Sarah, the last of the Morlok quadruplets, who entertained audiences with her three sisters as a child but grew up with a nightmare father, has died aged 95. Her mother was expecting twins and went into labour a month early, delivering four identical girls born from a single egg which was considered a medical miracle at that time.
The family were given free housing, medical support and milk, with copious donations of money and knitted clothes. Their father despite being dubbed “Jolly Carl” by newspapers was a Nazi sympathiser and an extreme authoritarian whose mother had been mentally disturbed. He refused to let his daughters mix with other children, banned them from having boyfriends and sexually abused them. He had two of them — Helen and Wilma — surgically circumcised. He was “one of the worst fathers on earth” according to Audrey Clare Farley, who revealed their true story in a 2023 book entitled Girls and Their Monsters.
Three of the girls developed mental problems and were given electroconvulsive therapy. In their 20s they took part in a study of schizophrenia to determine whether their illness was caused by nature or nurture. Only Sarah recovered sufficiently to lead an independent life in which she married (not very happily) and had three children. Two sisters died at 72/73 and the third at 85.
The quads were born on 19 May 1930 between 10.25am and 10.35am in Lansing, Michigan. They had a 10th house Sun Mercury conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol in Taurus square Neptune, with Chiron and North Node also in Taurus in the 10th. They had Pluto in the 12th in a tough opposition to Saturn square an explosive Mars Uranus in Aries – describing a dominating, ruthless, autocratic and damaging father. Their Moon was in Aquarius in the 7th trine Venus Jupiter and sextile Uranus Mars pointing to a marginally better relationship with their mother though she was complicit.
Their midpoints are truly difficult with a violent Uranus opposition Saturn/Pluto; a tormented Neptune opposition their destructive (abuse) Mars/Saturn; and a neurotic Neptune = Uranus/Pluto.
Their father Carl, born 8 September 1888 Germany, was a Sun Virgo with the late 19th century Neptune Pluto in Gemini which can be psychologically off-the-wall opposition a can-be-fanatical, might-makes-right Mars Jupiter in Scorpio which opposed the sisters’ Taurus Sun and Mercury.
Their mother Sadie, 8 March 1899, a highly-strung Sun Pisces square Neptune Pluto opposition Uranus and Saturn in Sagittarius was none too stable herself. Her Mars in Cancer was conjunct her daughters’ Pluto so she sparked a good deal of anger from them for not protecting them.
What an unholy mess and a tragedy.
The post Morlok quads – a uniquely difficult life first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.
