A stranger in the house! Newly-weds meet sexual predator!

The role (and power) of so-called 'visitors' in rural communities.

It is well documented that small towns throughout America and England had ways of dealing with individuals whose behavior might destabilize village life. Nagging wives were ducked in the pond; town drunks chained to public stocks etc. What is rarely mentioned however is the role of the woman they called The Visitor. The origins and logic behind her presence are simple: men who were 'overly demanding' of their wives were considered a serious threat. Death from childbirth was common and it was the wife who bore too many children too quickly who died. To help the wife a visitor remained with the couple for a set period of time. The idea was widely adopted, but rarely mentioned, because it was successful. Cynics suggest that it worked because the visitor (always a woman) became a substitute wife for the sex-hungry husband. Town elders saw the dangers and the visitors were chosen for their plain looks and fearsome reputations.

Every town has these women; middle aged, bitter and ready to do battle with all forms of modern entertainment. The kind of woman who ensured that Elvis the Pelvis did not wiggle his hips in their town! The kind of woman who thinks rock and roll is the devil's music and that dancing is evil. But society always makes a home for them. And in many small towns the practices of the past are continued today. We know of one such community that still uses The Visitor to great effect. Crime, divorce and marital abuse are low. Drinking is frowned upon, gambling illegal and when a husband goes out he takes his wife with him.

Underneath this happy exterior the picture is not so wholesome; young men are quickly married off to an available, and preferably older woman. Husbands who attempt to control their wives are threatened with The Visitor. And when women gather for coffee mornings they recount the stories of past humiliations meted out to awkward husbands.

We tell one couple's alarming story:

'Our town's visitor always advised newly-weds,' says Adrian, 'that's how we met Abigail Thornton. We were just back from honeymoon when she walked in through our kitchen door. She took one look at Judith and our lives changed forever. When she introduced herself to me her voice became cold. 'Too many men see their wives as slaves in the kitchen and in the bedroom. I will not allow you to be like that with Judith. When I call again this afternoon I expect to see a list of your household tasks and duties and the nights I will stay to ensure she is not ver-taxed.' If I had known that she was obsessed with Judith in a sexual way I would have resisted her that very day. But I'd been raised here; I believed that people like Abigail did in fact protect vulnerable wives and even children. I went along with her initially because I knew that Judith and I had a good balanced relationship. The Visitor was not meant for people like us. I was wrong and before I knew how much trouble I was in she had turned the town against me. And she was sleeping with my wife! Fear can make you weak and I was frightened for Judith as well as myself. Submitting to her was easier than taking on the whole town. And sex with her, weird though it was, had its compensations. She almost convinced me that life with her could be enjoyable and satisfying.'

'Our Visitor was a lesbian,' explains Judith. 'Her power within the town was absolute. Every man was afraid of her and every woman approved of her. How could I convince them that she was demanding sex with me every time she stayed the night? I wasn't even sure Adrian would believe me. Night after night I wrestled with her in angry silence as she tore open my clothes and groped me like a drunken youth at the drive-in. One night I surrendered to her. I can't explain why but I joined in that awful sex. Now she had her secret over me. Now she could concentrate on Adrian. Abigail was a man-hater. The only way to stop her from hurting Adrian was to let her share our bed; that's right, she enjoyed sex with me with my poor husband lying next to us. During her absences she left strict instructions about how I was to use and even dress my husband. If she was relentless in her pursuit of me, she was equally determined to break my husband's will to resist. By the time we came to our senses and realized we had to escape it was almost too late. Adrian was wearing my clothes and she was 'taking' him anally as a prelude to sex with me!'

Adrian and Judith were not weak and pathetic; all they wanted was acceptance. They did not want to be labeled as sinful or deviant or irresponsible. They had now way of combating this type of sexual predator who used her power with a ruthlessness that paralyzed them with fear.

In exactly the same way an abused wife refuses to tell anyone of her plight, Adrian and Judith conspired to keep what was happening to them from their friends and neighbors. If a wife's shame helps protect her violent husband one can understand Adrian not wanting his humiliation made public. What happens behind closed doors is always a mystery, but why Abigail was allowed to dominate and sexually abuse two innocent adults can now be told but not properly explained.

PLUS:

Bitch Tits! The wife who took advantage when her husband grew breasts! 'Everything they old her to do,' a husband complains, 'she did the exact opposite. She wanted me to continue feeling weak, inadequate and dependent upon her and her mother. Before I knew it I was wearing a bra and panties and working in her mother's kitchen!'

Only in - MEN AS MAIDS! - in July 2004!

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