A doppelgänger (pronunciation (help·info)) or fetch is the fictional ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation. Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be or appears to be located in two distinct

In the vernacular, "Doppelgänger" has come to refer (as in German) to any double or look-alike of a person. Vernacular refers to the Native language of a country or a locality The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. A look-alike is a living person who closely resembles another living person The literal translation of the German word is "double–goer," meaning someone who is acting (i. e. going) the same way as another person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection. Peripheral vision is a part of vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze They are generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. A harbinger is a sign of things to come Throughout History and Literature, harbingers and Omens figure prominently and are responsible for major decisions In some traditions, a doppelgänger seen by a person's friends or relatives portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelgänger is an omen of death. An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the Future, often signifying the advent of change Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific In Norse mythology, a vardøger is a ghostly double who precedes a living person and is seen performing their actions in advance. The vardøger or vardøgr is a spirit predecessor from Norwegian folklore

Contents 1 Spelling 2 Famous reports 2.1 John Donne 2.2 Abraham Lincoln 2.3 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 2.4 Emilie Sagée 3 Scientific, psychological, and philosophical investigations 3.1 Left temporoparietal junction 4 In fiction 5 See also 6 References

Spelling

The word "doppelgänger" is a German loanword. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one Language from another with little or no translation It derives from Doppel (double) and Gänger (goer^[1]), although the German part word -gänger only occurs in compound nouns. As is true for all other common nouns in German, the word is written with an initial capital letter; however English usage varies. Capital letters or majuscules pronunciation /məˈdʒʌskyuls ˈmædʒəˌskyuls/ in the Roman alphabet A, B, C, D,

In English, the word is conventionally uncapitalized (doppelgänger). English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States It is also common to drop the diacritic umlaut, writing "doppelganger. A diacritic ( also called a diacritic or diacritical mark, point, or sign, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation Diaeresis or trema See also Diaeresis History Historically the diaeresis mark or trema is far older than the umlaut mark " The correct alternative German spelling would be "Doppelgaenger. "

Famous reports

John Donne

Izaak Walton claimed that John Donne, the English metaphysical poet, saw his wife's doppelgänger in 1612 in Paris, on the same night as the stillbirth of their daughter. Izaak Walton ( August 9, 1593 - December 15, 1683) was an English writer, author of The Compleat Angler. John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them

Two days after their arrival there, Mr. Donne was left alone, in that room in which Sir Robert, and he, and some other friends had dined together. To this place Sir Robert return'd within half an hour; and, as he left, so he found Mr. Donne alone; but, in such Extasie, and so alter'd as to his looks, as amaz'd Sir Robert to behold him: insomuch that he earnestly desired Mr. Donne to declare befaln him in the short time of his absence? to which, Mr. Donne was not able to make a present answer: but, after a long and perplext pause, did at last say, I have seen a dreadful Vision since I saw you: I have seen my dear wife pass twice by me through this room, with her hair hanging about her shoulders, and a dead child in her arms: this, I have seen since I saw you. To which, Sir Robert reply'd; Sure Sir, you have slept since I saw you; and, this is the result of some melancholy dream, which I desire you to forget, for you are now awake. To which Mr. Donnes reply was: I cannot be surer that I now live, then that I have not slept since I saw you: and am, as sure, that at her second appearing, she stopt, and look'd me in the face, and vanisht. ^[2]

This account first appears in the edition of Life of Dr John Donne published in 1675, and is attributed to "a Person of Honour. . . told with such circumstances, and such asseveration, that. . . I verily believe he that told it me, did himself believe it to be true. " At the time Donne was indeed extremely worried about his pregnant wife, and was going through severe illness himself. However, R. C. Bald points out that Walton's account "is riddled with inaccuracies. He says that Donne crossed from London to Paris with the Drurys in twelve days, and that the vision occurred two days later; the servant sent to London to make inquiries found Mrs Donne still confined to her bed in Drury House. Actually, of course, Donne did not arrive in Paris until more than three months after he left England, and his wife was not in London but in the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight is an English Island and county in the English Channel between three and five miles (8 km from the south coast of the The still-born child was buried on 24 January. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled . . . Yet as late as 14 April Donne in Paris was still ignorant of his wife's ordeal. Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in "^[3] In January, Donne was still at Amiens. Amiens (amjɛ̃ is a city and commune in northern France, 120 km north of Paris. His letters do not support the story as given. ^[4]

Abraham Lincoln

Carl Sandburg's biography contains the following:

A queer dream or illusion had haunted Lincoln at times through the winter. Carl August Sandburg ( January 6, 1878 &ndash July 22, 1967) was an American writer and editor best known for his Poetry Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal On the evening of his election he had thrown himself on one of the haircloth sofas at home, just after the first telegrams of November 6 had told him he was elected President, and looking into a bureau mirror across the room he saw himself full length, but with two faces.

