home › Tires and wheels › Daniel Keys - Billy Milligan's Mystery Story. The Secret History of Billy Milligan - The Secret History of Billy Milligan

Daniel Keys - Billy Milligan's Mystery Story. The Secret History of Billy Milligan - The Secret History of Billy Milligan

Daniel Keyes

Foreword

This book is an accurate account of the life of William Stanley Milligan, the first person in the history of the United States of America to be found not guilty of serious crimes by reason of mental disorder the defendant in the form of the plurality of his personality.
Unlike other people with multiple personalities described in psychiatric and popular literature, whose names are usually changed, Milligan became known to the general public from the moment he was arrested and put on trial. His face appeared on the front pages of newspapers and on the covers of magazines, the results of forensic psychiatric examinations were broadcast on evening television news. Milligan is the first patient with multiple personalities to be carefully examined while under 24/7 monitoring at the clinic. The plurality of his personality was confirmed under oath in court by four psychiatrists and a psychologist.
I first met a twenty-three-year-old young man at the Athens Mental Health Center, Ohio, as soon as he was sent there by court order. When Milligan asked me to write about him, I agreed to do it on the condition that he would provide me with more extensive and reliable material than the information that had appeared in print at that time. Billy assured me that until now the deepest secrets of his personalities were not known to anyone, including the lawyers and psychiatrists who tested him. And now he wanted people to understand his mental illness. I was rather skeptical, but interested.
A few days after our conversation, my curiosity increased. I saw an article in Newsweek entitled "Billy's Ten Faces" and noticed the last paragraph:

“However, the following questions remain unanswered: where does Milligan get the ability to run away like Houdini, demonstrated by Tommy (one of his personalities)? Why, in conversations with his victims, did he declare himself a "partisan" and a "hired killer"? Doctors think that there are other undiscovered personalities coexisting in Milligan and that some of them may have committed crimes that have not yet been solved.

Speaking with him on subsequent visits to the psychiatric clinic, I found that Billy, as he was commonly called, was very different from the level-headed young man which I saw for the first time. Now he spoke uncertainly, his knees shaking nervously. He suffered from memory lapses. About those periods of his past that Billy remembered poorly, he could only speak in in general terms. When the memories were painful, his voice often trembled, but at the same time he could not remember many details. After futile attempts to learn more about his past life I was ready to give up everything.
And then one day something amazing happened.
For the first time, Billy Milligan appeared as a whole person, discovering a new identity - a fusion of all his personalities. Such a Milligan clearly remembered almost everything about all his personalities from the moment they appeared: their thoughts, actions, relationships with people, tragic incidents and comic adventures.
I say this at the very beginning, so that the reader will understand why I was able to record all the events of Milligan's past life, his feelings and reasoning. I received all the material in this book from this whole Milligan, from his other personalities, and from sixty-two people whose paths crossed with him on different stages his life. Scenes and dialogue are recreated from Milligan's memoirs. The therapy sessions are taken directly from the videotape. I didn't invent anything.
When I started writing the book, we ran into one major problem - how to recreate the chronology of events. WITH early childhood Milligan often "lost time", he rarely paid attention to hours or dates and was sometimes puzzled by the fact that he did not know what day or month it was. I was eventually able to build a timeline using bills, insurance, school reports, job records, and other documents provided to me by his mother, sister, employers, lawyers, and doctors. Although Milligan rarely dated his correspondence, his ex girlfriend saved hundreds of letters he wrote to her during his two years in prison, and I was able to date them from the postmarks on the envelopes.
As we worked, Milligan and I agreed that we would abide by two basic rules.
First, all people, places and institutions will be named real names, with the exception of three groups of individuals whose privacy must be protected by pseudonyms. These are: other patients in a psychiatric hospital; unconvicted criminals with whom Milligan dealt as a teenager and as an adult and with whom I could not speak directly; and finally, three rape victims from Ohio State University, including two who agreed to answer my questions.
Secondly, to ensure that Milligan would not harm himself by reporting the crimes of others of his personalities for which he could still be convicted, we agreed that I would "fantasy" describing some scenes. At the same time, in the descriptions of the crimes for which Milligan has already been tried, details will be given that are still unknown to anyone.
Of those who met Billy Milligan, worked with him, or fell victim to him, most agreed with his diagnosis of multiple personality. Many of these people, remembering something he said or did, were eventually forced to admit, "He just couldn't be pretending like that." Others still consider him a clever rogue who fakes a mental breakdown to avoid prison. And among those and among others there were those who wanted to talk with me, express their opinion and explain why they think so.
I, too, was a skeptic. My opinion changes drastically almost every day. But in two recent years While working with Milligan on this book, the doubts I felt when the actions and experiences he recalled seemed incredible to me were dispelled, as my investigation showed that all this was true.
Yet the controversy continues in the Ohio state press, as evidenced by an article in the Dayton Daily News of January 2, 1981, three years and two months after the last crimes were committed:

