What the hell is the Thing That Came in the Night?

[King of Vaes Tolorro]

Well according to Lovecraft, it is either Nyrlanthotep, or an unnameable evil, or both.

[RoamingRonin]

It's a story about the Others:

The Thing came in the night = the Others come in the Long Night

The Thing varies in appearance = each country has their own variant of the Others (meaning: when the Others appeared near the Five Forts, they did not look like the Others that appear in Westeros).

The Thing uses the dead as thralls = the Others raise wights.

Well according to Lovecraft, it is either Nyrlanthotep, or an unnameable evil, or both.

:agree:

While I don't think GRRM borrowed that much, it's important to know Lovecraft's works are public domain. Anyone could make a Cthuluh movie and not get sued. GRRM has made tons of references to the Lovecraft mythos. The Great Other and this story about the thing that came in the night are definitely Lovecraftian in nature.

[Mithras]

The bodies of the apprentice boys must have been burned/buried and they were seen 100 years after they died, moving like the wights. I don't think they had physical forms. They must be ghosts bound to that thing and those chains might be metaphorical.

But the thing that came in the night must be physical. I think it might be something similar to Yog-Sothoth.

Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.

This looks interesting considering the Black Gate of Nightfort (another thing).

Old Ones come in TWOIAF as dwelling in underground cities and those who explore their places are reported to go mad or never come back. And the Old Ones occasionally demand sacrifice, by commanding the killing of all the strangers. This happened four times in the known history. Four apprentice boys?

Perhaps the thing that came in the night is the Black Gate, which only opens for sworn brothers, and if the apprentice boys had not sworn their vows by that time, they might be counted as strangers. The apprentice boys could not give a clear description of the thing and we know that there is some sort of illusion spell about that well leading to the Black Gate.

[Mikkel]

In a nutshell.. it's something that sounds scary. The unknown is often a lot scarier than the known (even if the known is terrible), so a vague "thing that came in the night" can embody whatever horror you can think of.

I agree with RoamingRonin that the basis of the Thing in Old Nan's tales is most likely half-remembered legends about the Others, re-told a thousand times. It's certainly not any kind of specific being known as "The Thing" - and yes it does have a bit of a Lovecraftian feel to it.

[Ser Joe the Unknighted]

It's name is pretty on the nose, it's a thing, that came in the night.

[Syphon the Sanitator]

Guys, guys, guys. You're all wrong. Obviously the answer is Trogdor.

Trogdor was a man. I mean he was a dragonman. Uh. Maybe he was just a dragon.

But he was still TROGDOR! TROGDOR!

Burninating the countryside! Burninating the peasants!

Burninating all the peoples and their thatched roof cottages! THATCHED ROOF COTTAGES!

When all the land is in ruin and burnination has forsaken the countryside,

only one guy will prevail. My money's on TROGDOR!

And then Trogdor comes in the night!

[Ser Greg of House House]

It's a story about the Others:

The Thing came in the night = the Others come in the Long Night

The Thing varies in appearance = each country has their own variant of the Others (meaning: when the Others appeared near the Five Forts, they did not look like the Others that appear in Westeros).

The Thing uses the dead as thralls = the Others raise wights.

It seems pretty obvious. I'd be surprised if it was anything else.

Though it looks very specific, so maybe it's a "part for the whole" thing or it was one (or two) appearances by Others.

[Mithras]

It's a story about the Others:

The Thing came in the night = the Others come in the Long Night

The Thing varies in appearance = each country has their own variant of the Others (meaning: when the Others appeared near the Five Forts, they did not look like the Others that appear in Westeros).

The Thing uses the dead as thralls = the Others raise wights.

The whole thing happened South of the Wall, inside Nightfort. So, this is a big letdown for Others/wights theory. And as I mentioned above, the boys were seen 100 years after they died.

Night-walker is used to describe ghosts. In Theon’s dream, Robb’s ghost came walking out of the night. Later, Theon described the Hooded Man as a night-walker, which means that man is a person Theon assumes to be dead. Theon was seeing ghosts that were not really ghosts in that chapter.

Therefore, the boys must be definitely ghosts.

[Syphon the Sanitator]

Do you suppose that ghosts are stronger now that magic is back?

