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
Elias Garza
I always knew twins were the closes two human beings can be spiritually, but never did I think a twin had to die in order for the other to succeed. However, I can imagine how that was the case considering how unique these twins were from the start. After reading the first two paragraphs, I thought these twins were going to turn into cereal killers but I am glad another mass murdering did not occur here.
Iris Henderson
Maybe it is because I have several sisters, but I really enjoyed the introduction to this article. I have twins in my extended family as well, but none that are so close that they only speak with each other. The story of Jennifer and June is truly unique and mind boggling. The fact that they had a few premonitions that proved to be true after years of consistently odd behavior, it is definitely something that should be scientifically reviewed.
Maria Esquivel
Great article! The introduction really caught my attention, and the whole article was fascinating to read. To be honest, I have never heard about the Silent Sisters, but I found their story so interesting. It’s shocking to read that Jennifer and June couldn’t live without each, yet when they were together they hated one another. I was even more surprised when Jennifer ended up dying on the day they were to be transferred, and the last words she spoke were quite petrifying.
Miranda Alamilla
Before reading this article, I didn’t know who the Gibbons twins were. However, I found the article super interesting and the introduction really caught my attention. You always hear that twins have a kind of secret language, but to only ever speak to each other and now one else … that’s a bit weird. It could have had to do with the bullying they encountered at school, but it’s still hard to think that they only ever spoke to each other.
Rafael Lopez-Rodriguez
The intro of this article really caught my attention. It was interesting to learn about the incredible bond these sisters had. Honestly if most people had the strong bond these sisters shared the world would be so much different. It was very sad when I read when one sister had to die in order for the other to survive. I did not doubt the life of June would not be the same after her sister’s death especially after the strong bond they both shared. Great read!
Andrew Dominguez
Before this article i wasn’t aware of the silent sisters, but after this article it seems like i should know a little more about them. What i think is shocking is bullying had such a affect on them, such as not even flinching when getting a shot. What i don’t understand is if the sister only talked to one another why would they be separated. If they already saw signs of them being crazy why would they do something to set them off.
Max Lerma
Great article! I had not heard of their story prior to your article and it sparked a great a level of curiosity in me. I had to go and look up more information on this strange condition the twins had to deal with. It is terrible that it took one of the twins dying for the other to move on completely to a normal life, but at least one of them managed to escape this bizarre plight. Thanks for choosing this topic and adding the article to the history media page.
Kimberly Simmons
Great introduction — I could utterly relate! It was so unfortunate to read of the bullying these sisters underwent, though. No one should be defined by their skin color; the bullies truly deterred their growth. I did not expect the turn of events in the girls hating one another. Though extremely strange, the story had a good ending. Very well written, and most certainly intriguing!
Hanadi Sonouper
This was an interesting story to read, I have never heard of these particular girls or their story, but I was definitely intrigued by their behavior. I enjoyed the authors selection of this particular topic, because it is unexpected and different than your average crime story. What made the article interesting was how these sisters were almost living in their own worlds because they were not speaking to many people outside of their comfort zone. It seems as though it was a film that I was reading, one scene after another. It was an overall very impressive article, and the author did it justice!
Thomas Fraire
This was so captivating! It was so elegantly composed and I really wanted to continue perusing. It is insane that Jennifer passed on the anticipated date. This article can bolster the way that possibly there are heavenly things that we don’t completely get it. The obligation of twins can be crazy yet I have never known about anything this outrageous. I delighted in this article in particular.