Émilie Sagée (3 January 1813 in Dijon, France ? - ?) is supposed to have been a French teacher, working in 1845 in a boarding school in Latvia, who had the ability of bilocation. That story was reported by three authors: Robert Dale Owen, the French astronomer Camille Flammarion and the Russian parapsychologist Alexander Aksakov from one direct witness, Julie de Güldenstubbe.
The facts remain difficult to prove, however the story remains a classic of the annals of the paranormal and of the bilocation and Doppelgänger themes.
in 1845 in the “Pensionnat of Neuwelcke”, an institution, under the superintendence of Moravian directors. There were, in that year, 42 young ladies, chiefly daughters of noble Livonian families; among them Mademoiselle Julie, second daughter of the Baron de Güldenstubbe, then thirteen years of age, who tells the story.
A new French teacher was hired that year, Mademoiselle Émilie Sagée, a 32 years old French lady, from Dijon. She was of the Northern type, — a blonde, with very fair complexion, light-blue eyes, chestnut hair, slightly above the middle size, and of slender figure. In character she was amiable, quiet, and good tempered; but of an anxious disposition, and somewhat nervously excitable.
A few weeks after she first arrived, the first rumors appeared, one student might have seen her in one place while another had met her elsewhere. One day the governess was giving a lesson to a class of 13 students, including Julie de Güldenstubbe. While she was writing on a blackboard, the young ladies suddenly saw two Mademoiselle Sagée, the one by the side of the other. They were exactly alike; and they used the same gestures, only that the real person held a bit of chalk in her hand, and did actually write, while the double had no chalk; and only imitated the motion. Soon after, one of the pupils, a Mademoiselle Antonie de Wrangel, was helped by Mademoiselle Sagée. The young lady, happening to turn round and to look in an adjacent mirror, perceived two Mademoiselle Sagée hooking her dress.
Over the months, similar phenomena were still repeated. The double sometimes imitating the original exactly, and sometimes not. The most remarkable phenomenon occurred one day when the 42 students were assembled in the same room, engaged in embroidery in a spacious hall on the first floor of the principal building. Through the windows, the young ladies had noticed Mademoiselle Sagée in the garden, gathering flowers, of which she was very fond. In the room, sat another teacher, in charge of the pupils.
After a time this lady had occasion to leave the room, and her arm-chair was left vacant. It remained so, however, for a short time only; for of a sudden there appeared seated in it the figure of Mademoiselle Sagée. The young ladies immediately looked into the garden and there she still was, engaged as before ; only they remarked that she moved very slowly and languidly, as a drowsy or exhausted person might. Again they looked at the arm-chair, and there she sat, silent, and without motion.
The students had become used to this, in a way, and two of the boldest students decided to get up and attempt to touch the apparition. They averred that they did feel a slight resistance, which they likened to that which a fabric of fine muslin or crape would offer to the touch. One of the two then passed close in front of the arm-chair, and actually through a portion of the figure. The apparition did not respond to this, or change position. At last, it gradually disappeared and then it was observed that Mademoiselle Sagée resumed, with all her usual activity, her task of flower-gathering.
This phenomenon continued throughout the whole time that Mademoiselle Sagee retained her position at Neuwelckej between 1845 and 1846. Eventually, parents began to worry about the strange events that their children told them. After 18 months, 12 students left out of 42. Due to this, Sagee was asked to resign from her position. Upon being asked to do so, it is said that Sagee responded by saying in the presence of Julie de Güldenstubbe: "Ah! the nineteenth time! It is very, very hard to bear !" When asked what she meant by such an exclamation, she confessed that previous to her engagement at Neuwelcke she had been teacher in eighteen different schools, having entered the first when only 16 years of age.
After she left Neuwelcke, she went to live with a sister-in-law, who had several quiet young children. Mademoiselle de Güldenstubbe, going to see her there, learned that the children, all around three or four years of age, all knew of it; being in the habit of saying that "they saw two Aunt Emilies." Subsequently, she set out for the interior of Russia, and Mademoiselle de Güldenstubbe lost sight of her entirely.
