Have you ever thought of murdering your sibling after an argument? Or does that seem a bit too extreme? Perhaps too understandable? Sisters! There is no greater bond like that of sisters, and even more so if they are twin sisters. Twins are fascinating, and the Gibbons twins, Jennifer and June, were no exception. The Gibbons twins’ closeness and companionship was startling to say the least, but their gift of having each other eventually turned into a curse.
Jennifer and June Gibbons were born on April 11, 1963, in Barbados, to Gloria and Aubrey Gibbons, and they grew up in Havenfordwest, Wales.1 Like most twins, the girls shared a tight bond; but their bond was even stronger than most. They only spoke to each other, using the few words that they knew. This characteristic of their relationship is what gave them the label Silent Twins. In their small town, they were the only black children in their school, which consequently led to their being bullied because of their race. These experiences only intensified their avoidance of communicating with anyone outside of their unique duo, which, according to the New Yorker journalist Hilton Als, “led to their emotional exile, their institutionalization, and…to the misguided appropriation of their story by activists and theorists who used it to pose questions about the nature of identity and the strange birthright that twins are forced to bear.”2
Soon after suffering from the bullying, the twins cut themselves off from others even further. They only spoke to each other in a unique language only they understood, and they began to refuse to do any school work or show any signs of productivity. The family then chose to move to Wales, and when the girls were enrolled in a school near the Haverfordwest community, which was known for intense racism, the bullying grew severe.3 From taunting them to pulling their hair, their schoolmates terrorized the girls constantly. Consequently, the sisters’ behavior grew to be even more odd, from synchronized walking to mirroring one another’s actions, as if they were the same person.4 Thereafter, a school nurse became intrigued with the sisters. School physician John Reed came to vaccinate the students, and upon giving June and Jennifer their shots, he noted that the girls did not even flinch. They just stood there lifeless. The nurse then reported this to the school. The school had been familiar with the strange behavior the girls were constantly exhibiting. Therefore, the sisters were sent to Haverfordwest Withybush Hospital in February 1977 for examination.5 Upon arriving at the hospital, the girls continued to not speak to anyone but to each other. The girls were then transferred to East Gate Special Education Center, which served as a boarding school. While at the center, Jennifer and June continued to isolate themselves. Consequently, they were separated in hopes of having the girls become independent from each other. Jennifer remained at East Gate, while June was sent thirty miles away to St. David’s Adolescent Unit. This had disastrous effects on the girls to the point of them becoming catatonic, where they would not eat or sleep until they were reunited.
When the girls turned sixteen, they were sent back home, where they spent several years refraining from interacting with anyone other than eachother. They used writing as a form of entertainment and found great passion in it. Eventually, the girls would enroll in a writing program as one person, hoping to become famous novelists. Their novels were never recognized, which fairly disappointed the girls. Upon turning eighteen, the sisters finally left their rooms and began a downward spiral from doing drugs to committing crimes and abusing one another. They were arrested after breaking a window and lighting a fire at a community college. Consequently, they were sent to Puckle Church Remand Center, where they stayed for seven months. While there, the girls wrote diaries about how much they hated each other and were scared of each other. In their diaries, they wrote about how lonely they were, but once reunited, they reverted to hating each other once again. They were diagnosed with psychopathic personality disorder, and were sent to Broadmoor Mental Hospital, where they were seen as very disturbed and violent. Eventually, after eleven years at Broadmoor, they were transferred to Caswell Clinic, another mental hospital.
At that time, the journalist Marjorie Wallace had become interested in the girls and began studying them. Jennifer had admitted to Wallace that she had to die in order for June to survive and thrive. The girls mentioned to Wallace that the day of their transfer would be the day Jennifer would have to die.6 They believed that they could not both function properly at the same time, while both of them were still living. This was the underlying cause for their strange behavior. In March 1993, at thirty-one years old, the girls were transferred to Caswell, but upon arrival, Jennifer was unresponsive. Jennifer was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, with the cause of death being a sudden inflammation of the heart. Jennifer died on the exact day the sisters had predicted, from bizarrely natural causes. June stated that when Jennifer was dying, her last words were “At last we’re out.”7
After Jennifer’s death, June left Caswell a year later and her life completely changed. She began speaking more and improving her social skills. It was as if their belief that only one could thrive was proven to be true. June then requested to be called by her middle name, Alison, to help with the reinvention of her whole identity. It would take June five years to accept Jennifer’s death, refrain from feeling guilty, and fully move on with her life, according to Marjorie Wallace.8
- Marjorie Wallace, The Silent Twins (United Kingdom: Vintage Publishing, 1996), 3-4. ↵
- Hilton Als, “We Two Made One,” New Yorker, December 2000. Accessed January 27,2018. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/12/04/we-two-made-one. ↵
- Hilton Als, “We Two Made One,” New Yorker, December 2000. Accessed January 27,2018. ↵
- Polly Teale, Speechless (London: Nick Hern Books, 2011), 14. ↵
- Hilton Als, “We Two Made One,” New Yorker, December 2000. Accessed January 27,2018. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/12/04/we-two-made-one ↵
- Marjorie Wallace, The Silent Twins (United Kingdom: Vintage Publishing, 1996), 270. ↵
- April de Angelis, “June Gibbons couldn’t mourn the death of her ‘silent twin’ Jennifer,” Guardian Newspaper, May 29, 1994. Accessed January 27, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jun/28/fiction.classicalmusicandopera ↵
- Marjorie Wallace, The Silent Twins (United Kingdom: Vintage Publishing, 1996), 273. ↵
144 comments
Shecid Sanchez
This article left me stunned! I’ve never heard the story of the silent twins, but what a fascinating story. I can’t imagine having a sister let alone a twin, but seeing how close Jennifer and June were to the hating each other was crazy. The older they got the more the hatred grew as well. The fact that Jennifer died on the day the predicted from natural causes is absolutely insane. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that they were so close that they even had their own language to them not being able to live at the same time. What an incredible piece!
Ana Barrientos
This article was interesting to read, I have heard about them but I never knew their story. It’s interesting how they came up with their own language and only spoke to each other. It’s crazy to read about how they started to write about how much they hated each other when they used to be so close? I wonder what caused them to hate each other? It was so weird how June predicted her sisters death and Jennifer’s last words were absolutely chilling.
Dominique Rodriguez
this article is interesting , from them being as sisters to one of them being murdered, when they were smaller they were first being harassed by others because they were the only colored ones that lived in town. they then decided not to speak to anyone bc of what they went through. but both decided to separate from each other and became independent. they both went home when they turned sixteen and when back to interacting with each other. once they turned 18 , they became rebels . They starting commenting crimes and doing drugs. They got arrested for breaking in a college. then it started to spike up they then wrote stuff about each other on a journal on how much they hated each other. then both were diagnosed with psychopathic personality disorder . then one of the sisters spoke to a therapist and told her that she had to die in order for the other sister to thrive. then once they were both 31. one was no responsive and then knew that one of them had died in 1993. name was jennifer .
Phylisha Liscano
This was a very interesting article to read! Their story is by far one of the craziest pertaining twins. They depended on each other and the fact that they grew hatred towards one another and thought that one of them had to die is extremely wild. Excellent article and very well written. I enjoyed getting the chance to read and get the opportunity to learn about June and Jennifer. Great article!
Maria Luevano
What an interesting and crazy article! I have never heard of these two women, but their story is definitely unique. I as well have a twin, and the bond between each other is unlike any other bond with another person. It surprises me that they grew to hate each other since they were so close and connected from such a young age. I wonder if there is more to their story that no one really knows about besides June/Alison…?
Irene Urbina
This article was so interesting to read. It shows the bond that siblings have so well. No matter how annoying you find your sibling, you would be so lonely without them. Also, twins’ relationships have been studied for so long and this is one of the most interesting cases there has been, in my opinion, because they were so connected that they fully believed that one of them had to die for the other to thrive and live a normal life, is just so fascinating, yet sad. I can tell that Jennifer probably said her last words with such a bittersweet tone and tried to tell June to not feel guilty about it.
Aaron Onofre
I found this article to be a really interesting read. My initial reaction to their special connection, was one of amazement and sympathy for them. I was amazed by how they were able to communicate between themselves secretively but I also felt sympathetic because they only did this out of the fear of other people. It was sad to see their close bond as sister fall apart and turn into a extremely detrimental relationship.
Aaron Onofre
I found this article to be a really interesting read. My initial reaction to there special connection, was one of amazement and sympathy for them. I was amazed by how they were able to communicate between themselves secretively but I also felt sympathetic because they only did this out of the fear of other people. It was sad to see their close bond as sister fall apart and turn into a extremely detrimental relationship.
Madeline Emke
This article was bizarre and interesting to read. Everyone always stereotypes that twins have a special bond between each other, but I have never heard of a bond that led to the death of one twin. While it is weird that the sisters grew to hate each other because of how close they seemed, I cannot move past the fact that they both predicted the death of Jennifer correctly.
Eva Lizarraga
This was such an interesting article to come across. I’d always thought that I was close with my own sisters, but nothing like this! The last words that Jennifer spoke made me shiver-it’s as if they were coming to understand their unique situation and we’re acceptant of it. Even though it was somewhat disturbing to hear abut this relationship that existed, it’s intriguing and makes me want to learn more about them.