Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism, by Ormand McGill (spiral softcover, 1947, $10, which is 1/3 the internet price.)
Gosh, do I love this blogging job. These books come in as donations, and I get to sort through them to pull out the interesting ones. Stage hypnotism, I thought, now that is interesting, and who is this McGill fellow?
Turns out that he was really someone quite something. Even today he is considered to be the Dean of American Hypnotists. He started out taking a correspondence course in magic, then studied psychology, art and advertising in college. Eventually he became a very famous hypnotherapist, and an early expert in Eastern mysticism, meditation, wisdom and healing. Look him up on Amazon and there are CDs, DVDs, and many of his books for sale. Look him up on Google, and you can watch videos of his performances. He died in 2005, and was teaching right up to the week he died.
This book is one of his classics. Note the "For Magicians Only" written on the title page. There are over 300 pages here, filled with diagrams and step by step instruction on how to do hypnotism on individuals, and even on the whole audience.
Check out the chapter "Sensational Stunts", where a volunteer is made rigid, then lifted on top of two chair backs. McGill can then either get up and stand on the volunteer, or use a sledge hammer to break a rock on the volunteer's chest. Mind you, that volunteer is still stretched out on those two chair backs. Can this stuff really be real?
What I doubt is still done is a "Pins Through the Flesh Test", where a sharp needle and thread are pushed through the subjects cheek and out his mouth. McGill does caution,"it is always possible to injure the small nerves in the cheek" (NO KIDDING!)
All in all, one heck of one strange book, by one strange man. It is hard for me to do the transition from him as a magician, to him as a hypnotherapist. What do you think? Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/4. (Later: magic)
