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More Than a Song: The Stalker, Lawsuit, and Tragedy Behind Sarah McLachlan's 'Possession'
Sarah McLachlan's song "Possession" was written from the perspective of her stalkers, using their own words. This artistic choice led to a chilling lawsuit from one obsessed fan who claimed creative credit. The story ended tragically when he died by suicide before the case went to trial.
An Ethereal Hit with a Dark Undercurrent
In 1993, Sarah McLachlan released her album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, a record that would cement her place as a defining voice of the decade. Among its tracks was "Possession," a haunting and atmospheric song that became an immediate fan favorite. With its pulsating rhythm and McLachlan's ethereal vocals singing lyrics of obsessive devotion, most listeners interpreted it as a dark, intense love song about an all-consuming passion. The truth, however, was far more literal and disturbing.
The song was not a fictional exploration of love's darker side; it was a direct artistic response to a real-world terror that had invaded the singer's life. It was born from the words of men who were stalking her.
From the Pen of the Obsessed
As her fame grew in the early '90s, McLachlan became the target of unsettling attention from several obsessive fans. Two in particular sent her a stream of disturbing letters, constructing elaborate fantasies in which they were destined to be together. Rather than simply recoil in fear, McLachlan made a bold and unusual creative choice: she decided to confront the obsession head-on by attempting to understand its source. She chose to write a song from their point of view.
I was in a fearful place, and I was trying to find a way to look at it in a way that I could understand it. So I tried to put myself in their shoes, and I wrote the song from their perspective. It was a good way of dealing with it, of taking control of it.
McLachlan didn't just imagine their mindset; she used their own words, lifting phrases and sentiments directly from the letters she received. Lyrics like, "And I would be the one to hold you down, kiss you so hard, I'll take your breath away," captured the chilling blend of adoration and threat that characterized the messages. The song became an exercise in empathy as a form of self-preservation, a way for McLachlan to process her fear and reclaim her own narrative.
When Art and a Dark Reality Collide
The story took a shocking turn after the song's release. One of the stalkers, a computer science student from Ottawa named Uwe Vandrei, recognized his own words in the lyrics. Instead of being deterred, Vandrei felt entitled. In 1994, he filed a lawsuit against Sarah McLachlan, claiming that his letters constituted a significant creative contribution to the song and that he deserved to be credited as a co-writer, along with financial compensation.
The lawsuit presented a bizarre and unprecedented legal dilemma. Could the unsolicited, threatening words of a stalker be considered a legitimate artistic collaboration? For McLachlan, the experience was profoundly unsettling. The very act she had undertaken to process her violation was now being used to pull her into a direct, public confrontation with her tormentor.
A Tragic and Unsettling Conclusion
The legal battle, however, never reached a courtroom. Before the case could proceed to trial in late 1994, Uwe Vandrei died by suicide. His death brought an abrupt and tragic end to the lawsuit, leaving behind a complex legacy of mental illness, obsession, and art.
The experience left a lasting mark on McLachlan and permanently fused "Possession" with its grim origin story. What was once a darkly beautiful song for many listeners became a chilling document of a real-life ordeal. It stands as a powerful, if unnerving, testament to an artist's attempt to confront her fears, and a stark reminder of the blurred lines that can exist between fandom and fixation, art and the harsh realities that inspire it.