Have you had any experiences with flying monkey’s working on behalf of a narcissist?  I personally experienced and saw this happen to me and a dear friend of mine.  It’s scary to think that there are people out there who intentionally try to hurt you especially when you have done nothing to warrant this abuse.  Abuse is exactly what it is too.  Narcissism is a spiritual reality in which the person operates on a lower level (using their primitive brain).  They lack empathy.  They are all about their own success, getting ahead and not caring who they hurt.  A flying monkey works for the narcissist and may pretend to be your friend only to report back to a narcissist.  A flying monkey might also not even know they are working for a narcissist, especially if the narcissist is a skilled covert narcissist.  The narcissist can often play victim to and blame the innocent target.  The narcissist is spreading a smear campaign against the target and flying monkeys do whatever the narcissist says out of fear of being ousted from “The Group”.  I often think about the power of “The Group” and how good people will do things that are not so kind in efforts to belong to “The Group”.  “The Group” leader, a charismatic narcissist, is often a very likable person that people want to be friends with.  They overlook the evil things that the narcissist has done simply to be liked by this leader and the power of their group.  Creating awareness can help protect you from abuse.  This term is not formally used or taught in medical practice but it’s real.  If you find yourself in this type of situation then you can recognize it and do things to get out of an unhealthy situation.  Find people who really love you and who do things to elevate you.  If you energetically feel negativity from someone then trust your instincts.  Protect yourself because not everyone is evolved enough yet to know that love is god.  Love is at the core of our being and our natural state.  If anything feels the opposite of love then stay away.  Famous narcissists are:  Adolph Hitler, Ted Bundy, OJ Simpson and Kim Kardashian.  The term Flying Monkeys is defined in the dictionary:  

The definition according to Wikipedia is:

“Flying monkeys or apaths, is a term used in popular psychology mainly in the context of narcissistic abuse.  They are people who act on behalf of a narcissist to a third party, usually for an abusive purpose (e.g. smear campaign).  The phrase has also been used to refer to people who act on behalf of a psychopath, for a similar purpose.  The term is not formally used in medical practice or teaching.

Abuse by proxy (or proxy abuse) is a closely related or synonymous concept.  The term is from the flying monkeys used by the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film Wizard of Oz to carry out evil deeds on her behalf.”

Flying monkeys can be anyone who believes the narcissist’s fake persona including the narcissist’s spouse, child, friend, sibling or cousin.  According to popular psychology author Angela Atkinson, flying monkeys are usually unwittingly manipulated people who believe the smears about the victim although they may be another narcissist working in tandem. 

According to narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) author Sam Vaknin, and other writers, proxy abusers can come from a number or sources:

  • the abuser’s associates
  • the victim’s associates – manipulated to side with the abuser
  • authority and institutional figures – manipulated to side with the abuser.


The flying monkey does the narcissist’s bidding to inflict additional torment on the target. It may consist of spying, spreading gossip, threatening, painting the narcissist as the victim (victim playing) and the target as the perpetrator (victim blaming). Despite this, the narcissist does not hesitate to make flying monkeys his or her scapegoats when and if needed.

The flying monkeys may make it seem like the narcissist is not really involved, and they likely have no idea that they are being used.  Multiple flying monkeys act as a mobbing force against a victim.  In divorce conflicts, the children can be used by one party as a weapon against the other party.


Motives behind the narcissist’s support group can be multiple. Service providers may be seduced by the narcissist’s charm into taking a one-sided perspective. Family members may in good faith attempt to sort out the “problematic one”.  The codependent may seek to participate in the narcissist’s omnipotence, or use them as sanction for their own aggressive instincts.  Alternatively, others may simply be swept up by force of personality to define the situation along the narcissist’s own lines.”