The Double, a manifestation of all we want to keep hidden from ourselves, is a perfect emblem of gothic horror, a genre defined by the tension which two opposing aesthetics, ideologies, or planes of existence creates. They encapsulate what really makes our skin crawl: that we’re actually the monster in this story. Whether your Double is threatening to take total control of your mind and body, attempting to strike out on its own, or takes the form of another person who mirrors the life you always wanted, what is clear is that the only danger it poses is in its ability to shine a light on the parts of us we wish could remain covered in cobwebs. The Double uproots us and doesn’t give us the luxury of the grave to bury our secrets in. I am constantly curious about how fiction that is not explicitly horror can still use this concept of mirroring to emphasise story and explore intriguing character dimensions. Plenty of novels that are not classified as horror novels have this trope in them, but the ways in which it is used is always alarming, unnerving, and purposefully disconcerting. Here are some examples. Trigger warnings: body horror, attempted rape, sexual assault, gun violence. Trigger warnings: rape Trigger warning: racist slurs Trigger warnings: body horror