[Evolett]

Very interesting OP. I've gone back to read some of the passages surrounding the qoutes and have the feeling that 'the thing' may represent an oath or be the enforcer of an oath.

As Mithras points out above, the Black Gate only opens for sworn brothers and the apprentice boys (probably) had not said their vows.

Catelyn requires Brienne to prove her faith but she will not accept words. Refusal means death. In fact, Brienne had already sworn an oath to Catelyn, one which she has not been able to keep.

The thing that had been Catelyn Stark took hold of her throat again, fingers pinching at the ghastly long slash in her neck, and choked out more sounds. “Words are wind, she says,” the northman told Brienne. “She says that you must prove your faith.”

“How?” asked Brienne.

“With your sword. Oathkeeper, you call it? Then keep your oath to her, milady says.”

In Thistles case, Varamyr attempts to break a taboo (we learn that skinchanging into humans is an abomination beforehand). He is aware of the taboo and does not succeed but wargs into his wolf upon death.

At the Nightfort Bran successfully skinchanges into Hodor. He breaks a taboo and is successful. He also has not sworn any oath we know of and is probably not aware of the taboo. Afterwards, Sam is caught in Meera's net. Bran envisioning of Sam and his journey through the well is really scary - he imagines Sam as 'the thing in the night' and they end up 'catching' this thing in the night.

Next we have Tyrion who miraculously escapes, survives his near drowning in the Rhoyne and does not appear to have contracted greyscale. Did he swear an oath in exchange for his health and life to some entity? The Shrouded Lord? There is also a difference in wording here - Catelyn and Thistle are 'the thing that was', while Tyrion is 'the thing that he'd become'. He thinks of himself as a vengeful ghost, much like the original thing- perhaps he is now the 'thing' that enforces a mysterious oath?

Then we have the story of the Old Ones and the periodic slaying of strangers.

Given the above, perhaps we can infer that strangers (who are not bound to an oath and do not even know it exists), are a threat to the higher entity enforcing the oath.

Don't quite know what to make of this, but there's something there.

ETA: a thought on the weirwood door / black gate - the above places the weirwood door in the role of a watcher and gatekeeper. The door will only allow sworn brothers of the NW to pass, but it is also a kind of wild card because it also allows strangers (those who have not sworn an oath) to pass, as long as they are in the company of a brother of the NW.

[NOT A TARG I SWEAR]

it makes me think it's the same figure though, in some of the stories. it sounds like a recruiter to me. Maybe it's an Other. Maybe it's an Other who was once a brother. who has taken the oath. Maybe it's a Wildling, taking a male, to sacrifice to the Others to fulfill the agreement.

Whatever you want to believe, it translates into: Something appeared, took 3 males, and the next time they were seen they were with the thing as undead servants. It makes sense if you think about it.

The big debate is, time was taken to name King Sherritt, and an apparent curse that he exclaimed.

a brother from another other?

[Mithras]

That was only a story, though. He was just scaring himself. There was no thing that comes in the night, Maester Luwin had said so. If there had ever been such a thing, it was gone from the world now, like giants and dragons. It’s nothing, Bran thought.

Giants and dragons. Really?

[Mithras]

People used to make blood sacrifices to the weirwoods until recently in White Harbor. Umbers or the Skagosi might still be doing that. Weirwood magic seems to require blood sacrifice. Perhaps the magic at the Black Gate requires periodical blood sacrifices to work. After all, Bran tasted salty and warm water at the Black Gate while passing. This looks so much like blood. We know that periodical spells exist in ASOIAF. Valyrian mages did periodical rituals to keep the lava flow from the Fourteen Flames tamed. When they failed, Doom happened.

So, perhaps the Black Gate came out to claim the blood sacrifice in order to work. Or perhaps the apprentice boys were sacrificed by the Lord Commander of Nightfort.

The Black Gate seems like a Dimension Door. While passing, people leave the physical plane and goes into another plane of existence where Things might be ruling. That makes me wonder. If the blood sacrifices are not renewed, what kind of a Doom might happen at Nightfort? What kind of Things might burst out from that Black Gate?

[Beautiful Balon]

If it looked different to each boy, could it be glamored?

[Nugget1229]

Guys, guys, guys. You're all wrong. Obviously the answer is Trogdor.

