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Poison pen letters are anonymous and harmful letters that aim to upset the recipient. They contain inflammatory and vitriolic content, often including untruths or hurtful statements. Recipients may take them to the police if they contain threats or slander. The best reaction is to not react, as anonymous authors are unworthy of attention.
Poison pen letters are nasty anonymous letters that are meant to upset the recipient. They differ from blackmail, which is aimed at extracting something, in that they are purely harmful. A poison pen letter can arouse anger, fear, and a general feeling of turmoil in the person who receives it, much to the author’s delight. Highly manipulative letters aren’t as common as they once were, since paper correspondence is dwindling, but they’re appearing more frequently than many people realize.
The “poison” in the term refers to the often inflammatory and vitriol content of the letter. Poison pen letters typically hammer into a weak spot in the recipient and may include untruths or hurtful statements meant to trigger a reaction. On the mildest scale, poison pen letters can be downright harmful and sometimes laughable.
When poison pen letters contain threats or slander, the recipient may choose to take them to the police, out of concern for personal safety or reputation. A variety of law enforcement techniques can be used in an attempt to identify the perpetrator of the hate message, and if found, prosecution is not uncommon. In some regions of the world, a single individual may have a notorious “poison pen,” taking responsibility for sending nasty letters to large parts of the community. This, of course, ultimately makes the author easier to identify.
Receiving poison pen letters can be quite frustrating, because the recipient is unable to deal with the content of the letter, as the author hides behind anonymity. This can be doubly upsetting when the letter contains falsehoods or sensitive information that the author would not like to see widely disseminated. These kinds of letters are sent to all kinds of people, from politicians to teachers, and most agree that the best reaction isn’t the reaction. People with especially thick skin sometimes share the letter with friends for the purpose of general ridicule and amusement.
If you should be the recipient of a poison pen letter, try not to get too upset, no matter what the author says. Anonymous authors are cowards and ultimately unworthy of your attention, and by not reacting, you will deprive the author of satisfaction. If you think the letter deserves attention from law enforcement, take it to your local police department. Otherwise, you might consider filing evidence, in case hostilities escalate.
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