It bothered him; he got up; the illusion vanished; but when he lay down again there in the glass again were two faces, one paler than the other. He got up again, mixed in the election excitement, forgot about it; but it came back, and haunted him. He told his wife about it; she worried too.

A few days later he tried it once more and the illusion of the two faces again registered to his eyes. But that was the last; the ghost since then wouldn't come back, he told his wife, who said it was a sign he would be elected to a second term, and the death pallor of one face meant he wouldn't live through his second term. ^[5]

This is adapted from Washington in Lincoln's Time (1895) by Noah Brooks, who claimed that he had heard it from Lincoln himself on 9 November 1864, at the time of his re-election, and that he had printed an account "directly after. Noah Brooks ( October 24, 1830 - August 16, 1903) was a Journalist and editor who worked for Newspapers in Sacramento Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year " He also claimed that the story was confirmed by Mary Todd Lincoln, and partially confirmed by Private Secretary John Hay (who thought it dated from Lincoln's nomination, not his election). Mary Ann Todd Lincoln ( December 13, 1818 &ndash July 16, 1882) was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham John Milton Hay ( October 8, 1838 – July 1, 1905) was an American statesman diplomat author journalist and private secretary Brooks's version is as follows (in Lincoln's own words):

It was just after my election in 1860, when the news had been coming in thick and fast all day and there had been a great "hurrah, boys," so that I was well tired out, and went home to rest, throwing myself down on a lounge in my chamber. Opposite where I lay was a bureau with a swinging glass upon it (and here he got up and placed furniture to illustrate the position), and looking in that glass I saw myself reflected nearly at full length; but my face, I noticed had two separate and distinct images, the tip of the nose of one being about three inches from the tip of the other. I was a little bothered, perhaps startled, and got up and looked in the glass, but the illusion vanished. On lying down again, I saw it a second time, plainer, if possible, than before; and then I noticed that one of the faces was a little paler — say five shades — than the other. I got up, and the thing melted away, and I went off, and in the excitement of the hour forgot all about it — nearly, but not quite, for the thing would once in a while come up, and give me a little pang as if something uncomfortable had happened. When I went home again that night I told my wife about it, and a few days afterward I made the experiment again, when (with a laugh), sure enough! the thing came back again; but I never succeeded in bringing the ghost back after that, though I once tried very industriously to show it to my wife, who was somewhat worried about it. She thought it was a "sign" that I was to be elected to a second term of office, and that the paleness of one of the faces was an omen that I should not see life through the last term. ^[6]

Lincoln was known to be superstitious,^[7] and old mirrors will occasionally produce double images; whether this Janus illusion can be counted as a doppelgänger is perhaps debatable, though probably no more than other such claims of doppelgängers. In Roman mythology, Janus (or Ianus was the god of Gates Doors doorways beginnings and endings An alternate consideration, however, suggests that Lincoln suffered vertical strabismus in his left eye^[8], a disorder which could induce visions of a vertically-displaced image. Strabismus (from Greek: στραβισμός strabismos, from στραβίζειν strabizein "to squint" from στραβός strabos

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Near the end of Book XI of his autobiography, Dichtung und Wahrheit ("Truth and Fiction"), Goethe wrote, almost in passing:

Amid all this pressure and confusion I could not forego seeing Frederica once more. ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer Those were painful days, the memory of which has not remained with me. When I reached her my hand from my horse, the tears stood in her eyes; and I felt very uneasy. I now rode along the foot-path toward Drusenheim, and here one of the most singular forebodings took possession of me. Drusenheim is a Village and commune in the Bas-Rhin département of north-eastern France. I saw, not with the eyes of the body, but with those of the mind, my own figure coming toward me, on horseback, and on the same road, attired in a dress which I had never worn, — it was pike-gray [hecht-grau], with somewhat of gold. As soon as I shook myself out of this dream, the figure had entirely disappeared. It is strange, however, that, eight years afterward, I found myself on the very road, to pay one more visit to Frederica, in the dress of which I had dreamed, and which I wore, not from choice, but by accident. However it may be with matters of this kind generally, this strange illusion in some measure calmed me at the moment of parting. The pain of quitting for ever noble Alsace, with all I had gained in it, was softened; and, having at last escaped the excitement of a farewell, I, on a peaceful and quiet journey, pretty well regained my self-possession. Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern ^[9]

This is a rare example of a doppelgänger which is both benign and reassuring.