This amazing story was first published in 1860 by Robert Dale Owen in his book Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World. He claims to hold it from the direct testimony of Julie de Güldenstubbe who authorized him to mention her name and all those of the persons concerned. In 1883, the magazine Light, A Journal of Psychical, Occult, and Mystical Research published a text which it presents as the complete report of the testimony from what «an abridged version of this narrative was given by the Hon. Robert Dale Owen» in his book. It is actually exactly the same text, word for word. The text is not signed, but Alexander Aksakov nevertheless presents it as a complement provided by Baroness Julie de Güldenstubbe herself.
During a trip to Dijon, Camille Flammarion seeks to obtain more information on the existence of Émilie Sagée. If she was 32 years old in 1845, she must have been born around 1813. He finds no Sagée family in the civil status registers, but finds the birth of an Octavie Saget (which is pronounced exactly the same in French), of unknown father, born on January 3, 1813. He assumes that it is the same Émilie Sagée, whose name could have been altered by the memory of Julie de Güldenstubbe and the English transcription of Robert Dale Owen, unless it might be a voluntary modification of her name to hide her illegitimacy or cover her tracks in her 18 professorships. Moreover, no family name as Sagée was recorded in the French civil registry between 1891 and 1990.
The registers of the civil status of the city of Dijon report that «On January 3 at six o'clock in the morning, Marguerite Saget, aged thirty, a worker native of Orbigny, department of Haute-Marne and residing in Dijon, adult daughter, gave birth to a female child to whom she gave the first name of Octavie.
This birth certificate is the only historical clue that could authenticate the existence of Émilie Sagée (but not the story of the bilocations, only reported by Julie de Güldenstubbe). It is also surprising that no testimony has been reported in the 18 other jobs where she would have presented similar phenomenon.
The name of the Neuwelcke boarding school corresponds to Jaunveļķi in Latvian. The institution was located (57.422309°N 25.270691°E near the village of Vaidava, located a few kilometers from the town of Wolmar (today Valmiera) in Livonia (on the territory of present-day Latvia).
Criticisms Of Emilie Sagee’s Fascinating Story:
Though there is at least, historical evidence that a family named Saget (Sagee) did live in Dijon in the correct period, there is no such conclusive historical proof to legitimate Owen’s story.
Furthermore, Owen even didn’t witness the events himself, he just heard the story from a lady whose father had witnessed all these strange things about 30 years ago from the time.
Therefore, there is also always the possibility that with over three decades passing between the original events and her relaying the story to Dale-Owen, time simply eroded her memory and she mistakenly gave some incorrect details about Emilie Sagee entirely innocently.
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these days is pretty easy that claim whatever you want in the internet so is no wonder for people to be highly skeptical about such extraordinary claims
but maybe the fact that this isn't an obscure folk tale passed by the village elders but an incident that happened during the start of the modern era and that was covered by multiple authors of the time along with documents verifying the existence of both the people and places featured in the reports is what makes it so interesting
that said this shouldn't be taken as a definite proof of paranormal activity, i think there are some things within the reports that are worth a second look
QuoteIn character she was amiable, quiet, and good tempered; but of an anxious disposition, and somewhat nervously excitable
QuoteThe young ladies immediately looked into the garden and there she still was, engaged as before ; only they remarked that she moved very slowly and languidly, as a drowsy or exhausted person might
QuoteAgain they looked at the arm-chair, and there she sat, silent, and without motion
QuoteOver the months, similar phenomena were still repeated. The double sometimes imitating the original exactly, and sometimes not
QuoteThe young lady, happening to turn round and to look in an adjacent mirror, perceived two Mademoiselle Sagée hooking her dress
Quote"Ah! the nineteenth time! It is very, very hard to bear !" When asked what she meant by such an exclamation, she confessed that previous to her engagement at Neuwelcke she had been a teacher in eighteen different schools, having entered the first when only 16 years of age
even today people have trouble understanding certain neurological disorders, i think the possibility of miss Sagée potentially having an undiagnosed condition along being in close contact with a group of impressionable children may be a more likely explanation for the sightings of her "Doppelgänger"
