Vard
The word Vardøger (pronounced var-deh-ay-gr) originated in Norway, and means “the premonitory sound or sight of a person before they arrive”. Thus a person may be seen, or the sounds of their arrival heard- their footsteps on the path, their key turning in a lock, or their passage along the hallway- but when the person who has heard these sounds, or believes they have witnessed the apparent arrival of said individual and then goes to greet them, they find that there is nobody there. Some time later, the same sight or sounds are repeated, but are this time indicative of the actual physical arrival of the individual.
I first read about the Vardøger phenomena at the age of 10, in a book that was once part of my Mother’s collection, and is now on my own bookshelf, tattered and dog-eared from repeated reading. The book, by prolific American author Brad Steiger, is titled “Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Minds”, and was the first serious non-fiction book about the paranormal I’d ever read. As my interest at the time was more to do with traditional ghost stories, I quickly lost interest in the chapter about Vardøgers as it contained nothing even remotely ghostly, and moved on to the next chapter. However, the passage of time brings about broader perspective, and different curiosities so when I picked up the book again, some 2 decades later as an adult, I found myself curious about that unread chapter.
Etymology and cultural beliefs
At its grammatical root, the word Vardøger is likely derived from the Old Norse word “Varohygi”, which in turn is itself from the words “voro”, which means “guard, watchman, or warden”, and “hugr”, meaning “mind” or “soul”. The Vardøger phenomena is quite commonly believed in Norway, and has been reported there often- indeed, the word Vardøger itself was likely coined there to describe the phenomena, indicating how common the belief in the Vardøger is in Norwegian culture.
Norway is not alone in its belief in Vardøgers, however. In Scotland they are known as “fetchers”or “co-walkers”, and in Icelandic culture and folklore the Vardøger is known as a “fygjla”, and is considered a guardian spirit. Finland has its own word for the Vardøger also; there it is called “etiainen”. Across all cultures who share a belief in the phenomena, the Vardøger, unlike the doppelgänger, is considered a benign entity, without the sinister connotations associated with the other "double", with which it could easily be confused.
Vardøgers in print
Outside of the aforementioned cultures, the Vardøger is given little consideration in psychical or paranormal research, and thus little mention of them is to be found in English language. However, there are still some to be found. On page 149 of her classic book “The Night Side of Nature”, author Catherine Crowe mentions cases which, although classified as doppelgänger encounters, I believe could equally fit the description of a Vardøger, as they seem to indicate intent:
"The landrichter, or sheriff, F——, in Frankfort, sent his secretary on an errand. Presently afterward, the secretary re-entered the room, and laid hold of a book. His master asked him what had brought him back, whereupon the figure vanished, and the book fell to the ground. It was a volume of Linnaeus. In the evening, when the secretary returned, and was interrogated with regard to his expedition, he said that he had fallen into an eager dispute with an acquaintance, as he went along, about some botanical question, and had ardently wished he had had his Linnaeus with him to refer to."
"Dr. Werner relates that Professor Happach had an elderly maid-servant, who was in the habit of coming every morning to call him, and on entering the room, which he generally heard her do, she usually looked at a clock which stood under the mirror. One morning, she entered so softly, that, though he saw her, he did not hear her foot. She went, as was her custom, to the clock, and came to his bedside, but suddenly turned round and left the room. He called after her, but she not answering, he jumped out of bed and pursued her. He could not see her, however, till he reached her room, where he found her fast asleep in bed. Subsequently, the same thing occurred frequently with this woman."
"An exactly parallel case was related to me, as occurring to himself, by a publisher in Edinburgh. His housekeeper was in the habit of calling him every morning. On one occasion, being perfectly awake, he saw her enter, walk to the window, and go out again without speaking. Being in the habit of fastening his door, he supposed he had omitted to do so; but presently afterward he heard her knocking to come in, and he found the door was still locked. She assured him she had not been there before. He was in perfectly good health at the time this happened."
I’ve also found accounts of possible encounters with Vardøgers in one of the groundbreaking early works in psychical research- “Phantasms of the Living”, which was compiled by two of the founding fathers of the Society for Psychical Research- Frederic William Henry (F.W.H.) Myers, and Edmund Gurney (with the assistance of Frank Podmore).
