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
Marina Castro
This article was very interesting to read. You don’t hear very often stories like this, in which two sisters share a very strong bond and turns out to be negative. It is sad to know how they were bullied and how they suffered in their lifetime. The article was also a little bit scary to read. Overall, the article was very informative.
Avery Looney
This story is very interesting and creepy. The two sisters were by each others side since day one; They wouldn’t talk to anybody else except themselves and then one day they begin to hate each other. They went from one extreme to the next. It is crazy to think that Jennifer and June had predicted the day that Jennifer would die, and that June would resume a normal life after that. Overall this article was very well researched and did a great job of describing the girls’ life.
Mariana Valadez
This article was very interesting to read all the way through. It captures the events perfectly and keeps you on your toe. Reading this story made me feel a weird type of way. It is sad how these sisters were bullies but then moved to a place where it was more dangerous. How could the parents allow this? It would be interesting to learn more about their though process.
Bictor Martinez
I always had a strong bond with my sister, but never to this extent between June and Jennifer. June and Jennifer is the true definition of a sister bond. These two could never be separated. The bullying that occurred within the schools they have attended should not have been the reason they only talk to one another and no one else. After being declined as novelists they should not have transitioned into drugs and crime. They should have stick to novelists as their career path, but it seems as if they never got to meeting their career of choice they would have enjoyed. I wish we could have gotten more knowledge on what was going on in their minds.
Madison Downing
This was just an exciting article I really loved how you embodied the story and didn’t make it very bibliographical. You focused mainly on their early childhood but near the end you did tell us about what happened. What a sad early story, they had been bullied and abused for the color of their skin and then being transferred to a school known to be extremely racist. What where the parents thinking when doing that? Even well into their life they still clung to each other because they were the only people they felt they could live around. But that took a shocking turn when they sisters explained one could only live if the other died and then Jennifer did pass away. And what happened? June (while being guilty) was able to bloom and have a “real life” after her sisters death. There is so many questions I wish I could have asked them because what a strange bond they had with each other. It makes me truly think differently of siblings need for the other.
Antoinette Johnson
What a bizarre and strange set of events. Twins are amazing. I feel sorry that Jennifer and June were bullied to the point of complete isolation. Racism and bullying is not right and no one should have to experience it at the intensity they did. I think the reason Jenifer and June began hating each other was they were together to much. They did not have anyone else to interact with or have someone to talk to when they were having trouble with the other. It was amazing how they predicted Jennifer’s death and how it would help to reinvent June. And it truly happened. Jennifer and June acted as one person so much until it was like it only could be one of them there to strive. Sisters argue, fight, laugh, cry, but ultimately they love each other.
Engelbert Madrid
This article gave me goosebumps as I read the strange and unusual case of the sisters that had a weird relationship. Although they were sisters, there communication was not as strong as other sisters. I find it odd why these sisters had became violent to pursue what they wanted. However, all of their actions had big consequences.
Luisa Ortiz
I like how this article keeps me on my toes, my heart racing and with my eyes wide open! Talk about racism, mental health and bullying together all in one scenario. How crazy that Jennifer had passed away just how they predictive, but even more hard to understand for me is how her twin sister June was not hospitalized and just took her 5 years to have a “normal life”. I wish we have more information about June and her life now!! Very good job on this piece!
Eloisa Sanchez Urrea
It is amazing to see how something as beautiful as a sisters’ bond could become so destructive. I also hated to see that racism played a role in intensifying their fear and seclusion from the rest of the world. It was crazy to see that the girls felt that they couldn’t thrive while they both lived, and as soon as Jennifer mysteriously died, the other changed for the better.
Megan Copeland
This story was very bizarre, but very well written! The story of these two twins is kind of creepy. How did they know Jennifer was going to die that exact day? It seemed like the first half of their life they were connected at the hip, but after that they started to grow apart. It was interesting to read that the twins couldn’t function when they were separated, but that they believed one needed to die so the other could thrive.