The Uncanny Valley in Literature

On gap between Us and Them

Happy Halloween, writers! Today, we're thinking the word uncanny, which has roots in the Scots language, where “can” means “know.” The 16th century borrowing into English rendered a word used to describe something unknown, even unknowable, all wrapped up in the connotation that this lack of knowledge is somehow destabilizing.

The Uncanny Valley effect is a notion first hypothesized by Japanese robotics researcher Masahiro Mori to describe the relationship between an object’s resemblance to a human being and our emotional response to it. In short, an almost-human figure will make a viewer feel far more uncomfortable than one that is clearly artificial. And while the phrase was coined as it pertains to robotics, the idea that there’s something creepy about an object that isn't quite human far predates the age of Photoshop and AI.

In their doctoral dissertation “Time is Everything with Him”: The Concept of the Eternal Now in Nineteenth-Century Gothic, Christos Angelis explored the ways in which this theory could apply to earlier notions of eeriness: in science fiction or gothic literature. They posit that the sense of uneasiness upon discovering an Other that is nearly – but not quite – like oneself could be linked to existential fears of death, of losing control of one’s body, or even that we are secretly soulless machines. Ultimately, whatever the reason for the fear, the fact remains: The more uncannily an Other resembles us, the more frightening it becomes. Or, to put it even more simply: The monster we fear most is often the one that looks the most like ourselves.

Writing Prompt

How uncanny does a likeness need to be before it arouses suspicion? How long can a character cling to sanity and logic when confronted with a sliver of doubt that not everything is at it appears?

Imagine the moment a character begins to doubt that what they're looking at is not what it appears to be, that perhaps the person they are watching – or even speaking to – isn't quite human. From this moment onwards, the character is looking for clues – actively or passively – to confirm their suspicion.

Write a scene that shows the onset of this moment of doubt… and follow it through. What does the character observe, focus on, linger on as they continue to observe their uncanny interlocutor? Which tics or habits seem to confirm or deny the humanity of the other? Is the suspicion confirmed or negated?

As you write, consider the following:

• How does suspicion change the way that the narrator observes the other?

• How does this suspicion change the way the narrator feels about themself/their own sanity?

Things We're Reading & Opportunities

• You've got one more day to submit short stories, poems, and essays on the theme “Dreams” to Version Originale, a bilingual literary review based in Paris.

• Writing routines are extremely personal, but if you're looking to build your own, why not take some tips from the best? Six writers shared their routines with LitHub.