Here on Lovefraud, we often talk about "gaslighting," which is a strategy employed by sociopaths to exert control over their targets. According to Wikipedia: Gaslighting is a form of mental abuse in which information is twisted or spun, selectively omitted to favor the abuser, or false information is presented with the intent of making victims doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity. Instances may range simply from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred, up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim. The term comes from the 1944 movie Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman. In this movie, the villain, G …
Genevieve Kelley fled to save her daughter, now goes to jail
In 2004, Genevieve Kelley of New Hampshire fled the United States with her daughter, Mary Nunes, then eight years old. Kelley said that her ex-husband, Mark Nunes, was sexually abusing the girl. New Hampshire authorities said the charges were unfounded. Genevieve felt that the only way she could save her daughter was to leave. For more than 10 years, they lived in Costa Rica, along with Genevieve's new husband, Scott Kelley. Arrest warrants were issued for Genevieve and Scott Kelley. Genevieve returned to the United States last November, and Scott returned in April. Both were arrested and convicted of custodial interference. Scott Kelley served five months. On Monday, Genevieve reported to …
Genevieve Kelley fled to save her daughter, now goes to jailRead More
Josh Duggar, scandal, and a religious cult
The media love a scandal, and the reports about Josh Duggar, of the hit reality TV show 19 kids and counting, just keep coming. First was the report that Josh Duggar, the oldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, had sexually molested his sisters as a teenager. (Four of the 5 girls Josh Duggar molested were his sisters: Parents, on ktla.com.) Then there were reports that Josh Duggar cheated on his wife and had two accounts on the Ashley Madison cheating website. (Family values activist Josh Duggar had a paid Ashley Madison account, on Gawker.com) Then porn star Danica Dillon alleged that Josh Duggar paid her for sex, and he has "no remorse" for his behavior. (Josh Duggar has 'no remorse' …
Highly Sensitive People are perfect targets for sociopaths
Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a reader who posts as “emotionallyraped.” I visualize a spectrum for 'living beings' on an emotional scale ”¦”¦ from the HSP (highly sensitive people) at one extreme, to sociopaths at the other extreme. I've taken excerpts from some reading online. ----------- The personality trait highly sensitive people, which was first researched by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D., in the early 1990s, is relatively common, with as many as one in five people, or 20% of the population, possessing it. (Taken from Huffington post) Psychologist Martha Stout — who was a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School for 25 years — estimates in her boo …
Highly Sensitive People are perfect targets for sociopathsRead More
Do narcissists make better presidents?
In a recent article in the New York Times, Scott O. Lilienfeld (president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy) and Ashley L. Watts discussed their research into presidential narcissism and success in office. They estimated the narcissism levels of all United States presidents, up to George W. Bush. The two highest scorers on "grandiose narcissism" were Theodore Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.They correlated presidential narcissism with surveys of presidential performance developed by historians. The result of the study: "Grandiose narcissism" was associated with overall presidential success, but also with unethical behaviors. The Narcissist in Chief, on NYTimes.com. Link …
Two Legged Snakes – explaining manipulative people with outrageous cartoons
They say picture is worth 1,000 words. The 91 cartoons in Dr. Ed Slack's slender book, Two-legged snakes understanding and handling manipulative people, communicate the essence of sociopaths, narcissists, and other exploiters. The pictures will plant an understanding of disordered people firmly in your brain: They are snakes. In fact, deceptive and manipulative people have been known as snakes for millennia. Dr. Slack points out that the original deceiver, according to Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions, was the serpent in the Garden of Eden, who tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. He says this Bible story "highlights one of our most important tasks as human beings: to choose well …
Two Legged Snakes – explaining manipulative people with outrageous cartoonsRead More
Pathological Liars are Sociopaths, Sociopaths are Pathological Liars
Lies and Cheats I think to myself in retrospect of all the occurrences where the SP was telling a COMPLETE lie. Of course, at the time, I knew something wasn't right, but I wanted him to make it right. I wanted him to prove to me what he was really saying was true, which he never did. For a very long time I did not want to believe he was cheating...that much. I couldn't fathom it. But he was. Surprise Visit I went to teach dance every Thursday evening and he came home from our office early so I could beat the traffic. 9 times out of 10 he was late, so I eventually had to tell him the schedule at work had changed to earlier, so when he was late, I would still be on time. One day I decide …
Pathological Liars are Sociopaths, Sociopaths are Pathological LiarsRead More
LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: I lost my marriage, my children, my job and my home
Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a woman who calls herself “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” My story began in high school where we started dating. We were both at the end of our junior year and began dating as summer was beginning. It started off fantastic; I mean that's why I stayed to get back those first few weeks of our relationship. Then the jealously started, the manipulations, the isolation: it was too much for me to take and begin my college years. So I told him we were done; of course this was after he "tried to commit suicide" in front of me by taking a handful of aspirin; he pinned me down in my car in the dorm parking lot and I screamed to the point that someone ca …
LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: I lost my marriage, my children, my job and my homeRead More
History buff believes Philadelphia serial killer may have been Jack the Ripper
H. H. Holmes killed at least 27 people and possibly many more before he was hanged in a Philadelphia prison in 1896, according to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Before coming to Philadelphia, Holmes built a hotel in Chicago now known as "The Murder Castle." It was equipped with secret tunnels and staircases, gas chambers and more devices for torture and death. Mark Potts, a history buff from Berks County, Pennsylvania, speculates that Holmes may have also been "Jack the Ripper," who murdered five prostitutes in London in 1888. Was Phila. killer Jack the Ripper? on Philly.com. …
History buff believes Philadelphia serial killer may have been Jack the RipperRead More