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The Thing on the Doorstep

165 statements
31 feature instances
9 referencing feature instances

The Thing on the Doorstep	type	TVTItem
The Thing on the Doorstep	label	The Thing on the Doorstep
The Thing on the Doorstep	page	TheThingOnTheDoorstep
The Thing on the Doorstep	comment	"The Thing on the Doorstep" is a story by H. P. Lovecraft, published in 1937. The story starts with our narrator, Daniel Upton, explaining to the police why he's just shot and killed his best friend, Edward Derby.Upton recounts his lifelong friendship with Derby, which took a turn for the sour when Derby married a creepy young Innsmouth woman named Asenath Waite. Asenath's father Ephraim dabbled in forbidden sorcery, and it looked like Asenath was following in her dad's footsteps, performing mysterious occult experiments that caused Derby to become more and more unhinged...
The Thing on the Doorstep	fetched	2023-10-14T10:30:58Z
The Thing on the Doorstep	parsed	2023-10-14T10:30:58Z
The Thing on the Doorstep	processingComment	Dropped link to TheNarrator: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
The Thing on the Doorstep	processingUnknown	TheNarrator
The Thing on the Doorstep	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_1dfbbf31	type	Heterosexual Life-Partners
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_1dfbbf31	comment	Heterosexual Life-Partners: Derby and Upton.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_1dfbbf31	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_1dfbbf31	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_1dfbbf31
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_27ab0123	type	Offing the Offspring
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_27ab0123	comment	Offing the Offspring: Ephraim killing Asenath in some manner. His thoughts on her, as read by Derby, are always spiteful — for not being a man and fully human, as he desired.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_27ab0123	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_27ab0123	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_27ab0123
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_2e7d6711	type	Enemy to All Living Things
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_2e7d6711	comment	Enemy to All Living Things: Asenath Waite. Specifically, dogs dislike her and act fearfully if they have to be near her.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_2e7d6711	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_2e7d6711	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_2e7d6711
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_34f1b472	type	Mad Artist
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_34f1b472	comment	Mad Artist: Derby achieved some renown as a great poet writing nightmarish verse, years before the events in the story unfolded.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_34f1b472	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_34f1b472	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_34f1b472
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_36754cc7	type	"Freaky Friday" Flip
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_36754cc7	comment	"Freaky Friday" Flip: Asenath's body surfing leaves his victim's soul in his old body.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_36754cc7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_36754cc7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_36754cc7
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_370aad9	type	Split Personality
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_370aad9	comment	Split Personality: Derby seems to exhibit this after marrying Asenath. It turns out be because Ephraim is swapping bodies with him.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_370aad9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_370aad9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_370aad9
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3bc88a7f	type	Foregone Conclusion
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3bc88a7f	comment	Foregone Conclusion: Derby dies.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3bc88a7f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3bc88a7f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3bc88a7f
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3ea7916d	type	Immortality Immorality
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3ea7916d	comment	Immortality Immorality: The only way to become immortal is to swap bodies with someone.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3ea7916d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3ea7916d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_3ea7916d
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_411a35bd	type	Body Surf
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_411a35bd	comment	Body Surf: Most of the story's present setting Ephraim already spends possessing Asenath's body. And then he uses her body as the staging point to jump to Derby's at will. Even Upton feels threatened by the end that maybe he'll be next.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_411a35bd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_411a35bd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_411a35bd
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_42215dce	type	Ambiguous Ending
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_42215dce	comment	Ambiguous Ending: Upton, whose will is much stronger than Derby's, is mentioned in a much later story (albeit not one by Lovecraft) to have been given a clean bill of mental health and released from the asylum. What is not revealed is whether he has successfully managed to resist becoming the next body for Ephraim.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_42215dce	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_42215dce	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_42215dce
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_504a1991	type	Body Horror
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_504a1991	comment	Body Horror: Derby's consciousness is permanently trapped in a rotting corpse. The real Asenath presumably suffered the same fate off-screen.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_504a1991	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_504a1991	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_504a1991
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_5f146203	type	Dissonant Serenity
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_5f146203	comment	Dissonant Serenity: The story starts off with Upton explaining, perfectly calmly and cordially, explaining how he put a bullet in his best friend's skull. In a shout-out to The Tell-Tale Heart, it doesn't last, and by the end he is shouting about how the body needs to be cremated and how his own will is not weak like Derby's, that he will not be sucked into that bullet-riddled corpse.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_5f146203	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_5f146203	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_5f146203
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_698d7dad	type	Lovecraft Country
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_698d7dad	comment	Lovecraft Country: Arkham, of course, and nearby Innsmouth, where the Waites hail from. Sometimes Ephraim-in-Asenath-in-Ed makes car trips up to as far as Maine, where he joins cult rituals there, and often his real personality wakes up abandoned up there, suddenly unable to drive himself back.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_698d7dad	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_698d7dad	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Thing on the Doorstep / int_6bda9a30	type	Meaningful Name
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_6bda9a30	comment	Meaningful Name: In The Bible Asenath was Joseph's wife, and Ephraim was one of their sons. This reversal of familial relationships hints at the reversal of bodies.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_6bda9a30	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_6bda9a30	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_6bda9a30
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_80251be3	type	How We Got Here
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_80251be3	comment	How We Got Here: The whole story is Upton explaining why he shot his friend. Recalls "The Statement of Randolph Carter".
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_80251be3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_80251be3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_80251be3
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_82a4fadc	type	Our Liches Are Different