The first account, from a Mrs. Amy Powys, can be found on page 515, and is related as follows:
"I was expecting my husband home, and shortly after the time he ought to have arrived (about 10 p.m.) I heard a cab drive up to the door, the bell ring, my husband's voice talking with the cabman, the front door open, and his step come up the stairs. I went to the drawing-room, opened it, and to my astonishment saw no one. I could hardly believe he was not there, the whole thing was so vivid, and the street was particularly quiet at the time. About 20 minutes or so after this my husband really arrived, though nothing sounded to me more real than it did the first time. The train was late, and he had been thinking I might be anxious.”
Another account (on page 516) comes from a Mrs. Smith:
"My father and mother lived, when young, near St. Albans, in a house separated by three fields from the high road. My father had been staying in Warwickshire, and was returning by the night mail coach. My mother had risen early to be ready for his return, and after seeing that breakfast and a bright fire were ready for his reception, she took her work to the window and sat there awaiting my father’s return. She presently looked up and saw him approaching; she watched him until close to the house, when she went to the door intending to meet him, but he had vanished. Half an hour afterwards he really arrived. My mother was a Quakeress of exceeding truthfulness, and possessing to the full the perfect self‐command and self‐repression inculcated by her sect."
A mention of the phenomena, albeit only in passing, can be found in a series of letters between the Scottish poet, novelist and collector of folk and fairy tales Andrew Lang, and Sir William Craigie, a philologist (scholar of literature and language) and lexicographer, and the third editor of the Oxford Dictionary. Both men, it seems, had an interest in the phenomena, and the following letters from Andrew Lang caught my attention:
Andrew Lang to William A Craigie, 8 Gibson Place, St Andrews, Feb 29 [1912]
"Dear Craigie, Very nice Viardogr, but they are as common here as in Norway. The psychs call them "arrival cases". Kirk (1693) called the V, the Co-walkers. As I read your paper lots of parallels, privately known to me, came into my mind. I remembered that my father had a V. which I never knew till one of my brothers told me what he heard. At that time I had no knowledge at all of these things. A case so chronic as your cobbler's I have not met, I admit. Mrs Purdie once saw a V. It is odd indeed that you have not heard of plenty in this country."
8 Gibson Place, St Andrews, March 4 [1912]
"Dear Craigie, I grant that the V. seems either much more common in Norway, or there it attracts more attention. That is proved by its possessing a name in ordinary talk, whereas Myers for the same thing here had to invent a term. Yet for Mr Kirk, in his Secret Commonwealth* (about 1690,) the thing had a name, the Co-walker.”
“Whether this co-walker is from the Gaelic or not, I don't know. But I get firsthand cases of the V. from Rev. Mr MacInnes, Glencoe. My brother John writes today that he remembers my father's V. very well. "The step on the gravel and up the stone stairs to the front door, and then the latch key. It was not I alone who heard it, many did so."
“His recollection is that he "went out more than once to look". I have any number of cases in my memory; but I don't mean that the V. is as common in practice as in Norway; and here people who come across it think but little of it. But in Glencoe it is quite recognised, whether it has a Gaelic name or not.”
“..Myers invented an explanation of the V; not North but general. One of your informants talks of the "fore-walker". Much like Kirk's "Co-walker" who "goes to his own herd" when his owner dies.”
Are there no "fetchers" in the sagas? Mr MacInnes told me that his brother and another lad were expected in the glen, to which they were walking. There was heavy snow and they were late but their V's knocked at the door, breakfast was made ready, and the owners of the V's, when they came, were glad to get it."
Vardøgers Throughout History
(* refers to “The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies”, a manuscript written by a Scottish minister, Robert Kirk, dating back to around 1690. At his death in 1692 it remained unpublished, and is a detailed study of Scottish folklore, fairies, and supernatural phenomena like the "second sight". Although the text itself was written in 1690/91, the first printing only occurred in 1815.)
As to the references made in the letters about Myers’ invented term for the mechanism behind a Vardøger, and his explanation for such manifestations, so far as this author can understand, these are to be found in Volume 1 of his classic 1903 publication “ Human Personality: And Its Survival Of Bodily Death”, in the terms Psychorrhagia, and Psychorrhagic Diathesis.
The Greek word at the root of both the terms Myers uses- ψυχορραγῶ - means “to let the soul break loose”. Myers posits that those who can easily manifest their double have been born with Psychorrhagic diathesis, and believes that:
“That which “breaks loose” on my hypothesis is not (as in the Greek use of the word) the whole principle of life in the organism; rather it is some psychical element probably of very varying character, and definable mainly by its power of producing a phantasm, perceptible by one or more persons, in some portion or other of space”.
In slightly more modern parlance, Myers is seemingly explaining that it is not the entire soul that is perceived by an experient in such cases as those mentioned here, but merely a fragment, and this (for my mind at least) perhaps indicates the possibility that the fragment which has temporarily broken loose is the aspect of the agent’s subconscious that is occupied with daydreams, the aspect that is woolgathering- and has the intent of being elsewhere than where the agent’s conscious mind and physical being currently is.
In 1968, Brad Steiger wrote “Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Minds’, which, as previously mentioned, was the very first serious, non-fiction book about paranormal phenomena I would ever read. In this book, Steiger wrote of his own experiences with Vardøgers- those of his own parents:
"As I would be sitting upstairs in my room reading, I would be certain that I heard my parents returning from town. I would hear the door open and close, the sound of feet shuffling- all the normal sounds that a man and woman would make upon entering their home. When I would call down my goodnight and receive no answer, I would find that the house was empty and I was alone. Often, while I was still calling to my parents to answer my goodnights, I would see their car lights coming down the lane of our farm home and realise that I had been fooled and frightened once again by the Vardogr."
In the Journal of Scientific Exploration (J.S.E. Vol. 16, pp. 621-634, 2002), an article by David Leiter details two sightings of his own Vardøger, one of which was reported to him by his own wife and son:
“I was working for a company in Phoenixville, PA, nearly 30 miles due west of my home in willow Grove, PA. It was springtime 1979, or perhaps 1980. I did not make a written record at the time of this first experience because, at that time, I had essentially no background or specific interest in parapsychology, and no clear idea what the experienced phenomena was, except for its being very strange. The portion of my daily commute (via private automobile) closest to my home (about 20 miles worth) was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a well-known high-speed toll-road. There is a reason for all this detail, as will be seen shortly.
On the day in question, I was driving home alone, although I frequently car-pooled with a colleague. It was a beautiful, warm spring day, and the pressures of my job were quite low at the time, so I was very relaxed. Also, at that time, I had been working for that employer for 3 or 4 years, and thus was very familiar with the route. Finally, traffic was light that day.
Anyone who has driven under similar conditions, i.e., an extremely familiar route, under very relaxed driving conditions, is familiar with a specific state of mind that often occurs, best described as “autopilot”, a distinct, altered state of consciousness. In other words, driving an automobile is almost like riding as a passenger on a train or bus, except the view is a lot better. Under such conditions, the mind wanders easily to the scenery and surroundings, and to daydreaming. I’ve always had a strong tendency to daydream when physical and mental circumstances will permit it. Daydreaming also often served me well in my R&d pursuits.
In any event, I came to my normal exit on the turnpike, at Willow Grove, and drove the half-mile or so final leg of the commute, over local town streets. I parked in my normal spot in the driveway in front of our house, took my briefcase and sports jacket out of the car, and entered through the front doorway, which was always unlocked during the daytime (with two teen-aged children running in and out constantly).
My wife was at her usual spot in the kitchen preparing supper. Up to this point, it was a scenario that had occurred thousands of times before during our marriage of almost 20 years. She heard me come in, came out of the kitchen, and asked “what are you doing coming in again?” I answered with my own question, something like “what are you talking about?” She replied, “you came in about 10 minutes ago and just went upstairs”. At this point, I began to get somewhat irritated with her seemingly irrational questions and statements, and said basically “Hon, what are you talking about? I just now shut down the car and came in!”. She responded with mounting confusion and agitation, insisting that I’d come in a little while earlier and had simply gone upstairs. Then to support her contention, she called upstairs to our son, who was in his bedroom with the doors closed, and asked “[Son’s nickname], did you hear your father clump up the steps a little while ago?” He responded with a muffled “Yeah, Mom”.
A work colleague of Leiter’s also reported seeing him in the parking lot of their mutual workplace, dressed in formal attire, which was rather unusual considering he (Leiter) normally wore more casual garb to work. Upon going out to the parking lot, the colleague found Leiter’s parking spot empty, and nobody in the lot. Leiter was in fact not expected at work that day, and was quite some distance away at the time “he” was sighted, attending a funeral. Given this information, the clothing the Vardøger was described as wearing thus now makes sense.
Perhaps the most unusual Vardøger case comes from “The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits” (1992, 2nd ed. 2000), by the late author Rosemary Ellen Guiley. The case dates back to 1955, and concerns an art dealer by the name of Erikson Gorique.
A Vardøger Books a Room
Gorique, living in New York, had always wished to visit Norway. In July of 1955, due to his job, he was fortunate enough to finally be able to make the journey, in order to purchase Norwegian glassware. After landing in Oslo, he went to reserve a room at a large hotel. He was astonished when the receptionist greeted him by name, and told him that his room had been booked. Gorique asked who had made the reservation, and the receptionist informed him that he had done so, in person, a year ago.
Things got stranger still. The following day Gorique went to meet with the wholesaler, a Mr Olsen. He had never met Olsen but, like the hotel receptionist, Olsen greeted Gorique by name and told him he was delighted to see him again. He said he hoped that this time Gorique's visit would be longer, as last time he had been in a rush.
When Gorique made it clear that he had never set foot in Norway before, Olsen introduced him to a university professor, who speculated that it was Gorique's Vardøger, visiting the country beforehand.
These encounters, for my mind, are of the greatest interest as they detail multiple interactions in the form of actual conversations, seemingly denoting an intelligence, or a non-local consciousness, that is perhaps separate from the “owner” of the Vardøger, who of course had no idea the encounters had taken place!
A further story of an encounter with a possible Vardøger hails from somewhere much closer to yours truly- my home country, Australia. In his book “The Ghost Guide to Australia” (Davis 1998, pp. 207-8) author Richard Davis writes about a curious occurrence that took place in the tiny town of Birregurra, near Colac, in Victoria’s West, in previous years.
In 1996, a series of ghostly goings-on had been reported at the town’s 130-year-old Vicarage. But the most interesting account connected to the Vicarage comes from almost half a century earlier, from a Mrs. Flavel, who had lived there in the 1960’s. Upon waking one morning, she found an elderly woman busily arranging flowers on a small table in her bedroom. The woman turned to Mrs. Flavel and apologized for disturbing her, saying “I didn’t think anyone lived here any more”, before suddenly vanishing, along with the flowers. Weeks after the strange experience, at the centenary celebrations for the church to which the Vicarage was attached, Mrs. Flavel was introduced to the widow of a former reverend who had presided over the church in the 1930’s. She was certain that it was the same woman she’d seen in her bedroom, arranging flowers!
Regarding an explanation, or a definition, as to what a Vardøger is- as with any phenomena classed as unexplained, there is no definitive answer as yet. It appears that one possible prerequisite for a Vardøger to be manifested is intent- the individual to whom it belongs, the "agent" if you will, is occupied (albeit not necessarily consciously) with thought of a location they intend to be at, or with the people in that location- those who then perceive the Vardøger. The possibility habits or memories, as denoted by its interactions with its environment. Telepathic interaction between the minds of the agent and the percipient seems viable also- with the agent's distracted or preoccupied mental state also serving as a crucial element; a sort of altered state of consciousness reached when one is on autopilot, daydreaming- woolgathering.
References made in the series of letters above make mention of Myers’ invented term for the mechanism behind a Vardøger, and his explanation for such manifestations. These can be found in Volume 1 of his classic 1903 publication “Human Personality: And Its Survival Of Bodily Death”, in the terms Psychorrhagia, and Psychorrhagic Diathesis.
The Greek word at the root of both the above terms Myers uses- ψυχορραγῶ - means “to let the soul break loose”. Myers maintains as well that those who can easily manifest their double have been born with what he calls Psychorrhagic diathesis, and believes that:
“That which “breaks loose” on my hypothesis is not (as in the Greek use of the word) the whole principle of life in the organism; rather it is some psychical element probably of very varying character, and definable mainly by its power of producing a phantasm, perceptible by one or more persons, in some portion or other of space”.
A Fragment of A Soul
In slightly more modern parlance, Myers is seemingly explaining that it is not the entire soul that is perceived by an experiencer in such cases as those mentioned here, but merely a fragment, and this (for my mind at least) indicates the possibility that the fragment which has temporarily broken loose is the aspect of the agent’s subconscious that is occupied with daydreams, the aspect that is woolgathering- and has the intent of being elsewhere, or of doing something else- than whatever circumstance is currently occupying the agent’s conscious thoughts and/or actions.
Whether or not the Vardøger could be classified as a Phantasm of the Living, an unwitting telepathic process, or an indicator of the reality of non-local consciousness, remains an unanswered question. As the phenomena is spontaneous in nature, there is a lack of replicability. However, in some cultures, the existence of Vardøger phenomena is widely accepted, as is starting to occur now with the existence of Psi phenomena.
Perhaps someday neither will be classed as paranormal at all, but as just another function of our consciousness. This relatively obscure but deeply fascinating phenomena is assuredly worthy of further attention and study.
