Doppelganger Phenomenon The Mysterious Twin
In history, there are many records of people who claim to meet their own shadow or mysterious twin. This phenomenon is often referred to as the doppelganger. Doppelganger comes from the German word meaning "Double Walker". This term is used to refer to the self-image who is believed to be with every human being on earth. This phenomenon is different from the appearance of ghosts. If the appearance of a ghost means one sees the image of a deceased person, then the doppelganger phenomenon means seeing the image of a living person.
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In many cases, Doppelganger is believed to be a sign of death. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I met the shadow of herself before she died. We did not know when this phenomenon first appeared. However, in 1691, a note was found of Doppelganger that was written by Robert Kirk. He wrote that this phenomenon had appeared in the stories of the people of Scotland and Ireland. The doppelganger phenomenon has many diverse explanations in different parts of the world. In the traditions and beliefs of some countries, the doppelganger is simply defined as an evil spirit that takes the form of a human being.
Famous Case of Doppelganger
On April 12, 1888, at the British Museum of London, a doppelganger report created a furor among museum employees. Dr. Wynn Wescott and Pastor W.T Lemon were scheduled to meet in the museum reading room. Pastor Lemon arrived a few minutes early and saw Dr. Wescott was in talks with a colleague named Mrs. Salmon. Not long Mrs. Salmon politely greeted Dr. Wescott and left the conversation. She walked and greeted with Pater Lemon, then Mrs. Salmon turned to Dr. Wescott to tell that Pastor Lemon had arrived. But she was surprised that Dr. Wescott who was standing was gone.
Pastor Lemon and Mrs. Salmon then asked the receptionist and other museum officials. They got the same answer that all people saw Dr. Wescott came into the room but no one saw him leaving the room. Shocked and anxious, they checked into Dr. Wescott home and unexpectedly, they found Dr. Wescott was lying in bed due to sick and had not left his bed since morning. There are still many cases the of the doppelganger and even now, there is a website to find your doppelganger and many people have been met by their mysterious twin. No one can explain why two people without blood relation having the identic appearance.
Theory of Dr. Peter Brugger
In the context of science, Dr. Peter Brugger of Zurich University Hospital proposed the theory of Doppelganger Syndrome. This syndrome according to him is a feeling whereby an amputation patient can feel again the lost limbs. In the case of Doppelganger, not only some of the limbs but the entire extra body is felt outside the body and out of control. According to Dr. Brugger, this syndrome can happen when our nerves experience a shock so we will bring an internal representation of ourselves which is then transferred to the outside world.
This usually happens when we are experiencing stress, loneliness or when our brain is injured or a tumor. For Brugger, this neural phenomenon can explain an "imaginary friend" experienced by many small children. Although many science research has done, the theory just explains some of the case not all the of cases that happen about the doppelganger. The cause of this phenomenon still become a mystery.