“CRAFTER OR VICTIMS?
MILLIGAN'S TWO POINTS OF VIEW
William Stanley Milligan - complex man, presenter difficult life. He is either a crook who deceives society and escapes punishment for serious crimes, or a real victim of his many personalities. Either way, it's bad...
Only time will tell whether Milligan was a crook who fooled the whole world, or one of the saddest victims of this world ... "

I guess that time has come.
Athens, Ohio January 3, 1981

Milligan's personalities

Ten

These are the ones who became known to psychiatrists, lawyers, police and the press during the trial.

1. William Stanley Milligan (Billy), 26 "original source" or "core"; the individual, hereinafter referred to as "undecayed Billy" or "Billy-N". Dropped out of school. Height 183 cm, weight 86 kg. Blue eyes, brown hair.
2. Artur, 22 years old. Englishman. Reasonable, balanced, speak in a British accent. He independently learned physics and chemistry, studies medical literature. Fluent in reading and writing Arabic. A firm conservative, considers himself a capitalist, nevertheless openly expresses atheistic views. The first to discover the existence of all other personalities. In safe situations, he dominates, deciding which of the "family" to appear in each case and own Milligan's mind. Wear glasses.
3. Reigen Vadaskovinich, 23 years old. Keeper of Hate. The name is composed of two words (Bagen = rage + again - rage again). Yugoslav, speaks English with a noticeable Slavic accent. Reads, writes and speaks Serbo-Croatian. A weapon-wielding, karate-specialist, he possesses exceptional strength, restrained by his ability to control his adrenaline rush. Communist, atheist. He considers it his calling to be the protector of the "family" and in general of all women and children. Takes possession of consciousness in dangerous situations. Communicated with criminals and drug addicts, he is characterized by criminal, and sometimes sadistically cruel behavior. Weight 95 kg. Very large Strong arms, long black hair, hanging mustache. draws black and white drawings because he is colorblind.
4. Allen, 18 years old. Rogue. Being a manipulator, he is the one who most often deals with strangers. Agnostic, his motto is: "Take the best of life." He plays the drum, draws portraits, and is the only person who smokes cigarettes. Is in good relations with Billy's mother. The height is the same as that of Billy, although the weight is less (75 kg). She wears her hair in the middle (right). The only one of them all is right-handed.
5. Tommy, 16 years old. Escape Master. He is often confused with Allen. As a rule, aggressive and unsociable. Plays the saxophone, paints landscapes. Electronics specialist. Light brown hair, dark amber eyes.
6. Danny, 14 years old. The one who is scared. Fear of people, especially men. Once he was forced to dig his own grave and buried alive. Since then, he has been painting only still lifes. Shoulder-length blond hair Blue eyes, short and skinny.
7. David, 8 years old. Pain Keeper: Someone who empathizes. Takes on the pain and suffering of all individuals. Very sensitive and receptive, but distracted. Most of the time he is confused. Dark reddish-brown hair, blue eyes, small stature.
8. Kristin, 3 years old. "Child for the corner". So named because it was she who stood in the corner at school. Smart little English girl, can read and write block letters but suffers from a speech impediment. He likes to draw and color pictures with flowers and butterflies. Shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes.
9. Christopher, age 13 Brother Christine. Speak in a British accent. Obedient but restless. Plays harmonica. Her hair is light brown, like Christine's, but the bangs are shorter.
10. Adalana, 19 years old. lesbian Shy and self-absorbed, she writes poetry, cooks food and does housework for everyone else. Adalana has long straight black hair. Because her brown eyes sometimes move involuntarily from side to side due to nystagmus, she is said to have "dancing eyes."

