Doppelgänger
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A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated
look-alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...
, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
phenomenon and usually seen as a
harbinger A harbinger is a forerunner or forewarning, but may also refer to: Companies * Harbinger Corp., an Internet-oriented business * Harbinger Capital, a hedge fund * Harbinger Knowledge Products, an eLearning products and content services compan ...
of bad luck. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin. In modern times, the term twin stranger is occasionally used.


Spelling

The word ''doppelganger'' is a
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...
from the German. The singular and plural forms are the same in German, but English writers usually prefer the plural "doppelgangers". The first known use, in the slightly different form ''Doppeltgänger'', occurs in the novel ''
Siebenkäs ''Siebenkäs'' (Sevencheese) is a German Romantic novel by Jean Paul, published in Berlin in three volumes between 1796 and 1797. The novel's full title is ''Blumen-, Frucht- und Dornenstücke oder Ehestand, Tod und Hochzeit des Armenadvokaten ...
'' (1796) by
Jean Paul Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories. Life and work Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...
, in which he explains his newly coined word in a footnote; the word also appears in the novel, but with a different meaning. In German, the word is written (as is usual with German nouns) with an initial capital letter: . In English, the word is generally written with a lower-case letter, and the umlaut on the letter "a" is usually dropped: "doppelganger".


Mythology

English-speakers have only recently applied this German word to a paranormal concept.
Francis Grose Francis Grose (born before 11 June 1731 – 12 May 1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Pr ...
's, ''Provincial Glossary'' of 1787 used the term ''
fetch Fetch may refer to: Books * ''Fetch'', a 2012 book by Alan MacDonald and David Roberts * ''The Fetch'', a 2006 book by Chris Humphreys * ''The Fetch'', a 2009 book by Laura Whitcomb * ''The Fetch'', a 1991 book by Robert Holdstock * ''Fazbear ...
'' instead, defined as the "apparition of a person living."
Catherine Crowe Catherine Ann Crowe, née Stevens (20 September 1803 – 14 June 1876) was an English novelist, a writer of social and supernatural stories, and a playwright. She also wrote for children. Life Catherine Ann Stevens was born in Borough Green, ...
's book on paranormal phenomena, ''The Night-Side of Nature'' (1848) helped make the German word well-known. However, the concept of
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
s and double spirits has appeared in the folklore, myths, religious concepts, and traditions of many cultures throughout human history. In
Ancient Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptia ...
, 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 Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
in which a ''ka'' of
Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...
misleads Paris, helping to stop the war. This memic sense also appears in
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
' play ''Helen'', and in
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, a ''
vardøger Vardøger, also known as ''vardyvle'' or ''vardyger'', is a spirit predecessor in Scandinavian folklore. Stories typically include instances that are nearly déjà vu in substance, but in reverse, where a spirit with the subject's footsteps, voi ...
'' is a ghostly double who is seen performing the person's actions in advance. In
Finnish mythology Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, ...
, this pattern is described as having an ''
etiäinen In Finnish folklore, all places and things, and also human beings, have a haltija (a genius, guardian spirit) of their own. One such haltija is called etiäinen—an image, doppelgänger, or just an impression that goes ahead of a person, doing ...
'', "a firstcomer". In
Joseph Wright Joseph Wright may refer to: *Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), English painter *Joseph Wright (American painter) (1756–1793), American portraitist *Joseph Wright (fl. 1837/1845), whose company, Messrs. Joseph Wright and Sons, became the Metro ...
's
English Dialect Dictionary English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, it was listed as a North Country term and as obsolete.


Examples of alleged doppelgängers


John Donne

Izaak Walton claimed that
John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...
, the English
metaphysical poet The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of metaphysical conceit, conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spo ...
, saw his wife's doppelgänger in 1612 in Paris, on the same night as the stillbirth of their daughter. This account first appears in the edition of ''Life of Dr. Rizvan Rizing'' 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 to me, did himself believe it to be true." R. C. Bald and R. E. Bennett questioned the veracity of Walton's account.


