Split: The True Inspiration For Kevin’s Character

M. Night Shyamalan’s Eastrail 177 trilogy, which began with Unbreakable in 2000 and ended with Glass in 2019, drew real life inspiration for its middle installment, Split.

Split explored the uncommon and intriguing diagnosis of multiple personality disorder through its main character, Kevin Crumb, who was played by James McAvoy. Kevin – in the beginning of the film – kidnaps three girls and holds them hostage in an undisclosed location for an unknown reason. At first, they interact with an austere, serious man who goes by the name of Dennis and is obsessed with cleanliness. Later, they meet other personalities, such as Patricia and Hedwig, who have their own distinct mannerisms and personalities. All of this culminates in Kevin’s 24th personality, The Beast, emerging and giving him additional and almost supernatural strength, speed, and other abilities that seem beyond human.

Split is very much a metaphor in a lot of ways for how someone who has endured trauma can develop strategies to cope, and in the end, Kevin addresses that his childhood abuse and trauma has – literally – made him stronger. Though it certainly seems like a fictional tale, and dissociative identity disorder (DID) is widely misunderstood and stigmatized, Shyamalan drew from a real life source for inspiration.

Split: Kevin Was Based On A Real Person

Kevin’s character was based on Billy Milligan, who came to notoriety for being the first person to use the defense of multiple personalities in a court case within the United States. Milligan was first arrested in 1975 for rape and armed robbery, but got released in 1977 and was required to register as a sex offender. Milligan ended up in jail again in 1977, not long after his initial release, for raping three women at Ohio State University. Milligan was caught because police found his fingerprints, he was identified by one of his victims after she saw his mug shot in a database, and another commented that he was nice, but that his demeanor was odd: according to her report, he acted like a three-year-old girl.

After Milligan’s arrest, his trial was underway and drew a lot of attention because of his defense’s use of his new diagnosis – what was then known as multiple personality disorder – to enter an insanity plea. Milligan’s psychologists determined that he had ten different personalities, at least at first. Milligan was acquitted and sent to a state mental facility instead, where he served out his sentence until his release in 1988. During his time in various state-run institutions, he was found to have an additional 14 personalities, which were known as “The Undesirables” by his doctor, David Caul. According to documentation on Milligan, these personalities ranged in age, gender, and sexuality. Some even varied locationally; one of his personalities was an Englishman, another was a Yugoslavian Communist. The personality who had allegedly committed the crimes was a 19-year-old lesbian named Adalana.

While Milligan’s case was certainly intriguing on numerous levels, he never was recorded to possess any of the physiological strengths and superhuman abilities that Kevin did in Split. Still, his story provided a fascinating background for continuous studies, including a book, The Minds of Billy Milligan, which was written by Daniel Keyes in 1981 and may have been the prime source inspiration for Shyamalan’s movie.

About The Author

Jack Wilhelmi
(581 Articles Published)

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Jack Wilhelmi is the horror features editor at Screen Rant, and has been with the site since 2019. He is a lifelong fan of the horror genre, and loves any excuse to discuss genre-related topics, since none of his friends dare challenge him in horror trivia. He has been published on the independent horror blog Morbidly Beautiful, and has covered major genre film festivals such as Cinepocalypse in Chicago. He has also served as a judge for the Ax Wound Film Festival.

In his free time, he is a devoted dog dad to a high-spirited rescue pup named Peter Quill and enjoys volunteering with various animal rescue organizations. Jack likes to travel and explore dark tourism-related and other various haunted locations. He enjoys studying psychology, the paranormal, and will watch literally any schlocky B-movie on the planet for a laugh.

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