Doppelgangers

[FlickerOfLight]

I've never seen a Doppelganger that I know of. Never experienced it at all.

But I've apparently been one, at least twice now.

Many, many moons ago, in the late 70's - 1979, I think it was - a girl I'd known for years saw me walking the streets of a nearby town. She yelled and waved and did everything she could to get my attention, but apparently I ignored her entirely and just kept walking on.

Problem was, I was a long, long way away from that town at the time. Not there at all, and up to my eyeballs in rough livin' and bad business. When she actually did see me, and confronted me about my indiscretion, I of course denied being there at all, and told her where I HAD been at the time... but she wasn't buying it. She was so convinced it had been me that she didn't speak to me for a few years afterwards over my slight of her. She was just that certain that I was lying to her, and that I damned well HAD been there.

Flash forward 45 years or so, to last Thursday evening - 6 March, 2025 - around 6:30 Pm my time. There I was, minding my own business taking an evening nap, sound asleep, when Grace comes running into the bedroom, starts shaking my leg and shouting "Are you DEAD? Are you DEAD?".

One can imagine my confusion at being abruptly awakened in such a manner.

Once I got her calmed down, she told me that walking through the living room, she'd seen me sitting there (here) in my usual place as she passed. Then, thinking of something she wanted to ask me, she immediately turned around to ask it, but POOF! I was gone. Not there at all. So, she went looking for me through the house, wondering where I had gone to, but I was not in the kitchen, nor the bathroom, nor anywhere else. She finally found me laying in bed,in the bedroom, where I'd been for the last hour and a half or so.

That's when the shaking and yelling started.

Everything got better when I answered her, because dead guys, as a rule, don't answer. I think she thought she'd seen my ghost... even though she claims not to believe in ghosts.

it's a weird phenomena that I know nothing about, this doppelganger business. I've no idea what causes it, or what it means, or if it even means anything at all. It's just not something I've ever studied up on.

Does anyone else have any ideas as to why this sort of thing happens? I'm stumped.

.

The most logical answer is it was simply her imagination. 

The flip side isn't so good.
Seeing a doppelganger is often considered a bad omen in various cultures, symbolizing misfortune, illness, or even death. In German folklore, doppelgangers are ghostly doubles that appear as harbingers of doom, warning a person of their impending demise. Similarly, in Norse mythology, a vardøger is a spirit double that precedes a person, sometimes signaling an ill fate. In English and Irish traditions, encountering one's own spectral twin is believed to foreshadow death, much like the fetch, a spirit double seen before a person’s passing. These eerie beliefs have persisted in folklore, reinforcing the doppelganger’s reputation as an omen of disaster.

No matter where I looked this is considered a bad omen.

The simplest explanation is usually the right one. I've seen things like this as well; Not sure  if it was pure imagination, or if I actually saw something.

A little AI assistance:
Spirit doubles, often associated with doppelgangers, are supernatural entities believed to be an ethereal or ghostly duplicate of a living person. Many cultures have legends surrounding spirit doubles, often interpreting their appearance as a significant omen.

Meaning of Seeing a Spirit Double

1. Bad Omen – In many traditions, seeing your own spirit double is considered a sign of impending misfortune, illness, or even death. This belief is especially prevalent in European folklore.


2. Warning or Premonition – Some legends suggest that a spirit double appears to warn a person of danger or major life changes.


3. Supernatural Reflection – In certain spiritual beliefs, a spirit double is an astral projection or shadow-self, representing a person’s inner conflicts or hidden nature.


4. Parallel Existence – Some theories, particularly in esoteric and paranormal circles, suggest that spirit doubles could be glimpses into parallel dimensions where another version of oneself exists.



Spirit Doubles in Different Cultures

Norse Mythology – The vardøger is a ghostly double that precedes a person, performing their actions before they arrive.

Egyptian Mythology – The ka is a spiritual twin that accompanies a person throughout their life and can survive after death.

Celtic Folklore – The fetch is a spectral twin that appears as a harbinger of death, often seen by friends or family before someone dies.

Native American Beliefs – Some tribes believe in spirit doubles that act as guides or warnings, sometimes appearing in dreams or visions.


If you’ve seen a spirit double, some interpretations suggest introspection, protection rituals, or seeking guidance from spiritual leaders to understand its meaning.

You could have astral projected your spirit, or she could have seen one of these "parallel existences" of you.