Irish Eyes

By Mattie Lennon

         Not all anonymity is free of threat. Most people have received anonymous communications at some stage. Be it a Valentine card from a shy admirer or a Christmas card that the sender had forgotten to sign. And in more recent times there is the occasional baffling text or email. There is of course the more malicious anonymous letter usually sent by the cowardly and insecure who often tend to be inconsequential people of little importance to the addressee. The senders of such letters usually have a chip on the shoulder. It may be a begrudging colleague whose own life is not satisfying, and they may have recently been disinherited and/or rejected. One source says, “These letters seem to be a cry of the powerless from persons who have lost the ability to speak their mind and have been pushed to the limit of their understanding and patience.”

         One expert in the field wrote,

“From my own observations, these writers are sick individuals. Within their makeup there is a weak streak which is inter linked with dishonesty and anyone who writes anonymously, even though purporting to have the receiver’s welfare at heart, has a problem. “

         According to, ‘Judicial Graphology, by Renna Nezos, “that personality is socially maladjusted and he/she suffers from a feeling of persecution and excessive jealousy.”

The following motivating characteristics of the anonymous letter-writer are put forward by an expert;

• Jealousy.
• Envy.
• Malice and Spite.
• Revenge.
• Sexual Frustration.
• Inner feelings of personal inadequacy, which fuels a desire to cause suffering.
• The urge to wield influence.

         That anonymous letter you got could be from a shy retiring admirer or a forgetful acquaintance who neglected to put their name to it. It could be from a well-meaning person who wanted to put you wide to some treachery without getting involved. But . . . it could be more sinister. Anybody who has read, “ 10 Strange Mysteries Involving Anonymous Letters” knows that the unsigned missive is very often the hallmark of a psychopath. Jack the Ripper and The Zodiac Killer are just two examples.

         The anonymous letter that arrived in your letterbox may be from an innocent person but it could also be from a coward who, in the words of one psychologist , “ . . . is using a power hold over the selected victim. From the feeling of power comes an inner sense of superiority, as real or imagined developments are anticipated. The correspondence may be planned with care, to hit the target and then retreat into hiding to await the results; or it may be the outcome of supposed slights and resentful feelings that have been festering over a period of time. The reaction is triggered by sending a threatening letter.”