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_82a4fadc	comment	Our Liches Are Different: Derby refers to Ephraim as a lich, using the somewhat archaic meaning to describe a corpse.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_82a4fadc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_82a4fadc	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_82a4fadc
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_88359b23	type	Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_88359b23	comment	Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Asenath and Edward, with the former the stronger and more assertive personality who dominates their marriage. Subverted, in that "she" is actually a male spirit possessing the body of a woman.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_88359b23	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_88359b23	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_88359b23
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_970c790a	type	Big Bad
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_970c790a	comment	Big Bad: Asenath. Until we find out "Asenath" has really been Ephraim the whole time.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_970c790a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_970c790a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_970c790a
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_97ee273	type	Momma's Boy
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_97ee273	comment	Momma's Boy: Derby's quite dependent on his parents, which makes him easy prey for Asenath.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_97ee273	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_97ee273	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_97ee273
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_9c1f758a	type	Kill It with Fire
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_9c1f758a	comment	Kill It with Fire: Derby suggests cremating his Ephraim-possessed corpse, since shooting Ephraim didn't do any good.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_9c1f758a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_9c1f758a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_9c1f758a
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a2cbad1	type	Half-Human Hybrid
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a2cbad1	comment	Half-Human Hybrid: Asenath is one of the Innsmouth fish-people, as evidenced by her bulgy eyes. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, she never gets the chance to undergo the Change: she's murdered twice-over while still young.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a2cbad1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a2cbad1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a2cbad1
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a8a04f6f	type	And I Must Scream
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a8a04f6f	comment	And I Must Scream: Derby ends his days mentally trapped inside Asenath's rotting corpse, which he'd beaten to death and buried in a cellar the last time he was in his own human body. At least he manages to claw his way out, but by then he's done for, not going to last for much longer inside a literally dead, Innsmouth fishwoman's body. The original Asenath, whose actual personality is never featured in-story, is implied to have died like this, trapped in her own father's actual, dying body while his consciousness jumped into hers, especially as it's reported that "Ephraim" died mysteriously raving in his bed.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a8a04f6f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a8a04f6f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_a8a04f6f
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_b9d334b2	type	Aerith and Bob
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_b9d334b2	comment	Aerith and Bob: Edward Derby and Asenath Waite. Asenath's odd name emphasizes her sinister, otherworldly nature. Though this would be more of a modern reinterpretation; a Biblical name wouldn't seem out of place at all among the East Coast Establishment in the 1930s. If anything, their names would be a class marker hinting that Asenath and her father Ephraim belong to a really old, established family going all the way back to the Puritans.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_b9d334b2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_b9d334b2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_b9d334b2
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_c6102eb0	type	Grand Theft Me
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_c6102eb0	comment	Grand Theft Me: Ephraim achieves this by switching bodies with Asenath and then with Derby.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_c6102eb0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_c6102eb0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_c6102eb0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_d397657d	type	Hoist by His Own Petard
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_d397657d	comment	Hoist by His Own Petard: Derby himself admitted both verbally and in his last letter he got involved in horrific black magic rituals, which were the Devil's business and too disgusting to describe. It took him 3 years to realize this led to A Fate Worse Than Death.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_d397657d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_d397657d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_d397657d
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_dd51740f	type	P.O.V. Sequel
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_dd51740f	comment	P.O.V. Sequel: Jonathan Thomas's ''Shed A Tear for Asenath" which retells the story from Derby's position, and reimagines the tale as a Xanatos Gambit by Derby to trap Ephram in his body and then claim Upton's for himself.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_dd51740f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_dd51740f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_dd51740f
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e5421161	type	Expy
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e5421161	comment	Expy: There are enough similarities between the Waite family and the Marsh family from The Shadow Over Innsmouth to argue that this story may have originally been intended as a prequel.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e5421161	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e5421161	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e83f211c	type	O.O.C. Is Serious Business
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e83f211c	comment	O.O.C. Is Serious Business: It's obviously a huge red flag when Derby starts acting confident and assertive, even driving himself out into the countryside, when normally he's a weak, soft, ineffectual Momma's Boy who doesn't even know how to drive. Naturally, it turns out Asenath—or, more strictly speaking, Ephraim in Asenath's body—has been possessing him.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e83f211c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e83f211c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_e83f211c
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_eb9afb9d	type	Evil Old Folks
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_eb9afb9d	comment	Evil Old Folks: Ephraim was already pretty aged when he "died", or actually, inserted his mind into his daughter's body, and forced her original mind into his dying body.
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_eb9afb9d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_eb9afb9d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	The Thing on the Doorstep / int_eb9afb9d
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_f1ac9897	type	Female Misogynist
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_f1ac9897	comment	Female Misogynist: Asenath seems to be one; she expresses anger over being born a woman since she believes that the male brain has "certain unique and far-reaching cosmic powers". As it turns out "she" is a man possessing a woman's body and expressing a particularly hateful form of Gender Bender Angst.
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The Thing on the Doorstep / int_name	type	ItemName
The Thing on the Doorstep / int_name	comment
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	American Literature (T to Z) / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Familial Body Snatcher / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Impersonation-Exclusive Character / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Inhuman Human / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Our Liches Are Different / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Short Story / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Two Scenes, One Dialogue / int_fa05f3c2
The Thing on the Doorstep	hasFeature	Undead Abomination / int_fa05f3c2

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