Emilie Sagée

Robert Dale Owen was responsible for writing down the singular case of Emilie Sagée. Robert Dale Owen ( November 7, 1801 &ndash June 24, 1877) was a longtime exponent in his adopted United States of the socialist He was told this anecdote by Julie von Güldenstubbe, a Latvian aristocrat. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Von Güldenstubbe reported that in the year 1845–46, at the age of 13, she witnessed, along with audiences of between 13 and 42 children, her 32-year-old French teacher Sagée bilocate, in broad daylight, inside her school, Pensionat von Neuwelcke. Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be or appears to be located in two distinct The actions of Sagée's doppelgänger included:

• Mimicking writing and eating, but with nothing in its hands.
• Moving independently of Sagée, and remaining motionless while she moved.
• Appearing to be in full health at a time when Sagée was badly ill.

Apparently, the doppelgänger also exerted resistance to the touch, but was non-physical (one girl passed through the doppelgänger's body). ^[10]

Scientific, psychological, and philosophical investigations

Left temporoparietal junction

In September 2006 it was reported in Nature [1] that Shahar Arzy and colleagues of the University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland, had unexpectedly reproduced an effect strongly reminiscent of the doppelgänger phenomenon via the electromagnetic stimulation of a patient's brain. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Nature is a prominent Scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869 Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking Transcranial magnetic stimulation ( TMS) is a noninvasive method to excite neurons in the Brain: weak Electric currents are induced in the tissue by rapidly They applied focal electrical stimulation to a patient's left temporoparietal junction while she lay flat on a bed. The parietal lobe is a lobe in the Brain. It is positioned above (superior to the Occipital lobe and behind (posterior to the Frontal lobe. The patient immediately felt the presence of another person in her "extrapersonal space. " Other than epilepsy, for which the patient was being treated, she was psychologically fit. Epilepsy is a common chronic Neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures.

The other person was described as young, of indeterminate sex, silent, motionless, and with a body posture identical to her own. The other person was located exactly behind her, almost touching and therefore within the bed that the patient was lying on.

A second electrical stimulation was applied with slightly more intensity, while the patient was sitting up with her arms folded. This time the patient felt the presence of a "man" who had his arms wrapped around her. She described the sensation as highly unpleasant and electrical stimulation was stopped.

Finally, when the patient was seated, electrical stimulation was applied while the patient was asked to perform language test with a set of flash cards. A flashcard or flash card is a card that is used as a learning aid On this occasion the patient reported the presence of a sitting person, displaced behind her and to the right. She said that the presence was attempting to interfere with the test: "He wants to take the card; he doesn’t want me to read. " Again, the effect was disturbing and electrical stimulation was ceased.

Similar effects were found for different positions and postures when electrical stimulation exceeded 10 mA, at the left temporoparietal junction. The ampere, in practice often shortened to amp, (symbol A is a unit of Electric current, or amount of Electric charge per second

Arzy and his colleagues suggest that the left temporoparietal junction of the brain evokes the sensation of self image—body location, position, posture etc. When the left temporoparietal junction is disturbed, the sensation of self-attribution is broken and may be replaced by the sensation of a foreign presence or copy of oneself displaced nearby. This copy mirrors the real person's body posture, location and position. Arzy and his colleagues suggest that the phenomenon they created is seen in certain mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, particularly when accompanied by paranoia, delusions of persecution and of alien control. Schizophrenia ( from the Greek roots schizein (σχίζειν "to split" and phrēn Paranoia is a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive Anxiety or Fear, often to the point of Irrationality and Delusion. Nevertheless, the effects reported are highly reminiscent of the doppelgänger phenomenon. Accordingly, some reports of doppelgängers may well be due to failure of the left temporoparietal junction.