Percy Bysshe Shelley

On July 8, 1822, the English poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
drowned in the Bay of Spezia near Lerici in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. On August 15, while staying at
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
, Percy's wife
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...
, an author and editor, wrote a letter to Maria Gisborne in which she relayed Percy's claims to her that he had met his own doppelgänger. A week after Mary's nearly fatal
miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
, in the early hours of June 23 Percy had had a nightmare about the house collapsing in a flood, and also Percy Shelley's drama '' Prometheus Unbound'' (1820) contains the following passage in Act I: "Ere Babylon was dust, / The Magus Zoroaster, my dead child, / Met his own image walking in the garden. / That apparition, sole of men, he saw. / For know there are two worlds of life and death: / One that which thou beholdest; but the other / Is underneath the grave, where do inhabit / The shadows of all forms that think and live / Till death unite them and they part no more...."


Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Near the end of Book XI of his autobiography, ''
Dichtung und Wahrheit ''Aus meinem Leben: Dichtung und Wahrheit'' (''From my Life: Poetry and Truth''; 1811–1833) is an autobiography by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that comprises the time from the poet's childhood to the days in 1775, when he was about to leave for ...
'' ("Poetry and Truth") (1811–1833),
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
wrote, almost in passing:
Amid all this pressure and confusion I could not forego seeing Frederica once more. 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. 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 Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
, 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.
This is an example of a doppelgänger which was perceived by the observer to be both benign and reassuring.


Émilie Sagée

Émilie Sagée, a French teacher working in 1845 in a boarding school in
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, supposed to had the ability to produce a Doppelgänger. The story is reported by
Robert Dale Owen Robert Dale Owen (7 November 1801 – 24 June 1877) was a Scottish-born Welsh social reformer who immigrated to the United States in 1825, became a U.S. citizen, and was active in Indiana politics as member of the Democratic Party in the Ind ...
.


George Tryon

A
Victorian age In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...
example was the supposed appearance of Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon. He was said to have walked through the drawing room of his family home in
Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgra ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, looking straight ahead, without exchanging a word to anyone, in front of several guests at a party being given by his wife on 22 June 1893 while he was supposed to be in a ship of the Mediterranean Squadron, manoeuvering off the coast of Syria. Subsequently, it was reported that he had gone down with his ship, HMS ''Victoria'', the very same night, after it collided with HMS ''Camperdown'' following an unexplained and bizarre order to turn the ship in the direction of the other vessel.


Twin strangers

With the advent of
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
, there have been several reported cases of people finding their "twin stranger" online, a modern term for a doppelgänger. There are several websites where users can upload a photo of themselves and
facial recognition software A facial recognition system is a technology capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification services, and wo ...
attempts to match them with another user of like appearance. Some of these sites report that they have found numerous living doppelgängers.


