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Doppelgangers (Dopperugengā) refers to twin or double. From the German word Doppelganger or double-goer, the term is used for a twin stranger who is not biologically related (siblings, cousins and relatives). But in horror anecdotes, stories and mysterious real-life stories, doppelgangers pertains to strange entities that manifest as a ghostly double or apparition of the living.

Seeing a double ganger can mean a bad omen or luck as portrayed in numerous stories of such encounters that existed from the medieval period. One famous example was of that queen Elizabeth I who saw her doppelganger described as pallid, shivered and wan. Perhaps, the most famous example was that of the story of Emilie Sagee, who was a French teacher from Dijon, France during the mid-19th century. She taught in a girl's school where she mystified and horrified the student's parents because of her double apparition. An incident occurred when Emilie temporarily left her students to stroll in the garden. afterwards, her apparition appeared in front of her students, thus surprising them. One student attempted to touch the Ghostly Emilie but when the student tried to touch the doppelganger, she felt a field and cobweb-like resistance. After the student's attempt, the doppelganger vanished. Emile became animated again. 

Some sources on the internet tell that Emile didn't exist at all since there were no records of Emile's Birth in Dijon and the story has been copied or based on the book.

The closest term in Japanese for doppelganger is the Ikiryō or living ghost that is the spirit of the living person. such spirit leaves the body and travel to great distances to haunt the living.

Tags: doppelganger, Emilie Sagee, ghosts, apparition, fetch, horror, ghost