unwanted

These personalities are repressed by Arthur because they have undesirable traits. They were first identified by Dr. David Kohl of the Athens Mental Health Center, Ohio.
11. Philip, 20 years old. Thug. New Yorker, has a strong Brooklyn accent, speaks in jargon. The mention of the name Phil gave the police and press reason to believe that in addition to ten already famous people there are others. Committed several petty crimes. Curly brown hair, brown eyes, hooked nose.
12. Kevin, 20 years old. Scheduler. Petty criminal, planned to rob a pharmacy. Likes to write. Blond with green eyes.
13. Walter, 22 years old. Australian. Imagines himself as a big game hunter. Has an excellent flair, often used as a gunner. Suppresses emotions. Eccentric. Wears a mustache.
14. April, 19 years old. Bitch. Boston accent. He hatches plans for diabolical revenge on Billy's stepfather. Others say she is insane. Knows how to sew, helps with the housework. Black hair, brown eyes.
15. Samuel, 18 years old. "Eternal Jew". An Orthodox Jew, the only one of all individuals who believes in God. Sculptor, wood carver. Black curly hair, beard, brown eyes.
16. Mark, 16 years old. workhorse. Initiativeless. Does something only if someone forces. Prefers monotonous work. If there is nothing to do, he just sits, staring at the wall. Sometimes referred to as a "zombie".
17. Steve, 21 years old. A hardened deceiver. Laughs at people, parodying them. Selfish, egocentric. The only one who disagrees with the diagnosis of multiple personality. His mocking imitations often bring trouble to others.
18. Lee, 20 years old. Comedian. A prankster, a clown, a wit, his pranks annoy others, forcing them to fight, as a result of which they end up in a punishment cell in prison. He does not value life, he does not think about the consequences of his actions. Dark brown hair, hazel eyes.
19. Jason, 13 years old. "Pressure valve". With his hysterical reactions and outbursts of irritation, which often end in punishment, he seems to “let off steam”. Blocks bad memories, causing amnesia in other personalities. Brown hair, brown eyes.
20. Robert (Bobby), 17 years old. Dreamer. Constantly dreams of travel and adventure. Dreams of making the world a better place, but has no ambition or any intellectual interests.
21. Sean, age 4 Deaf. Unable to concentrate, he is often considered mentally retarded. Makes buzzing sounds to feel the vibrations in the head.
22. Martin, 19 years old. Snob. New Yorker, loves to show off. Bouncer, assumes importance. Wants to have a lot, but does not want to work. Blond, gray eyes.
23. Timothy (Timmy), 15 years old. He worked in a flower shop, where he met a homosexual who frightened him with his attention. He went into himself, closed himself.

Teacher

24. Teacher, 26 years old. The sum of all twenty-three personalities combined into one. Taught others what they know. Brilliant mind, receptive, has a subtle sense of humor. He says "I'm Billy, all in one" and treats others like androids he created. The teacher remembers almost everything. It was his manifestation and collaboration that made this book possible.

Daniel Keyes. The Secret History of Billy Milligan. Book. Read online. 16 Sep 2017 admin

Dedicated to all those who suffered from childhood abuse, especially those who are then forced to hide ...

THE MINDS OF BILLY MILLIGAN

Thanks

In addition to hundreds of meetings and conversations with William Stanley Milligan himself, this book is based on conversations with sixty-two people with whom he crossed paths. life path. And although many appear in the story under proper names I would like to specifically thank them for their assistance.

I also say “thank you” to everyone listed below - these people helped me a lot in the investigation, thanks to them the idea was born, this book was written and published.

These are Dr. David Kohl, Director of the City of Athens Mental Health Center, Dr. George Harding Jr., Director of the Harding Hospital, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, Public Defenders Gary Schweikart and Judy Stevenson, Attorneys L. Alan Goldsberry and Steve Thompson, Dorothy Moore and Del Moore, mother and Milligan's current stepfather, Cathy Morrison, Milligan's sister and also Milligan's close friend Mary.

In addition, I thank the staff of the following institutions: Athens Mental Health Center, Harding Hospital (especially Ellie Jones of Public Affairs), Ohio State Police Department, Ohio State Attorney's Office, Columbus Police Department, Lancaster Police Department.

I also want to thank and respect the two Ohio State University rape victims (who appear in the book under the pseudonyms Carrie Dryer and Donna West) for agreeing to provide detailed description their perception of events.

I would like to say “thank you” to both my agent and lawyer Donald Engel for his confidence and support in launching this project, and to my editor Peter Gethers, whose unquenchable enthusiasm and critical eye helped me organize the collected material.

Many agreed to help me, but there were also those who preferred not to talk to me, so I would like to explain where I got some of the information.

Comments, quotations, reflections, and ideas by Dr. Harold T. Brown of Fairfield Mental Hospital, who treated Milligan when he was fifteen years old, are gleaned from his medical records. Milligan himself clearly remembered meetings with Dorothy Turner and Dr. Stella Carolyn of the Southwestern Mental Health Center, who were the first to identify and diagnose him with a split personality. The descriptions are supplemented by affidavits given by him under oath, as well as testimonies from other psychiatrists and lawyers with whom they interacted at the time.

Chalmer Milligan, William's adoptive father (who was identified in the trial as well as in the media as "stepfather"), declined to discuss both the charges against him and my offer to tell his own version of events. He wrote to newspapers and magazines, gave interviews, where he denied William's statements that he allegedly "threatened, tortured, raped" his stepson. Therefore, the alleged behavior of Chalmer Milligan has been reconstructed from court records, supported by affidavits from relatives and neighbors, as well as from conversations I had on record with his daughter Chella, his adopted daughter Kathy, his adopted son Jim, his ex-wife Dorothy and, of course, with William Milligan himself.

Special recognition and thanks go to my daughters, Hilary and Leslie, for their help and understanding during the difficult days I collected this material, and to my wife, Aurea, who, in addition to the usual editing, listened to and organized several hundred hours of taped interviews. , which allowed me to quickly navigate them and, if necessary, double-check the information. Without her help and enthusiasm, the book would have taken many more years.

Foreword

The book is a factual account of the life of William Stanley Milligan by currently. For the first time in US history, this man was found not guilty of serious crimes due to the presence of mental illness namely, multiple personality disorder.

Unlike other cases, when in psychiatric and fiction described patients with dissociative identity disorder, whose anonymity was ensured from the very beginning by fictitious names, Milligan, from the moment of his arrest and charges, acquired the status of a publicly known controversial figure. His portraits were printed on the covers of newspapers and magazines. The results of his psychiatric examination were covered in the evening news on television and in newspapers around the world. In addition, Milligan became the first person with such a diagnosis, who was closely monitored around the clock in a hospital setting, and the results, which speak of a multiple personality, were confirmed under oath by four psychiatrists and a psychologist.

I first met twenty-three-year-old Milligan at the Mental Health Center in Athens, Ohio, shortly after he was sent there by court order. When he approached me with a request to talk about his life, I replied that my decision would depend on whether he had something to add to the numerous media reports. Billy assured me that the most important secrets of the personalities that inhabited him were still unknown to anyone, not even to lawyers and psychiatrists who worked with him. Milligan wanted to explain to the world the essence of his disease. I was skeptical about this, but at the same time I was interested.

My curiosity grew even more a few days after we met, thanks to the last paragraph of a Newsweek article called "Billy's Ten Faces":

“However, some questions remained unanswered: where did Tommy (one of his personalities) learn the art of escaping that would rival Houdini himself? Why did he call himself a “partisan” and a “gangster” in conversations with rape victims? According to doctors, Milligan may have other personalities that we have no idea about yet, and perhaps some of them committed crimes that have not yet been solved.

Talking alone with him during the psychiatric clinic's office hours, I saw that Billy, as everyone called him at the time, was very different from the level-headed young man with whom I spoke on our first meeting. During the conversation, Billy stammered, nervously jerking his knees. His memories were scanty, interrupted by long gaps of amnesia. He managed only to utter a few general words about those episodes from the past about which he at least remembered something - vaguely, without details, and during the story of painful situations his voice trembled. After trying in vain to get something out of him, I was ready to give up.

But one day something strange happened. Billy Milligan fully integrated for the first time, and in front of me was another person, a fusion of all his personalities. The combined Milligan clearly and almost completely remembered all his personalities from the moment they appeared - all their thoughts, actions, relationships, hard experiences and funny adventures.

I say this at once so that the reader will understand how I recorded Milligan's past events, feelings and intimate conversations. All the material for the book is provided by Billy in moments of integration, his personalities, and the sixty-two people with whom he interacted on various occasions. life stages. Events and dialogue are recreated from Milligan's memory. Therapeutic sessions were recorded from videotapes. I didn't come up with anything myself.

When I started writing, one of the big problems was chronology. Milligan often “fell out of time” from childhood, he rarely looked at watches or calendars, often he had to awkwardly admit that he did not know what day of the week or even what month it was. In the end, I was able to reconstruct the sequence of events based on invoices, receipts, insurance reports, school records, work records, and numerous other documents provided to me by his mother, sister, employers, lawyers, and doctors. Milligan rarely dated his correspondence, but his ex girlfriend there were hundreds of his letters received during the two years that he was in prison, and there were numbers on the envelopes.

