A man wakes up and fights his doppleganger

[Toby Frost]

Does anyone remember a story in which a man wakes up to find a copy of himself in the same room, and they fight? I have a memory of the room being a rough, run-down place, like a log cabin, but that might be wrong. I also wonder if it's a mixture of half-remembered scenes from The Body Snatchers, Excalibur, Shakespeare and a Bible story (it's none of those).

 

[Elckerlyc]

I do have a similar memory. In the story I remember the doppleganger is one of a string of clones, all trying to replace their predecessor. The clones are in cubicles stored in - IIRC - an abandoned mine.
Don't recall tittle or author, but it might have been Keith Laumer.

 

[HareBrain]

It's ringing a bell. Is the doppleganger pure evil? I want to say 19thC, maybe early 20th? (This is all probably just made up TBH.)

 

[Toby Frost]

At least I'm not alone in this! I did wonder if it might be from a noir or a spy story, rather than SFF. I'm not sure when it's from, but I don't think it looks futuristic.

 

[HareBrain]

I did wonder if it might be from a noir or a spy story, rather than SFF.

Argh. I started off thinking the doppelganger was a supernatural thing, with a moral element, but you might be right. Or I might be very suggestible. A spy story where someone has been cultivated to replace the protagonist. Do they have a conversation before the fight, do you remember?

 

[Danny McG]

I'm thinking Bradbury but I can't place the story

 

[Toby Frost]

My memory is very vague, but I thought the man simply saw this double on waking and attacked it, or it might have woken him up by attacking him. Bradbury sounds quite possible, actually.

 

[Dave]

The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold has a deranged version of the protagonist fight with himself at one point (technically speaking every character is actually the same character at a different point in time.) However, I'm sure you'd remember if it were that, because there are a lot more weird stuff in that book.

 

[Ravensquawk]

By His Bootstraps by Robert Heinlein (as Anson MacDonald) is a classic "meeting with future versions of self" story. Other than a scuffle-fight where one of them knocks the "other" man through the portal, it doesn't seem to match, but it's worth a look.
TVTropes has Doppelgänger tropes including Me's a Crowd and Other Me Annoys Me.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I vote for the pod people from the Body Snatchers - I'm sure I remember a scene like that, though it may have been in one of the movies.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Danny McG]

Hi,

I vote for the pod people from the Body Snatchers - I'm sure I remember a scene like that, though it may have been in one of the movies.

Cheers, Greg.

But the OP states in his question that it's not The Body Snatchers

 

[Dave]

I did wonder if it might be from a noir or a spy story, rather than SFF.

Cloned dopplegangers of spies (or of Hitler) were a staple of 1960's TV programmes such as The Avengers.