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Proprietary Rights

Re-Cap


Briefly, our heroine, known for the most part and presenting to the world as Kelly, tended to some degree of dissociation and discontinuity in her moods, awareness and memories – as do most of us in some ways and to some extent. Kelly and I met on an email group several years previously and got to know each other. To begin with, I often found myself talking to DaisyMay, a young 5-year old alter who acted in a protective role towards Kelly, way beyond her apparent 5 years. This was a constant 5-year age, she grew no older in that respect and had apparently been around for a long time.

There was also a personality part/alter, who interpreted on behalf of Kelly and gave useful background information, and this person I call Nolly. And there was the host-person named Caitlin, who sometimes found her life so hard to engage with that she disappeared from the scene for months, returning with no awareness of what happened in the interim. Although Kelly had some awareness of Caitlin, this process did not work the other way around.

In Kelly’s past there was a degree of cultic ritual abuse involving some ‘satanic’ philosophy, in amongst many other things. People’s ideas about this vary, but that is not the key issue and we need to move on with this. One of the main people apparently keeping Kelly involved with the cult they were in, was a woman of many years’ acquaintance. This woman’s path had crossed hers to the point where Kelly insisted on a Deal: that Kelly would not reveal personal and cult matters relevant to Marta Smith, not her real name, who in return must leave Kelly alone.

When Hallowe'en came along, Marta tried once more to involve Kelly in cult activity despite the Deal, and Daisy the 5-year old was told to say goodbye to me for ever. Kelly did keep away from Marta and the cult following the Deal, sometimes despite an inner compulsion to return. But during the weeks following Hallowe’en Kelly and I struggled in our conversations, often at odds instead of working together as we had. Nolly, the ‘interpreter/protector’ part of Kelly, intervened in a valiant attempt to mediate, but this was fraught with Nolly experiencing anger and upset towards me.

Caitlin, the original birth and host-person, had put in recent brief appearances, and she now seemed to want to contact Marta. I envisaged all the work, pain and suffering that Kelly had been through, going down the drain in an instant. I tried to hold Caitlin’s attention sufficiently to give a brief outline, and indicated it would be better if she held off taking any steps for a while. Caitlin found it too hard to understand why Marta had contacted me regarding the Deal, or that Marta would tell me Caitlin/Kelly were in a mental hospital when clearly they were not.

Whereas Kelly had some conscious awareness regarding attending the cult, Caitlin did not, so for her it simply did not exist. Now Caitlin was putting all within their DID system at risk, not just of Marta and her controlling ways, but also of getting caught up again in cult activities which did not fit their ideology.

There’s no need to worry if it all seems confusing, because it’s easy to pick up. I just described things in a nutshell.



Return of a Friend


I was playing a word game online with young Kate, a version of Caitlin the host-person. Most of us have several personae - even plenty of them - but some people split them off more than usual, with little or no conscious awareness between them. I mean no disrespect to Caitlin or Kelly or anyone described in these pages, nor to you or anyone you know. We are all different, we do or we like different things, and we handle things differently. At some level we are pretty much the same. It is a matter of degree or mode how much we differ, or how we sort things through in our minds.

Little Kate aged 5 had trouble guessing a word from the blanks I put on the screen, and I was trying to explain about guessing vowels first. Kate appeared 6 weeks ago on the same night Daisy said goodbye to me and disappeared. Daisy was also aged 5 but different in nature and role. She was feisty and logical, whereas Kate wailed for her mom and liked puzzles.

‘I think Daisy is back’ wrote Nolly. ‘Do you want to talk to her?’ Nolly's main role was interpreting what Kelly was thinking or feeling. Kelly herself found that too difficult sometimes, or else I did not always pick up on cues. ‘Sure’ I replied. ‘But I thought little Kate and Daisy could not both be around at the same time.’

‘That never did make sense to me’ said Nolly who usually turned out to be right. I had been told that Daisy had to say goodbye to me to let little Kate through, and if I nurtured Kate great things would happen. I tried, and they did not seem to. Caitlin the host-person sometimes came through briefly after Kate, but she seemed to have no stamina.

‘Hi aunti’ appeared on my screen. Daisy had given me the auntie title, and I made futile attempts to help her grow, and write so that I could understand. She had a protective role towards Kelly, fronting for her on difficult days. She was not like many of the Little alters that people describe in their systems, and did not want to play with other Littles.



‘Hi Daisy, are you OK?’ I wrote. 'You know that night you said goodbye, I was told that little Kate could not be there as well as you.’

‘Her draws picturs, dat Kate,’ wrote Daisy. ‘Abodi told me I must say bye and nevr talk to u agin’ explained Daisy. ‘And I cry and cry.’

‘Oh, that’s sad. Were you a long way away?’ I asked. ‘At first, den not far,’ Daisy replied. ‘Did you know Caitlin came back?’ I wanted to know.

‘Me knows aunti’ wrote Daisy. ‘Caitlin worse now. Her sicker dan Kelly now.’

It was difficult for me to get a handle on whether Caitlin really wanted to be back, or was able to, or should be given every chance as the host persona. Kelly came along to help years before and the two had combined roles, getting through exams and bringing up the children. Now Caitlin had no awareness of recent events, which could cause problems.

‘Me no want Caitlin back’ wrote Daisy. ‘Me come back soon as I could aunti, soon as me know.’

‘Well that’s good Daisy’ I wrote. ‘We can work some things out when we know more. Only we can’t do it all at once. We’ll see what’s happening and then we’ll know what to do.’

Big words. Big hopes. Big lies? It's all too easy to get drawn into situations where people beg for someone to say they will help, and where big wrongs are perpetrated on vulnerable people. Kelly/Caitlin/Daisy were not the only ones going through personal or cult manipulation. I was told by various robot types within the system, when I got them rattled and talking, that the main aim was control, pure and simple, and that other vulnerable women in the area were undergoing it too and with a high suicide rate.



Proprietary Rights


Most of us like to feel in some control over our own lives, even if that is a feeling rather than reality. It’s like driving a car to a destination, where we take in places en route, but are heading somewhere in particular. If we have various parts of our personality not in accord with that destination, the ride may not be straightforward, or other parts may take a back seat. Another day, another alter may be in a real or moral position to take over. The analogy was apt for Kelly, in that she would find herself driving to places she would not consciously go to or wish to.

With people who tend to dissociate as a way of handling their lives and different situations, it can become difficult when there is conflict or confusion. An outside person involved may find it hard to work out what is going on, possible reasons, what aspects to try to help with or discourage. Our own rules for behaviour may not apply. Some therapists or supporters in this situation believe in the concept of integration, but many people who dissociate find this inappropriate or even harmful. Being able to utilise dissociation is a survival mechanism that works for them. Other people can only do their best to help.

There are different schools of thought about whether one should encourage people to remember certain events in their lives, or even force this. However much it appears to be in someone’s interests to be aware of something, I tend towards a gentler approach, the ethos that one does not take away people’s defences which are their very means of survival. The idea is to promote a safe enough situation for some things to come through when they are ready and can be handled. Other practitioners work differently, and so long as it suits their clients that is fine. That is the punchline - so long as it suits their clients.

What does one do if someone else in a client’s life is being cruel, manipulating their mind and actions, telling them untruths, obliterating memories that they might need? The list goes on and comes under a general heading of mind control. It is subversive and does not allow the client or survivor to make up their own mind in their own way, or to change it if they want to. The result can be that the client is not the person living their life, but someone else does it by proxy. Someone, whether a manipulative individual or a cult, a family or society in general, has undue influence over the client or survivor. It is not easy to pinpoint, because it happens below conscious threshold. Someone else holds invisible reins. If they were visible it would be easier to explain, and to show to the individual and to other people what is happening.

Many cultures and societies place great emphasis on family history, the ancestors, family values of parents being passed to their children in myriad ways, seen and unseen. People take a pride in these things, but like anything else they can be taken to extremes. Because children are small and do not have the words or experience to express themselves against adults around them, many children find it hard to be accepted for who they are. Adults who have children may not remember their own childhood, or cannot perceive the world through children’s eyes, so they take a default position of feeling they know what is best. Most of us can see and realise it to some extent, but when it is particularly subversive, because of psychological needs which are not recognised, the problems are more extreme.

Where there are cultic organisations or personalities using psychological, psychotherapeutic or psychoanalytic theory to control other people, the problem for individuals is much greater, and it becomes harder to break away. This demonstrates some problems relevant to Kelly and Caitlin, in terms of what each may have needed, or need now. Kelly wanted to stay away from a controlling person Marta, and from the cult, having been through months of terrible experiences and recalling some from the past. Caitlin felt guilty about resisting Marta, wanting reassurance and comfort from her, and having no awareness about a cult. Denial is a natural defence mechanism in human beings. I don't see that one can call it denial when there just is no awareness - for whatever reason.

Awareness and memories of cult involvement were deliberately blurred or blocked by someone else, not within the DID system but utilising dissociation to achieve the goal. Many ‘protector’ alters seemed to do a grand job. Within a few weeks or just days, they sounded like a mini-version of Marta. If I challenged them they disappeared, and I never knew if they'd served a useful purpose that I spoiled. Marta was a form of handler or controller to them. Sometimes she seemed to want proprietary rights over their DID system, like some inner psychological need of her own. Perhaps it was envy, projection, or territorial.

When Marta realised I'd known Kelly for several years and learned things, she tried ploys for me to give up, saying Kelly was in hospital and would not be back for so long I should delete her as a contact. Each time, Kelly contacted me within an hour to say she had not been to hospital. Another tactic was for Marta to hypnotise Kelly to convince her I was going on vacation and would not speak to her, or my husband hated Kelly and wished her harm. This last example helped Kelly to see that what she was being told was unlikely.

I was told several times that Marta had given up and would have nothing further to do with Kelly, which upset Daisy who was sure Marta was her mommy. Within a week Marta would be back and we grew sceptical. Those telling me that Marta had gone were the ‘protectors’. Another ploy was for the robot or ‘protective’ alters to get me off the computer, and stop the email alerts that would enable me to act swiftly.

A ‘protector’ whom I call Peter contacted me during Hallowe’en to say Marta would be gone as from then, he could assure me because he knew, and this was the last time Kelly’s resistance would be put to the test. He said the link with Marta was in its final stage of being broken, and would be complete if I said goodbye to young Daisy, and called back the host Caitlin using the name she knew me by - the Bartender. Daisy and I said sad farewells 2 months ago, and little Kate aged 5 came through. I was told by Peter to protect her as she was the key, but all she seemed able to do was say ‘I want my mom, where my dad?’ or ‘I want to play.’

