Evening Star Newspaper, September 21, 1930, Page 88

URING my career as a professional magician, after years spent in mystifying millions of people, I have learned that human beings like to believe in the miraculous. Even among the most intelligent persons there is the desire to glorify the unexplainable and to attribute many things to occcult forces thal are beyond understanding. This accounts for the wide interest that ex- ists in so-called spirit manifestations, despite the fact that hundreds of fraudulent mediums have been exposed. It also accounts for wide belief in mind reading and mental telepathy, although neither of these has been conclusively proved. Finally, this pecular desire for the unexplainable is the reason why thousands of highly intelligent persons will accept ex- aggerated claims of hypnotism. There are certain cases in which the human mind reacts in a strange and unaccountable manner. There are scientists who have con- ducted well planned experiments and whoee opinions on hypnotism are, therefore, of value. But in contrast to these we find cases of so- called hypnotism which are not hypnotism at all despite the fact that they are convincing to intelligent people who witness them. Many mental conditions that are loosely classed as hypnotism are easily explained by simple psychological laws, particularly those of suggestion, and those conditions are not suf- ficiently remarkable to be attributed to some mysterious power known as hypnotism. Furthermore, there are various fraudulent methods used by persans who claim to be hypnotists, but who actually deceive the public. Trickery, like poison, is dangerous, except when properly labeled. There is no occasion for self-styled hypnotists to claim superhuman powers or ability when they are merely demon- strating natural phenomena. HYP‘NOTISM, as studied by capabie scien- tific men, is far different from the public’s conception of it. During the last two centuries charlatans have been active in exaggerated claims that have led to fabulous and erroneous conceptions. Mesmer, the first of the modern hypnotists, claimed that he had discovered a “magnetic fiuld” or invisible force which en- abled one person to control the actions of another. He gave exhibitions in Paris and when his subjects behaved in many unusual ways, he declared that the existence of this *“magnetic fluid” had been proved. Although this theory was exploded, there still remained the belief in hypnotic force—a tremendous, invisible power of one mind dom- inating another, just as a strong physical force could overcome a weak one. This is still a popular conception. Such stories of hypno- tism have been utilized by writers of fiction and by dramatists, who have exaggerated them until it is impossible to tell where actual claims end and imaginary ones begin. The Hindus are said to be past masters of the art of hypnotism; it is claimed that they can apparently die and come”to life many days later, that they can perform bewildering feats of wizardry by hypnotizing the persons who are watching them. SINCERE students of hypnotism maintain that the state known as a hypnotic trance is merely a state of mind into which a person is coaxed or led by the suggestion of the operator. The degree to which this can be accomplished, therefore, marks the extent of hypnotism and is a difficult matter to de- termine. But it is quite possible to classify cases of so-called hypnotism which are noth- ing more than the simplest forms of suggestion or which depend chiefly upon trickery. The human mind is a complex mechanism which is subject to many reactions. People have been known to faint at the sight of in- nocent telegrams because they believed that the messages contained bad news. Many per- sons lose their presence of mind during a fire or sudden emergency and act in strange and foolish ways. People who awaken at night often imagine the flapping of a window shade to be some one entering the house. H a man is confronted with a pistol he is He hether or not thy if they simply THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, ’ SEPTEMBER 21, 1930. Grossly Exaggerated Claims for the Powers of Hypnotism Made by Self-Styled *“Pro- fessors” WhoDeceive the Public by Trickery and Add Nothing to Knowledge of ThisScience’s Psychological Phenomena. By Harry Blackstone, Famous Magician. When a “hypnotist” gets a subject into a receptive condition, then suddenly takes ad- vantage of the situation to frighten him, be- wilder him or distract his attention, it cannot be justly termed hypnotism if the subject acts abnormally in response. Persons are subject to all sorts of emotions— fear, excitement, anger, absent-mindedness, etc. If one of these emotions is cxperienced to a great degree, it causes the individual to act in a manner which is unusual. A scientific investigator of hypnotism under- standls that these conditions of excessive emo- tion exist, and he does not attribute trifling bits c©i unusual behavior to hypnotism. But fraudulent hynotists, who are anxious to im- press their audiences, seize upon any form of unusual mental reaction and offer it as evi- dence of their hypnotic power. Fraudulent hypnotists know that they are lucky when they happen to find a subject who responds effectively to their suggestions. Hence they utilize certain stunts which appear won- derful yet which are quite natural. The “hypnotist” tells his subject to stand quite rigid. He keeps him in this position for some time, supporting him with his hands. He then draws his hands away, and the subject, still obeying orders, cannot stand, but begins to topple forward. He has apparently lost all control of his muscles. In reality, he has simply lost his equilibrium. The “hypnotist” has drawn him off balance. In holding his rigid position, the subject cannot regain his balance. NOTHER stunt is to place a man in a chair, leaning well back, with his