Examples in fiction


Examples in literature

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
uses doppelgänger imagery to explore the duality of human nature. In ''
The Devil's Elixir ''The Devil's Elixirs'' (german: Die Elixiere des Teufels) is a novel by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Published in 1815, the basic idea for the story was adopted from Matthew Gregory Lewis's novel ''The Monk'', which is itself mentioned in the text. A ...
'' (1815), a man murders the brother and stepmother of his beloved princess, finds his doppelgänger has been sentenced to death for these crimes in his stead, and liberates him, only to have the doppelgänger murder the object of his affection. This was one of E. T. A. Hoffmann's early novels. In addition to describing the doppelgänger double as a counterpart to the self,
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
's drama '' Prometheus Unbound'' (1820) makes reference to
Zoroaster Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...
meeting "his own image walking in the garden".
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
's novel '' The Double'' (1846) presents the doppelgänger as an opposite personality who exploits the character failings of the protagonist to take over his life. Charles Williams's ''
Descent into Hell In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell ( la, Descensus Christi ad Inferos, "the descent of Christ into Hell" or Hades) is an Old English and Middle English term referring to the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his re ...
'' (1939) has character Pauline Anstruther seeing her own doppelgänger all through her life.
Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...
's story "Human Remains" in his ''
Books of Blood ''Books of Blood'' is a series of six horror fiction anthologies collecting original stories written by British author, playwright, and filmmaker Clive Barker in 1984 and 1985. Known primarily for writing stage plays beforehand, Barker gained a ...
'' is a doppelgänger tale, and the doppelgänger motif is a staple of
Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
.
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
' ''The Other'' (1972) has the author himself find that he's sitting on a bench with his older doppelgänger, and the two have a conversation.
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...
's novel ''Despair'' (1936) involves the narrator and protagonist of the story, Hermann Karlovich, an owner of a chocolate factory, who meets a homeless man in the city of Prague, who he believes is his doppelgänger. In
Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a ...
's novel, ''
Glamorama ''Glamorama'' is a 1998 novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis. ''Glamorama'' is set in and satirizes the 1990s specifically celebrity culture and consumerism. ''Time'' describes the novel as "a screed against models and celebrity". Develop ...
'' (1998), protagonist actor–model Victor Ward ostensibly has a doppelgänger that people mistake for Ward, often claiming to have seen him at parties and events Ward has no recollection of attending. At one point in the novel, Victor heads to Europe but reports of him attending events in the states appear in newspaper headlines. However, Victor's doppelgänger may or may not have been placed by Victor's father, a United States senator looking to present a more intelligent and sophisticated replacement for his son that would improve his own image and boost his poll numbers for future elections. While the novel is narrated by Victor, various chapters are ambiguous, leading the reader to wonder if certain chapters are being narrated by the doppelgänger instead. In
Tana French Tana French (born 10 May 1973) is an American-Irish writer and theatrical actress. She is a longtime resident of Dublin, Ireland. Her debut novel '' In the Woods'' (2007), a psychological mystery, won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry ...
's 2008 novel, '' The Likeness'', detective Cassie Maddox has doppelgänger ''Lexie Madison'' who adopts the same alias Maddox used in an undercover investigation. In
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
's book '' The Outsider'' (2018), the antagonist is able to use the DNA of individuals to become their near perfect match through a science-fictional ability to transform physically. The allusion to it being a doppelgänger is made by the group trying to stop it from killing again. The group also discusses other examples of fictional doppelgängers that supposedly occurred throughout history to provide some context.