Kate did seem to be the means to regaining contact with Caitlin. Believing that this was the required development, I adjusted my schedule one morning when Caitlin emailed. Kelly held the fort since Caitlin gave up a few months before.But Kelly now seemed to be disintegrating, no longer containing things she had taken in her stride, no longer having any energy or fight, except to harangue me for not having instant solutions to her problems ad infinitum. Previously she was considerate and undemanding. Kelly used to be magnetic, in difficulty herself yet drawing in people wherever she went. I was curious how such a situation had arisen around her, with months of harassment and degradation from Marta on top of cult activities, and the years of control.



Rights And Wrongs


I wanted to see Kelly have a better life. I wanted to feel that other women should not go through the same things, in that locality and other places too. I believe changes can be made in understanding, and then put into practice. Plenty of work has been done by others, more detailed and academic than I can put forward. Many therapists have given up this kind of work publicly but their accounts are available.

My involvement with Kelly as the main adult persona, was due to my strong belief that no-one should presume to control someone else’s life, including their thoughts, beliefs, and activities. The person with proprietary rights over a life is that person, although other people influence them to a degree, hopefully with mutual consent. People should have free will and choices, as much as possible within the normal constraints of life. Call me Madame Human Rights, I do not mind one bit.

Clearly, people at the top end of cults think oppositely. Often people at the bottom have no idea about the purported or actual ideology, or of hidden agendas belying the public face. The main problem is double standards, made more dubious when drugs, hypnosis, or similar altered states of consciousness, are utilised to render unfortunate people unaware of basic things in their lives, including rights or reason.

How can you control your life if someone blots out chunks deliberately, adding in parts that simply are not true, or can be manipulated to suit their insidious purposes and fit any bill? How can people thus manipulated explain to police, other authorities or individuals, what has happened to them so that it is provable? Kelly frequently described a bad experience to me in detail, only to say a few days later it must have been a bad dream. Later she recalled the event.

This was clear when Kelly went to the hospital emergency room with a high fever and infection. Afterwards she recounted the minor operation she had that night, then later said it was a bad dream, even when asking why she was still wearing a hospital bracelet. Two days later she freaked in an email saying she now knew she went there and it was horribly real.

When I mentioned to Kelly that people who run the cult make mistakes, she replied simply that they pay other people to cover their mistakes. If you keep watching and noting, some of their methods and mistakes become apparent. It’s certainly hard to do anything about Z, if there’s no word or concept for Z. Look at Z in relation to human or animal behaviour, organisational or cultic behaviour, domineering partnerships, or whatever subject you know anything about, and it’s not hard to see how things can happen. That really is my point: There is a trend towards discounting accounts of ‘satanic’ ritual or cultic activity as purely urban myth, or some hysterical, at least emotional, reaction. You only have to read relevant historical or anthropological accounts to know that they have been done in the past. Why do we deny the possibility now?

Because learned people insist that it's the only way to think logically or you're a Dumbo. And because sadly, mistakes have been made during some types of therapy that encourage people to believe more happened to them than really did. Both they and their families suffer the consequences needlessly. We can improve things all round by being more open, and looking at more linked areas, like how people make false confessions to crimes they could not have committed.

People may cite examples of attempts to examine some ritual abuse cases, with a tagline of ‘There is no evidence’. Cases may be chosen selectively, and there are things we never get to hear about or have a chance of examining. Please don’t just fall for the tagline. More is at stake than palpable, universally acceptable evidence. What evidence is accepted by both sides in a court of law, or to everyone whose lives are touched by the case? Someone can come up with a different tale to account for things to shed doubt, and that would be someone with a vested interest, personal or professional.

I am not so concerned about people whose lives have never been touched by these injustices and cannot be expected to worry over them. We don't want a situation where people read about things and think it happened to them when it did not. These things do not touch everyone, and most people have their own lives to lead, their own issues, looking towards areas to provide sufficient answers or meaning for them. That is life, for those left alone to live it without the troubles described in 'the Book'.




Christmas Wishes


‘Merry Christmas and Merry Winter (ha ha ha) Lucy hope you have a nice and peaceful holiday time and a fantastic New Year (ha ha ha).’ An email came from Marta addressed to myself just before Christmas.

‘Hello Nolly,’ I wrote. ‘I thought you should know that Marta sent me an email wishing me Merry Christmas. It must be her idea of a joke. How are things? What time shall we talk on MSN over Christmas?’ I received no reply from her. As far as I could tell, she dipped in and out of Kelly’s consciousness, more out than in when Kelly was distressed or self-destructive.

When Daisy sent me a distressed email on Christmas eve saying she was worried about Christmas night, I replied that she should make sure no-one answered any knocks at the door, and to email me if anyone came so we could handle it together. Christmas day and night came and went and I heard nothing. I thought back to a year when Kelly was online on Christmas day when the cult came knocking, but she avoided going. Later that week she dropped into our chat almost casually ‘Marta didn’t get me Christmas day, she got me Boxing day instead.’

One January when Kelly seemed clear of the cult and Marta, she sent me some awful drawings. When I asked, she had no awareness of them, but I had caught her unawares after a cult meeting, and she was able to say what happened, which was rare. I knew then that I had been under a false impression about her safety. While I thought she was busy with her ordinary employment during the day, she was also ‘getting taken’ at night, after speaking to me.

Kelly's children were with her during weekends, but in the week were living nearer to their school with her ex-husband, who probably did not know of the cult activity. She had little awareness of her life in the week, but someone else knew up-to-date changes regarding the children. Marta’s knowledge faltered latterly with her arriving at Kelly’s door on nights the children were there. She would smile brightly and say ‘See you next week.’ Small point maybe, but a big one too. Even cult leaders and controllers have to work on information to hand.

Marta could not resist goading me before doing something relating to Kelly, as if that was part of her game plan. If she could believe she was in control, she thought she would achieve her aims, like superstition. Several times I came online in the middle of the night because of Marta’s goading, and was able to prevent her taking advantage of Kelly. Once Marta sent me a strange email saying that Lammas was on its way, and hopefully she would bring her plans into effect, but that it was hard to regain people’s confidence. So she wasn’t all mouth and bombast, and had doubts about her effectiveness like the rest of us.

An email from Marta to Kelly said ‘The only reason this hasn’t worked yet is because of your friend Lucy.’ In other words, the cult/Marta knew that sooner or later they could control circumstances to render Kelly unable to extricate herself, but anyone intervening was a spanner in the works. Another email from Marta arrived on my mobile when I was away from home and could do nothing: ‘Kelly has come to me of her own free will. And we will look after her as if she is our own.’ That was a Marta-type false alarm. If Kelly had knowingly chosen to throw in her lot with Marta and give me the go-by I'd accept that, but not while Kelly was kept in the dark and unaware of so much involving her.

I believed that covert harassment was going on, in a way that I could not openly challenge Marta. Kelly’s phone wires were cut through. There were police cars cruising by, which spooked Kelly because of conditioning to be scared of police and run straight to Marta. I believed Marta was sending subtle triggers to Kelly via emails or IM messages, and imagery to make her think bad things would happen.

What I hoped, apart from Marta and the cult leaving Kelly alone and her making a good recovery, was that external dynamics would intervene to change things, properly and in lasting manner. A range of people in all walks of life were involved in the cult. A range of people with some awareness of what was going on, in some measure supported Kelly. I hoped some of the problems would be revealed and prevented from happening. One day my pipedream will come true, not just for Kelly and others in the immediate environment, but more generally and in other areas. There are many people working in this field who do not make themselves known for their own reasons. ‘The Book’ is for them too.



Denouement


I received frantic distressed emails from Daisy after the immediate Christmas period. I felt something had happened but Daisy seemed unwilling to stay on MSN, saying she was upset and crying. ‘Are you there on your own?’ I asked.

‘Yes aunti, me is. Kelly gone now. Her was too sad, like Caitlin me think.’ On a couple of occasions, Daisy was left alone in the system with no adults present. The idea seemed to be Marta’s hope that Daisy would not cope alone, and be the end of it all. When Kelly returned the robot said it had not been expected I could get Kelly back. ‘I never thought you could do that again’ he'd say. But who is kidding whom, because the saga went on for years in this fashion.

Daisy and I discussed how our Christmas arrangements for communicating had not worked. I felt that a cult-loyal part of Kelly’s personality was stopping Daisy’s emails to me and deleting mine, making her uncomfortable about saying anything I could make sense of. ‘No aunti,’ replied Daisy. ‘Only me here and some littles. No bads now.’

‘OK Daisy,’ I wrote. ‘I don’t want you to worry about this, because I’m writing it for someone else, so you just ignore it.’

I then addressed some choice words to the ‘protectors’, as I had around Hallowe'en. I felt there was someone with a watching brief and a longterm role regarding the cult, with useful knowledge or abilities. The last time I heard from them was a brief email on a night when Kelly was freaking and sending multi-emails to me. A ‘protector’ had cut into the stream saying ‘Just ignore her. I will try to stop this.’ And it did stop the flow.

Now I challenged the ‘protectors’ directly that they were not doing their job if harmful things were happening to Kelly and Daisy but we could pull together. There was nothing in reply. ‘Its no good aunti’ wrote Daisy. ‘Me crying. You say you know wots happening. So now you know, right.’ Actually I did not know – I only thought I did. The problem was that Daisy could not express the nature of what happened, merely that I was not around when she desperately needed me one night.

Daisy and I would fix times to chat but shortly beforehand there'd be an email ‘No MSN aunti. Me no do MSN.’ Alter parts of Kelly’s personality used to bully Daisy for talking to me or gave her stomach ache, and I thought this was happening.

‘Daisy’ I replied to one of her emails. ‘I don’t like MSN much either, so we can just do emails if you want. But what I'd really like to know is who or what is stopping you.’ For a sassy 5-year old alter, Daisy was holding her own well and asking me challenging questions, but there was no reply.

After my challenging the ‘protectors’ with no joy, during a lull in Daisy’s conversation I typed a line asking if anyone else was there wanting to talk. It seemed to pay off, because someone typed a line on the screen ‘Who are you?’ I replied ‘Hi, it’s me Lucy. What do I call you?’

‘Do I know you? Can I trust you?’ came the reply.

‘Well I always say don’t trust people who say You can trust me’ I wrote. This response had got me into difficulties with another alter, who immediately thought I was saying she should not trust me.

‘I don’t know who I am,’ she wrote. ‘Have I got children?’

‘Do you have any idea how old you are?’ I asked. ‘Ummmm, Umm. About 3 or 4 days’ she wrote. ‘But this body looks fairly old and thin, very thin.’

‘I see. Well what name can I call you by?’ I said. ‘You make one up for me. I don’t know’ she answered.

‘How about Kylie?’ This was getting weird, because I had considered calling Kelly by the name Kylie for ‘the Book’ but did not get around to changing it. ‘I’ll try to remember that’ she said. ‘I never saw a computer before. I just found it. Are you on it much?’ Kylie seemed inquisitive and intelligent, like Kelly but more determined.

