This person is known in psychiatry as the owner of several personalities at once. We have seen this many times in films and books, but we have thought little about the fact that such phenomena are true. The hero of our story includes 24 “extraneous” personalities, his name is Billy Milligan. The paintings of the criminal, whose guilt was never proven, received no less publicity than his story itself. Why? We will try to figure it out further, and at the same time recall the bright moments from his biography.
Rooted in childhood
Milligan was born in 1955 in Miami Beach. His family is the most common people who have moved from the countryside and settled in Florida. Billy Milligan was the middle child in the family. Before his parents, Jimbo's son was born, and after - Katie Joe's daughter.
The specialists who subsequently dealt with the Milligan affair first of all sought confirmation of his criminal inclinations in childhood - when the child first formed stereotypes of life. Exploring the early years, we can say that Billy Milligan did not grow up in a full, happy family. His mother was afraid while living with Billy's father. Johnny was so addicted to alcohol that one day he had to be hospitalized. Problems pulled him down, a man borrowed money, not intending to repay debts. All this exacerbated the situation. In 1958, he attempted suicide, but she was unsuccessful. A year later, Johnny was poisoned by gas.
First glimpses of bifurcation
To quickly forget about this, Dorothy moved to the provincial town of Circleville. The story of Billy Milligan begins just at this period, due to acquaintance with Chalmer Milligan, whose name will later be taken by a boy. Before the new boyfriend, the mother returned to the old men, desperately seeking support in a partner. At the same time, there were constantly growing children next to her. The stepfather turned out to be of middle age: his daughter Chalma was almost the same age as Billy.
Soon, his mother officially sealed relations with this man, and Billy began a black streak in her life. Chalmer was a pervert. When the stepson was 8 years old, he tied him up in a barn and brutally abused. Billy confessed to rape, a lawsuit was opened against his stepfather. Against the background of general stress, the first personalities of Billy Milligan began to appear.
Life next
At first he did not attach much importance to this, but he realized that something incomprehensible was happening to him. For the robbery of a pharmacy that is more likely a teenage-hooligan motive, he was imprisoned and soon released. In the same year, he raped three women using weapons. At least that was the charge.
The first thing the offender was sent for examination. The story of Billy Milligan was continued - according to psychiatric findings, acute schizophrenia was replaced by a personality disorder of a multiple nature. This was an extremely rare case in the forensic history of America, when such a person appeared on the bench of the accused. State attorneys managed to stop the trial and transfer Milligan to a psychiatric hospital.
Within its walls, he first admitted that he was not the only one in his mind. Billy Milligan's personalities included the stiff British Arthur, the fraudulent manipulator Allen, a communist from Yugoslavia, a young unbridled lesbian, whose hands committed rape. This, of course, is not a complete list of alter images. It is known that all of them could be interconnected, sometimes suppressing those who were weaker. During the study, the specialists had no doubt: a split personality arose from the moment of bullying by the stepfather.
Internal features
In 1978, an incredible event in history caused a public outcry, the main character of which was American Billy Milligan. The paintings of this strange person attracted no more attention than his main (and all secondary) personalities. Surprisingly, they created incredible artistic images, still lifes and landscapes. Who exactly became the author of a separate picture, the story is silent. But one thing is clear: Milligan himself had an undeniable talent.
For ten years, Billy has been undergoing intensive treatment, moving from one medical institution to another. In 1988, he was recognized as "whole." This meant that all charges were dropped from his main identity, and he was released. He moved to California, opened a private film studio, intending to make a film. Since none of his relatives wanted to deal with him, he was sent to a nursing home where he died in 2014.
One must speak of such a phenomenon!
The mystery for science is still Billy Milligan. Pictures of a person who has the opportunity to become the one who creates consciousness, have been repeatedly discussed in the press after his death. The rooms of the house where he lived for a while are hung with portraits and landscapes. Elegant murals hang on the walls, and in some places - complex mathematical formulas. The Milligan phenomenon defies any reasonable explanation. Definitely, he possessed incredible knowledge and capabilities, to the greatest extent this is reflected in the paintings of Billy Milligan.
The history of this man did not pass by cinema. For a long time there are rumors about the production of a film based on his biography. There is also information that Leonardo DiCaprio will be involved in the project. The actor’s plans do not yet include such a film, but he does not deny the possibility and desire to play a major role. At this stage, the film company and the start date of the filming are not defined.
Also on sale is the book “Multiple Minds, ” partially authored by author Daniel Keyes in the genre of documentary. Billy Milligan's paintings are mentioned in the work, causing a new wave of interest for those readers who are not familiar with the history of a unique person. By the way, one of them features Ragen Vadaskovinich, one of the alter personalities is a young Yugoslav, who has a strong figure. He loves children and women, however, he can deal with them fraudulently. Colorblind Ragen is depicted in the picture in black and white.
Talent beyond consciousness
Of course, many agree that the cause of personality disorder was the environment in which Billy Milligan lived. Billy's paintings provide confirmation of this. So, individual canvases depict portraits of a little girl (one of the personalities), and children hidden behind the harsh faces of adults. In addition to children's images, the canvases contain portraits of empresses and ordinary people whose names are unknown.
For society, Billy became a victim of violence. On the one hand, it is impossible not to feel compassion for him, on the other, it was this terrible event from the past that opened in him the gift of an artist. Of course, he was very talented. But who would have thought that the paintings of Billy Milligan (photo attached) write his personality ?!
So, one of them is 14-year-old Danny. He likes to draw still lifes, because he is afraid of people. In general, each personality of Billy remains unique, in painting often specializing in a separate direction. All of them are distinguished by a different level of intelligence and other indicators.
Modernity
Today, Milligan Billy and his paintings are not just a story page, but a whole phenomenon. In conclusion, one should cite a curious fact from his life that will force us to reconsider negative perceptions. Clearly aware of what had happened to him, Billy wanted society to remember his fate. The man has repeatedly expressed a desire for a book to be written about him. As he himself said, this would be a wonderful lesson for people. Almost all of his paintings were sold out. Funds from them were transferred to the Fund for the fight against child violence, which Billy managed to organize in recent years, while he was in a nursing home.