Examples in film

In '' Das Mirakel'' and '' The Miracle'' (both 1912) the Virgin Mary (as ''Doppelgängerin'') takes the place of a nun who has run away from her convent in search of love and adventure. Both based on the 1911 play '' The Miracle'' by
Karl Vollmöller Karl Gustav Vollmöller (or Vollmoeller; 7 May 1878 – 18 October 1948) was a German philologist, archaeologist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and aircraft designer. He is most famous for the elaborate religious spectacle-pantomime '' The Mira ...
. '' The Student of Prague'' (1913) is considered to be one of the first German
art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
s. Animator Jack King creates a doppelgänger for Donald Duck in '' Donald's Double Trouble'' (1946), where the twofold fowl speaks perfectly intelligible English and is well-mannered. The 1969 film '' Doppelgänger'' involves a journey to the far side of the sun, where the astronaut finds a
counter-earth The Counter-Earth is a hypothetical body of the Solar System that orbits on the other side of the solar system from Earth. A Counter-Earth or ''Antichthon'' ( el, Ἀντίχθων) was hypothesized by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Philol ...
, a mirror image of home. He surmises his counterpart is at that moment on his Earth in the same predicament.
Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blackliste ...
’s 1976 film '' Mr. Klein'' stars Alain Delon as an art dealer in Nazi-occupied Paris who receives a Jewish newspaper addressed to him. When the police suspect him as a member of the resistance, he begins a relentless pursuit of his supposed doppelgänger. English actor Roger Moore plays a man haunted by a doppelgänger, who springs to life following a
near-death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...
, in Basil Dearden's ''
The Man Who Haunted Himself ''The Man Who Haunted Himself'' is a 1970 British psychological thriller film written and directed by Basil Dearden (his final film prior to his death by automobile accident in 1971) and starring Roger Moore. It is based on the 1957 novel ''The ...
'' (1970). In the Soviet crime comedy film ''
Gentlemen of Fortune ''Gentlemen of Fortune'' (russian: Джентльмены удачи, Dzhentlmeny udachi) is a 1971 Soviet crime comedy film, filmed at Mosfilm and directed by Aleksandr Sery. The stars of the film include famous Soviet actors such as Yevgeny Leon ...
'' (1971), Evgeny Troshkin (
Yevgeny Leonov Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (russian: link=no, Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films, such as '' Gentlemen ...
), a kind kindergarten teacher who has the same appearance as the wanted criminal known as "Docent", is sent on a mission to help Militsiya find an ancient golden helmet that Docent has hidden. The 1972 Robert Altman film ''
Images An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
'' has a doppelgänger for the hallucinating character played by Susanna York. The 1991 French/Polish film, '' La double vie de Véronique'' (
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
: ''Podwójne życie Weroniki''), directed by
Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994) ...
and starring
Irène Jacob Irène Marie Jacob (born 15 July 1966) is a French-Swiss actress known for her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. She won the 1991 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for the Kieślowski film ''The Double Life of Vero ...
, explores the mysterious connection between two women, both played by Jacob, who share an intense emotional connection in spite of never having met one another. Doppelgängers are a major theme and plot element in the 2006 film, ''
The Prestige ''The Prestige'' is a 1995 fantasy novel by British writer Christopher Priest. It tells the story of a prolonged feud between two stage magicians in late 1800s England. It is epistolary in structure; that is, it purports to be a collection of ...
'', directed by
Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&nb ...
and starring
Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...
and
Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
. Illusionists Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale) compete with each other to perfect a magic trick in which the performer appears to transport across the stage instantaneously. Angier initially performs the trick with a lookalike (also portrayed by Jackman), but later uses a machine that allows him to create an unlimited number of clones of himself. In the final scene, it is revealed that Borden had also been using a doppelgänger to perform the trick; the character "Borden" was actually two identical-looking men who took turns living out Borden's public life in order to create the illusion that they were a single man. In the 2007 children's film, Bratz Kidz: Sleep-over Adventure, one of the stories involves Sasha being tormented and replaced by a doppelgänger she finds in a house of mirrors. In the 2008
psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subge ...
film ''
Lake Mungo Lake Mungo is a dry lake located in New South Wales, Australia. It is about 760 km due west of Sydney and 90 km north-east of Mildura. The lake is the central feature of Mungo National Park, and is one of seventeen lakes in the Wo ...
'', the film's climax contains a scene in which a young teenager, named Alice, is attacked by her disfigured doppelgänger, meant as a premonition of her soon-to-be death. In
Richard Ayoade Richard Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he ...
's '' The Double'' (2013), based on
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
's novel of the same name, a man is troubled by a doppelgänger who is employed at his place of work and affects his personal and professional life. Denis Villeneuve's
Enemy An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...
(2013) tells the story of a troubled history professor who, while watching a film, discovers an actor who is physically identical to himself. The two men's lives begin to intertwine and blur the boundaries of individual identity. Estranged couple Ethan and Sophie find doubles of themselves trapped in the retreat house their marriage counselor recommended in Charlie McDowell's '' The One I Love'' (2014). The 2018 science fiction film ''
Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy ...
'' features a doppelgänger in the climax. Jordan Peele's horror film '' Us'' (2019) finds the Wilson family attacked by doubles of themselves known as "the Tethered".


