Doppelgangers Across Genres
Books that feature doppelgangers, doubles and other strange creatures that may want to take your place or impersonate you. Doppelgangers are hard to find, but they are even harder to get rid of...
created by amalgama
last updated August, 2026
Comments
Thank you everyone for your great recommendations so far 🙇 Here are some notes about the books included in this list:
-Ideally, the doubles have to encounter each other at some point in the story, or otherwise know about each other's existence -Otherwise, the story has to be about or prominently feature a doppelganger (like in The Summer Hikaru Died) -The double has to interact with other characters in the story and/or appear "in the flesh". This excludes stories like The Portrait of Dorian Gray, where Dorian's double is a painting that can't interact with the characters in the story. Think of the double as a human or creature more than as purely a symbol or idea -I'm excluding stories featuring twins where the twins are each other's doppelganger, since there are other lists focusing on twins and I'm more interested in doppelgangers as identical strangers or supernatural creatures
These are more loose guidelines than harsh rules, so do ask in the comments if you're not sure if a book you'd like to recommend fits!
What a fun and not at all scary concept! 😂
amalgamaOP
Right? :D Haha I love doppelganger stories but they're never exactly... pleasant 😂
yes! Awesome list! this is one of my phobias 🙊
amalgamaOP
I didn't know this could be a phobia! Are you scared of like the possibility of encountering your double? 👀
It’s just so eerie to meet someone that looks like me, but isn’t me. One time I saw someone that from a certain angle did look too much like me and the level of unreality was so uncanny that it made me dissociate for a bit. I do struggle with derealization sometimes tho, so perhaps it’s just me hahaha.
I can’t explain why it unsettles me so much tbh.
I also get it when I meet twins at different times (like I meet one first and then the other).
amalgamaOP
Oh yeah, I see what you mean. The role of the doppelganger in literature is quite often to make the protagonist question their own identity, what makes them unique and who they are, whether they are replaceable, etc. They always present the protag with difficult existential questions. And I can totally see how it would freak me out if I encountered someone who looked liked me 😵💫 I love doppelganger stories precisely because of how unsettling they can be 🫣
Oh yeah, I sat there looking at her like “I’m here, so who’s that? Is she me? Am I there? Am I both? Then what am I?” It was so unsettling!! Some of my fave movies feature doppelgängers, so I’m happy to have books to add to my phobia repertoire lol
There’s a nice short story by a Puerto Rican author featuring a doppelgänger, it’s in the collection called “San Juan Noir”. JIC you wanna try :) “Dos muertes para Angela” de Ana Maria fuster lavin.
Edit to add: I was like 14-15 when I saw my semi-doppelgänger hahaha
amalgamaOP
Yeah that'd be so scary 😳🙈 What's a movie you like that features a doppelganger? 👀 And thank you for the rec! I'll see if my library in Spain has it
Omggg ok: vertigo (1958), the double life of Veronique, the double (2013), the invasion of the body snatchers (1978), enemy (2013), annihilation. I really like to scare myself hahah 😅
Do clones count? If so, The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey would be a good addition 🙂↕️
I was going to suggest that, too!
amalgamaOP
I'll try to post a comment with the "rules" I was thinking of tomorrow, but clones definitely count as long as they encounter each other at some point in the story. I've heard of that book before, did you like it? I will add it!
They definitely encounter each other in the story. I really enjoyed it but I think that's an unpopular opinion lol. Gailey is kind of a polarizing author it seems.
amalgamaOP
This almost makes me want to give it a go more to see how I'd feel about it, even though I almost never read thrillers haha 😂 And because it's a doppelganger story, of course 👭
I don't either haha but sci-fi thrillers I'm more willing to give a go! Though the science isn't really the focus of it, more the characters and the cycle of abuse they experience.
amalgamaOP
Oh yeah, I do read sci-fi thrillers here and there as well and I like character-focused stories, so it certainly sounds like The Echo Wife might be right up my alley
Annihilation may also work for this list!
amalgamaOP
I've been meaning to read this for so long but haven't been able to get my hands on a copy yet 👀 Without spoilers, does the person (or people) being duplicated ever encounter their double?
I believe the mc sees but tries to avoid and not interact, I think others interact with their own though and with other peoples doubles
amalgamaOP
Ok, thank you! I will add it (and hopefully get to it soon!)
The Other by Annie Neugebauer would fit perfectly on this list!
amalgamaOP
Oh, a new release! 👀 Thank you, I'll add it 😊
Ah great list!! I actually have a similar list in the works but I think hopefully with a sufficiently different angle/criteria 🤔
Based on your criterion of the doppelgangers encountering each other, may I suggest The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier and The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain perhaps? (I haven't read these two yet but based on the blurbs and the Barbie movie of the latter hahah)
amalgamaOP
Ohh, may I ask what kind of list you're preparing? 👀 If you don't want to say yet feel free to come and link it here once you post it!
And thank you for the recs, I'll do a bit of research when I have a moment and add them 🤝 If the Daphne du Maurier book does include doppelgangers it will be going STRAIGHT to my TBR 😂 I read Rebecca earlier this year and loved it
Sorry for the delayed response!! For the list I'm working on I'm interested in books specifically exploring themes of duality (e.g. moral tales of good/evil), so some doppelganger stories will fall under that but not necessarily all 🤔 I'm also then potentially looking at books depicting alter egos or split selves – so long as they comment on those sorts of contrasts in identity or morality.
Rebecca is one of my favourites too! And I've been meaning to read more of the author's works because I loved her prose so much. I've heard My Cousin Rachel is also a good one from her works, but I'll probably go with reading The Scapegoat first to see what she did with a doppelganger plot 🫣
Oooh!! The Watchers by A.M. Shine would be great here.
This is such a good list! I love this concept, doppelgangers are so creepy!
amalgamaOP
Aren't they? I love doppelganger stories 🙂↕️ I have yet to read about half of the books in the list so that's exciting 😁 I would love the chance to make a side quest based on it some day 🥰
Omg, a doppelganger side quest would be amazing! 🙌 I would immediately join!
amalgamaOP
Yay! And I bet the badge would be so cool too 🤩
Yes,definitely! The badges are always so gorgeous!