"My name is Legion, because we are many" ((Mark 5:8-9)) A phrase that fully reflects the essence human psyche at the time of its formation. Depending on the social environment in which we are, there are “several” of us. The personality that will become us will be fixed only by the age of 24. But what happens if the formation is not completed according to plan? Moral upheavals in our lives will lead to irreversible consequences, such as congenital phobias or even more serious injuries. Children who are victims of violence are more prone to dissociative identity disorder than others. Among these children was William Milligan. This case will be discussed today. Book about Billy misterious story Billy Milligan" written American writer and philologist Daniel Keyes, who received worldwide fame, after the publication of the novel "Flowers for Algernon". As before, Keys is sharp and scientific topic transfers to art style, worked out to the smallest detail, achieved through hard work. The novel consists of three parts: confused times, becoming a teacher, beyond the madness. Over the course of three parts, published on 600 printed pages, Daniel will not let the reader relax and will keep in suspense until the last page, demonstrating fear human society in front of the new and the unknown. "Tangled Times" covers the events from Billy's arrest on suspicion of rape to the moment of his admission to the hospital in Athens. We will also learn about 10 personalities locked in one body. To be clear, all but one person knew they were part of Billy, and yet they were seriously offended when they were not mistaken for subjects. In "Tangled Times," Keys will introduce each of them. Explain what duties are assigned and to whom. The first chapter will also show the work of psychologists and lawyers, their battle for the health and rights of the poor guy with hard fate. At the end of the chapter, one "roommate" Billy will give the attending physician a list in which there will be a list of 23 names, and in the 24th position there will be an inscription - "teacher". "Becoming a Teacher" in this chapter The teacher will tell Billy's story in order and answer questions that arose after reading the first part of the book. Who is he, why did each of the personalities appear, and how to make Billy a normal person again. The teacher was supposed to be a boy with growing up, gaining experience and new information however, violence and bullying from the stepfather served as an obstacle to this. Psychologists have to piece together a person back into a single personality so that he can live normally among other people. "Beyond Madness" - this part is filled with pain more than others. It tells what will happen to Billy when the story gets out thanks to the hypocritical and greedy press. Newspapers will destroy his psychological state with headlines and articles about the rapist who remained at large. The exorbitant work of doctors and lawyers will be lost, and you will have to start over, because Billy will “crumble” again. However, a terrible test for him will be staying in the state clinic of Lima, the transfer to it happened due to unrest local residents caused by information coming from the media. We'll fast-forward to a hospital in Lima, where a stun gun is used as a means of subduing patients. You will be a witness litigation watching Billy survive in the darkest part of the night, hoping for a quick dawn. Screening paraphrase. Billy will be played by Leonardo DiCaprio. I can’t imagine him in this role due to his age and physique. Matthew McConaughey would fit the role of Billy outwardly, I realized this after his role in "true detective", where he played a thin and "beaten by life" detective. And Jared Leto could try to cope with acting, he acting career I had to transform into a variety of roles: from drug addicts to transsexuals. And I haven't forgotten James McAvoy's recent role as he did a good job as a schizophrenic in Split. It's definitely hard work for any actor, even those with a wealth of acting experience under their belts, and as a fan of the Billy story, I wouldn't want to see a second rate job. Don't forget, Milligan's war is just ahead.

Read completely

Two books. Hundreds of articles, dozens documentaries. 20 years of waiting for DiCaprio himself to embody his image on the screen. The unreal fate of a real person. Billy Milligan. A person diagnosed with multiple personalities. A unique child, born to be a great artist, with a sensitive heart, fair and kind character. But the terrible and sophisticated violence of the stepfather split this whole world into 24 individuals. 24 people different nationality, gender and age, mental and physical abilities, stood up for the defense of the baby, appearing to the world at certain moments. Multiple suicide attempts, ten years of hell in psychiatric hospitals. The only thing that gave him strength was the desire to tell the world about people like him and participation in the fight against child abuse. The world saw him as a beast, endless courts tried to keep him behind bars. And he gained freedom and forgave everyone, even himself scary person In my life.

