Updated March 8th, 2020 by Alyssa Avina: Outlander is into its fifth season now, but way back in the first episode of the series, we saw our heroic Jamie Fraser outside of our heroine, Claire’s, window. But it wasn’t him but rather his ghost, which has led many to play the guessing game of why exactly he was there. As time has gone on, the theories have only grown, and these are the latest of the bunch. We hope some of these are true, while others we’d seriously rather they not be.
Do you remember the ghost outside the B&B in Inverness during Claire and Frank Randall’s honeymoon just a night before everything happened? Of course, you do! At that time, we had no idea it was Jamie until we saw that wanted sketch at the police station where Frank had complained about missing Claire. Who knew that moment would become so intriguing we would watch it 50 million times just hoping to catch a glimpse of the man. For a while now, fans have been cooking up theories and stories to explain the who and how of the moment and there’s still time in February. Let’s give you something to feed your Droughtlander. We are sharing 10 theories about the ghost, some of which we hope are truth and some not so much.
Hope Is False: It’s All About Jamie And Frank
This fan theory basically suggests that Jamie is there to see the man who ended up raising his daughter for the first 20 years of her life, and who took care of Claire while he could not.
Since time is not necessarily linear in Diana Gabaldon’s universe, this theory suggests all times are happening at once, so Jamie is dead at this point but will soon be alive again with Claire. But before he transfers Claire from Frank’s care to his own, he wants to give the man a good once over. We just would hate to think he was only there to see Frank, rather than Claire.
Hope Is True: Jamie Kept His Promise
Jamie made a promise to Claire just before he sent her through the stones with their unborn child, that his soul would find hers and he would wait and search to find her again.
So maybe with Claire being in Inverness on a pagan holiday that allowed spirits to roam and his spirit was likely to be stuck in Scotland geographically – according to paranormal theory – this was his first chance to keep his vow to Claire. Even though it is before she knows who he is, it shows how loyal he always has been and will be to Claire.
Hope Is False: Claire Is From The Past
This theory is quite a doozy and it is difficult to wrap your head around when thinking about the entirety of the Outlander series, but let’s break it down anyway. Basically, some fans believe that Claire is from the past.
They believe that it wouldn’t make sense to have Claire be both alive and dead in an endless loop, so therefore Claire was likely born in the past and that her uncle was maybe even a time traveler as well, which is why she lived in both the past and the present. It’s exhausting to try and figure this logic out, we know.
Hope Is True: He Is There To Lead Claire To Himself
It is believed that the actual purpose of Jamie’s ghost being outside of Claire’s window was to help steer her to his own time where they would meet. Since Claire’s trip through the stones at Craigh Na Dun was completely accidental, she could have ended up at any time in the past.
But somehow, she ended up 202 years in the past at the exact moment Jamie and his men were fighting the English. So Jamie could have been what actually steered her to that moment, even if she didn’t realize it.
Hope Is False: It’s Actually BlackJack Randall
This theory is beyond highly unlikely since it has been confirmed by Diana Gabaldon herself that the ghost is Jamie. Plus, he’s dressed as a Highlander, not an English soldier. Nevertheless, some still have the thought that it might be BlackJack, and here’s why.
He was fresh on the mind of Claire since Frank and the reverend were just discussing his ancestry. Then, he is the first person she comes in contact with in the past. So maybe he was the actual anchor that led her to the past, instead of Jamie. Yeah…this can’t be true, but it’s interesting, to say the least.
Hope Is True: Jamie’s Ghost
Jamie had had a near-death experience during the Battle of Culloden and that’s probably when his ghost, who still longed for Claire, wandered through the time and space to her that night. Now, Jamie has had numerous near-death experiences. So, why the Battle of Culloden? The answer is that author Diana Gabaldon hinted that Jamie is 25 in the ghost scene. Jamie was born in 1721 and the Battle of Culloden happened in 1746, 25 years later.
Hope Is False: Jamie is Dead
It is possible that Jamie died during the American Revolution and the war that ensued, leaving Claire alone which is why she was forced to travel back to her own time. Or, he might have died first owing to all the suffering and torture his body had been through. Since then, Jamie kept following her on every Samhain night. This would also explain why he looks so disheveled and sad. But we hate this theory because that would be a very tragic ending to this beautiful romance drama. It is still interesting though as it would introduce the first nonlinear time loop of the series since Claire travels through the stones regardless.
