Unexplained

Was this schoolteacher being stalked by her ghostly twin?

Back in 1845, Emilie Sagee, 32, took a teaching position at an exclusive girls’ school called Pensionat von Neuwelcke, in what is now Latvia.

The school was famous, as only the very wealthy and refined could send their daughters to study there.

But although her CV was excellent, Emilie’s employment history baffled the headmistress.

The young teacher seemed to have great difficulty in holding down a job very long.

Over the years, she’d been dismissed from 19 schools all over Europe.

Still, her actual teaching record was spotless, so Emilie got the job nonetheless, and was instantly well-loved by pupils and staff alike.

Those who knew Emilie never had a bad word to say about her, describing her as a kind, patient and intelligent young woman.

It was the other Emilie who gave everyone the creeps.

You see, as the teachers and students at Pensionat would soon discover, Emilie was often followed by a ghostly double of herself.

A chilling doppelganger. A spectral twin that Emilie herself never saw. But other people did. Julie von Guldenstubbe, 13, who was a pupil in Emilie’s class, recalled the first time she and her classmates saw their teacher’s spooky double.

Emilie was writing on the blackboard when suddenly a woman appeared out of thin air next to her.

This woman was wearing exactly the same clothes as Emilie and resembled her in every way.

Her hair, her eyes, even her movements...

As Emilie wrote on the board, the apparition beside her mimicked her motion flawlessly, as if she were a reflection in a mirror.

The only difference was that the second Emilie had no chalk in her hand.

Julie and her classmates were frozen in terror, unable even to alert their teacher to the terrifying presence.

After a few minutes, the spectre vanished.

Days later, Emilie was eating her lunch in the dining hall when, all of a sudden, the doppelganger was spotted standing behind her.

Just as before, her ghost twin was copying her every movement, lifting her hand to her mouth as if she were eating, despite not holding a fork.

The pupils who saw the incident were petrified, staff members deeply disturbed.

Surely the ghostly doppelganger didn’t exist. If not, what were they seeing?

The sightings continued, but Emilie was the only person who could never see the apparition beside her.

Though many did notice that whenever her doppelganger appeared the real Emilie would become lethargic and fatigued,

as if something was draining her energy.

In those superstitious times, seeing your shadow self was believed to be an omen of doom.

But what did it mean if the original couldn’t see their double?

One of the most infamous incidents at the school was witnessed by 42 pupils in a sewing class.

Supervised by another teacher, the girls could clearly see Emilie picking flowers and working on the school garden from the window.

But when their teacher briefly left the classroom, the students were perplexed when Emilie walked in.

If Emilie was in their classroom, who was in garden?

Turning their heads back and forth, the pupils saw a suddenly tired-looking Emilie in the garden, and another sitting in the teacher’s chair.

The doppelganger hadn’t said a word, she’d simply sat down, staring into space.

Two girls eventually worked up the courage to approach the spectre, who didn’t appear to notice them.

Taking a deep breath, one reached out to touch the vision, only for her hand to go straight through!

She later described the texture as like a thick fabric. The headmistress was in a dilemma.

People had begun to feel uneasy around Emilie, yet she was a model employee and outstanding teacher...

Before long, word of the supernatural activity reached the parents.

Many pulled their children out of the school, leaving the headmistress with no choice.

Again, Emilie Sagee found herself looking for a new job.

Sadly, no records of Emilie exist after her time in Latvia.

It’s possible she changed her name to avoid being associated with paranormal activity when looking for other teaching jobs.

We can only hope the poor woman didn’t suffer a darker fate at the ghostly hands of her shadow self...

The pupils who saw the incident were petrified