Read completely

Natalia

Me and the people inside me

Each of us always has one voice in our head that is similar to ours, but imagine when this voice is not alone? And when these voices are different and belonged to people? I condoled throughout the book to Billy's family and his "family". We are used to the fact that when we read books, the lines float away and we see pictures, images created by the author. I caught myself thinking what I see different people in the image of Billy, that is, this is not Billy - but one of his personalities, if this is Allana, then a girl, fragile, beautiful, romantic; if Christy is a little girl, blond and so on. And only when I look away from the book do I think that this is a guy. What is most striking is the realization that this story really happened and with real person. Billy Milligan existed somewhere in need of help. The worst thing is that few people could help him. The family was turned away from him: a brother engaged in military career; life sister and mother looking for love. Throughout the book, only mother and sister try to somehow help Billy, none of them noticed a change in brother / son. When society lives in your head and it is undesirable, there are a lot of negative qualities in each of the personalities: smoking, drug use, alcoholism . Each of the personalities does not appear immediately gradually reflects the qualities necessary for Billy; or traits taken from the movie, like Arthur, who appeared thanks to Sherlock Holmes. Blaming the family for all the troubles is pointless, none of them is to blame for what happened to Billy, except probably the mother, but even then she acted according to the situation. If you stand in her place, you can understand. Three children growing up without a father, and it is very difficult to raise children on your own. As soon as Chermer Milligan appears in Billy's life, then there are more personalities. The society is most striking, or rather the press, which never knew Billy as a person and did not try to find out, highlight real story and somehow whiten the young man's reputation. But everyone works for his salary and it is easier to throw mud at a person.

Read completely

Lovejoy

Angelica

Life is like fiction

The story of one man. History of one disease. Dissociative personality disorder. The person with the most multiple disorder in medicine is 24 persons, acquitted in a rape case due to his severe and rare disease. Little 5-year-old Billy at that time already had personalities - 3-year-old Christine, who stood behind Billy in the corner, and David, a deaf-mute boy who was often scolded for his wrongdoings. After the abuse of his stepfather over an 8-year-old child, Billy's consciousness completely split, and every year more and more of his sides began to appear. , musician Christopher and baby Christine. There were negative personalities, because of which Billy was accused of crimes, among which was the thief and fraudster Philip and the lesbian Adalana, who rapes women. And how I would like to retell all the main events, but I have to write briefly. 23-year-old Billy Milligan was taken into custody in early 1978 on charges of triple rape on the campus of Athens, Ohio. Lawyer Gary Schweickart secured Billy's transfer to the Afinn Clinic, where Dr. Caul spent several months trying to study all aspects of Billy's disorder and unite all of his personalities, which revealed to him a new and whole personality of Billy Milligan - the Teacher who kept the memory of everyone else and is the 24th personality. It turned out that at the age of 16, Billy wanted to jump off the roof, but Reigen stopped him, and he and Arthur "lulled" the young man for 6 years. During his sleep, the rest of the personalities reveled and had fun or pumped each of their hobbies. But Billy was arrested for complicity in robbing a pharmacy, and then for raping three women who testified against him. Partially, Billy was acquitted, but even being on treatment, had to serve time for theft of property. So, he was assigned to a strict regime prison in the city of Lima, where he had to survive every day. cases and the desire to get out of the abyss in which this unfortunate man lived for many years with his illness. Daniel Keyes personally interviewed and met with Billy before last days kept in touch with a person whom he was sincerely sorry for. This is an extraordinary example of humanity and compassion, as well as the experience of encountering a little-studied area of \u200b\u200bthe mental state of people who have been subjected to violence and its devastating consequences. artistic plot to criticize him real life, which does not need a storyboard.

Read completely

Angelica

Daniel Keyes wrote The Secret Case of Billy Milligan based on real story, you can call the book a biography. I can't say that I liked the work. The plot is interesting, but I didn't like the way it was presented. Main character evoked no sympathy or pity. But this work causes controversy, someone will believe that the hero is sick, someone is not. It seemed to me that Billy was a manipulator trying to avoid punishment. I did not manage to fully believe in splitting into many personalities. The feeling that the hero "leads everyone by the nose" haunted me throughout the book. The only thing that gave rise to doubt is how can you change so many masks and never get confused in them? When I imagined how these role reversals might look like in reality, I was horrified, I think no one except a psychiatrist would want to watch such a spectacle. It’s also difficult to believe in Billy’s veracity because: “His entire childhood was spent in constant struggle: to compose, adjust facts, invent some kind of explanation with the sole purpose of hiding from everyone that he doesn’t remember most of the time ...” (c) . He is a liar and knows how to dodge perfectly. Perhaps the roots of Billy's problems are to be found in childhood. In the course of reading, I was constantly confused about Billy's personalities, it helped me a lot to figure it out a brief description of, given by the author at first. There are in the book "Epilogue", "Afterword" and "Author's Notes" they reveal some secrets. There is also about the mood, and about the personality, and about the Place of Dying. I disagree with those who claim that the work is similar to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, these stories are completely different. The justice system did not surprise me, and I understand and accept the desire to protect many by isolating one. It seemed interesting that the hero is judged as "exceptional", he does not protest and does not demand the same attitude as the norm, and when we are talking about receiving "goods" - wants to be like everyone else. The name "Crime and Punishment" would suit this book, because there is a crime - there is guilt, and there is an escape from punishment. The ending is logical. In general, Billy's story did not hook me, even the fact that this is a true biography did not add interest. However, it seems to me that it is worth reading this work in order to form your own opinion about it.

