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
Lauren Keller
After hearing this story for the first time it seems crazy how the twins had said that only one could survive in order for them to thrive. Then, whenever Jennifer passed away, Allison’s (June’s) life began to change drastically for the better. Part of me seems skeptical that the reason she was thriving was because she was the only twin surviving, and that this might have more to do with psychological reasons. I also find it odd that the twins began to hate and abuse each other. I would think that after being bullied and having your sibling with you, it would allow you to grow closer with them. However, I am glad that Allison has been able to move on with her life by reinventing herself and improving her social skills.
Wilzave Quiles Guzman
This story was unknown to me and it is surprising for me to know about two sisters that hated each other, but that at the same time were so deeply connected that couldn’t work if both of them were alive. I don’t have any close sister and I always thought that it could be beautiful to have a sister but with this article, I am a little scared about what that even means. I think this article explores human psychology and the fact that each person’s experience is totally different; each person is a “world”.
Amanda Quiroz
Wow. That’s crazy how they went from loving each other to hating each other after the separation. It’s scary to think about but at the same time it’s sad because they only really communicated between themselves. They were bullied, which clearly contributed to the situation in the beginning. I have mixed emotions while reading this. It was a great article though!
Kelsey Sanchez
I have never heard about this story, until now. This was a bit scary, how the twins used to be to close to each other and once they were separated they came back to hate each other. It’s weird how once Jennifer died everything appeared to be okay. It was at first sad to hear they the twin girls were bullied and that they did not interact with any other kids. It was strange to read how this all occurred. I felt like there was some sort of curse that led this to happen, yet there’s no prove due to Jennifer’s death being natural. I wished there were more research and tests about the girls of how this all came to place.
Vanessa Quetzeri
This story will never fail to leave me with questions. It is bizarre that these twins lived most of their life connecting with no one other than themselves. It’s almost as if they were cursed and Jennifer’s sudden death was predestined. I am glad that June is taking control of her life and living independently but it still leaves the question: how did they know?
Ashley Martinez
I have two younger sisters who I am very close with, and I understand that close bond that Jennifer and June both had. This article about these two sisters really interested me. These two went through a very hard time because of the bullying these two encountered because of the color of their skin. It is crazy to see that these two were inseparable and only spoke to each other but later then were abusive towards each other and did not want to be around each other. This article really interested me and made me really wanted to keep reading.
Olivia Tijerina
The article leads me resonate over how important it is to have a thriving community in order for young lives to be meaningful for the future. I am deeply impacted by, over a period of time, being bullied left them a lasting negative emotion that led to their future crimes and abuse of each other. Their familiarity of negative emotions and not overcoming them, I believe, led to their downfall.
Alexis Aranda
Every time I read about these sisters, I feel my stomach in knots. Everything about the story is so interesting and eerie! I wonder how chaotically lonely and terrifying it must be to only rely on another singular human being to talk to. I think they grew to hate each other for that exact reason, never really socializing with anyone else. It’s so strange that Jessica died the exact date they predicted of completely natural causes, and makes me question why they chose Jessica to be the one to pass away. What made her the better choice? From sharing a singular language to traumas, I think these sisters make an incredible read. It made my spine chill up when I read her last words. I wish there was more research done on the girls, I would have loved to read about it. I also hope that Jane, or Alison, can one day come forward and better share the story and why the sisters acted the way that they did.
Celeste Flores
I remember reading and having knowledge of the special connection that twins tend to have. However, I had never read anything regarding twins hating each other or having dead wishes towards one another. I understand where the negative thoughts and emotions came from, the twins were severely bullied by their classmates. The story and the research were extremely interesting to me, I still do not understand why one of them had to die in order for the other one to live. Is that a proven theory? How did the twins know when Jennifer was going to die? Was the hearth problem self-induced? Did her sister kill her? So many questions!!
Hali Garcia
Wow, this is a very intriguing article. Speaking as a twin, yes, we do have a very close bond, but nothing like this. Hearing that they went from being really close to hating each other is heartbreaking because I cannot imagine hating my sister. What they went through is very traumatic and I wonder if that could have played a role to what they were feeling. But after reading further I decided that it did not lead to why one of them should die. The fact that they predicted this amazes me.