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Throughout history, meeting a doppelganger usually meant bad luck and was considered as an evil omen by many folklore tales. Meeting a doppelganger in real life was seen as meeting with a malevolent twin or even a paranormal entity. 

The science behind these twin strangers is also quite grim as heautoscopy or hallucinations of seeing your own body in the distance might be signs of schizophrenia and epilepsy, which explains why it was seen as a harbinger of bad luck in the olden days. Thankfully, today, we use the term doppelganger in a more general and neutral way to describe a person who looks or acts the same way as we do.

Bored Panda collected a list of people who experienced this bizarre look-alike phenomenon, and it genuinely looks like a glitch in the Matrix. Just think about it. You inherit the looks of your ancestors, and someone happens to look exactly like you, and you happen to meet him accidentally. What are the odds? And though it is quite an eerie experience, the chance for a fun picture is just too good.

If you have met your doppelganger in real life, we'd like to hear your story!

#1

My Doppelganger Was Seated Next To Me On A Plane, Then We Accidentally Checked Into The Same Hotel And Went For A Beer

Two doppelgangers in a plane and in a bar drinking a pint

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Amy Tarleton
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The best part of this photo is the guy in the background getting a kick out of it!

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#2

I Found My Literal Doppelgänger Just Now Wtf

Two doppelgangers posing in a shopping mall

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#3

I Ran Into My Doppelganger At My Cousin's Wedding And She's My Cousin's Husband's Sister, No Other Relation

Two doppelgangers posing for a selfie

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Are Doppelgangers Real?

The word “doppelganger” comes from the German language and literally means “double-goer” or “double-walker,” meaning a person who’s your visual copy. Unlike having an actual twin sibling, the doppelganger twins DNA will never match as they are supposed to be a carbon copy of you sans the shared genes. Spooky, right? 

And although doppelgangers are very real in mythology and in popular culture (think “Twin Peaks” or “Us”), chances to meet one in real life are very, very slim. We’ll discuss just how slim they are in the next section.

#4

My Friend Met His Doppelganger Last Night

Two doppelgangers in a restaurant

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#5

When Retired Priest Neil Richardson Moved To Essex He Found People Kept Coming Up To Him To Say "Hello John" - Because His Double Already Lived There

Two old doppelgangers looking cool with sunglasses on

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#6

My Own Doppelganger That I Ran Into At A Music Festival, Plus A Face-Swap Of The Photo

Two doppelgangers in a music festival

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Is it Possible to Have a Doppelganger in Real Life?

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In a nutshell, yes, it is possible to have a doppelganger in real life, but there’s one huge caveat—the chances of having a real-life doppelganger that matches the measurements of your facial features exactly is about one in a trillion. So, if you’re worried about identity theft or if the thought of doppelganger scary stories keeps you up at night, you can rest assured that meeting one in real life is nearly impossible. 

This leads us to another question—does everyone have a doppelganger? While we’re not aces in math or statistics, the odds are against this. You may certainly find someone who looks similar to you in your lifetime, but to say that every one of us has an exact match or a real-life doppelganger wandering around is a far shot.

#7

My Friend Found Her Doppelganger At A Party

Two doppelgangers hugging in a party

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#8

My Friend Also Found His Doppelgänger At A Party

Two doppelgangers in a party

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Are Doppelgangers Evil?

If we’re talking about real-life doppelgangers, one can never know with them! There are all kinds of people, and doppelgangers in real life can be both as good as you or as bad as your upstairs neighbor who seemingly wears wooden clogs and dances Kozachok in ungodly hours of the night. 

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If we’re talking about mythological doppelgangers, they almost certainly are all evil. Some mythologies name doppelgangers as harbingers of bad luck; most say they’re your evil twins, and the portrayal in popular culture almost always doubles them with the battle of good and evil. 

So now that we know what a doppelganger is and the truth behind doppelganger's meaning, it’s up to you to decide whether to believe in their existence.  Whether you think of them as evil entities or pure gene lottery, one thing is sure—they’re downright entertaining. Scroll down our list of real-life lookalikes and decide for yourself are doppelgangers real.

#10

Bumped Into My Doppelganger At Subic Bay. My Dad, Cousins And Brother Accidentally Mistook Her For Me, So My Aunty Asked Her If We Could Take A Photo Together

Two doppelgangers in a park

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Amy Carter
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

DNA test needed! I mean even her own dad thought the doppelganger was her.

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#11

10 Years Ago When I Went Off To College For The First Time, People I Didn't Know Kept Coming Up To Me And Calling Me "Brian". My Name Is Josh. Then A Few Weeks Into The Semester I Met Brian And We Took This Picture Together.

Two doppelgangers posing near a poster wall

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#12

Found My Doppelganger. Funny.... We Even Share The Same Birthday

Two doppelgangers sitting near a table in cafe

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#13

My Dads Coworker Is Also His Doppelgänger

Two bald doppelgangers in the office

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#14

My Girlfriend Met Her Doppelganger

Two purple haired doppelgangers hugging

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#15

I Met My Twin Brother From Another Mother At The Bar. His Name Is Adam And He Also Likes Beer

Two doppelgangers hugging in a bar

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#16

My Bf (left) Met His Doppelganger At Ikea Last Night

Two doppelgangers in a Christmas isle in the supermarket

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#17

Saw Doppelgänger On Front Page Met Mine A Few Weeks Ago

Two doppelgangers hugging in a party

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#18

His Girlfriend Of One Year Started Walking Towards Me Thinking I Was Him...

