by L.S. Watts

Created on: March 11, 2011   Last Updated: March 14, 2011

The paranormal phenomenon of doppelgangers has been occurring for centuries. There are many theories on why this occurs as well as disagreements on how the doppelganger phenomenon happens. Some believe a doppelganger can only be seen by the person it is impersonating, but other people can attest that doppelgangers can appear to anyone the original person knows. The doppelganger phenomenon doesn’t happen often, but when it does it typically makes quite the stir.

There have been many stories and accounts of seeing someone’s double. Many accounts include interacting with the doppelganger, thinking it was the original person, whereas other accounts the original person has encountered their own doppelganger. However, this phenomenon never had a name until the late 18th century, even though it was known to occur for centuries prior.

The term doppelganger was first used in 1796 in the novel Siebenkäs by Jean Paul, a German romance novelist. The word doppelganger is actually two German words put together. Doppel means “double” and ganger means “walker”. In the book, the main character is unhappy in his current marriage and his alter ego, referred to as his doppelganger in the book, convinces him to fake his own death. Ultimately, the main character falls in love with someone else and gets married after he faked his death.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a doppelganger is separated into four definitions. The first definition is that a doppelganger is the ghost of a living person. The next definition is simply a double. Then it references a doppelganger to be a person’s alter ego. The last reference is a person who has the same name as another. Although Jean Paul first coined the phrase, Merriam-Webster says that the phrase didn’t become popular until around 1851.

Many people believe a doppelganger to be their alter ego or higher self, as defined in Jean Paul’s fictional novel. It is as though a piece of the soul separates and manifests in a body that looks like the original self. Some mystics believe that once a person dies they are able to bi-locate, or be in two places at once. The theory here is that the higher self is doing just that, separating for a short time and manifesting.

Interestingly enough, scientists in Switzerland have their own theory behind the doppelganger phenomena. In 2006 they used electric stimulation to a patient’s left temporoparietal lobe in her brain. This caused

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