Doppelganger Encounters

A doppelganger, from the German for “double-walker,” is an apparition of a living person. Seeing one’s own doppelganger, according to folk tradition, is an omen of death. Reports of such encounters span cultures and centuries.

Historical Accounts

Several famous figures reported seeing their doubles. Abraham Lincoln saw his reflection doubled in a mirror, with one image paler than the other. His wife interpreted this as a sign he would not survive his second term. Percy Shelley saw his own doppelganger pointing toward the sea before he drowned.

Modern Reports

Contemporary witnesses describe seeing exact copies of themselves or others, sometimes performing different actions than the original. Some see friends or family members in locations where they could not be, only to learn the person was elsewhere.

Crisis Apparitions

Related phenomena include crisis apparitions, where a person appears to friends or family at the moment of their death, even though they are miles away. These differ from doppelgangers in that they occur at or near death rather than as an omen.

Bilocation

Some cases involve apparent bilocation, where a person is reliably witnessed in two places simultaneously. Saints and spiritual figures have been credited with this ability, though cases also occur with ordinary people.

Assessment

Doppelganger encounters may represent psychological phenomena, temporal anomalies, or something science has not yet explained. The consistency of reports across cultures suggests a genuine category of experience, whatever its ultimate explanation.