Read completely

FOREWORD

This book is an accurate account of the life of William Stanley Milligan, the first person in the history of the United States of America who was found not guilty of serious crimes by a court on account of the defendant's mental disorder in the form of his multiple personality.

Unlike other people with multiple personalities described in psychiatric and popular literature, whose names are usually changed, Milligan became known to the general public from the moment of his arrest and trial. His face appeared on the front pages of newspapers and on the covers of magazines, the results of forensic psychiatric examinations were broadcast on the evening television news. Milligan is the first patient with multiple personalities to be carefully examined while under 24/7 monitoring at the clinic. The plurality of his personality was confirmed under oath in court by four psychiatrists and a psychologist.

I first met a twenty-three-year-old young man at the Athens Mental Health Center, Ohio, shortly after he was sent there by court order. When Milligan asked me to write about him, I agreed to do so on the condition that I had at my disposal more extensive and reliable material than the information that had appeared in print at that time. Billy assured me that until now the deepest secrets of his personalities were not known to anyone, including the lawyers and psychiatrists who tested him. And now he wanted people to understand his mental illness. I was rather skeptical, but interested.

A few days after our conversation, my curiosity increased. I saw an article in Newsweek entitled "Billy's Ten Faces" and noticed the last paragraph:

Nevertheless, the following questions remain unanswered: why does Milligan have the ability to run away like Houdini, demonstrated by Tommy (one of his personalities)? Why, in conversations with his victims, did he declare himself a "partisan" and a "hired killer"? Doctors think that there are other undiscovered personalities coexisting in Milligan and that some of them may have committed crimes that have not yet been disclosed.

On new visits to the psychiatric clinic, I discovered that Billy, as he was commonly known, was quite different from the level-headed young man I had first seen. Now he spoke uncertainly, his knees shaking nervously. He suffered from memory lapses. About those periods of his past that Billy remembered poorly, he could only speak in general terms. His voice often trembled when the memories were painful, but at the same time he could not remember many details. After trying in vain to learn more about his past life, I was ready to give up everything.

And then one day something amazing happened.

For the first time, Billy Milligan appeared as a whole person, discovering a new identity - a fusion of all his personalities. Such a Milligan clearly remembered almost everything about all his personalities from the moment they appeared: their thoughts, actions, relationships with people, tragic incidents and comic adventures.

I say this at the very beginning, so that the reader will understand why I was able to record all the events of Milligan's past life, his feelings and reasoning. All the material in this book came to me from this whole Milligan, from his other personalities, and from sixty-two people whose paths crossed with him at various stages of his life. Scenes and dialogue are recreated from Milligan's memoirs. The therapy sessions are taken directly from the videotape. I didn't invent anything.

When I started writing the book, we ran into one major problem - recreating the chronology of events. From early childhood, Milligan often "lost time", he rarely paid attention to hours or dates, and at times was puzzled by the fact that he did not know what day or month it was.

Daniel Keyes

The Mysterious Case of Billy Milligan

Foreword

Unlike other people with multiple personalities described in psychiatric and popular literature, whose names are usually changed, Milligan became known to the general public from the moment he was arrested and put on trial. His face appeared on the front pages of newspapers and on the covers of magazines, the results of forensic psychiatric examinations were broadcast on evening television news. Milligan is the first patient with multiple personalities to be carefully examined while under 24/7 monitoring at the clinic. The plurality of his personality was confirmed under oath in court by four psychiatrists and a psychologist.

I first met a twenty-three-year-old young man at the Athens Mental Health Center, Ohio, as soon as he was sent there by court order. When Milligan asked me to write about him, I agreed to do it on the condition that he would provide me with more extensive and reliable material than the information that had appeared in print at that time. Billy assured me that until now the deepest secrets of his personalities were not known to anyone, including the lawyers and psychiatrists who tested him. And now he wanted people to understand his mental illness. I was rather skeptical, but interested.

A few days after our conversation, my curiosity increased. I saw an article in Newsweek entitled "Billy's Ten Faces" and noticed the last paragraph:

Talking to him on subsequent visits to the psychiatric clinic, I found that Billy, as he was commonly called, was very different from the level-headed young man I had first seen. Now he spoke uncertainly, his knees shaking nervously. He suffered from memory lapses. About those periods of his past that Billy remembered poorly, he could only speak in general terms. When the memories were painful, his voice often trembled, but at the same time he could not remember many details. After trying in vain to learn more about his past life, I was ready to give up everything.