Examples in television

In the episode " Mirror Image" of the first series of ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'' (originally aired Feb. 25, 1960), a young woman repeatedly sees her double in a New York Bus Terminal. After she is taken off to an asylum, the episodes ends with a second character trying to catch his double. The plot of the "Firefall" episode of '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' (originally aired Nov. 8, 1974) revolves around the spirit of a deceased arsonist that becomes the doppelganger of a renowned orchestra conductor. He starts killing off people close to the conductor (by
spontaneous human combustion Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the pseudoscientific concept of the combustion of a living (or recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition. In addition to reported cases, descriptions of the alleged ph ...
), with the ultimate goal of taking over the conductor's body. The ''
Hammer House of Horror ''Hammer House of Horror'' is a British television series made in 1980. An anthology series created by Hammer Films in association with Cinema Arts International and ITC Entertainment, it consists of 13 hour-long episodes, originally broadca ...
'' episode "The Two Faces of Evil" (originally aired Nov. 29, 1980), focuses on the part of the doppelganger mythology where meeting yours is a harbinger of your imminent death. In the season two finale of
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...
— "
Beyond Life and Death "Episode 29", also known as "Beyond Life and Death", is the twenty-second and final episode of the second season of the American mystery television series ''Twin Peaks''. Episode 29 served as the final episode of ''Twin Peaks'' for over 25 y ...
" (originally aired Jun. 10, 1991) — Special Agent
Dale Cooper Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper, portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan, is a fictional character who is the protagonist of ABC's and Showtime's television series ''Twin Peaks''. He also plays a supporting role in ...
encounters a variety of doppelgängers in the Black Lodge, one of whom is a malevolent version of himself. Cooper's doppelganger switches places with the him at the conclusion of the episode, trapping the original in the Black Lodge. A total of three different doppelgängers are dispatched from the mysterious Black Lodge to bedevil the forces of good in Showtime's 2017 series '' Twin Peaks: The Return''. In the episode "
Miami Twice "Miami Twice" is the two-part tenth Christmas special edition of the British sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses''. The first episode, on-screen subtitle "The American Dream", was first screened on 24 December 1991. The second episode of "Miami Twice" ...
" of the sitcom ''
Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...
'' (originally aired Dec. 25, 1991), protagonists
Del Boy Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, '' Rock & Chips''. He was played by David Jason in the original s ...
and
Rodney Trotter Rodney Charlton Trotter (also known as Dave by Trigger), is a fictional character in the long running BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', played by Nicholas Lyndhurst. Biography Rodney is the son of Joan Mavis Trotter, grandson of Edward Tr ...
come into conflict with the family of mafia boss Don Vincenzo Ochetti, who is a doppelganger for Del Boy. Ochetti's family plot to have Del assassinated in public view to fake the death of Ochetti so that he will escape his coming murder trial, though Del and Rodney see through the ruse and eventually provide the authorities with evidence to have Ochetti proven guilty and sent to prison. In ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
s season three episode "
Doppelgangland "Doppelgangland" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the fantasy television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). It was written and directed by the show's creator, Joss Whedon, and originally aired on The WB Television N ...
" (originally aired Feb. 23, 1999), Willow encounters her vampire double who was first introduced seven episodes prior (in " The Wish" (Dec. 8, 1998)). In the fifth season episode " The Replacement" (Oct. 10, 2000), Xander discovers his own doppelgänger (portrayed by the actor's identical twin brother). In the eighth season episode "Mr. Monk Is Someone Else" of ''
Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'' (originally aired Aug. 28, 2009), the titular detective is recruited to impersonate a dead mob hit man who was his double. In the sitcom '' How I Met Your Mother'', throughout the fifth and sixth seasons (aired 2009–2011), the five main characters each encounter an identical stranger of themself. By the episode "
Double Date Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...
", they have spotted
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
's doppelgänger, who they nickname "Moustache Marshall", and Robin's ("Lesbian Robin"). In the same episode they find
Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...
's doppelgänger, a Russian stripper named Jasmine. Later, in the episode "
Robots Versus Wrestlers "Robots Versus Wrestlers " is the 22nd episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom '' How I Met Your Mother'' and 110th episode overall. It aired on May 10, 2010. Plot Barney is excited to get the gang to come with him to a grandscale figh ...
", the gang finds
Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...
's double, a Mexican wrestler, but Ted himself is not there to witness it. In " Doppelgangers", Lily and Marshall decide that as soon as they find
Barney Barney may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Barney (surname), a list of people Film and television * the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...
's doppelgänger, it will be a sign from the universe for them to start trying to have children. Lily spots a pretzel vendor whom she thinks looks like Barney, but in reality looks nothing like him. Marshall takes this mistake as Lily subconsciously affirming her desire for motherhood and they decide to start trying for a baby. They meet Barney's real doppelgänger — Dr. John Stangel — in the episode " Bad News", though they initially believe him to be Barney in disguise. In the CW supernatural drama series, ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...
'' (aired 2009–2017), actress
Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva ( bg, Николина Каменова Добрева, ; born January 9, 1989), credited professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce o ...
portrayed the roles of several doppelgängers; Amara (the first doppelgänger), Tatia (the second), Katerina Petrova/Katherine Pierce (the third) and Elena Gilbert (the fourth). The series mainly focused on the doppelgängers of the sweet & genuine Elena and the malevolent Katherine. In the same series,
Paul Wesley Paweł Tomasz Wasilewski (; July 23, 1982), known professionally as Paul Wesley, is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for starring as Stefan Salvatore on the supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017) a ...
portrays Stefan Salvatore and his doppelgängers Tom Avery and Silas. The third episode of the fourth season of ''
Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...
'', an American procedural drama television series that presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
, has a focus on the doppelgänger phenomenon. In the episode "Tag, You're Me" (originally aired Nov. 19, 2015), the victims of Sherlock Holmes's latest case found each other via a doppelgänger-finding website. One of the victims, and the culprit of another case investigated in the same episode, had searched for their twin strangers in order to dodge a DNA test for a crime they had committed years before.


