CONTENTS
Reading edition
INTRODUCTION History of hypnotism—Mesmer—Puysegur—Braid—What is hypnotism?—Theories of hypnotism: 1. Animal magnetism; 2. The Neurosis Theory; 3. Suggestion Theory
CHAPTER I How to Hypnotize—Dr. Cocke’s method-Dr. Flint’s method—The French method at Paris—At Nancy—The Hindoo silent method—How to wake a subject from hypnotic sleep—Frauds of public hypnotic entertainments.
CHAPTER II Amusing experiments—Hypnotizing on the stage—“You can’t pull your hands apart!”—Post-hypnotic suggestion—The newsboy, the hunter, and the young man with the rag doll—A whip becomes hot iron—Courting a broom stick—The side-show
CHAPTER III The stages of hypnotism—Lethargy-Catalepsy—The somnambulistic stage—Fascination
CHAPTER IV How the subject feels under hypnotization—Dr. Cocke’s experience—Effect of music—Dr. Alfred Warthin’s experiments
CHAPTER V Self hypnotization—How it may be done—An experience—Accountable for children’s crusade—Oriental prophets self-hypnotized
CHAPTER VI Simulation—Deception in hypnotism very common—Examples of Neuropathic deceit—Detecting simulation—Professional subjects—How Dr. Luys of the Charity Hospital at Paris was deceived—Impossibility of detecting deception in all cases—Confessions of a professional hypnotic subject
CHAPTER VII Criminal suggestion—Laboratory crimes—Dr. Cocke’s experiments showing criminal suggestion is not possible—Dr. William James’ theory—A bad man cannot be made good, why expect to make a good man bad?
CHAPTER VIII Dangers in being hypnotized Condemnation of public performances—A commonsense view—Evidence furnished by Lafontaine; by Dr. Courmelles; by Dr. Hart; by Dr. Cocke—No danger in hypnotism if rightly used by physicians or scientists
CHAPTER IX Hypnotism in medicine—Anesthesia—Restoring the use of muscles—Hallucination—Bad habits
CHAPTER X Hypnotism of animals—Snake charming
CHAPTER XI A scientific explanation of hypnotism—Dr. Hart’s theory
CHAPTER XII Telepathy and Clairvoyance—Peculiar power in hypnotic state—Experiments—“Phantasms of the living” explained by telepathy
CHAPTER XIII The Confessions of a Medium—Spiritualistic phenomena explained on theory of telepathy—Interesting statement of Mrs. Piper, the famous medium of the Psychical Research Society