Gaslighting facts for kids

Ingrid Bergman from the 1944 movie Gaslight

Gaslighting is a type of psychological abuse where somebody uses lies or tricks to make another person doubt their memory and mental health. Gaslighting can be anything from an abusive person insisting that the abuse never happened, to setting up strange incidents to confuse the victim.

The word "gaslighting" comes from the play by Patrick Hamilton, Gas Light (1938), and its movie adaptations. In those works a character uses many tricks, including turning the gas lamps lower than normal, to convince his spouse that she is crazy. Since then, the phrase has become a common expression which has also been used in clinical and research literature.

Images for kids

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  Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, and Joseph Cotten in the 1944 film Gaslight

See also

In Spanish: Luz de gas (manipulación) para niños