A. Alpheus - The Young Man with the Rag Doll: Experiments in Mentalism

This ebook edition first published in 2012 by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.

With offices at:

665 Third Street, Suite 400

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2012 by Red Wheel/Weiser LLC. All rights reserved.

Excerpted from Complete Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Mind Reading and Spiritualism by A. Alpheus. Chicago: M.A. Donohue &, 1903

eISBN: 978-1-61940-065-8

Cover design by Jim Warner

You feel very sleepy... With these words the stage hypnotist has been casting a spell over people for more than a century, setting his subjects on one of the most spectacular journeys anyone can take.

When we allow ourselves to fall into the hypnotist's trance, we hand over all our inhibitions, everything which normally holds us back. It is not a voyage for the faint of heart. But with trust in our guide and in ourselves, one tiny step across the imaginary boundary we've drawn can take us into a marvelous undiscovered country.

My first encounter with a hypnotist was in high school, at an assembly identical in practically every way to the amusing experiments A. Alpheus writes about in this story. Volunteers were called for and ushered onstage. Being too full of teenage self-consciousness, I had no wish to join them, and I watched with a strong sense of skepticism as, one by one, my friends and classmates entered into hypnotic trance and began acting out the most ridiculous and far-fetched pantomimes. It didn't take a grand leap of faith for me to believe that the student council and drama club members, none of them a stranger to attention and applause, would willingly dance the Twist in front of the whole school, or play air guitar to some canned rock and roll played over the packed auditorium's loudspeaker.

But my doubt evaporated when, near the end of the assembly, the hypnotist brought my friend Richie to the front of the stage. Richie was large, awkward, and sometimes the butt of jokes due to his tendency to speak with a stutter whenever he was able to raise his voice above a quiet murmurnot the greatest candidate for the limelight. Everyone knew this, and those of us charitable enough not to jeer were cheering him on as he stood in front of us. I for one had my fingers crossed for him beneath my folding seat.

The hundreds of assembled teenagers fell uncharacteristically silent as the hypnotist faced Richie and uttered an increasingly difficult series of tongue twisters. After each one, Richie took in a breath and repeated it back, in a voice so clear and crisp that when he was done we couldn't help but give him a standing ovation. The rest of the assembly is a blur to me, but after seeing Richie's solo, I no longer had any doubt about the power and possibility inherent in hypnotism.

Do we need an overdramatic mentalist, an auditorium stage, and a spotlight to feel like it's all right to let down our guard? In many cases, perhaps we do. The hypnotist and his patter, the snapping of his fingers, and the gaze of the audience are all elements of the edge of this reality and the beginning of another. It's not so much that these circumstances throw a trance over us, but something about them gives us permission to turn off that part of our minds which normally restricts what we think we're capable of. Stepping into a world we usually consider pure fantasy, we allow our dreams to take the lead and our body to follow.

The following story is one which reminds us how very thin indeed is the barrier separating our lives of everyday restraint from a world where imagination itself is the limit to what we can do or who we can become. If you're ready to make this short but miraculous journey, then step right up!

CLINT MARSH

AUTHOR, THE MENTALIST'S HANDBOOK

BERKELEY, CA 2012

Clint Marsh is a fellow collector of ephemera and bizarre materials. He has a particular penchant for old publications on the subjects of hypnotism, mentalism, and mind control. He has complete control over my mind on frequent occasions, so I can attest to his authority on the subject. Enjoy his tidy little selection by A. Alpheus. Visit him online at www.wonderella.org

VARLA VENTURA, ED.

Hypnotizing on the StageYou Can't Pull Your Hands ApartPost Hypnotic SuggestionThe News boy, the Hunter, and the Young Man with the Rag DollA Whip Becomes Hot IronCourting a BroomstickThe Side Show.

Let us now describe some of the manifestations of hypnotism, to see just how it operates and how it exhibits itself. The following is a description of a public performance given by Dr. Herbert L. Flint, a very successful public operator. It is in the language of an eye- witnessa New York lawyer.

In response to a call for volunteers, twenty young and middle-aged men came upon the stage. They evidently belonged to the great middle-class. The entertainment commenced by Dr. Flint passing around the group, who were seated on the stage in a semicircle facing the audience, and stroking each one's head and forehead, repeating the phrases, Close your eyes. Think of nothing but sleep. You are very tired. You are drowsy. You feel very sleepy. As he did this, several of the volunteers closed their eyes at once, and one fell asleep immediately. One or two remained awake, and these did not give themselves up to the influence, but rather resisted it.

When the doctor had completed his round and had manipulated all the volunteers, some of those influenced were nodding, some were sound asleep, while a few were wide awake and smiling at the rest. These latter were dismissed as unlikely subjects.

When the stage had been cleared of all those who were not responsive, the doctor passed around, and, snapping his finger at each individual, awoke him. One of the subjects when questioned afterward as to what sensation he experienced at the snapping of the fingers, replied that it seemed to him as if something inside of his head responded, and with this sensation he regained self-consciousness. (This is to be doubted. As a rule, subjects in this stage of hypnotism do not feel any sensation that they can remember, and do not become self-conscious.)

The class was now apparently wide awake, and did not differ in appearance from their ordinary state. The doctor then took each one and subjected him to a separate physical test, such as sealing the eyes, fastening the hands, stiffening the fingers, arms, and legs, producing partial catalepsy and causing stuttering and inability to speak. In those possessing strong imaginations, he was able to produce hallucinations, such as feeling mosquito bites, suffering from toothache, finding the pockets filled and the hands covered with molasses, changing identity, and many similar tests.

The doctor now asked each one to clasp his hands in front of him, and when all had complied with the request, he repeated the phrase, Think your hands so fast that you can't pull them apart. They are fast. You cannot pull them apart. Try. You can't. The whole class made frantic efforts to unclasp their hands, but were unable to do so. The doctor's explanation of this is, that what they were really doing was to force their hands closer together, thus obeying the counter suggestion. That they thought they were trying to unclasp their hands was evident from their endeavors.

The moment he made them desist, by snapping his fingers, the spell was broken. It was most astonishing to see that as each one awoke, he seemed to be fully cognizant of the ridiculous position in which his comrades were placed, and to enjoy their confusion and ludicrous attitudes. The moment, however, he was commanded to do things equally absurd, he obeyed. While, therefore, the class appeared to be free agents, they are under hypnotic control.

One young fellow, aged about eighteen, said that he was addicted to the cigarette habit. The suggestion was made to him that he would not be able to smoke a cigarette for twenty-four hours. After the entertainment he was asked to smoke, as was his usual habit. He was then away from any one who could influence him. He replied that the very idea was repugnant. However, he was induced to take a cigarette in his mouth, but it made him ill and he flung it away with every expression of disgust. *This is an instance of what is called post-hypnotic suggestion. Dr. Cocke tells of suggesting to a drinker whom he was trying to cure of the habit that for the next three days anything he took would make him vomit; the result followed as suggested.