Doppelgangers were thought to be an omen of death or bad fortune. If you see a being that looks like you, doom awaits!
The name has evolved to mean a lookalike, usually supernatural or unexplained. There are many stories that feature Doppelgangers, whether ghostly, clones, mirrors come-to-life, robot duplicates, or just completely unexplained. The short “true” stories online will sometimes feature a doppelganger sighting, and oh my Lord, is it creepy.
Especially if the lookalike is behaving in an odd way, and is impossible for people to catch up with or talk to, it's unsettling and chilling in that wonderful way.
There are a couple of Twilight Zone episodes that use them. My favorite is probably “Mirror Image”, where the phenomenon is still unexplained in the end.
Of course, duplicates of ourselves are used in science fiction and are very much mainstream these days, with all the Multiverse shenanigans we've got going on. It's a trope in non-horror, non sci-fi stuff as well, with the Prince and Pauper/Man in the Iron Mask stories, and The Parent Trap - although if the twins are actually related, it doesn't really count. Twins who are unrelated strangers - that counts. Someone with a long-lost identical relative might see them and THINK they're seeing a doppelganger, but it turns out not to be to case. Still a neat story though.
I saw my own doppelganger in a bar one time. People were pointing it out to me (and probably to him). I didn't talk to him, though. Didn't know what to say (and I didn't want to die… or destroy the Universe).
We'll be talking about Doppelgangers on the next Quackcast, coming Tuesday - I'm looking forward to a fun, creepy sinister conversation! Or a fun conversation about a topic that can be creepy and sinister!
Read and contribute to the Doppelgangers forum thread:
https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/179226/
See you next time!
Wait…is…is that you…?
-Banes
-Banes
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Don't I know You?
Banes at 12:00AM, Nov. 24, 2022
9 likes!
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dpat57 at 3:43AM, Nov. 25, 2022
I was walking through the woods with my dog one day and a tree had split open and another me was inside, he opened his eyes and stared at me, which was très creepy. I knocked him unconscious with a big branch and dragged him all the way home. He's locked in the basement now, working on my stack of unfinished novels in exchange for scraps of food. He claims *I'm* the doppelgänger, but I know I'm the original. My dog won't stop barking at me, I have to lock him outside. Don't believe a word they say, they're all liars.
Ozoneocean at 7:25PM, Nov. 24, 2022
The old faerie changelings were doppelgängers. Exact copies of the baby that was stolen. The baby would be raised among the fair folk and he doppelgänger would die... because it was actually a very old fairy that had a glamour on it to look like the baby. -Most people know this I think but the story has been muddied by modern popculture versions.
bravo1102 at 8:39AM, Nov. 24, 2022
With my medium there are often figures used multiple times among the comics. A few are explained as actors in movie rolls and a few others are that everyone has a look a like among tge teeming billions of humans. A few figures were modified and customized to look different from each other they started out as the same. Belinda Brandon, her two sisters and her aunt are all modifications of the same figure. Doppelganger all over my comics. ;)
HawkandFloAdventures at 7:59AM, Nov. 24, 2022
Evil doppelgangers in particular are very common. Thankfully nobody has tun into my Acèh nemesis Rawk And Jo Misadventures. Who aksi happens to go by the name of RearyPigeon666
Ironscarf at 6:43AM, Nov. 24, 2022
I thought this post was a doppelganger for a moment, until I saw the link to the forum thread! I was at a pub one night years ago and people kept coming up to me and saying "Oh it's you! What are you going to do with all that money?!". Turns out someone looking exactly like me had won a fortune on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire that night. Godamn doppelganger is living my best life.
InkyMoondrop at 6:41AM, Nov. 24, 2022
Again: great subject. I'm exploring the theme in my current chapter through the mentioned "Multiverse shenanigans", although I don't use the term, because I grew up on Sliders and don't want to jump on the wagon that think the concept is new just because Marvel popularized it. The mentioned characters of mine are technically alter egos with their own history and moral codes, I don't do a lot of truly "evil" characters at all and even if there will be some, context would help to understand their motivations better. But the most interesting aspect of this, to me is the perception of identity and if we can consider the other person as someone different or an extension of ourselves. The movie: Enemy was a great watch on the subject, layered and psychologically thrilling.
KAM at 2:25AM, Nov. 24, 2022
"If you see a being that looks like you, doom awaits!" That's why I avoid mirrors. ;-)