THE BURNINATOR!!!!

[GHOSTSTARK]

Tormund's member

HAR!

[thisistherevolt]

Guys, guys, guys. You're all wrong. Obviously the answer is Trogdor.

Long live Strongbad, Lord of the Consummate S.

[Blow My Horn]

Necromancer's thrall!!!

[Evolett]

People used to make blood sacrifices to the weirwoods until recently in White Harbor. Umbers or the Skagosi might still be doing that. Weirwood magic seems to require blood sacrifice. Perhaps the magic at the Black Gate requires periodical blood sacrifices to work. After all, Bran tasted salty and warm water at the Black Gate while passing. This looks so much like blood. We know that periodical spells exist in ASOIAF. Valyrian mages did periodical rituals to keep the lava flow from the Fourteen Flames tamed. When they failed, Doom happened.

So, perhaps the Black Gate came out to claim the blood sacrifice in order to work. Or perhaps the apprentice boys were sacrificed by the Lord Commander of Nightfort.

The Black Gate seems like a Dimension Door. While passing, people leave the physical plane and goes into another plane of existence where Things might be ruling. That makes me wonder. If the blood sacrifices are not renewed, what kind of a Doom might happen at Nightfort? What kind of Things might burst out from that Black Gate?

I disagree. The description is clear. In other references, it is the tears of sap that have the appearance of blood, but here we have water dropping and we can't even be sure if it is a tear. Since Hodor brushes the lip, it may have even come out of the weirwood's open mouth.

Summer followed, sniffing as he went, and then it was Bran’s turn. Hodor ducked, but not low enough. The door’s upper lip brushed softly against the top of Bran’s head, and a drop of water fell on him and ran slowly down his nose. It was strangely warm, and salty as a tear.

A drop of water falls, runs down Bran's nose and into his mouth. He can taste it.

To me this ties in not only with the observations I make in my previous post, but adds another layer to it:

There is significant water imagery surrounding Sam, who represents the ‘thing in the night’ in the story. He ascends through a well, is caught with the help of a net and his size reminds us of a whale. In this quote he seems to be struggling like a fish out of water. Meera's weapons are specifically designed to catch aquatic creatures.

Bran saw her spear dart out of the darkness to snap at it, and the thing staggered and fell, struggling with the net. The wailing was still coming from the well, even louder now. On the floor the black thing flopped and fought, screeching, “No, no, don’t, please, DON’T …”

Tie this back to Tyrion who is ‘the thing he’s becocme’, perhaps on account of his underwater experience, and Catelyn, whose body lay in the river for three days and we have more dots involving water.

On sacrifice, this weirwood appears dead to Bran - it is old, withered and shrunken. Bran thinks:

If an man could live for a thousand years and never die but just grow older, his face might come to look like that.

Take the association with water and this notion of one who lives for a thousand years and never dies and the Grey King / Ironborn spring to mind.

Now, it may be that this Door required a sacrifice but following this idea, the sacrifice would not involve a blood sacrifce - if anything it may be a sacrfice of the type given to the Drowned God - giving to the sea (the salty tears).

You have three quotes up for discussion, the last one involving Tyrion and the 'dots' surrounding Tyrion also lead to a similar theme. He says there are worse ways to die than drowning. He does survive his ordeal in the water, surviving both death by drowning and, as far as we can see so far, greyscale.

That strangers or non-oath swearers may pass through the door with the aid of a brother of the NW is significant on three levels: first, unwitting strangers may be lured through this door as a sacrifice (by a corrupt black brother for instance).Secondly, it enables individuals who need to escape (like Sam, Gilly and the baby) or who have business beyond the wall (like Bran, Meera and co.) to cross the wall undetected. Thirdly, whatever the ultimate intention, it allows groups to actually breach the Wall with the aid of a black brother,

Whatever the case, I don't think these quotes can be interpreted in isolation of the events surrounding them.

[The King in The Mount]

As said above that are the Snark and grummlis.Se mentioned as not exist but is not as serious if they existieran.Serán asoiaf of orcs and trolls version?

Dude, no, Automatic translations are no good.

I think the thing that came in the night is another legend about the Others and got corrupted over time. Same deal with Symeon Star-Eyes