head toward the floor. The “hypnotist” places his finger on the subject’s forehead and tells him to try to rise. The subject is powerless. Again the “hypnotist” has simply placed the subject in a position where he is at a disadvantage. The pressure of the finger is more powerful than any force the subject is able to exert. A “hypnotist” tells his subjects to roll their eyes upward and hold them in that position. Then he has them close their eyelids and he states that they will be unable to open their eyes. Not one person in a hundred can do it with the eyes still looking upward. It is merely a peculiar muscular reaction. A “hypnotist” can make a subject stammer. He pretends to exert hypnotic powers; then he talks to the subject and tells him to reply. The “hypnotist” stammers purposely; the sub- ject responds to the suggestion. He becomes excited or bewildered and stammers also. This is because stammering is natural with nearly every one, but most persons have sufficient control of their speech to overcome it. When they become confused they slip into stammering In the cataleptic test @ man’s body supports two or more persons. This is done by arching the back and using the arms as braces. It can be done by any strong person without the aid of hypnotism. Wil A and the “hypnotist” who makes them do it proudly boasts of his “controlling will.” The fake hypnotist gets rid of troublesome subjects with stunts Mike those I have explained. When he comes to his more remarkable tests, he employs confederates who are instructed what to do. “Hypnotists” often have trouble with inexperienced confederates. A story is told of a “hypnotist” who hired some subjects and when they came on the stage they laughed at him instead of obeying his instructions. The audience began to hiss the “hypnotist,” but his assistant came to his rescue. He appeared be- hind the subjects, carrying a gun, and told them to go ahead with the act or be peppered with shot. The assistant was out of sight of the audience, behind a wing of the stage, but near enough to make his message known to the subjects. They obeyed instructions to the letter and the show was a success. To avoid such embarrassing situations, fraude- ulent hypnotists have their own confedera known, in theatrical parlance, as “horses.” These professional subjects are always in de- mand. They will “sleep” in windows hours at a time; they will let the hypnotist push needles into them—for they have become used to the slight pain—and they can act any part de- manded of them. The most convincing “test” performed with the aid of a “horse” is the eataleptic trance. The “hypnotist” commands his subject to be- come rigid; the man straightens out and be- gins to fall. He is caught and placed, face up, across two chairs or benches: one at his neck, the other at his ankles. Then several per- sons stand or sit upon his rigid body, which supports their weight. This is highly effective, because it seems im- possible for the man’s body to withstand the strain. It is assumed that the hypnotic in- fluence has given the subject supernormal strength, which is ridiculous. Actually, the subject grips his trousers just above the knees— in some jnstances he wears leather knee straps to gain a strong hold—and arches his back so that he forms a human bridge. He can then support a weight that seems unbelievable. The feats of Oriental wonder-workers have been accepted as exhibitions of hypnotism by more than one man of scientific training. These were brought into prominence by an Egyptian fakir, Rahman Bey, who came to America a few years ago. One stunt is the stopping of the pulse. The faker causes his pulse beat to drop away to almost nothing, a test which surprises all who witness it. Yet the trick is easily accomplished by means of a block of wood beneath the arm- pit. By pressing his arm against the wood, the fakir makes his pulse become slower and slower. These wonder-workers push skewers through their arms and cheeks and then withdraw them, causing a slight flow of blood, if desired, or none, if not desired. This has been accepted as a case of auto-hypnosis, the fakir presum- ably hypnotizing himself. Actually it is an old stunt of the pretended hypnotists, performed with the aid of “horses.” The skewers are not painful to a person who is not particularly sensitive to pain, and the flow of blood de- pends only on whether the skewer is with- drawn rapidly or slow!w, ONE of the most surprising tricks of the “hypnotic” subject is that of lying on a bed of spikes and allowing a huge stone to be broken on the body with a sledgehammer. This seems to require absolute immunity from paln. In reality, the subject cannot suffer in- jury. The spikes are so numerous that they are not uncomfortable, and the stone is so large that it absorbs the blows from the sledge- hammer and the man hardly notices them. I have witnessed many performances of this type and have studied the methods used by self-styled hypnotists; and I have learned that public performances of this nature are filled with trickery and false claims. This is unfortunate, because hypnotism is a subject which demands sincere and reliable investigations. The idea that public demon- strations of hypnotism are dangerous because they may cause serious results to the subjects is largely a misconception, for so many dem- onstrations are full of fraud that is not hypno- tism at all. The only way to determine just how much there is in hypnotism is to conduct scientific experiments with all chances of trickery elimi- nated. It is claimed that unusual results have been gained in this manner; and such investi- gl'-}orlm are highly commendable, for they are useful. But the itinerant showman who works his wonders before gaping crowds is not concerned with scientific experiments; he is out to exploit the public and to claim miraculous powers which he does not possess. (Copyright, 1930.)