Examples in music videos

The theme of doppelgänger has been frequently used in music videos, such as
Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...
's " Turn Back Time" (1998),
Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
's " Hunter" (2001), Madonna's "
Die Another Day ''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. The fourth and final film st ...
" (2002),
Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...
's "
Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
" (2010), and
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
's "
Hold It Against Me "Hold It Against Me" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, ''Femme Fatale'' (2011). It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained ...
" (2011).


Examples in video games

The 1995 video game ''
Alone in the Dark 3 ''Alone in the Dark 3'' is a 1995 survival horror video game developed and published by Infogrames Multimedia. It is the third installment of the '' Alone in the Dark'' video game series. The video game was released for MS-DOS in 1995. It was port ...
'' features a nameless enemy that Edward Carnby calls "his double", a doppelgänger that mirrors the protagonist's moves to stop him from climbing the Water Tank. He is fused to Carnby after they touch hands. The 1997
Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
game '' Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' features an enemy boss known simply as "Doppelganger", a doppelgänger of the main protagonist Alucard. The enemy mimics the movement and attack patterns of the player. The 2005
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
game '' Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening'' also features an enemy boss known as "Doppelganger" that is fought near the end of the game. Resembling
Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's Devil Trigger form, it also mimics several of Dante's moves. Upon defeating the demon boss, Dante acquires a style "referred to as the Doppelganger style" that allows him to create a shadow copy of himself to assist him in battle in exchange for consuming Dante's Devil Trigger Gauge. The 2008 video game '' Tomb Raider: Underworld'' features a character known as the "Doppelgänger." She is a clone of protagonist
Lara Croft Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around th ...
, created by antagonist Jacqueline Natla to break into Croft's mansion and unlock a safe containing an important artifact. As the safe is protected by a retinal scanner, it requires someone with the same DNA as Croft to unlock it. The Doppelgänger ends up killing Croft's friend and researcher Alister Fletcher, and burning down the mansion. She would then go on to become a major antagonist and boss in the game. In a 2009 DLC expansion pack called "Lara's Shadow," Croft takes control of the Doppelgänger, and she becomes the player character for this level. The 2010 video game ''
Alan Wake ''Alan Wake'' is an action-adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment. The story follows best-selling thriller novelist Alan Wake as he tries to uncover the mystery behind his wife's disappearance during a vacation in the small fictional ...
'' and its 2012 sequel ''
Alan Wake's American Nightmare ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. The game is a downloadable follow-up and spin-off to its predecessor, ''Alan Wake''. The game is an Xbox ...
'' feature a character known as Mr. Scratch, who is a doppelgänger of the titular protagonist Alan Wake. In the game, Mr. Scratch is a creation of the Dark Place, a supernatural realm wherein fiction can be made into reality. As negative rumors spread about Wake after his disappearance into the Dark Place in the first game, the Dark Place brought these rumors to life, creating the serial killer Mr. Scratch who seeks to take over and ruin Wake's life. Mr. Scratch only appears briefly in ''Alan Wake'', but is the main antagonist of ''American Nightmare.'' The 2017 Touhou game '' Antinomy of Common Flowers'' has a character named Sumireko Usami, which had her first debut in '' Urban Legend in Limbo'' uses a Urban Legend which is labeled as Doppelganger. In the final battle in her story mode, Sumireko and Doremy enter the outside world to see another Sumireko with them, but a 3rd one is shown to be possessing the first fake Sumireko. The Urban Legend is also shown in Tenshi and Shinmyoumaru's Story when they encounter Sumireko which is being possessed by a fake Shinmyoumaru.


