Poison pen letter

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An anonymous poison pen letter to a former teacher. The German text says: You ... [ass]. We are glad not to have you at our school any longer. The letter also contained the mask pictured here.

A poison pen letter is a letter or note containing unpleasant, abusive or malicious statements or accusations about the recipient or a third party. It is usually sent anonymously. Poison pen letters are usually composed and sent to upset the addressee and, in some cases, maybe to make them change a course of action.

With the advent of e-mail and the general decline in letter writing, poison pen letters have become something of a rarity.

[edit] See also

• hate mail
• chain letter
• Stalking