Kylie revealed a shocking incident that happened over Christmas. It was Kylie who had woken up afterwards on the couch indoors. I let her talk and we did a further session, culminating in Daisy coming through again and my saying there was a new alter.

‘Me know aunti. Her block the door now’ said Daisy. I could not blame Kelly for disappearing. I wondered about this new adult alter who came here to such a terrible experience, and fought back, kicking biting and scratching but not strong enough to prevent it.

On previous occasions there had been a temporary arrival who shouted people down or handled things on the home front. After some thought, I sent Kylie a brief email outlining her immediate family, and the name people were likely to call her by, Kelly.



New Year Follies


‘I don’t think Kylie will stay’ reported Nolly when I raised hopes that perhaps, in the newly arrived personality, there would be strength and tenacity for long enough to make a difference. Kelly, the person I had known through thick and thin, and Caitlin the host-person, had been through so much that they had virtually given up, leaving young Daisy, and Nolly who did some interpreting. Kelly and Caitlin dipped in and out infrequently, and Kelly had not been in touch for 2 weeks.

Daisy said the cable TV was disconnected because the bill had not been paid, there were stacks of messages on the answerphone, and changes were happening which Kelly knew nothing about. Nolly asked whether I could do anything to encourage Kelly back. Generally I preferred not to call on alter parts who had retreated from trauma, but there was no-one to do simple tasks or who knew what was happening with immediate family.

I asked Daisy if she knew how to contact Kelly and bring her back. She said I should write a page to add to Kelly’s own writings, but I said that would take time and I could not do it just now. She got huffy. ‘She is telling you that she needs a bath herself’ interpreted Nolly.

‘OK, I will try,’ I wrote. ‘Daisy, do you want to get a bath while I stay online, or I can come back later’ I wrote. ‘She is being stubborn’ said Nolly. I tried again with Daisy ‘There’s nothing stopping you having a bath, so I will wait for you, ok?’ ‘K aunti’ came the reply.

We hoped Kelly might put in an appearance. She tended to do this during ordinary chat if things felt safe enough. Daisy and I chatted some more, and suddenly there was a ‘Hi’ which looked like Kelly.

‘Hi, how are you? We haven’t spoken for a while. I was wondering if you were OK’ I wrote.‘You just haven’t been online’ wrote Kelly. I knew she had been writing to people on email groups, though not in the past week.

‘I may not be here for long’ came from Kelly. I did not want to press her and tried to keep things rolling. I told her about things happening in her family mentioned in the phone messages, and suggested she might listen to some. She seemed more like her old self although distant.

‘Sec’ wrote Kelly. ‘There’s someone in my yard.’

It was Daisy who came back to the computer. Kelly had disappeared. ‘Aunti, someone in our yard. But cat no go window. Him go to window if nother cat in yard.’

‘You can stay indoors tonight and look out the window at the yard in the morning, to see if it’s OK’ I suggested.

‘K, aunti. Me scard.’ I knew the door to their home was still blocked with a huge box, and hoped things would be safe enough for now.



The More It Changes


The French have a neat phrase to describe how things stay pretty much the same, even when they change a lot. Whenever Kelly got hopeful about her situation changing for the better, or I if did on her behalf, there seemed a prompt reaction in her immediate environment. There is much said on the subject of life changes having to come from within. That's fine as a theory, so long as the outside is not so extreme, intrusive or violent.

On the night Kelly returned after an absence and there were noises in her yard which caused her to vanish again, I received an email from Marta which I regarded as facetious. On a whim I sent a jokey reply including her married and maiden names, that she had changed her job, and that I was no problem if she left Kelly alone according to the Deals. Marta lived in cuckooland thinking no-one could know anything. Next day Kelly was using phrases that I wrote to Marta.



‘Wake up soon, please.’ There was a frantic email from Nolly the ‘interpreter/protector’. I was a couple of hours later picking it up. ‘Kelly is packing right now, to go and stay with that woman. She has no phone number for her just an address. It’s a 2 to 3 day drive and she’s not well. She should not go.’ wrote Nolly. ‘But if I stay here talking to you she can’t go, right?’

‘OK, I see what you mean.’ I was wondering how things could change so much so quickly, over and over like shifting sands. Kelly had not eaten in weeks, and was finding it hard to drink because of a sinus infection. I doubted her car had been serviced in months, and the roads were thick with ice. I was concerned she might not get a good reception if she did arrive at the other end, because of the other person’s family commitments and simply not expecting Kelly. I could not blame Kelly for wanting to escape.

‘Aunti, me no want to leave’ wailed Daisy. ‘And ders noises in yard all night.’ I was worried what might happen if Kelly left the house and there was someone hanging around.

‘There’s no rush to leave, is there? And that woman isn’t expecting you and she has family there. We can chat on MSN another day and sort things out.’ I hardly believed that but a major mishap might be avoided. There were no emails in reply to my last ones, and I did not know whether Kelly had left for a long trip or something else happened. I set my mobile phone to receive email alerts and all was quiet until 10pm the following night.

‘Aunti, me still here’ wrote Daisy from their usual email address rather than the Hotmail one they used when away from home. ‘Hi Daisy, how are you? You still at home?’ I replied. I asked some direct questions in an attempt to avoid 20 emails from Daisy.

‘Me take pills last nite, stop Kelly going away in car. Me just wake up aunti.’ I emailed a couple of replies to Daisy that we would chat on MSN the following day, and things went quiet.

I was concerned at these constant crises where I put in time and energy precluding other commitments, and things there did not improve or change. But it was important to keep a track of dynamics where I could. Chunks of time passed without my being told or being able to guess what was happening. Now I was closer to more things. Kelly was more aware too, and what she did not know, Daisy or Nolly often shed light on.

If Kelly embarked on a cross-country drive, I would be on stand-by for MSN day or night. I could not leave her alone and vulnerable on a long trek. She was generally not dependent on me in anything like the measure she had been, but I felt she would need to touch base.

It was still a strange dynamic to me as an outsider, that when Kelly was away from home, there was no-one like Daisy or Nolly to use the computer to say what was happening. That sounds obvious or stupid, but I kept hoping for background or anything to give me a clue. It helped me to know when I might be called upon, or in what ways I might do something. It was frustrating when I missed a frantic email, or I replied but it went nowhere because no-one read it. Sometimes we seemed to make progress, but that happened less and less.

I did not always assess things correctly although had plenty of background experience with Kelly which helped as a framework to peg things onto. I no longer had the insatiable curiosity that I had in early days of contact, when everything was an enigma because it did not much fit what other people wrote about. Perhaps one day we will all know more where this was leading. At least there will be more discussion points and things to think around, questions to ask and things that can be done.







New Deal On The Table


‘Why are there footprints all round my door?’ asked Kelly 2 weeks after New Year. ‘My children saw them and they want to know.’

‘I think you will have to tell them it was someone leaving a catalogue, Avon, Kleeneze, whatever you have there that sounds plausible’ I replied.

Kelly had mentioned missing time since Christmas, and this could mean she was switching, some of the alter personalities in her small DID system slipping in and out while Kelly took a back seat. It provided respite from things happening in her life while other parts dealt with the situation in their way. I tried to re-cap some of my own involvement in a way that would not be too threatening for her, but would encourage her to take more charge of her security and that of her children.

‘I think you need to get a new lock for your main door,’ I began.

Nolly had told me someone with a spare key had entered Kelly’s home while she was actually there, but Kelly had shut this whole episode out, despite severe bruising and other telltale signs. ‘I can’t afford another one’ Kelly protested, and I worried this could lead to further trouble for her. There had already been an incident during a recent cult date and I'd come online in the middle of the night. That time the door was blocked with a heavy box, but people stood banging the door, honking a car horn and playing triggering music designed to get Kelly out of the house. And left their footprints . . .

‘There are some things I should explain’ I began. ‘First I had emails from Marta saying the usual stuff about how useless I am. That is her way of saying she is up to something. Then something happened Boxing Day, then something after New Year. They definitely did not get in the second time because the door was jammed. But I think you need to make it clear to the cult to leave you alone.’

‘I don’t know anyone in the cult though, only Marta’ replied Kelly.

‘I thought once before you wrote a letter to someone in the cult saying you wanted to be left alone, and you left a copy with a lawyer.’ This was in the early days of knowing Kelly. She replied ‘Ya, but I don’t now.’

‘Then I believe you need to explain to Marta that the cult has to leave you alone. You need to stop it particularly while the kids are staying with you now.’ Kelly had her children for a 2-week period. ‘And there’s something else, about you taking some vows of silence, poverty and stuff, almost like a nun. I don’t believe you knew what you were agreeing to, and you need to tell the cult you retract them.’

‘Is that why I’m always poor and can’t work?’ asked Kelly. There had been times when she managed a few months’ work but not recently.

‘Probably it has something to do with it. There were other vows about being tortured and having a hard time. People must not come to your home any more.’ I considered things could escalate back to Kelly having cult involvement, and Marta carrying on with the conditioning, hypnosis and personal abuse of Kelly that had gone on for years.

‘You want me to send an email to Marta?’ asked Kelly.

‘I don’t know that email is the answer, and things will need some thought, but I feel you should know what I’m aware of, or it leaves you vulnerable. You need to control things from there’ I replied. I had not minded coming online to prevent Kelly going to a cult event I knew about. I could not be on standby generally through the night. There was sometimes a problem with email alerts to my mobile and the service was being stopped altogether.

Kelly was cooking a meal for her children and popping in and out of the room while we chatted.

‘OK, I sent it to Marta with a copy to you. Have a look’ she wrote. I checked and saw a brief succinct email addressed to Marta saying that Kelly wanted to retract any agreements she may have made to her and the cult, and that Marta should not send anyone else to her home or Kelly would tell anyone who would listen. Marta's reply arrived by return, agreeing the Deal because Kelly had already caused her problems.

‘You don’t hang around when you decide something, do you?’ I wrote to Kelly. ‘It is short and to the point, good.’ We chatted about other things, children’s schools, homework, all the things Kelly had on her mind without what I had just burdened her with. I felt guilty, but sensed that the time had now come for Kelly to act, to save herself from something larger and more insidious than most of us can imagine impinging on our lives, or ruling it completely.

Marta communicated with me that I also must say nothing about her. I did not agree to this or to any other request. Her attitude was that no-one would believe my word, as an Internet contact of a mentally disturbed person, i.e. Kelly. I replied that I had kept Marta’s emails to me, and heard no more for a while. (You are now reading the outcome of Marta clearly not sticking to her previous Deal, or to this one.)

It’s hard to understand how someone like Kelly, who sometimes had such a clear head and brave determination, could have been fooled by Marta and the cult for so long. I believe there are reasons stemming back many years, but also a great deal of time and effort was put in to maintain control. Sometimes Kelly got glimmers of it, but without another person to act as a sounding board, she could not see enough of the picture to make changes. Later I learned that the cult sometimes ramped up the controls, via harassment, when Kelly defaulted on a meeting or opposed someone significant.




