And we’re back with part 2 of our tale of phantom doubles and death omens!
When we last met in the hallowed pages of Substack, I told you that days before Mary Shelley’s husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, drowned in a tragic accident, he confessed that he’d seen his doppelgänger numerous times.
It’s an anecdote that might sound familiar to some of you, but there’s a bit more to Shelley’s story you might not know…
Now, Shelley was not the only person to see his phantom double. Mary’s close friend, Jane Williams, once saw it as well.
Jane was sitting near the window of her apartment in Italy and looked up to see Shelley walking by. It was normal to see Shelley walk past this particular window since the Shelleys lived in the same building as Jane, so she didn’t think much of it initially. She wondered why he hadn’t stopped to say “hello”, but presumed he hadn’t seen her. She leaned out the window and called out to him, but he didn’t respond. Then, she watched as Percy Shelley walked into a dead end and vanished.
Shelley was nowhere near Jane’s apartment or even the same part of town that day. And while it’s easy to say she was mistaken—that it was a similar-looking man who walked by or the man never turned around because she was calling someone else’s name—that doesn’t explain his vanishing act.
The eeriest part of Shelley’s story is that shortly before his death, he spoke with his doppelgänger. On a warm summer day, Shelley strode out on the terrace of their home, and found his double standing there as though it was waiting for him. Shelley stood in silence as his double approached and asked, “How long do you mean to be content?”
It’s a peculiar thing for a death omen to say, isn’t it? One would assume it would go with something a little more death forward like “your time is coming” or “don’t fear the reaper”. But, there’s something about Shelley you probably don’t know that complicates this doppelgänger case, and in order to understand, we have to go back to 1814, when Percy met Mary.
While it might seem odd to do a deep dive into the life of Percy Bysshe Shelley for an investigation into doppelgängers, I ask that you bear with me and keep the words Shelley’s phantom double said to him in mind.
Want to hear the full tragic story of Percy Shelley and his death? Find it on our Substack: here.