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Tales of the twisted
podcast
The Silent Twins: A Pact No One Understood
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Full Transcript
Welcome to Tales of the Twisted. True stories of the strange, weird, bizarre, and eerie.
Each episode unearths a real story where truth is far stranger than fiction. This episode, The Silent Twins, a pact of death and silence.
In the quiet town of Havford, West Wales, two young sisters were born, identical twins who seemed at first perfectly ordinary. Jennifer and June Gibbons entered the world on April 11th, 1963. They were the only black children in their community—shy, withdrawn, and inseparable.
From the beginning, there was something different about them. They spoke to each other in a strange secret language, like a mix of English and Creole, spoken so fast and softly that no one else could understand a word.
Teachers tried to separate them, hoping they would socialize with other students. But when they were apart, they froze completely—unable to speak, unable to move, as if part of them stopped existing. Together, they thrived in their own private world. Apart, they ceased to function.
The two became known as *the Silent Twins*.
As they grew older, their silence deepened. They spent hours locked in their bedroom, speaking in whispers, mirroring each other’s every move. Even their breathing seemed synchronized. When one laughed, the other laughed. When one cried, so did the other. And when one refused to eat… the other followed.
Their parents were at a loss. Doctors were baffled.
Eventually, a psychologist named Dr. John Rees tried to reach them. He found they would only speak to each other—and sometimes only through letters. In those letters, a dark pattern began to emerge: obsession, resentment, and fear.
Jennifer once wrote:
“We have become fatal enemies in each other’s eyes. We feel the same pain. We share the same mind. We must decide who will live and who will die.”
By their teenage years, their isolation became destructive. They began setting fires, breaking into shops, destroying property. It was as though they needed chaos to express what words could not.
In 1981, at age 18, they were arrested and sent to Broadmoor Hospital — one of Britain’s most notorious psychiatric institutions. There they spent 11 years under heavy medication, locked in near silence. Staff described them as intelligent but unreachable — two bodies moving through the same space like reflections in glass.
During their time in Broadmoor, the twins began speaking about a chilling plan — one that would break their strange bond forever.
One day, during a visit from journalist Marjorie Wallace, Jennifer turned to her and said:
“I’m going to have to die.”
When asked why, she answered calmly: “Because we’ve decided.”
June nodded in agreement. No fear. No emotion. Only certainty.
In 1993, after years of campaigning for their release, the twins were transferred to a lower-security clinic. On the bus ride there, Jennifer rested her head on June’s shoulder. Moments later, she stopped breathing.
At just 29 years old, Jennifer Gibbons was dead.
Cause of death: sudden inflammation of the heart — acute myocarditis.
No drugs. No trauma. No medical explanation.
June later said she felt Jennifer’s death was “inevitable,” like a sacrifice — as if one twin had to die for the other to live.
After Jennifer’s death, June began to speak. She talked with doctors, nurses, journalists — living a quiet life, no longer bound by silence. But she never forgot her sister.
The journals the twins left behind still exist. Hundreds of pages of dark fiction, dreams, despair, and disturbing reflections. In one entry, Jennifer wrote:
“We have one soul, and it cannot be divided. One day, it will choose.”
Whether she chose… or was chosen… remains one of the most haunting mysteries in modern psychology.
You've been listening to Tales of the Twisted — true stories of the strange, weird, bizarre, and eerie.
If this story left you unsettled, follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts and share it with someone who loves the strange and unexplained. Because sometimes the truth really is the most twisted story of all.
Thanks for listening.
Each episode unearths a real story where truth is far stranger than fiction. This episode, The Silent Twins, a pact of death and silence.
In the quiet town of Havford, West Wales, two young sisters were born, identical twins who seemed at first perfectly ordinary. Jennifer and June Gibbons entered the world on April 11th, 1963. They were the only black children in their community—shy, withdrawn, and inseparable.
From the beginning, there was something different about them. They spoke to each other in a strange secret language, like a mix of English and Creole, spoken so fast and softly that no one else could understand a word.
Teachers tried to separate them, hoping they would socialize with other students. But when they were apart, they froze completely—unable to speak, unable to move, as if part of them stopped existing. Together, they thrived in their own private world. Apart, they ceased to function.
The two became known as *the Silent Twins*.
As they grew older, their silence deepened. They spent hours locked in their bedroom, speaking in whispers, mirroring each other’s every move. Even their breathing seemed synchronized. When one laughed, the other laughed. When one cried, so did the other. And when one refused to eat… the other followed.
Their parents were at a loss. Doctors were baffled.
Eventually, a psychologist named Dr. John Rees tried to reach them. He found they would only speak to each other—and sometimes only through letters. In those letters, a dark pattern began to emerge: obsession, resentment, and fear.
Jennifer once wrote:
“We have become fatal enemies in each other’s eyes. We feel the same pain. We share the same mind. We must decide who will live and who will die.”
By their teenage years, their isolation became destructive. They began setting fires, breaking into shops, destroying property. It was as though they needed chaos to express what words could not.
In 1981, at age 18, they were arrested and sent to Broadmoor Hospital — one of Britain’s most notorious psychiatric institutions. There they spent 11 years under heavy medication, locked in near silence. Staff described them as intelligent but unreachable — two bodies moving through the same space like reflections in glass.
During their time in Broadmoor, the twins began speaking about a chilling plan — one that would break their strange bond forever.
One day, during a visit from journalist Marjorie Wallace, Jennifer turned to her and said:
“I’m going to have to die.”
When asked why, she answered calmly: “Because we’ve decided.”
June nodded in agreement. No fear. No emotion. Only certainty.
In 1993, after years of campaigning for their release, the twins were transferred to a lower-security clinic. On the bus ride there, Jennifer rested her head on June’s shoulder. Moments later, she stopped breathing.
At just 29 years old, Jennifer Gibbons was dead.
Cause of death: sudden inflammation of the heart — acute myocarditis.
No drugs. No trauma. No medical explanation.
June later said she felt Jennifer’s death was “inevitable,” like a sacrifice — as if one twin had to die for the other to live.
After Jennifer’s death, June began to speak. She talked with doctors, nurses, journalists — living a quiet life, no longer bound by silence. But she never forgot her sister.
The journals the twins left behind still exist. Hundreds of pages of dark fiction, dreams, despair, and disturbing reflections. In one entry, Jennifer wrote:
“We have one soul, and it cannot be divided. One day, it will choose.”
Whether she chose… or was chosen… remains one of the most haunting mysteries in modern psychology.
You've been listening to Tales of the Twisted — true stories of the strange, weird, bizarre, and eerie.
If this story left you unsettled, follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts and share it with someone who loves the strange and unexplained. Because sometimes the truth really is the most twisted story of all.
Thanks for listening.
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