Doppelgänger is a look-alike or double of a living person, sometimes portrayed as a paranormal phenomenon, and in some traditions as a harbinger of bad luck. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin. In modern times, the term twin stranger is occasionally used.
Appearance[]
Dopplegangers are often described as looking exactly like the witness in every way, even clothing. English-speakers have only recently applied this German word to a paranormal concept. Francis Grose's, Provincial Glossary of 1787 used the term fetch instead, defined as the "apparition of a person living." Catherine Crowe's book on paranormal phenomena, The Night-Side of Nature (1848) helped make the German word well-known. However, the concept of alter egos and double spirits has appeared in the folklore, myths, religious concepts, and traditions of many cultures throughout human history.
In Ancient Egyptian mythology, a ka was a tangible "spirit double" having the same memories and feelings as the person to whom the counterpart belongs. The Greek Princess presents an Egyptian view of the Trojan War in which a ka of Helen misleads Paris, helping to stop the war. This memic sense also appears in Euripides' play Helen, and in Norse mythology, a vardøger is a ghostly double who is seen performing the person's actions in advance. In Finnish mythology, this pattern is described as having an etiäinen, "a firstcomer".
Sighting[]
Abraham Lincoln was known as “Honest Abe,” and as such was very open about his interest in the paranormal . . . at least in private discussions. According to the man himself, he also experienced some paranormal activity. On the night of his first election, he took a moment to rest on his couch one evening. While lying there, he happened to glance in a mirror and saw his own visage—except that he had two faces.
A second Lincoln, pale and ghostly, was looking at him from the mirror, right next to his own face. Startled, he rose from the couch...and the doppelganger disappeared. He sat back down, only to see it again.
Lincoln was startled, but his wife Mary was downright terrified. She was convinced that the doppelganger was bad news—a certain sign that Lincoln would be re-elected on a second term (possibly because two Lincolns equals two terms), but wouldn’t survive it (because the second Lincoln looked deathly).
Lincoln went on to repeat the couch experiment every once in a while. He did manage to glimpse the doppelganger one more time, but after that it stopped appearing. Maybe it had delivered its message, as Lincoln indeed didn’t make it through his second term.[1]