The Dark Archive

  What if good manners could destroy you? Most people think there are only three trauma responses: fight, flight or freeze . There is however a 'secret' fourth response, fawning . Unlike fighting or running, fawning doesn’t look like fear at first glance. It is a more complex response to trauma and happens when a person tries to avoid harm by trying to appease their aggressor and comply with their wishes. It often looks like kindness, cooperation, patience, or empathy . But beneath that calm exterior lies something far more complicated: an ingrained belief that safety is earned through compliance. Fawning is a form of people pleasing , and often involves the person putting the needs and wants of others first, often to their own detriment. They might appear overly compliant and will minimize their own needs to appease others. They struggle to set boundaries with people and have a hard time saying no.  Fawning is fairly common actually and you yourself might have even done it be...

A Killer legacy  Daisy De Melker is often cited as one of South Africa’s most infamous female serial killers. It seems Daisy’s murderous legacy is as sensational today as it was all those years ago. Even in the modern day, her name is still well known among South Africans, often used a boogeyman and local legend. Many South African’s also claim to either be directly related to her in some way, or to have known or even been family of her victims. Yet, where did this all start? How did she go from a seemingly caring nurse and mother to murdering her own son and almost all of her former husbands? Daisy De Melker after her arrest Image Courtesy of Wikipedia. Early Life on the Frontier  Daisy was born as Daisy Louisa Hancorn-Smith on June 1st, 1886, in Seven Fountains in the former Cape Colonies of South Africa . She was the daughter of William and Fanny Hancorn-Smith and one of 11 children and a further 2 half siblings. (No wonder so many people claim to be related to her.) Even ...