And then one day something amazing happened.

When I started writing the book, we ran into one major problem - how to recreate the chronology of events. From early childhood, Milligan often "lost time", he rarely paid attention to hours or dates, and at times was puzzled by the fact that he did not know what day or month it was. I was eventually able to build a timeline using bills, insurance, school reports, job records, and other documents provided to me by his mother, sister, employers, lawyers, and doctors. Although Milligan rarely dated his correspondence, his former girlfriend kept hundreds of letters he wrote to her during his two years in prison, and I was able to date them from the postmarks on the envelopes.

As we worked, Milligan and I agreed that we would abide by two basic rules.

First, all people, places and institutions will be named by their real names, with the exception of three groups of individuals whose personal lives must be protected by pseudonyms. These are: other patients in a psychiatric hospital; unconvicted criminals with whom Milligan dealt as a teenager and as an adult and with whom I could not speak directly; and finally, three rape victims from Ohio State University, including two who agreed to answer my questions.

Secondly, to ensure that Milligan would not harm himself by reporting the crimes of others of his personalities for which he could still be convicted, we agreed that I would "fantasy" describing some scenes. At the same time, in the descriptions of the crimes for which Milligan has already been tried, details will be given that are still unknown to anyone.

Of those who met Billy Milligan, worked with him, or fell victim to him, most agreed with his diagnosis of multiple personality. Many of these people, remembering something he said or did, were eventually forced to admit, "He just couldn't be pretending like that." Others still consider him a clever rogue who fakes a mental breakdown to avoid prison. And among those and among others there were those who wanted to talk with me, express their opinion and explain why they think so.

I, too, was a skeptic. My opinion changes drastically almost every day. But over the last two years of working with Milligan on this book, the doubts I felt when the actions and experiences he recalled seemed incredible to me were dispelled, as my investigation showed that all this was true.

Yet the controversy continues in the Ohio state press, as evidenced by an article in the Dayton Daily News of January 2, 1981, three years and two months after the last crimes were committed:

“CRAFTER OR VICTIMS?

MILLIGAN'S TWO POINTS OF VIEW

William Stanley Milligan is a complex man leading a complex life. He is either a crook who deceives society and escapes punishment for serious crimes, or a real victim of his many personalities. Either way, it's bad...

Only time will tell whether Milligan was a crook who fooled the whole world, or one of the saddest victims of this world ... "

I guess that time has come.

Athens, Ohio January 3, 1981

Milligan's personalities

These are the ones who became known to psychiatrists, lawyers, police and the press during the trial.

1. William Stanley Milligan (Billy), 26 years. "original source" or "core"; the individual, hereinafter referred to as "undecayed Billy" or "Billy-N". Dropped out of school. Height 183 cm, weight 86 kg. Blue eyes, brown hair.

2. Arthur, 22 years old. Englishman. Reasonable, balanced, speak in a British accent. He independently learned physics and chemistry, studies medical literature. Fluent in reading and writing Arabic. A firm conservative, considers himself a capitalist, nevertheless openly expresses atheistic views. The first to discover the existence of all other personalities. In safe situations, he dominates, deciding which of the "family" to appear in each case and own Milligan's mind. Wear glasses.

3. Rajen Vadaskovinich, 23 years old. Keeper of Hate. The name is composed of two words (Bagen = rage + again - rage again). Yugoslav, speaks English with a noticeable Slavic accent. Reads, writes and speaks Serbo-Croatian. A weapon-wielding, karate-specialist, he possesses exceptional strength, restrained by his ability to control his adrenaline rush. Communist, atheist. He considers it his calling to be the protector of the "family" and in general of all women and children. Takes possession of consciousness in dangerous situations. Communicated with criminals and drug addicts, he is characterized by criminal, and sometimes sadistically cruel behavior. Weight 95 kg. Very large, strong arms, long black hair, hanging mustache. He draws black and white drawings because he suffers from color blindness.

4. Allen, 18 years. Rogue. Being a manipulator, he is the one who most often deals with strangers. Agnostic, his motto is: "Take the best of life." He plays the drum, draws portraits, and is the only person who smokes cigarettes. He is on good terms with Billy's mother. The height is the same as that of Billy, although the weight is less (75 kg). She wears her hair in the middle (right). The only one of them all is right-handed.

Popular in category: