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
Elizabeth Santos
What an intriguing case! The bit about their own unique language just reminds me of middle school when best friends would create code names for certain people, or how some others even made up a language for their diaries. Studies show how twins are connected, but these twins went above and beyond to isolate, and then decide that only one was to succeed.
Lesley Martinez
This is such a strange story! To know that they relied on each other is lovable, but to read that they created their language to only speak to each other is shocking. It’s even more outrageous to read that they then began to hate each other and write about fearing one another and arrived at the conclusion that one of them had to die for the other to succeed. It’s attention-grabbing to read that they were diagnosed after 18 years with a psychopathic personality disorder. Great article!
Cynthia Perez
Super super strange story and I enjoyed every part of it. This story was probably one of the most thrilling I’ve read in a while by portraying a whole new twin experience. June and Jennifer were definitely a chill inducing pair considering how they were able to connect to each other in that way. Their mental healths practically depended on each other and it’s sad that they originally started out with such a healthy relationship together until it unexpectedly turned aggressive and toxic.
Kimberly Parker
This was such a crazy and interesting article to read! I mean, I always heard about twins having a special type of bond, and I always knew that their special connection was strong, but nothing like this. Like the two sisters hated each other, which was weird since in the beginning, it was mention that they were like really close. And the fact that June Gibbons predicted that her sister would die, and then her sister ends up dying due to heart inflammation on the exact day that June Gibbons predicted it, was just kinda creepy.
Amelia Hew
It’s fascinating on how the Gibbons sister hated each other yet they needed to be together to escape the loneliness. The constant bullying at school forced them to rely on one another to the point where separation caused them to refuse to eat or sleep. Some people said that twins were the result of two bodies sharing one soul, in which each twin is carrying half a soul. Maybe that’s the reason for why the Gibbons sisters stated that one must die in order for the other to survive, allowing the remaining twin to gain a complete soul.
Cristianna Tovar
I had heard about the Gibbons sisters before, and their story is so interesting! I thought it was crazy that they would only speak to one another in their own language that they had developed. This article shows the harsh effects of bullying since the sisters became so close to each other and isolated themselves from everyone else. Separating them may not have been a good idea since they wouldn’t sleep or eat until they were brought back together, although I can see why they needed to learn how to become independent from each other. I found it interesting that they started to hate each other despite them being so close. Great article!
Victoria Muller
This is a really interesting story that I have never hear of until now. I have heard of twins being close to each other and coping each other’s actions but these two go way beyond just that. To think that after their separation things between them changed completely. Their story is interesting and strange. To think that their relationship took the turn that it did and that their prediction of Jennifer’s death and its effects were directly on the mark is startling.
Josephine Tran
I had never heard anything like this until I read this article. It is so bizarre. I have two little twin brothers. They have their own set of complexes, but nothing like this. It is such a crazy coincidence that Jennifer died of natural causes on the very day and event that they had anticipated. I wish back then there was more of an opportunity to further study Jennifer’s body for scientific and medical purposes. This was such an interesting article to read.
Diamond Estrada
This is a crazy story! I always knew the bond between twins is inseparable- but I never expected to read a story like this. What I think is most intriguing is the fact that June Gibbons predicted the death of her sister, and that her sister did end up passing away due to heart inflammation on that exact day predicted. Additionally, the fact that she was able to speak finally and live a normal life after the death of her sister is beyond me. Stories like these make me question human relationships with one another- especially among twins who share almost everything.
Ivonne Orozco
I had never heard about this story and I felt so may emotions while reading it.The irony in this article is crazy.I did not expect for them to hate each other since at the beginning it was mentioned that the sisters were always really close.It made me upset to read about how much bullying the sisters went through.I did find it very strange how after one sister died, the other began to improve in a way.This article was great and many details were provided.