Hope Is True: Sole (Soul?) Traveler
Jamie can’t travel through the stones physically, but his spirit apparently could. In a show where you can travel through time and space, it is only a matter of time before you can also travel from future to past to make that future happen. Did that make sense? What we mean is that many fans believe that Jamie’s spirit somehow could travel through stones and he did so to guide Claire to himself. It might be because, in an alternate reality, possibly Claire would never have gone to the Craigh Na Dun for that herb and never would have met Jamie, leading to Jamie marrying Laoghaire and let’s be real, who would want to be with such a horrible creature like Laoghaire?
Hope Is False: Jamie Actually Traveled Through Stones
That would be a good thing, right? Then, why did this one make it to this side of the list? Because according to this theory, Jamie actually traveled through the stones to the future only to stop Claire from going to the Craigh Na Dunn. Note that this is the time when Claire does not even know about the existence of someone called Jamie and she doesn’t have even a millimeter of an idea that she could share such timeless passionate love with someone. Neither would she travel through the stones, nor would she meet Jamie and fall out of love with Frank. We must say it would be an ultimate sacrifice where Jamie, knowing full well what they shared and that he would never be able to love anyone else, did this only to spare Claire and his family the pains and dangers ahead. We wish it were never true because then we would never be able to experience such love, not in this lifetime at least.
Hope Is True: Claire’s Destiny
Gabaldon has mentioned numerous times that Jamie’s ghost haunting Claire will be explained in the final book which rounds everything up. If you recall the scene of Inverness during Frank and Claire’s second honeymoon, Jamie’s ghost is watching Claire longingly even before she has seen the stones, which goes on to say that it always was Claire’s destiny to meet Jamie and that’s what pulled her to them. Or, another take could be as Mrs. Baird said, that it was a Samhain night and ghosts were wandering about in the town. Coincidentally, Jamie’s ghost saw Claire for the first time through the window and instantly fell in love which created the anchor that is required to pull the time traveler to the destined time.
Hope Is False: Restless Ghost
This one is oddly satisfactory yet makes you restless. According to this theory, Jamie and Claire lived together and died their natural deaths peacefully in the early 19th century or the late 18th century. Whereas Claire got a peaceful after-death, Jamie endured purgatory due to his sins and became a restless ghost wandering about for Claire, cold, dejected and lonely. The thought of even one of them without the other sends shudders down the spine and makes us restless too! Jamie once told Claire he always wakes up when she does and he sleeps ill without her by his side. Aw!
Hope Is True: Astral Dream
There is a chapter in the book ABOSAA, where Jamie and Claire are talking about how they hardly have any gems left. One needs some specific genes and a gemstone to travel safely through the stones. Back to the chapter, Jamie promises Claire he would never use the black diamond so she could go back to her time if he dies. He tells her he knows Claire belongs to the future as he dreamed about her in her own time. He told her he saw her in an electricity lit room. Some fans think that Jamie traveled through the time to Claire even before she had met him through astral dreams or projection, which could be possible in this time travel drama.
Hope Is False: Claire Dies First?
In another crazy theory, Claire died first because, well, she was older. Later, an older Jamie learns spells to travel through stones to Claire’s time in Inverness, and inevitably become the pull that draws her towards the stones and eventually meet him in the 18th century. A paradox no doubt, but, it does also account for that rare flower at the base of the stones which attracts Claire so much that she decides to visit the Craigh Na Dunn site alone in the morning. The herb might have been planted by old Jamie seeing how much Claire is interested in herbs, medicines, and healing.
Hope Is True: Reincarnation
Was the ghost not a ghost, but a reincarnation of Jamie? There could be a possibility. When Frank sees the ghost and enters their hotel room all baffled, he asks Claire more than a few times if there was anyone she nursed during the war who could be looking for her. She says there was a Scottish man who was afraid of needles. Coincidence? It does not look likely! It might be Jamie reborn, for the love between them is so strong that time and space no longer matter.
Hope Is False: Jamie Was Dead All Along
A very bizarre and extremely tragic theory hints that Jamie probably died in the battle of Culloden itself and his ghost kept roaming around in the search and craving of Claire. As unlikely as it sounds, we can not eliminate the possibility as the timeframe and the age totally match up with his age during the Culloden battle. Then he wanders for 200 years in purgatory alone as he had once promised her. The rest of the story could be just Claire dreaming and fantasizing about what could have been if things were different and Jamie was alive. We desperately hope that this weird theory does not turn out to be true.