Scientific applications

Research has found that people who are "true" look-alikes have more similar genes than people who do not look like each other. They share genes affecting not only the face but also some
phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...
s of physique and
behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...
, also indicating that (their) differences in the
epigenome An epigenome consists of a record of the chemical changes to the DNA and histone proteins of an organism; these changes can be passed down to an organism's offspring via transgenerational stranded epigenetic inheritance. Changes to the epigenome ...
and
microbiome A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably wel ...
contribute only modestly to
human variability Human variability, or human variation, is the range of possible values for any characteristic, physical or mental, of human beings. Frequently debated areas of variability include cognitive ability, personality, physical appearance ( body sh ...
in facial appearance.
Heautoscopy Autoscopy is the experience in which an individual perceives the surrounding environment from a different perspective, from a position outside of their own body.Blanke, O., Mohr, C. (2005)''Out-of-body experience, heautoscopy, and autoscopic halluci ...
is a term used in psychiatry and neurology for the
hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...
of "seeing one's own body at a distance". It can occur as a symptom in
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
and
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...
, and is considered a possible explanation for doppelgänger phenomena. Criminologists find a practical application in the concepts of facial familiarity and similarity due to the instances of wrongful convictions based on
eyewitness testimony Eyewitness testimony is the account a bystander or victim gives in the courtroom, describing what that person observed that occurred during the specific incident under investigation. Ideally this recollection of events is detailed; however, this is ...
. In one case, a person spent 17 years behind bars persistently denying any involvement with the crime of which he was accused. He was finally released after someone was found who shared a striking resemblance and the same first name.Mary Emily O'Hara
Kansas Inmate Freed After Doppelganger Found 17 Years Later
, ''NBC News'', June 12, 2017.


See also

*
Alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
* Bilocation *
Capgras delusion Capgras delusion or Capgras syndrome is a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member (or pet) has been replaced by an identical impostor. It is named after Joseph Capgras (1 ...
*
Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...
*
Cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, cl ...
* Doppelganger week * Gothic double * Multiverse *
Pareidolia Pareidolia (; ) is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. Common examples are perceived images of animals, ...
*
Shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
*
Syndrome of subjective doubles The syndrome of subjective doubles is a rare delusional misidentification syndrome in which a person experiences the delusion that they have a double or Doppelgänger with the same appearance, but usually with different character traits, that is l ...
*
Twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...


Footnotes


Notes


References


Further reading

* Brugger, P; Regard, M; Landis, T. (1996). ''Unilaterally Felt ‘‘Presences’’: The Neuropsychiatry of One’s Invisible Doppelgänger''. Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, and Behavioral Neurology 9: 114–122. * Keppler, C. F. (1972). ''The Literature of the Second Self''. University of Arizona Press. * Maack, L. H; Mullen, P. E. (1983). ''The Doppelgänger, Disintegration and Death: A Case Report''. ''Psychological Medicine'' 13: 651–654. * Miller, K. (1985). ''Doubles: Studies in Literary History''. Oxford University Press. * Rank, O. (1971, originally published in German, Der Doppelgänger, 1914). ''The Double: A Psychoanalytic Study''. ''The University of North Carolina Press''. * Prel, Carl du, ''Die monistische Seelenlehre, Beitrag zur Lösung des Menschenrätsels'', Leipzig, Günthers Verlag, 1888. * Reed, G. F. (1987). ''Doppelgänger''. In Gregory R. L. ''The Oxford Companion to the Mind''. Oxford University Press. pp. 200–201. * Todd, J; Dewhurst, K. (1962). ''The Significance of the Doppelgänger (Hallucinatory Double) in Folklore and Neuropsychiatry''. Practitioner 188: 377–382. * Todd, J; Dewhurst, K. (1955). ''The Double: Its Psycho-Pathology and Psycho-Physiology''. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 122: 47–55. * Hill, David A. ''How I Met Myself''. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2001.


External links

*
Grimm's Saga No. 260 in which a Doppelgaenger appears as Married Woman


{{DEFAULTSORT:Doppelganger European ghosts Literary concepts Counterparts