Vardøger, also known as vardyvle or vardyger, is a spirit predecessor in Scandinavian folklore. Stories typically include instances that are nearly déjà vu in substance, but in reverse, where a spirit with the subject's footsteps, voice, scent, or appearance and overall demeanor precedes them in a location or activity, resulting in witnesses believing they have seen or heard the actual person before the person physically arrives. This bears a subtle difference from a doppelgänger, with a less sinister connotation. It has been likened to being a phantom double, or form of bilocation. In Finnish folklore, the concept is known as etiäinen. Originally, vardøger was considered a fylgja, a sort of guardian spirit. Thus, a vardöger is the representation of a human's inner essence, which manifests as an animal that most closely resembles the personality of the human.

Etymology

Vardøgr is a Norwegian word defined as ‘‘premonitory sound or sight of a person before he arrives’’. It can also be interpreted as "harbinger". The word is from Old Norse, consisting of the elements , "guard, watchman" (akin to "warden") and , "mind" or "soul".

Other sources