Emails from Nolly


‘I’m sorry, I lied to you. I don’t know why I did that’ came a late night email from Nolly, the part of Kelly’s personality who intervened to explain things that Kelly could not, or I failed to grasp. I replied that I felt something was happening without knowing what, and it did not matter if Nolly tried to fob me off. When Kelly said ‘I am fine’ I joked that she meant the opposite. When Kelly was deeply reluctant to talk it was likely that Marta was involved.

Nolly explained that she thought Daisy knew more than Kelly or Nolly, but Daisy said she didn’t. Daisy was an enigma because she was acting in a double-sided manner as she had before. She was ostensibly co-operative, yet something seemed to be happening underneath and opposite. No conversations or questions shed any light, and Kelly and I lost touch for a week. She was contributing short messages on email groups where people seemed supportive, but Daisy dropped hints that people were telling Kelly what to do with her life and upsetting her. Could this be why I thought Marta was in touch, simply because other people had a controlling role? The effect was very similar.

‘Aunti’ came an email from Daisy. ‘Kelly reely upset. They tell her what to do and she in bad place now.’ I thought Daisy was using a phrase to express that Kelly was upset, but was puzzled why contact was through the Hotmail account. ‘Why are you using Hotmail?’ I asked. Although I was trying to cut down on getting drawn into dramas, I was home and feeling uneasy so it was no time to be arbitrary. I signed in.

‘Helo’ appeared on the screen from Daisy. ‘Kelly in bad place.’ ‘Hi Daisy, are you ok? Are you home?’ I wrote.

‘N.’ ‘Ok. Are you at Pete’s?’ This was Kelly’s ex-husband.

‘N.’ ‘Are you using a laptop?’

‘N, aunti.’ ‘Are you on that street Kelly used to live on?’

Another ‘N’. I was not sure where Kelly and Daisy were and was concerned they might be with Marta and there would be some showdown.

‘Is someone there a threat to you?’ I asked. ‘Y/N’ came the reply.

‘Can you put them online?’ ‘Sec,’ then ‘No aunti. It’s Kelly, she no want to talk to you’ came Daisy’s reply after a long pause. I felt they were in a house they had visited before. Daisy said she wanted to leave and I talked about finding the door and walking to the car, but just then she said someone was coming. I heard no more until emails arrived from their usual email address saying they were home.

It was Daisy talking, and a pattern emerged which filled in some blanks about the last month or two. It seemed that two women on the email group were vying for Kelly’s attention, trying to block each other out of communication with her. They were also both trying to stop Kelly talking to me, which sounded like cult behaviour. Each was giving Kelly lists of instructions or rules for her life. The general outcome was that Kelly turned in on herself. She now discouraged her children from visiting on their usual days.

‘Do you want to get a hot drink?’ I asked. ‘Plese aunti’ said Daisy. ‘Can I hav a bath, wil you wait? If me going to die today, me want a bath.’ I wondered what I missed, not only on this occasion but others when I was not around to catch nuances, or things had happened which I only heard about if they were on Kelly or Daisy’s mind. I could in no way blame them for excising things from memory. In the days of Marta, attempts were made by her to excise their memories too.

When Daisy returned she talked about other people Kelly knew. She drew a picture like a sociogram with various people around the edge, all surrounding Kelly who was being overwhelmed. She described visions Kelly was having, egged on by some of these people. ‘Daisy, I asked you before, but do you think some of these people are still in a cult?’ I wrote.

‘Me no know aunti’ came her reply.

‘Ok, well some of them have been, and maybe they are still hurting and doing things like what happened to them,’ I ventured. ‘That’s why they tell Kelly what to do.’

‘Well Brenda got a cult doll, dat cries over the phon to Kelly. It upsets her me think’ wrote Daisy.

‘How do you mean? I thought Kelly did not use the phone’ I said. Kelly had a fear of the phone and let the answerphone pick up. Also Brenda was long distance and Kelly’s phone was barred from making long distance calls.

‘Well dat Brenda tell Kelly to get phon card for long distance. And her tell Kelly to answer dat phone and she dos’ Daisy explained.

‘Does Brenda tell Kelly not to have her kids home these days too?' I asked.

‘Me think aunti.’ Things were beginning to fall into place, but everything was so different from the day before, the week before, all the things I had ever known with Kelly.

‘What doll?’ I was trying to find out what I could while I had a chance and information was flowing. ‘It bees cult doll aunti. It cry down phone and upset Kelly.’

‘And that’s Brenda’s doll, right?’

‘Yes, it sits on her puter’ said Daisy.

Why does someone who claims to have left a cult, have a doll like that on her computer, and use it to scare another ex-cult member like Kelly, who is trying her very hardest to cope with life, having taken the big step of breaking away?

In the past Kelly got involved with someone who told her to do all the things Marta said, like an echo of Marta encouraging self-destructive behaviour. I was a voice in Kelly’s other ear encouraging her to think for herself and not do things she felt were wrong. It's as if a perpetual fight is being waged within the survivor. Sometimes one wonders if it is kinder to ease up for a while. But I took my cues from Kelly, and what she wanted or felt she could withstand.

On that occasion the person tried to ingratiate herself with me, buzzing me on MSN. She was on email lists for people helping cult ritual survivors and I believed she triggered vulnerable people. It seemed her given role on behalf of the cult, and eventually she did not get away with it. Others tried similar ploys, promising Kelly a safe home with welfare benefits hundreds of miles away, which meant for ever with no chance of leaving. They too tried to get me off the scene. Sounds familiar? Sounds like a dangle to see how far Kelly might take the bait, and then reel her back in again. Why? Your guess is fine.

I believe it is possible for survivors to break away from cults, but it is hard going, and sometimes it does not happen completely the first time around. It helps if people have someone to support them, to maintain a belief in them as human beings while they gradually piece some of it together. The cult, as a kind of self-perpetuating entity, gains strength through the involvement of those doing what they can to help people like Kelly, as if it is simply more grist to their mill, more bang for their buck.

Some people believe that those seeking help with cult experiences are likely still to be involved in cult activity, without being consciously aware. It’s hard to generalise but it is worth bearing in mind. Despite Kelly’s trust in me and her need for help, she asked questions which I can only describe as tracking me down, so that the cult might damage my reputation as happened to others. Sometimes she said that a question popped into her head and she just had to ask. Even Nolly did this, or would get involved in scare-mongering, or parroting a party-line that I knew could not be true.

Several times during this last MSN chat I tried to engage Nolly’s attention. Often she did not come through on MSN but emailed saying I'd called for her. This time Kelly’s tired and distracted voice came through, as if it was overlaying Daisy’s. ‘I’m sorry’ she said into the mic. ‘I don’t know this Nolly.’

‘That’s ok’ I wrote. ‘Sometimes she helps Daisy out.’ ‘Well I don’t know her. I don’t feel well. I have to go.’ Kelly was gone.

I often wondered how Kelly seemed to know when she would be in danger. Theoretically she should not be in danger now. The Deals were made, and I made it clear to Marta that I was holding a watching brief on whether she or anyone contacted Kelly. So long as Kelly was left alone, I said, I was no threat for Marta.

‘Aunti’ came another Daisy email. ‘Wot happen if dat door knoc in nite? We exchanged emails as I tried to ascertain if that was happening, culminating in Daisy opening up ‘Wel aunti, dat dor knoc, peple gon now. Kelly have visions she got to driv dat car. Me scard now.’

Kelly knew at some level that tonight was crucial. Visions were a feature for Kelly, sometimes natural, but often due to post-hypnotic suggestion from a previous event, or instigated via a cue in a phone message or email. There is a possibility which readers may not give credence to, that someone could induce a state in Kelly where she was receptive to projected images.

Someone Kelly was chatting to outside of their email group had primed Kelly towards certain states of mind. Then someone else, Marta or someone connected to her or the cult, tried to capitalise by gaining access to Kelly unawares, and when they thought I was nowhere accessible. I mention these incidents and thoughts, in case anyone else is puzzled by things happening around them or to someone they know. They won’t be identical, but it was strange how often similar ploys and themes arose. I suggest you look at the dynamics near and far, and work out what seems likely. Then you may find ways to foil some of them. But always take care for yourself too.

‘I know what might have triggered Marta, would you like to know?’ came a midnight email from Nolly, who generally seemed reliable apart from natural errors. ‘Hello, yes please. I would appreciate any information or ideas you have’ I replied. Nolly was usually quite formal and I tended to reply in kind. The situation had been unusually quiet at my end, and there were few clues to Kelly’s welfare, although she was clearly in physical pain and not well. She seemed to have lost all hope of improvement, was seeing less of her children and throwing out their toys. She communicated with me directly only when it really seemed it was ‘the end’ and she was desperate for anything.

Daisy, the normally perky 5-year old alter with a protective role, had become strange and sarcastic towards me as if she had been got at. Interspersed with emails from Daisy that someone in the system was writing emails in Kelly’s name, were instructions that I should not call her Daisy as she was a regression of Kelly. I wondered who was accessing Daisy or others, what had been said and why. It could have been Marta, or an alter personality that she introduced to replace others that had vanished.

Daisy was adamant that Kelly was not writing some of the emails, and Kelly now knew it was happening. I demonstrated how easy it was to do if you had someone’s password, and I knew both Marta and someone on the email group had it. The subject matter of the emails did not seem sensational or controversial, but I recalled the original robot writing a similar email to me. When I replied to Kelly thinking it was from her, he got angry saying I'd ruined everything as she was not meant to know.



I now replied to Daisy that I thought this had something to do with Marta who first tried this with the robot, then something else, and now she was writing them or getting Kelly to write them. I could not see rhyme or reason but it was similar to before, an attack from within. The reasons why remained to reveal themselves. Meanwhile I would try to stay in contact with Kelly without things becoming acrimonious or falling apart.

What gave a spark of hope was that Kelly came on MSN saying she did not feel like talking, though had some awareness of what was going on. Despite her pain, we discussed aspects of her situation more as we did in the old days. When we both put our minds to something we made progress. Indications were that it had not all gone under that bridge along with everything else.

What we needed now was a fair wind. They do happen sometimes, don’t they?

Full Circle


I had been curious for some time about intermittent sarcasm at me from Kelly and DaisyMay, the 5year old alter of Kelly who spoke when Kelly could not. Nolly the 'interpreter/protector' was usually placatory and semi-formal. Why was she now calling me a witch? That term was used by Kelly when I could not be manipulated. Perhaps things were too much for Nolly and she would disappear like others had before her. Kelly seemed to spend several evenings in someone else’s house using Hotmail. I thought she was out of town with an online friend, but she claimed to be in her home town and was using her home computer later in the day.

One Monday I was online at an unusual time for me in the morning when Daisy emailed. ‘Do you want to do some MSN now?’ I asked. ‘No aunti, me tired, me just got home’ came her reply. So they were actually going somewhere. When Nolly appeared I explained that I knew they were going somewhere local, and Daisy had let slip they just got home.

Although Kelly was disorientated and scared while in the other house, she did not generally seem in too threatening a situation and was not locked in. What disturbed me was the colour of the typing in alternate black and red letters, or elaborate graded colours spooky to me. It seemed to be a cult house although Kelly had no conscious recollection. Something seemed to have been happening for 3 months which neither Kelly, Daisy nor Nolly had told me. Was there someone in the system who knew, someone innate there or recently put into place by Marta or the cult?

Kelly’s children had not been home in the week, leaving her vulnerable and open to access by Marta or someone from the cult. Middle of the night emails arrived that they were scared and there were noises outside, then no further mention was made. Daisy wanted a bath while I was online, because of cuts and bruises probably acquired at main cult meetings or more private events. One day when Daisy went for a bath, I renewed my Internet connection so we would not get cut off. Towards the end of the second chat period I was in for a surprise.

‘Bunni, big teeth’ appeared on the MSN chat screen. ‘Yes, I see’ I replied. ‘Hurt mes. Witl Keli. Bunni come, egg.’ There was more of this until Nolly intervened. ‘It’s Little Kelly. She says the Easter bunny raped her the last 2 nights. You were not supposed to hear. It will be back tonight. Stop talking to her now please. Nothing will come of it. Close your screen.’

At a time when email alerts to my mobile should have stopped, somehow I received many from Little Kelly. The Easter bunny was at the door and she was scared. I kept replying and it is my belief that, because this young person was engaging with me, no-one in Kelly’s system answered the door and the cult member/s went away. Generally this happened after an hour as they simply had to leave without her, to get to their destination in time: Unless they managed to get someone in Kelly’s system to open the door, or unless the visitors had a key.

Sometimes it was hard to engage with Kelly or anyone in her system, with none of us having much to say. Once Kelly and I discussed the local geography and the people living in her town and those attending her children’s schools, and she had good awareness of the general situation despite her strange isolating situation. I had been trying to see whether there was any ‘get out of jail’ clause for Kelly, perhaps in a neighbouring city depending on what she knew or if someone might help.

Kelly returned to that conversation out of the blue around Easter, talking about places and situations with map references. It was so different from anything I could know first-hand or would find in books. What was bizarre and she had no idea of, was I was struggling to complete an essay not in my field. She would have helped had she known, but what she said fitted hand-in-glove. Subsequently Kelly would refer briefly to some of this when there was not much she wanted to say, and the maps helped me to understand the area.

Kelly and I chatted for an hour on Good Friday saying nothing of the Easter bunny, and arranged to meet online when she’d be home with the children on Easter Sunday. There were emails Saturday evening saying she was scared and there were noises, but the children were there. I signed in on Sunday and nothing happened so I stayed doing other things. An hour later Kelly’s ID showed on my MSN screen.

‘Who you?’ someone wrote. ‘Well who do you think?’ I typed. I thought Kelly was having a joke. 'This is me Lucy, so now we got that out the way, who are you?’

‘I don’t know who I am or where. I’m scared.’ Frankly, this was the last thing I expected and it was worrying.

‘Oh, that’s not nice. Do you know where your children are?’ I gave their names. ‘I don’t know them. Do you have children?’ came the reply.

‘Do you think you are at home? Maybe you went to visit Brenda’ I said. ‘I don’t know any Brenda. Do I know you?’ she asked.

‘Well, we chat sometimes on MSN. Do you know what kind of place you are in?’ I tried again to make some sense of it. Kelly could be strange, but not like this.

‘In a big house, I think. Smoke. Dirty, it smells. I want to leave. Can you come get me?’ she pleaded.

‘I would if I could do. But I’m a long way away. Where are you?’

‘I don’t know. Hawaii, India’ she wrote. ‘You are in Iraq, I think.’ Her interaction was interspersed with row after row of ‘I think’ with little input from my end.

Kelly, or whoever I was talking to, said she found the computer switched on, she was in a room with no bed or couch to rest on, and there were things she could not tell me. She did say things indicating she was in real trouble.

I told her we would talk properly when she was safe and back home, and reminded her that if something happened to her and she was not safe, I would write ‘the Book’. She did not know what I was talking about. I suggested we take a break and return in an hour. I signed in but there was nothing from her end for another hour. When her ID showed I wondered if the Kelly I knew, or Daisy or Nolly would appear, but it was the same sad, scared and disoriented person.

‘You are locked in’ she said. ‘The handle is turning, I think.’

‘Is that happening there?’ I asked. ‘No, I think’ came the reply.

‘OK, well when you are safe and back in your own home, we can chat normally and it will be a lot easier.’

‘I think’ she wrote a few times. ‘Safe. Not safe. Write Book.’

‘Yes, if you are not safe, I will write the Book’ I said.

‘Noises, scared.’ A string of jumbled letters spread across my screen, then more, then more. I thought someone was coming and put my online status to Away, hoping someone would think me gone from the computer and they might type a message as happened before from Marta. Kelly’s ID went to offline and I signed right out.

Since Easter of the previous year, Kelly had been through constant hell on earth, and I was often online shortly afterwards when she was in physical pain, too dizzy to write more than a few words to reassure me, then lie on the floor. We had come full Easter circle and I did not know what would be next. What was likely, if Kelly did not give up or go crazy, was that she would come online next as if nothing happened but a normal family Easter.

I cannot prove to you that these things happened. I believe I can demonstrate them so that thinking people can consider the implications if they wish. And I can say, as Kelly did many times ‘Who would do this?’ and 'Why?'

If people never hear these things from someone who can express themselves, how will they have a handle, if out of the blue on some ordinary afternoon, they come across a kind but angry Kelly, sensitive Caitlin, engaging Daisy, quaint Nolly, Little Kelly, or a nasty Easter bunni?



Sequel


Several months later as we approached another Christmas, much had happened, only some of which I was aware of. Kelly was aware of little, which was fortunate as she remembered less pain. It was also impossible for her to avoid its recurrence, today, tomorrow, next year.

Most people have faculties in their brains to help with co-ordinating memories and thinking things through with relevant information. If someone like ‘a Marta’ obliterates conscious awareness or memory in ‘a Kelly’ it stands to reason that ‘Kelly’ cannot avoid ‘Marta’. S/he who controls memory controls too much. Kelly confided she thought she was losing her mind. She asked whether her accounts of what she recounted over the years were consistent, with the inference that she was probably telling the truth if they were. I was able to confirm that her accounts were consistent, except when she elected to consider them to be awful dreams, to save herself further shock and pain.

For readers who think these obliteration strategies simply would not work on intelligent people, you could try books written by stage hypnotists of any repute, and look at confusional techniques of NLP or so-called street hypnosis. Add the dissociation induced by perpetrators of the Game so that other alters are effectively in place and operational, and perpetrators think they can carry out their will with no backlash. There is more I could say here but this puts my point. People are free to dismiss whatever they wish, and go off to do something else. I am free to write this. Kelly and others like her are not free. How did this happen? See Reasons for This Scenario.

Kelly made further allegations about Marta to people she knew, and I hoped the dynamics would change for the better. Within a week Kelly was summoned to see a mental health professional who said Kelly was behaving psychotically, and could no longer see the people whom she told. I am not saying this mental health professional is part of a cover-up, rather that he followed what he was told or believed, or what he felt best for the situation. People might close ranks to save a split or manipulation, or when faced with a tricky situation.

Kelly and I did not communicate much via MSN for several months. I was involved elsewhere and Kelly was not recalling or relating much. I thought we were being set up by Marta to fail, by her demoralising Kelly and having her abused mainly in a cult setting but sometimes in a smaller group. I no longer had Marta’s current email address. Marta deleted her profile and photo when I told a robot it was stupid to leave it up on the Internet. Marta changed her distinctive vehicle after I told Daisy it stood out like a sore thumb. At that time Daisy and a robot, both from Kelly’s small DID system, were reporting back to Marta via email and when they met.

Nolly told me Marta used her vehicle for ‘rounding’ on cult nights when she drove round the neighbourhood rounding up people like Kelly for meetings. Another word was ‘harvesting’ but that could be used in a different sense regarding gaining energies etc. from them. Survivors like Kelly use phrases about ‘getting hurt’ or ‘getting taken’ which obviously can be used in a more usual sense, but they can be pointers to someone’s continuing involvement and abuse.

Kelly kept in touch with me via email and I tried to offer support without being too involved. It seemed Marta was trying to control the situation, getting me online and virtually wasting my time. I thought it was bugging Marta that she had not excluded me. She was trying to win both ways, a double-bind that ran through her behaviour. Why was Marta now emailing me with inane comments ten months later? She had not stopped Kelly and myself communicating. Kelly was suffering periods of missing time, bruises appearing on her body, losing items she had bought or taken home. I do not believe these to be confusion or flakiness on her part, but that someone did things around her deliberately.

The week Marta contacted me there was a spate of messages from Kelly, Daisy and someone else in the system who spoke to me before. I replied to each email, and sent one to Nolly saying Marta was playing a serious game. Interestingly, Nolly hit the roof. Her usual role was to interpret, and she was bothered at her reaction saying she felt strange. She thought I was wrong that Marta considered me any kind of problem. Nolly’s information and insights were invaluable, but I felt she did not grasp motivations in the serious games that people play. Control freaks and bullies at their most intense can be deadly indeed.

At first it seemed useful for Nolly to be thinking and behaving more like Kelly, but it became worrying when Nolly asked if people could explode as that’s how she felt. Some robot and ‘protector’ alters had done just that, and Nolly was a crucial safety mechanism. We caught up on MSN chat, Nolly first, then Daisy and finally Kelly. They were in a great deal of pain after a ritual where Kelly answered questions while being tortured. She was told she had to be ‘pure’ in order to receive what was 'bestowed'. (Text from this is pasted in at the end of this section - Kelly did not recall writing it.) No-one knew who opened the door to go the ritual or who wrote that section. I hoped we'd be able to move things along. I was trying to find out more about the ideology of cults like Marta’s. Several times I tried to engage alter personalities in a discussion about old religions and beliefs, but they did not take me up on it. It seemed like an irrelevance.

I also wanted to know how it is that so many people find it impossible to credit their existence, even just a little. It is a double con-trick because:

1. People belong to the cults often without knowing it, and without being able to do anything about it

2. Society in general and academics in particular are led to disbelieve that it can or does go on

3. There must be a reason or a belief system behind putting people through the experiences

4. A reason or reasons for the denials and denigration of those who speak out; and reason/s why the denials have effect



I could go into more detail about spiels of denial swallowed by intelligent and otherwise discerning audiences. I have sat through them. It is not enough for people to cite similar allegations from down the ages as proof that people are duped by 'Kellys' who believe they endured horrific experiences. It warrants consideration that they still endure them and can sometimes describe them, and that a perpetrator like Marta contacts me in her gloating, bullying fashion.

Below is pasted some text appearing on my screen during MSN after Kelly described being raped during a cult meeting and branded with hot metal. After such sessions Kelly would ask if I could be online while she had a bath to rid herself of the outer effects of rape. On this occasion she chatted some more until getting dizzy and needing to lie down. Clearly there is an ideology, but why the brutality? Why does Kelly usually not recall any of these things? Why does she have no choice? Do people with power in the cult have a choice? What happens if they refuse to play their role, or cannot do something for some reason? Where in their spiritual development do people make these decisions and vows? With what consequences for themselves and others?

Is it true that 'You shall not talk about the cult and live' as the robot said'? Why then was Kelly permitted to tell me things, then punished severely, and on it went for yet another round, another year or five?

Marta was obsessed with angels and white light, channelling and any New Age or spiritual philosophy which most people regard as acceptable for those who believe in them, or at worst harmless. Marta attended a church of Christian denomination, as do many involved in cults like hers. Cult rituals could happen around any particular saint’s day, plus concepts taken from Buddhism, or Voodoo, or just anything the cult chose.

This is what someone in Kelly’s DID system wrote in another colour:

are you the mother earth
are you pure of heart body and soul
are there things you must repent
are there secrets you must confess
look deeply
dont answer in haste
are you worthy of what will be bestowed upon you
will you be able to see it when it comes
see it smell it feel it
or will you miss it
wrapped up in your daily life which you think means something
are you worthy of what will be soon bestowed upon you
open your eyes
your ears
heighten your senses
be ready my lady

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



Cult meetings vary in size, timing and purpose. Some of what Kelly described happened in private settings, where she was raped repeatedly by one or several men rather than at a full cult meeting. The purpose was mainly sadistic, but sometimes Kelly was also conditioned via a hypnotic tape of Marta's voice in the background. Kelly did not make money from sleeping with men and did not generally know that was a part of it. Daisy said Marta took money from the men for what they did to Kelly. Drugs, pornography, rape and sadism seem to be the glue binding much of it together, but some people in the cult surely believe in the cult philosophy and practices. I do not think the main reason for these practices is to cover for paedophilic groups, but it is relevant for filming the sadism, both to sell onwards, and to blackmail people to keep them in line. It could be that there was a kind of tourism industry, with people travelling to this Hicktown to attend on an occasional basis.

Strong beliefs, rituals and intense activity can change how we experience things and hence our reality. Sometimes I wondered whether the cult managed to heal people like Kelly when she literally seemed at death's door. Otherwise they would not have a good enough survival rate! At some level, in the cold light of day, some people sat and made strategic decisions for others to implement - to order, because I doubt they had any kind of choice.

No-one has to believe any of this. Not all of these things happen to people involved in ‘satanic’ or other cult ritual activity. But if some of the words, phrases or concepts, or sheer incredibility latch onto your curiosity or to something meaningful, that is what ‘the Book’ is meant for:

* To de-mystify the otherwise unbelievable

* To show these things can happen

* That they are basically an extension of other aspects of human behaviour, however inhuman, crass, ridiculous, stupid, unnecessary, it may all seem

* It could happen to people close to us

*If we don't listen, we won't hear





In many cultures there are practices and beliefs that people outside those cultures write off as different or irrelevant for themselves. Recent TV programmes have shown how strongly people believe in ideologies and get drawn into practices that, in another frame of mind, they consider stupid or damaging. For some reason/s humans often have an need to believe in something, or for various types of ritual, mundane or otherwise. Or there is a need to deny what is strange, incomprehensible or abhorrent. We all have different mind-sets, and polarisation or splitting happen all too easily.

If some part of what I say makes sense to one person trying to help, or one person who has been through any of this, that is well and good. If I could fabricate and it hold together, over the years or just this number of pages, I would be cleverer than I am. That is its strength. Fabrication is not my strong suit. Persistence is.

Alongside books and websites dealing with cult-like behaviour, social psychology, anthropology and religion, I looked at profiling of violent and sadistic behaviours. The writings of Lacan and Melanie Klein could be useful. Perhaps we are looking at splitting, idealisation and denigration/demonisation, intertwined with complex behavioural conditioning. It might be worth looking at psychodynamics of the Mafia or extremists where people can be family-oriented, caring and religious, as well as aggressive and destructive.

People working in organisations often find themselves in a system with threads or themes around a collective reality. The scene is not just staged by management or leaders, although they are often the ones setting the tone. There tend to be other key players with a strong influence on processes. Organisations can have their own neuroses, defences and denials.

Make of any of this what you will, and please be careful. You are free to use what is useful. Just discard the rest.

I am the scribe of ‘The Book’

Some further thoughts follow



End Times Prophecy


Throughout interactions with Kelly, there were references to the Bible and ‘end times prophecies’ such as appear in the Book of Revelations. I am no expert, though am aware that many cults use strategy to make something appear a strong reality or the only one, in order to gain and maintain control over members.



‘Listen, lady’ the original robot alter said. ‘Don’t you know the world is coming to an end.’

‘So what if it is? That’s no reason to do things to Kelly and others’ I'd replied.

Sometimes I was told there were viruses that would wipe out humanity, apart from a chosen few involved in these ‘satanic’ practices. That is a common theme in plenty of cults and belief systems, carried to extremes here. I was told the cult would have 'ultimate protection' through their activities. ‘You have no chance of surviving. We do. We will be the only ones who are left’ he replied with a row of LOL’s before disappearing off screen.

Kelly went through a brief period of seeking peace in a church organisation, but generally felt uncomfortable in such a setting. Many cult members feel the same, but others seem at ease within conventional churches, as well as within a more ‘satanic’ environment. ‘The Book’ does indeed involve abuse within that ‘satanic’ environment: The concept of ‘demons’ or ‘devils’ entered the arena, whatever one considers those to be in a general or specific context. The demonic alters I came in contact with regarding Kelly were not like some I encountered with other survivors of ‘satanic’ cult ritual abuse. I believe that much of what Kelly experienced as the devil or demons was likely to be high drama, with someone dressed up to act the part of the Devil or Death (as in the Tarot), as well as alters conditioned to behave like demons. But I am not saying demons cannot exist somehow either.

Another factor in ‘satanic’ cult ritual abuse and many cults more generally, appeared to be the establishment and maintenance of social status and status quo for cult members. Here I will point out something which puzzled me in the early days about Kelly’s cult membership. I used to think someone like Kelly who was part of a cult, would have some belief system which she could explain and we could perhaps discuss. It turned out that there are apparently two main types of cult member there: Those ‘with rank’ who hold some cult position and are involved in some decision-making and control, and ‘members’ which included people such as Kelly, 'without rank’ and existing for the benefit of the cult. Other people can shed more light on this, but 'The Stepford Wives’ film comes to mind, the relatively normal life of those within it when engaging in daily life, and what goes on behind the scenes, the reality.

My notion of free will and the cult’s were totally different. One reason I stayed backing Kelly to the degree I did, was I saw no way that she was allowed any. But why do they go to such extreme lengths? Surely no-one is daft enough to spend so much time and effort for no reason, at least something they believe in. I wanted to know what that belief was.

At times Kelly was almost allowed to leave the cult, but was brought back into the fold as if needed for some reason, or someone higher up the chain insisted the cult not allow it. There was a theme of ‘You shall not talk about the cult and live’. Some do. Many therapist and survivor accounts demonstrate that. It's a mystery how Kelly was allowed to survive and remain in contact with me as she was, and it could be she was an extra body, or she performed some role. They seemed to require many people for certain rituals or orgies. Perhaps the vibration or note of each person present was needed. Perhaps they just needed a crowd of energies, aroused by drink and drugs, drumming and drama, to feed their strongly addictive behaviour.

Is it simply part of human nature gone wild, or behaving like animal groups with some clearly dominant individuals, some striving to be dominant, some not strong enough, able or willing to change the status quo? Could this be what this cult ritual abuse thing was about, to ensure the survival in an advantaged (rather than disadvantaged) state, of some of the fittest or most devious, acting as a group or network over and above the rest? Will humans always be like this in their workplaces, homes or communities, with supremacist words and behaviours thinly disguised by social veneer and compromise? Is it a covert system, taking the place of overt, warrior-like behaviours? Perhaps this is why we largely deny it to ourselves and others, presuming that we know reality for what it is, in order to feel more comfortable.

Kelly was offered only two choices on something, both unacceptable or nonsensical, and she felt split up the middle. She would be scared half to death, linking with prior conditioning that she must go somewhere or do something. It would make no sense unless we glimpse the backdrop, and become aware of a multitude of horrors that would drive most of us crazy. Kelly was resourceful given half a chance. If someone else holds the reins, how far can one get in any other direction? I believe this is what cults of this type and many others are about. Some relationships follow this pattern to some extent. Some have beneficial aspects, and some not. Make your choices if you can!

Kelly and I got into a situation during later MSN chats, where she harangued me as if blaming me for how bad things were within the cult, and the control exerted. Previously she said things had always been like that, and it was immaterial if they continued. Difficulties between us seemed to escalate, where I sensed she was still experiencing harassment from the cult though did not mention it.

After one session, I emailed Kelly with twelve points which came to mind, including the deal that, if anything happened to her, I would write something. Whenever Kelly seriously thought her life was about to end through threats, or because it was all too much, she reminded me to write ‘the Book’. Nothing has been added or substantially altered. Much has been omitted. I did not get things right all the time, but Kelly and I thought alike sufficiently to bridge inevitable gaps. Sometimes the boat gets rocked, or things jar or even shatter. One needs to stay around in order to limit the effects where possible, and be ready to take things on.

I believed it to be in someone’s interests to prevent Kelly talking to anyone like myself, and ensure she is regarded as too mentally ill to make sense. They, including Marta, tried to break Kelly’s mind in pieces, and make her say ‘I can’t do this any more’. The wonder is that Kelly held out so long. In one of Marta's personal emails, she said I could choose to work with her regarding Kelly or against. Thanks for the option, Marta. Kelly did not have one.



Themes and Underlay


Whatever we think about the purpose of life in general, or of our own lives, it helps to feel there is some reason or meaning, something that makes sense or gives a reason. We have a notion of reality which works for us and our community, though it may not work for others.

A common theme in fairy tales is for people to be given the chance of a wish, with a price to pay. Something said to me stuck in my mind: For everything we do, there is a price, whether it is because of doing something, or not. We carry out decisions or actions and move on in our own fashion. Aesop’s Fables have a moral of the story, and literary censorship required baddies to suffer. Much of that is eroded. People are fascinated by the tale of Faust who gave up his soul and autonomy in exchange for rewards and safeguards. A price to pay indeed.

Many of us watch films about the darker side of human nature, reality TV, soaps, self-revelations, without getting involved in those acts, perhaps as a release valve. We may sympathise while distancing ourselves, compartmentalising our attitudes, filing some away. Dissociation can work for all of us. Some people use it to help their own mental functioning. Some use it in others in order to maintain control over them. Kelly said that her filing system was broken. Is that what someone wanted?

We are all mortal, feeling physical or emotional pain or insecurity about losing home, income or loved ones. Supportive families or a good community spirit reinforce us. We may believe we live in an ethical universe, making recompense for our actions in this lifetime or a future one, or we believe we should act decently anyway toward others, perhaps fearing what they might do if we don't!

Kelly made what she believed were vows and signed contracts for the sake of others' welfare, saying she signed away part of her soul. She had darker parts, but Daisy said there was white light protection, and evil could not really touch her. Another alter said Kelly chose a path of resistance, and perhaps that is where I came in as back-up. We often came online at unscheduled times. My computer crashed when Marta came online. Sometimes emails between Kelly and myself did not get through when they should, or they sailed through in an emergency. Kelly sometimes voiced interest in increasing her psychic powers. Many people see them as a commodity or means to an end, and the price can be extreme. Was this what drew her or some alters in? With an air of great secrecy I was given the title of a book. I read it, but for the life of me cannot see the relevance.

It is my belief that some people in her area joined together for psychological and cultural convenience, believing that cult practices would gain business contacts, powers and supremacy. Group minds, thoughtforms and egregores may come in, forming naturally or by design, manipulated by those with knowledge and intent. Whatever we believe about angels, demons, rituals and powers, it is what these people do that affects others. Kelly said the eyes of cult members changed colour, and when black it was as if nothing human was there. This is not meant to be alarmist or to worry anyone but other people mention this. It 's like the dark side of shamanism or Voodoo. Just because we do not believe or experience it, does not mean it is impossible or cannot be experienced. We take in situational cues, and people in rituals put themselves in a setting and frame of mind, an altered or alter state, where other things may be able to enter the equation.

None of us wants to be bottom of the pile in work, social or psychological terms It seems we go to extreme lengths to offset that to maintain some obscure differential. A disturbing trend is when people group together against someone who stands out through being older, weaker, on their own or different. People join something to lessen risks as though giving themselves insurance or guarantees. The group sinks to a low common denominator, doing things because they can: more strong, more benefits, less risk. As I write, a newspaper reports on a woman with deformed fingers, whose co-workers coerced her to a bowls match and then ridiculed her. What have we come to? This is playground behaviour at its worst. Children often behave better towards less fortunate peers, accepting them as they are and including them.

What you or I do is our individual and collective responsibility. People around Kelly seemed to think they were immune. There was a social structure to maintain control. When Kelly was doing her utmost to distance herself from the cult and needed something, she told me she only knew cult firms. ‘Look in the trade directories and pick one,’ I suggested. On that occasion it worked. Several times Kelly pawned items because she needed cash, or they triggered her. They were returned to her home soon afterwards whereas she had no money to retrieve them.

Most of Kelly’s employment seemed to be arranged via the cult, leaving her accessible on cult days. Kelly searched for a counsellor locally, only to be blocked as each one withdrew after a phone call not to get involved. She sought legal advice from people who said she had a valid case, and then that they could not act. Kelly persevered, writing statements left with a lawyer, and blurting out things when overwhelmed. Stacked against her was insidious innuendo to make her appear psychotic and unbelievable.

Kelly used literal thinking which sometimes bore fruit against the cult. However it could turn in on itself and render her paralysed. If I showed what was happening, she often saw it quickly and worked to offset it. Other times she was forestalled. We have shown some of the insidious web around her. Sometimes she or Nolly would say ‘We have always gone through this and it won’t change.’ The robot told me during his moments of truth that the cult philosophy and practices were all about control. When I asked how all these cult people managed to co-operate, he said it was their need for drugs and money. He claimed to believe in end times prophecy (see further up on this page), that they were going to be the only people to survive due to their ultimate protection.

Someone described to me his experiences of an occult group who used controlling tactics with aspects of his functioning. I asked if this applied to control freaks as in the business world, and he gave an unreserved Yes, saying it gave them physical/psychic prowess, like a money rake-off or a buzz. This ties in with what others say, from the side of the oppressed, and the oppressors: to fuel their addictive and controlling behaviour.

You can read the work of B.F. Skinner to see how conditions can be manipulated to achieve certain behaviours in a mundane sense. There is literature on how groups and cults induce beliefs and behaviours. In business the emphasis is on leadership and teamwork. To get people to toe the line or go that extra mile, you just make them believe in it. If they're reluctant make it clear there are no rewards, only punishments. It gives you a buzz, makes you feel in control, and keeps those 'without rank' with none.

The trick is to get people not to realise what is going on, to dupe them into thinking they are helpless, or that things are normal, or nothing is wrong except them, or they have some control when they do not. Kelly thought she was psychotic and helpless. Perhaps sometimes people or their circumstances cannot be changed, but it is surely worth a try to do something about what lies behind: The principles can help others. Kelly is not the only one. One is too many.

Principles which can be used to control others can also be used to undo control





A Singular Thread


Kelly and I lost touch for about two years. She had formed a relationship that was more stable than others of late, more equal though with her having less power and control than her partner.

Daisy the 5-year old wrote to me. She was a young protector who was not really a Little alter. She came to the fore when something needed attention, and now said someone knocked at the door in the evening, and later would say she got hurt. I replied to her not to open the door, and sometimes we were online when she managed not to go out. Nolly the interpretor said Daisy was just fearful and should not have approached me, as I was too far away to stop anything happening.

Do those statements sound as if Daisy was making all of it up? Why had Daisy contacted me after all this time? At first I was not too concerned about the cult returning, as Kelly was busy with her family and the new relationship, and was simply not alone much. I had correspondence with Kelly and also Caitlin the host, but neither mentioned anything untoward. Then I realised neither was around. 'Where are Kelly and Caitlin?' I asked Daisy. 'They gone agin aunti, scard' came her reply.

Others wrote who did not give names, referring to being hurt in the past and again now. A thread ran through, and a new robot messed with Daisy's emails to make it look as though I was blocking her. There was a new therapist talking about cults and DID being fabrications, and this reassured Caitlin. I let it ride while having concerns. Nolly returned having previously refused to help, saying there was now confusion over which things had really happened. The new robot said the therapy was really great because it confused them! Others told me to back off, if they wanted to go out and get hurt it was nothing to do with me.

I wondered why alters in the system seemed jangled after therapy sessions. Therapy is no easy ride for people, but this therapist pushed her own views, and was going against Kelly or Caitlin's natural ways of dealing with things or helping themselves, and they were hardly around. Whatever they said or did was criticised or ignored by the therapist. Daisy talked to the therapist about people who came to the door and hurt her, but was told she had to answer the door. Some well-meaning people whom Kelly or Daisy confided in thought Daisy was reacting to events from the past, and so was just fearful that things might happen now.

Nolly asked for my help in getting Kelly or Caitlin to return, and I said that no-one could expect them to as things were, and I would not ask. But Kelly returned suddenly for another reason. Things were disjointed, and she was unaware at that stage of the door knocking and her getting hurt as a result. Kelly grasped some of the things mentioned by the unknown alters which I had not mentioned, and she had immediate concerns over the therapy.

How could anyone like Kelly cope and make decisions if all the while she was:

a) Being hurt, often without conscious awareness of how, when and by whom

b) Undermined by a therapist who

i) was basically inept, or

ii) did not realise the implications of what was said, or

iii) did realise, but had an agenda to minimise it

iv) had prior dealings with Kelly during which she'd spoken to some of her alters, yet now claimed to be naive about dissociation

v) said MPD or DID were not a real phenomenon

vi) said cults were a fiction, implying that nothing like that could have happened in the past

vii) said no-one could hurt them now, they were just fearful from the past (What past if nothing had happened?)

viii) insisted Daisy must answer the door when people came knocking at night

ix) said Daisy should be conditioned out of existence, while claiming to realise she had a protective role

x) denied Daisy and Kelly's reality of distress, bruises and cuts (Explained away as their 'illness' or self-harm)

xi) used Daisy's needs to keep her present throughout sessions using bribes, threats and play

xii) discouraged adult alters from speaking up

xiii) discouraged any signs of independence or wishing to cope

xiv) said Kelly would not manage without therapy from her, and that no-one else would be willing to see her as a client



If this therapist wanted Kelly to lead a happier and more productive life, and really was naive over unpleasant material demonstrating this was no ordinary situation, I'd have expected her to have second thoughts about how complex or hazardous it might be for herself and her practice. Instead, she made inconsistent rules about things she would handle, or that Kelly should do. She said they were lucky to see her because no-one else would, and they needed to see her longterm. It already was longterm. See more on Astonishing 'Therapy' and Fruitloop Therapy, as well as How Some of it is Achieved.

How many other vulnerable people, women particularly, were subject to dubious therapy like this, in an environment that purported to be safe? Or to the dangerous imposed lifestyle? By how many perpetrators? Would anything make a difference? Awareness will.

I tried to make contact with whoever in Kelly's system made crucial decisions, and on what basis of belief. A couple of alters triumphantly blurted out the places where the cult held meetings, with a cryptic list of what happened there. I continued efforts to learn about group behaviours and beliefs, looking into some Jungian ideas. Others had written about societal complexes and inter-group conflicts, raising themes in my mind of what is cultural and what is a cult. This helped gain some insight into extreme sadistic aspects, and was the closest I could find.

In a major exchange of emails with Nolly, I mentioned Mafia males who can be dangerous and violent, yet return home as caring family men, sometimes also being very religious. It was a longshot as she and Kelly liked to be specific, and analogies did not sit well. But her reply came: 'Yes, think of people like your bank manager. It could be him at the cult hurting women.'

Kelly quickly picked up the reins on her return, leaving some things to Daisy or other alters. She said she did not choose this path and does not know how it happened. From other things that occurred, my guess is that someone stronger formed a bond, inveigling their way in to control parts of the system. We may never know what the real motives of some individuals or groups are, and how they evolve.

There could be reasons for someone like Kelly to choose a path of suffering, though we may not understand them. Perhaps it is to retain some kernel of truth throughout, leaving a part that cannot be damaged. Kelly knew who wanted her destroyed. What was as yet missing, was Why? Kelly did not believe in vendetta. Was she a part of someone else's?

We need a way of handling things which allows people's integrity to remain, even as feelings run high around them about reality, about what is thought to have happened. About what seems likely or unlikely. About what seems so incredible that we simply do not credit it.

We need people to improve, not to become worse through any approach, our current attitudes to mental health, what causes problems or things to go wrong, what is the best way for people to find improvement, or what is potentially damaging. Something that may suit persons A, B or C might feel worse for X, Y or Z.

We need to know more about abusive behaviours, and inequalities in areas that keep some people vulnerable. The most vulnerable tend to be further abused, put upon, ignored, or further confused. Kelly knew it was happening to others in her area, and some people who knew her a long time were aware in some sense of her situation, and about some of the people involved. It was a strange co-existence.

There is controversy over allegations of child abuse, and also over ritual abuse, and how traumatic events are stored or processed. I don't think we have some of it right. Some therapists encourage people to believe that things have happened, while others deny any such thing could have done. Some take a middle ground that the person believes it, though not everything happened in exactly that way because memories are not a precise record.

We cannot keep generalising, underplaying or over-extrapolating, causing further damage and distress. Where are people to go, whose inner reality and parts have been distorted or damaged by abusive families, by the people they mix with, by someone with a motive to distort others' lives and being? Or who wants to prove themselves a bees-knees therapist with bee-in-bonnet theories - but never mind the consequences?

Some details have been omitted, not because they are unimportant but they are too awful. There are other aspects not disclosed at this time. There is some mechanism - perhaps like osmosis, whereby information spreads and people grow to feel that similar things happened to them. They may have done, and may come to light because of reading about them. There is a possibility that things did not happen to them in quite the same way, but they latch onto something deep inside. People who suffered abuse are already damaged, so any further abuse naturally makes things worse for them.

If people describe their own experiences which closely match things Kelly said but are not in 'the Book', it may demonstrate something. We have not talked about this material to others. Everyone has their own way of viewing what happens and why. Some of this was my work-in-progress thinking which changed and hopefully broadened. Much has been excluded so as not to become an unreadable saga infringing the privacy and safety of those involved, including some perpetrators and their families. Perhaps the whole phenomenon is about infringement of others' boundaries:

a) without their realising, or being able to do much about it

b) without other people knowing, or being able to do much about it

c) whether those boundaries or scars are mental ones, or physical



In exasperation I sometimes felt like saying to Kelly 'It's your life and I can't lead it for you'. But other people were leading her life. This happens in relatively small ways in people's ordinary lives. How could it get as bad as this though?

Kelly's purpose was to help others caught up in things, I believe by sacrificing parts of her own being. My purpose is to put this across to you, and to add, Please think, because a thread runs through: A Singular Thread which links to a great deal more.





Are You the Therapy Police?


Kelly had little idea about her therapy sessions but felt something was wrong and not in her interests. She was paying for what she called a neat trick, but was currently powerless to change anything. I knew how competently she handled other situations, and was certain she would not go along with this if she could avoid it.

Surely this whole performance, the rituals and abuse, exacerbated by confusion on the part of a therapist, is not simply for the benefit of one person. The question about therapy police came from one of Kelly's newer alters - to me, as I tried to suss out what happened during therapy and how. What I heard was bizarre and disturbing as the thread grew ever more tangled. See Astonishing 'Therapy' and Fruitloop Therapy for more on this aspect.

The notion of therapy policing, or some form of therapy monitoring, could be a viable step bringing us into the arena of state regulation for therapy and counselling, about which I don't have strong views either way. Good help is good help however it arises. Bad therapy is bad news, whether carried out by people sanctioned to do it or not. What is outlined here is clearcut in some respects. Often it is not so clear, with therapists implying that they know a lot more than their clients, putting across a coping persona, set in an environment designed to enhance their image. These are all well and good if they work in a positive way, and clients gain from the stability and containment until they are better able to move on.

Ordinary people too need to think carefully about the help on offer.

Those undergoing therapy should be ready, willing and able to step away if need be, without feeling that they failed

For their own sanity and integrity

For their wellbeing and their wallets

And for those connected to them



Therapists should be ready to step away too if need be, without feeling they have somehow failed



A book may include only a couple of paragraphs of relevance to you, but can be well worth it. A little moral support from one other person goes a long way to change the dynamics of an individual's life. Groups are strange creatures, and can be turned around for better rather than for worse. Perhaps it needs just one person to give moral support, for someone else to feel able to speak out or to stand for or against something.




Hanging by a Thread


There are many issues and nothing is concrete. All I can tell you is I had concerns about this therapist, which grew as people in the system explained more. It appeared she accessed parts of the system telling them to harm ‘the body’, or to stop writing to me. It was like the old days of Marta hypnotising them, saying that I was away on vacation when I wasn’t, or that I had said something, or just anything she thought would cause a breach.

Although Kelly had concerns about the current therapist, it was as if those concerns went down a blackhole as she pleaded for extra appointments. It was like a firewall had been placed in her mind. Now she was suicidal and adamant over her plans to end things. She asked if I really would write ‘the Book’.

‘We had a deal’ I replied. ‘If anything happens to you I will write it. But you don’t have to go along with it. You can put in what you want to.’

‘Stop lying to her, it does not become you’ wrote Nolly, angry at me. I asked about recent events but she was vitriolic, saying she would answer when I told the truth. I pointed out the greater issue that there was imminent danger of there being no Kelly or anyone. If Kelly saw her therapist and it all came to an end, I would carry out our deal because I believed in the principles and in Kelly.

Nolly kept on like clockwork, still angry that I did not think it suitable for the host Caitlin to return, as it would probably all be too much, a view supported by Kelly who thought Caitlin ‘would end it all right now’. Normally I am not comfortable with encouraging or discouraging who is there. How would I know what is best for the circumstances around them?

Kelly seemed unable to see the dangers and would therefore not be able to avoid getting drawn in, but it was still an open book. Someone thought they knew what would happen but we had all been there before.

‘They have won. They have isolated me from everyone I know. I have a couple of things to arrange, then you won’t hear from me again. I’d like to thank you for your help’ wrote Kelly. ‘I will go to see the therapist, so she can bring all this to an end. She will take care of it.’



‘What happened?’ I asked, struggling to keep up in the middle of the night on my Kindle.

There was a major family crisis, on top of a whole series the last five days. Robot had called me a loser, gloating that I would not stop them getting hurt now. Daisy surfaced two days later, dizzy and covered in cuts and bruises. Kelly returned saying she looked and felt like she’d been attacked. Others in the system filled in, some of it hazy, some clear and daunting.

Daisy said a few mornings later ‘Wot if that door knock aunti? Me scard.’ I said it was not dark and things would probably be OK. She was naturally scared after the last bad episode and we kept chatting. Daisy had taken pills and wanted to end it all. She was already sleepy, and Kelly had some things to do concerning family.

‘Daisy is trying to tell you the door has been knocking for the past 20 minutes’ wrote the translator. ‘And there are disturbing emails coming here.’ Messages from Kelly's end were not reaching me in sequence. I learned someone was knocking on their door, with a vehicle Daisy half-recognised parked outside.

Strange emails arrived for me, making me wonder if someone was in their house reading our exchanges, telling Daisy what to say or pretending to be her, something that happened before concerning Kelly. It seemed more likely there was a computer in the vehicle and my messages to Daisy were being relayed or picked up on Wi-Fi.

On impulse I changed the various email headers going back along the lines of:


‘Whose is the van outside?’

‘Is someone there with you writing emails?’

‘Did your therapist tell you to take pills?’

‘If you take pills that is what she wants’



‘Hi’ wrote Kelly and I knew it was her. If anyone else had been spooked by what I wrote, both they and their distinctive vehicle were gone. Why do they drive distinctive vehicles?

‘I feel as if I’m hanging by a thread’ wrote Kelly. ‘Will there be a book if I don’t die?’ I said she could stay and write, and also explain to me what its purpose should be.

‘It is for people who get into trouble, and to help them see the light’ came her reply. I emailed her the original writing she did some years back, showing real writing flair, and it gave her a boost.

‘That was a good plan, she is very fragile’ wrote a newer alter I refer to as Commas as she originally sent just rows of commas and dots. I asked who encouraged the pill-taking, and who would be opposed to Kelly or myself writing. ‘Triangles’ came the prompt reply to both queries.

These were a recent introduction on the scene. Kelly knew nothing about them. Daisy did and they scared her. Before her recent disappearance, Caitlin the host had been aware of Daisy speaking of them. Triangles were somehow involved in Daisy getting hurt, and in reporting things back to the cult. I had seen pictures of triangular demons and thought those were scary enough.

Commas and others wrote guarded emails about events hinting that they could not say more. ‘You know why that is’ they said, though I did not fully understand. Eventually someone I call Elicit said the therapist evoked the wrong sorts of people, eliciting certain behaviours, and that she mentioned talking to the Triangles.

As emails zinged back and forth between Kelly and myself she sometimes said ‘People are yelling in my ear that you don’t mean that’. It was a wonder we got anywhere but we'd known each other a long time. It greatly saddened me that Kelly knew things at one level and grasped things intuitively, yet effectively was throwing all of that out while I stood on the sidelines. Kelly was hanging by a thread to some semblance of life and sanity, while things went bad or crazy around her. I wrote an email message of support from my husband. They had not corresponded, but she had a natural respect for his occasional views. ‘Does your husband have any advice on this please?’ she would ask, knowing I was no expert.

‘What husband?’ wrote Commas and I explained. She had answered the message I sent specifically for Kelly. I asked if Commas could somehow filter emails, because it could be useful if Kelly was being sent threatening emails. After some exchanges Commas said ‘I will show her your email’.

There was now an added blip in that Kelly did not receive it. Everything that morning came in from Commas. I was effectively blocked from sending Kelly a short message of support to cheer her up, probably more than anything else I could offer. Was it another case of a ‘protector’ to 'controller-gone-crazy'? Time would tell and it often took just a week or two.



Something disturbed me a couple of nights earlier when we were discussing the therapist. ‘I guess Kelly will run to that therapist in little pieces to get put back together again,’ said Commas. Fraught from repeatedly explaining the unsuitability of the therapist, I replied ‘I have been trying to explain that the last thing Kelly is likely to get there, is that the pieces get put together’. Later came a cryptic reply ‘But I was being sarcastic.’

I fare better without smart replies at 3 o’clock in the morning from someone with a seemingly straight role. However, Commas was working on lessening the pill-taking, and prevented Kelly from attending a summons to an extra therapy appointment.

Not everyone has these things happen. If some of them happen to you, Kelly hopes these pages are helpful. There is more general information on the Middleground Mediation site, with reading lists in the Books section.




Most Singular Evil


More on the nature of this cult and what appeared to be driving it, can be found in the Addendum

These are the reasons Kelly and I have written and distributed ‘the Book’ in this form. You may choose to read it or not, to believe any of it or not. Many small parts make up a picture. The picture is different for us all. I have been the scribe here because I believe it is important to convey some things I became aware of. I don’t believe I got all of them wrong.

The reader must choose where to draw the boundary on anything - here or elsewhere

It is about choice and boundaries: Don't let other people erode them -

Or Con you into thinking they are different from what you feel is right