Triggers

(signs, signals and symbols Chapman responded to)

Just as Lennon was emerging from years of self-imposed "exile", Chapman was waiting to rid the world of phoneys. Lennon unknowingly used the words, images and symbols Chapman was waiting for.

Chapman suffered delusions from his childhood, and in his early teens, heard voices that he attributed to "Little People" who lived in the walls of his bedroom. Later in life, his disturbed mental state led him to attempt suicide, and by early 1980, he was receiving psychiatric counselling for severe depression and was battling against paranoid schizophrenia.

There are typically two sides to paranoid schizophrenia: a feeling that you are losing control of who you are, and an awareness that all around you, there are clues and signs that could help you cope with your problems. Chapman desperately looked for signs that would help him, and when he found such signs, he clung to them with supreme determination.

As is typical with paranoid schizophrenics, Chapman became convinced that he was able to perceive and even receive signs and signals and messages that are hidden from the rest of us. Every thing around him could take on a special significance; every word of every song was speaking to him; images on television were aimed at him; the text of a book had been written especially for him. That was his state of mind in 1980.

And to the paranoid schizophrenic, these signals must be responded to - they cannot be ignored, even though the rest of the world chooses to do so, because they are vital to the survival of the persona. You ignore the signals at your peril. More than this, the paranoid schizophrenic comes to believe that he or she has been specially chosen to perform a seemingly miraculous task. Such individuals sometimes see themselves as a champion, a hero, even as a Saviour, someone who has been given a special signal and a special mission that can not only save themselves, but can change the whole world.

Mark Chapman saw signs and signals and synchronicities at every turn - he heard the signs in the lyrics he listened to, saw signals in the album covers, in film and on television, and in the books he read.

He found the words, the lyrics, the television images and works of art all immensely powerful and completely irresistible; they had such a strong influence over his personality that they "spoke" to him and told him he must rid the world of the phoney John Lennon. They were also so powerful that they transformed the brutal and bloody reality of the murder into a kind of fantasised fictional thriller which he had to act out.

Mark Chapman, in the early stages of paranoid schizophrenia, was a huge fan of the rock star Todd Rundgren, playing his albums constantly, learning the lyrics by heart. (Many paranoid schizophrenics are attracted to public figures, rock stars, film stars....because they are the people manipulating or dominating the media; they are the people sending out the signals...they are the people who must be followed and watched, waiting for the next signal they send out....) Chapman was convinced the lyrics and the album covers contained signs for him; he felt the lyrics held an almost spiritual significance for him...and he must respond to the triggers!

            album designs      books & magazines       television      works of art

Canadian author Ann Diamond has some interesting things to say about the triggers Chapman responded to in this review of "Through The Mirror Go Round"

read the review HERE

Television....newspapers...radio...magazines....the books he read...the art works he loved....the music he listened to...all these were giving Mark David Chapman the signals he craved.

And faced with this overwhelming array of signs and signals, some of which he had been waiting for, some of which were new and sensational, Chapman made up his mind to board the plane to New York, seek out John Lennon, and kill him.

Remember....this is only a small sample of my findings.

Find out more....

My books about John Lennon's murder contain the FULL story, told in an original and informative way.

"Two Spirits Dancing" is a 'novelised' version of the events. It is a full length, 100,000 word book that takes you into the parallel worlds of the killer and his victim. It is available as a PDF ebook costing $5.00 or as a 320 page paperback costing $16.50

find out more...

"Through The Mirror Go Round" is a fully illustrated and factual account of the murder, including all the images, art work and album covers that are such an amazing part of these tragic events.

Follow the links below: