Is There Any Truth Behind Doppelgänger Myths?

So where did belief in spirit doubles come from and is there any real truth to them? While many today still believe in the existence of a double self, some scientists believe the phenomenon occurs based on injuries or stimulation to certain parts of the brain which cause errors in spatial reasoning.

Others believe it is the result of a vision, hallucination, or that we live in a parallel universe in which everything in this world in replicated in another dimension. Whatever the real truth behind doppelgangers, belief in the spirit double has instilled both fear and wonder in people for thousands of years.

Many Native American creation myths likewise provide for the role of dualistic twins. Hopi legends refer to the twins who were called the Child of the Sun and the Child of the Water.

The Hopi also believe in duality between the Upper World and the Underworld: that whatever is happening here in the Upper World, the opposite is happening in the Underworld.

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Does Someone Else Have Your Face? Doppelgängers Explained!

While Doppelgänger cases are said to be works of fiction, there are a number of real-life cases in which individuals claim to have met their sinister double.

Among the most noteworthy is Abraham Lincoln’s experience, as chronicled by Noah Brooks in his book ‘ Washington in Lincoln’s Time’ (1895).

According to his account, soon after Lincoln was elected in 1860, he arrived home one day and looked into the bureau mirror where he saw himself reflected in double.

Lincoln said, "...nearly at full length; but my face had two separate and distinct images."

Lincoln noticed that although the images were nearly identical, one was "a little paler—say five shades—than the other".

His wife was said to be very worried and told Lincoln she believed that the paleness of half the dual image was a bad omen , which meant that Lincoln would serve his first full term, but would not live to finish his second.

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