See monothematic delusion for a detailed description of various psychological problems including the syndrome of subjective doubles, which may be related to the doppelgänger. A monothematic delusion is a Delusional state that only concerns one particular topic The syndrome of subjective doubles is a rare Delusional misidentification syndrome in which a person suffers from the Delusion that he or she has a double or See also out-of-body experience for the related work of Olof Blanke. An out-of-body experience ( OBE or sometimes OOBE) is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one's body and in some cases perceiving

In fiction

See also: List of fictional doppelgängers

Doppelgängers, as dark doubles of individual identities, appear in a variety of fictional works from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Double to Season of Migration to the North to Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. A list of Doppelgängers look-a-likes and evil twins throughout literature movies and other forms of popular culture Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, Dostoievsky, The Double A Petersburg Poem is a novella written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Season of Migration to the North ( Arabic: موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال) is a classic post-colonial Sudanese Ralph Waldo Ellison ( March 1, 1914 &ndash April 16, 1994) was a Scholar and Writer. Invisible Man, a novel written by Ralph Waldo Ellison. It was the only novel that Ellison published during his lifetime and it won him the National Book In its simplest incarnation, mistaken identity is a classic trope used in literature, from Twelfth Night to A Tale of Two Cities. Twelfth Night Or What You Will is a Comedy by William Shakespeare, based on the Short story "Of Apolonius and Silla" by A Tale of Two Cities (1859 is the second Historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the But in these cases, the characters look similar for perfectly normal reasons, such as being siblings or simple coincidence.

Some stories offer supernatural explanations for doubles. These doppelgängers are typically, but not always, evil in some way. The double will often impersonate the victim and go about ruining them, for instance through committing crimes or insulting the victim's friends. Sometimes, the double even tries to kill the original. The torment is occasionally earned; for instance, in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "William Wilson," the protagonist of questionable morality is dogged by his doppelgänger most tenaciously when his morals fail. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, " William Wilson " is a Short story by Edgar Allan Poe with a setting inspired by Poe's formative years outside of London. When doppelgängers are used as harbingers of impending destruction, they are almost always supernaturally based. ^[11] Some works of fantasy include shapeshifters, as either talented individuals or as a separate race, who can mimic any person.

Another variant, usually seen in science fiction, involves clones, which creates a genetically identical new being without the memories and experiences of the original. Cloning in Biology is the process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as Bacteria, Insects Some futuristic variants in fiction duplicate living beings in their entirety, albeit sometimes with modified memories and motives.

Doubles are also seen in fiction involving time travel and parallel universes. This article details time travel itself For other uses see Time Traveler. Parallel universe or alternative reality is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own In this case, the doppelgänger really "is" the doubled person, but from a different timeline or different version of the universe.

In Doppelganger, the novel by Marie Brennan, five days after birth, the daughter of a witch undergoes a ritual to give her the ability to use magic; the ritual creates a Doppelganger of the infant which is unable to use magic and is usually killed instantly. Doppelganger is a High fantasy novel written by Marie Brennan.

In the Sweet Valley High books, Elizabeth Wakefield was chased by an insane doppelganger - a girl who was not related to her yet looked exactly like her - named Margo Black who attempted to murder her and take her place. Later Margo's twin sister, Nora Chappelle, arrived in town and attempted to kill Jessica, Elizabeth's twin sister, so she could take her place. Neither attempt was successful and the twins lived on to face many more attempts on their lives throughout the series.

In Masashi Kishimoto's hit ninja manga series Naruto, the main character, Naruto Uzumaki, uses Shadow Doppelgangers as a jutsu. is an ongoing Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto with an Anime adaptation is a Fictional character in the Naruto Manga and Anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto as the protagonist of the series &mdash meaning technique method skill or trick &mdash is a Bound morpheme of the Sino-Japanese lexical Note that in the English anime, Shadow Doppelgangers is translated to Shadow Clones, even though dopplegangers and clones are different.

In the TV show Alias, Francie Calfo is murdered by Allison Doren, a woman who was transfigured to look exactly like her with the help of gene therapy. Francine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the Television series Alias, portrayed by Merrin Dungey. Francine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the Television series Alias, portrayed by Merrin Dungey. Gene therapy is the insertion of Genes into an individual's cells and tissues to treat a Disease, and Hereditary diseases in which a The doppelganger then uses her position to spy on Francie's roommate Sydney Bristow and gather intelligence. Sydney Anne Bristow (born 17 April 1975) played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character on the television series Alias

See also

• Bilocation
• Vardøger
• Body double
• Look-alike
• cast-off being
• Evil twin
• Syndrome of subjective doubles
• List of fictional doppelgangers

References

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