Seeing double: Why we're fascinated by identical twins

They have a special bond and even family struggle to tell them apart, so it’s no wonder that our fascination with twins has endured

Reuben and Nathan, Mila and Zara Higgins

Fascination with identical twins is not a new trend. Since the beginning of recorded history, they have held a certain intrigue for people. Ancient mythology, religion and art, even Shakespeare dipped his quill into the twin arena, writing two plays featuring twin characters.

“Through mythology our fascination with twinship is projected on to figures of the past. Twin relationships are portrayed as positive and friendly or negative and hostile. A present-day Nigerian tribe has customs in which twins, identical and fraternal, are honoured and glorified reflecting the ongoing and ubiquitous fascination with twins,” says Pauline O’Connell psychotherapist with Auburn Counselling & Psychotherapy, who has a special interest in the area of identical twins.