In Finnish folklore, an Etiäinen is a spirit

Spirit

The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...

 sent forth by a shaman or by a person in great distress in order to receive information. The spirit appears as directed by the summoner in order to contact a person with whom the sender has a strong emotional bond. The spirit manifests itself by appearing and behaving as the summoned person in order to communicate the requested information. Folklore about such spirits is not confined to the Sami people but is a part of Finnish mythology and tradition as a whole. The word is a commonly used in other parts of Finland and is a part of everyday vocabulary.

Possible Causes

One explanation given for the detail of the apparition is that when a person is waiting for someone, their anticipation can magnify everyday sounds, for example of a cat or the wind, and bring to consciousness a vivid recollection of the person. This recollection will tend to produce the feeling that the remembered person is "coming". If no one comes, the "possible etiäinen" is forgotten. The failure of this explanation is that etiäinen is not necessary when you expect someone to come. It more often indicates an unexpected visitor who would otherwise come as a surprise without phone calls or any kind of announcement beforehand.

See also

• Bilocation
  Bilocation
  Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be, or appears to be, located in two distinct places at the same instant in time...
  
  
• Doppelgänger
  Doppelgänger
  In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
  
  
• Fæcce
• Vardøger
  Vardøger
  The vardøger or vardøgr is a spirit predecessor, from Norwegian 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,...
  
   - similar belief in Norway
  Norway
  Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...