http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting

Gaslighting

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For other uses, see Gas lighting and Gaslight (disambiguation).

Ingrid Bergman in the 1944 film Gaslight

Gaslighting is a form of mental abuse in which false information is presented with the intent of making a victim doubt his or her own memory, perception and sanity.^[1] Instances may range simply from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred, up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim.
The term "gaslighting" comes from the play Gas Light and its film adaptations. The term is now also used in clinical and research literature.[2