Doppelgangers
Very frightening and extremely intriguing, is the legend of doppelgangers, which prey on their human counterpart. So what is a doppelganger? The term originated in Germany, meaning a "double walker," or "ghostly double" of a living person.
Although there is no evidence or solid proof, there are many theories. One theory is that everybody has a body double. Of each, one is good and one is exceptionally evil. Assuming you are the good one, the other one is probably evil, and can be just an apparition trapped in another time or dimension.
Urban Legend
Legend has it that if you come face to face with your doppelganger, it's an omen or warning of death -- for both you and your twin. Because of this, if you see a replica of yourself, run for your life. If you keep seeing your doppelganger, chances are that your days are numbered, because you'll soon see your demise.
There are many stories regarding encounters with doppelgangers, none of them pleasant. Often, a person does not actually see their own doppelganger, but someone else does. Can you be two places at once? No, but it's a very strange feeling when someone who knows you very well insists that they saw you just thirty minutes ago -- and you were nowhere in the vicinity. Imagine this happening time and time again and you'll soon go insane.
Hence, the myth that a doppelganger will precede the arrival of the real person. Many stories explaining their experiences with these apparitions have this in common. Perhaps he's one step ahead of you?
Alex sent in a compelling story last year, just before Halloween. He describes some unsettling incidences, but had no idea what the cause was. The story was edited for only grammar and was published with the title of The Cemetery Mimic. Lauryl writes in a few weeks later, stating that she believes this story depicts repeated encounters with a doppelganger.
So are there really doppelgangers or is it just a creepy urban legend? You're not likely to believe it if you've never had an experience with one. Whether Alex really has one is just speculation and how the story is interpreted. The story rings true, but Alex is probably not in any danger as there's no solid proof of doppelgangers or of someone meeting their demise after seeing their own. Regardless, the legend lives on.
Here it is:
the Cemetery Mimic
There's a defiled cemetery in the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the city I was born in. People who can't afford to pay funerary services often bury their loved ones here. In Mexico, there's no such thing as medical aid for low income workers. People that come from out of town are not used to the ever changing weather and as consequence, many children die in the winter and end up buried in the old, defiled cemetery.
When I was about ten years old, four older friends and I decided to check it out. We walked for hours and when we finally arrived, it was almost dark. We started walking around and nothing seemed out of place. The air was getting very heavy and we heard a strange noise from an old, rotted tree. As we got near it, the tree started shaking. We all got really scared and ran. Later on, we found out that it was one of our friends playing a prank on us.
We were laughing when suddenly the old grave keeper showed up. He said "Boys, I know you are all just here to have fun and fool around, but please understand that horrible things happen here! I live in that house over there (about 100 feet from the cemetery), and every night that those high school punks come and drink and make their mess, weird things begin to happen. Last time there were loud voices and someone was knocking on my door at 2:00 am. I thought it was those punks, but no one was there. I am very tired and I really would like to sleep tonight, so if you have no business here, please leave." We felt bad for the poor old guy and left.
We never returned to that place until I was seventeen. I was with my high school punk friends in a truck, and we were looking for the old cemetery. After ten years, the place had really changed and we were having trouble finding the cemetery. The trail was wet and muddy and there were so many of us that the truck got stuck in the mud. When we got out of the truck, we soon found out that we were inside the cemetery.
My friend left the truck in neutral so we could push it, when suddenly the truck began moving by itself. After we saw that, we were so scared that we just got in the truck and drove off. When we finally decided to stop, we noticed that the truck was marked with tiny foot and hand prints all over. Then the grave keeper showed up and said "I remember you, you don't understand what is going on, do you?" The spirits will chase you for a long time."
I really didn't pay much attention to what he said until I later learned that there hadn't been any grave keeper there for years. I got really freaked out when my friends started telling me that I looked different. The said they would run into me and I would have a disturbing, "evil" look in my eyes. The weird part is that I was never even at the place and time they would tell me they saw me.
One of my friends said he chased me all the way into a dead-end alley, and that I would just disappear without a trace. Even my girlfriend said she would sometimes see me near her house, dressed in black, with a disturbing glare, when I was actually out somewhere drinking, with someone else.
My sister says that sometimes she hears me when I get home, and watches me open the door and go into the living room with the light turned off. She would see me lay down on the sofa from across the hall, and suddenly I would begin ripping my clothes off like some wild animal. When she turns the light on, there's no one there. Hours later, I would arrive home, leave my keys on the table and go to my room. All of this happens as if someone, or something was imitating me -- like a mimic.
Very frightening and extremely intriguing, is the legend of doppelgangers, which prey on their human counterpart. So what is a doppelganger? The term originated in Germany, meaning a "double walker," or "ghostly double" of a living person.
Although there is no evidence or solid proof, there are many theories. One theory is that everybody has a body double. Of each, one is good and one is exceptionally evil. Assuming you are the good one, the other one is probably evil, and can be just an apparition trapped in another time or dimension.
Urban Legend
Legend has it that if you come face to face with your doppelganger, it's an omen or warning of death -- for both you and your twin. Because of this, if you see a replica of yourself, run for your life. If you keep seeing your doppelganger, chances are that your days are numbered, because you'll soon see your demise.
There are many stories regarding encounters with doppelgangers, none of them pleasant. Often, a person does not actually see their own doppelganger, but someone else does. Can you be two places at once? No, but it's a very strange feeling when someone who knows you very well insists that they saw you just thirty minutes ago -- and you were nowhere in the vicinity. Imagine this happening time and time again and you'll soon go insane.
Hence, the myth that a doppelganger will precede the arrival of the real person. Many stories explaining their experiences with these apparitions have this in common. Perhaps he's one step ahead of you?
Alex sent in a compelling story last year, just before Halloween. He describes some unsettling incidences, but had no idea what the cause was. The story was edited for only grammar and was published with the title of The Cemetery Mimic. Lauryl writes in a few weeks later, stating that she believes this story depicts repeated encounters with a doppelganger.
So are there really doppelgangers or is it just a creepy urban legend? You're not likely to believe it if you've never had an experience with one. Whether Alex really has one is just speculation and how the story is interpreted. The story rings true, but Alex is probably not in any danger as there's no solid proof of doppelgangers or of someone meeting their demise after seeing their own. Regardless, the legend lives on.
Here it is:
the Cemetery Mimic
There's a defiled cemetery in the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the city I was born in. People who can't afford to pay funerary services often bury their loved ones here. In Mexico, there's no such thing as medical aid for low income workers. People that come from out of town are not used to the ever changing weather and as consequence, many children die in the winter and end up buried in the old, defiled cemetery.
When I was about ten years old, four older friends and I decided to check it out. We walked for hours and when we finally arrived, it was almost dark. We started walking around and nothing seemed out of place. The air was getting very heavy and we heard a strange noise from an old, rotted tree. As we got near it, the tree started shaking. We all got really scared and ran. Later on, we found out that it was one of our friends playing a prank on us.
We were laughing when suddenly the old grave keeper showed up. He said "Boys, I know you are all just here to have fun and fool around, but please understand that horrible things happen here! I live in that house over there (about 100 feet from the cemetery), and every night that those high school punks come and drink and make their mess, weird things begin to happen. Last time there were loud voices and someone was knocking on my door at 2:00 am. I thought it was those punks, but no one was there. I am very tired and I really would like to sleep tonight, so if you have no business here, please leave." We felt bad for the poor old guy and left.
We never returned to that place until I was seventeen. I was with my high school punk friends in a truck, and we were looking for the old cemetery. After ten years, the place had really changed and we were having trouble finding the cemetery. The trail was wet and muddy and there were so many of us that the truck got stuck in the mud. When we got out of the truck, we soon found out that we were inside the cemetery.
My friend left the truck in neutral so we could push it, when suddenly the truck began moving by itself. After we saw that, we were so scared that we just got in the truck and drove off. When we finally decided to stop, we noticed that the truck was marked with tiny foot and hand prints all over. Then the grave keeper showed up and said "I remember you, you don't understand what is going on, do you?" The spirits will chase you for a long time."
I really didn't pay much attention to what he said until I later learned that there hadn't been any grave keeper there for years. I got really freaked out when my friends started telling me that I looked different. The said they would run into me and I would have a disturbing, "evil" look in my eyes. The weird part is that I was never even at the place and time they would tell me they saw me.
One of my friends said he chased me all the way into a dead-end alley, and that I would just disappear without a trace. Even my girlfriend said she would sometimes see me near her house, dressed in black, with a disturbing glare, when I was actually out somewhere drinking, with someone else.
My sister says that sometimes she hears me when I get home, and watches me open the door and go into the living room with the light turned off. She would see me lay down on the sofa from across the hall, and suddenly I would begin ripping my clothes off like some wild animal. When she turns the light on, there's no one there. Hours later, I would arrive home, leave my keys on the table and go to my room. All of this happens as if someone, or something was imitating me -- like a mimic.
