on the coherent stories we tell about ourselves. Don't you think that's true? If a child, a lover, a parent turns out to be something alien, our narrative collapses. The betrayal is joined with humiliation—how did I not see this?

I finally read "The Sandman" by E.T.A. Hoffmann, written in 1817. The paranoid protagonist Nathanael is irritated by his girlfriend Clara's sharp-witted rationality. He falls in love with his mentor's daughter Olimpia. She is docile and slavishly devoted to him. And she turns out to be a clever automaton—a sex toy. Horror ensues.

What's interesting is that, in the 17th century, the construction of humanoid automata (self-moving machines) was the offspring of clockmakers. Through the wondrous assembly of gears and precisely shaped cams, the best of the automata could write and play the flute.

Science fiction writers called them "bodies without souls."

And "clockwork" became the prevailing metaphor for human physiology as scientists predicted being able to replace body parts with mechanics. Seems like the same tech optimism we have about AI.

Anyway, if you have a chance, watch "The Creepy Clockwork Robots of the 17th Century" on YouTube's Real History channel. Fascinating.

That's all for now. It's 23° outside with a powerful wind whipping up the lake. More snow due to begin any minute. A great morning for giving myself a chill thinking about counterfeit loved ones. (I hope you are real, my Stella.)

Write soon, xoxo Susan
18 Feb 2025

P.S. Another missive on this subject posted 31 May 2023: "Is Your Secret Sharer a Human Being?"

---

Books from Mad in Pursuit and Susan Barrett Price: KITTY'S PEOPLE: the Irish Family Saga about the Rise of a Generous Woman (2022)| HEADLONG: Over the Edge in Pakistan and China (2018) | THE SUDDEN SILENCE: A Tale of Suspense and Found Treasure (2015) | TRIBE OF THE BREAKAWAY BEADS: Book of Exits and Fresh Starts (2011) | PASSION AND PERIL ON THE SILK ROAD: A Thriller in Pakistan and China (2008). Available at Amazon.