Two doppelgangers hugging in the store

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#19

Met My Doppelgänger And Thought I'd Share. We Even Had Matching Hair Accessories. I'm On The Left

Two doppelgangers taking a selfie at the party

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#20

I (im The Shorter One) Met My Canadian Doppelganger On A Cruise Ship With My Wife On Our Honeymoon!

Two doppelgangers smiling in the restaurant

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#21

Got Stationed In Okinawa And Shortly After My Doppelgänger Joined My Unit

Two doppelgangers taking a selfie in a military uniform

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#22

I Was Walking Around A While Back And Met My Doppleganger, We Even Have The Same First Name

Two happy doppelgangers in orange t-shirts hugging outside

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Stille20
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That one I think is more about how they dress and keep their facial hair

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#23

Met My Doppelgänger. He's A Better Smiler Than I Am.

Two doppelgangers hugging in the store

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#25

This Is Me And My Doppelgänger. Have Any Of You Redditors Met Yours In Real Life?

Two doppelgangers hugging at the party

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#27

My Friend Just Found His Doppelganger

Two doppelgangers looking at each other in the school

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#28

My Friend Met His Doppelganger On A Night Out...

Two doppelgangers posing drunk at the bar

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#30

Just 20 Minutes Before I Walked Into The Restaurant, The Server Told Her She Looked Like Me. We Actually Already Know Each Other.

Two doppelgangers sitting in a restaurant

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#31

Was Out Last Saturday Night Minding My Own Business When A Guy And His Parents Approached Me For A Photo. Apparently I'm His Doppelganger?

Two doppelgangers hugging in a library

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#32

Ran Into My Daughter On A Business Trip... Oops. Guess Not.

Two doppelgangers sitting and eating at the table

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tim_9 avatar
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ran into a server on break at Stone Brewing in San Diego and did a double take - she not only looked like my daughter (pictured on right), she dressed the same! I took the photo (with her permission and sent it to my daughter). When I got back home we staged a pose and sent it back to the server.

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#33

It's Always An Interesting Night When You Randomly Run Into A Beard Doppelganger

Two doppelgangers looking funny at the party

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Sadie Foy
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The dude on the left kinda looks like Dogman if he had a longer and brown beard.

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#34

My Wife (left) Met Her Doppelgänger On Our Holiday In Rome.

Two doppelgangers near the main road

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#35

I Found My Doppelganger In A Bar Bathroom

Two doppelgangers posing near a door

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#36

Found My Doppelganger, Bought Him A Jager And Got This Photo Op.

Two doppelgangers hugging at the bar

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#38

I Finally Meet Longtime Virtual Pal Steve Burnett. Other People Stare In Horror At The Uncanny Duplication.

Two doppelgangers hugging at the airport

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#39

My Brother Met His Black Doppelganger Last Night

Two doppelgangers posing near a house

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#40

I Think I Found My Beard Doppelgänger

Two doppelgangers drinking beer at the festival

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#41

I Met My Doppelganger A Year Ago In A Choir. I Was A New Member. Everyone Kept Telling Us That We Look Alike. We Denied For Months, Until We Decided To Do Snapchat's Face-swap. We Couldn't Stop Laughing When Looking At The Result.

Two doppelgangers smiling and posing near a wall

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#42

Met My Doppelganger At Work! Now We're Besties!

Two doppelgangers sitting on the sofa

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#43

Just Now, Found My Doppelganger. Surreal. My Mom Told Me To Ask My Father Why This Guy Looks Like Me...

Two doppelgangers laughing under an umbrella

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#44

My Brother From Another Mother.

Two bald doppelgangers taking selfies in their room

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#45

Met My Doppelgänger At Work! She Was Hired To The Same Unit 3 Months Before Me

Two doppelgangers in a nurse outfits sitting on chairs in a hospital

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#46

Never Met My Doppelgänger But He's A Korean Rapper Called Zico!

Two doppelgangers sitting in the dark

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#47

Found My Doppelgänger At The Pub After My Friends Went Up And Hugged Her

Two doppelgangers hugging and taking a selfie at the pub

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Gail Torres
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Different chins, different eyes different cheekbones....same dyed hair color.

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#48

My Fiancé Ran Into His Doppelgänger At A Car Show. I Called The Guy Over And Made Them Take A Picture Together.

Two doppelgangers standing in car show near a supermarket

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#49

Been Told 3 Times I Have A Dopplegänger. Where Are They??

Man taking a selfie in a car

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Lora Glimp
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband is/was your doppelganger. He passed away. I was showing your picture to my mom. I handed the phone to her and said "Tell me who this looks like?" She had a shocked look on her face. Our oldest son leaned over and said, " Hey that's my dad!" Yall could have been twins :)

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#50

I (left) Met My Doppelgänger (jenna) At Chick-fil-a! I Actually Didn't Even See It Until All Her Coworkers Started Flipping Out. They Were Convinced We Were Twins Trying To Pull One Over On Them. After They Took The Picture I Flipped Too.

Two doppelgangers taking a selfie at a cafe

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Note: this post originally had 352 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.