Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.
A chicken can be hypnotized, or put into a trance, with its head down near the ground, by drawing a line along the ground with a stick or a finger, starting at the beak and extending straight outward in front of the chicken. If the chicken is hypnotized in this manner, it will continue to stare at the line, remaining immobile for as long as 30 minutes. Other methods of inducing this state are also known. Ethologists refer to this state as 'tonic immobility' i.e. a natural state of semi-paralysis that some animals enter when presented with a threat, which is probably a defensive mechanism intended to feign death, albeit rather poorly.
Roy Masters was an English-born American author, radio personality, businessman and hypnotist. He was the creator of a type of mindfulness meditation exercise, which has appeared in his books and recordings. Masters is the founder of the Oregon non-profit organization, the Foundation of Human Understanding. His forays into radio broadcasting included his own show, Advice Line, and the Talk Radio Network, a short-lived but popular conservative talk radio syndicator.
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism is a 2002 children's novel by British author Georgia Byng. It is the first instalment in the Molly Moon six-book series. Amber Entertainment and Lipsync Productions produced a film adaptation, Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism, which was released on April 11, 2015.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a 2001 American crime comedy film written and directed by and starring Woody Allen. The cast also features Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Elizabeth Berkley, John Schuck, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers and Charlize Theron. The plot concerns an insurance investigator and an efficiency expert who are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist into stealing jewels.
Ronald Pellar was an American hypnotist and fraudster who performed under the stage names Ronald Dante and Dr. Dante and who was briefly married to actress Lana Turner. He was convicted of or pleaded guilty to several criminal offenses, including mail fraud in connection with his operation of the diploma mill Columbia State University and attempted murder for trying to contract for the murder of another hypnotist and entertainer. As of 2006, he had been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for 20 years for having been paid the highest-ever lecture fee. He was known by as many as 40 aliases, including Phil Harris, Earl Clevenger, and Bonnie Ritchie.
For over a century, hypnosis has been a popular theme in fiction – literature, film, and television. It features in movies almost from their inception and more recently has been depicted in television and online media. As Harvard hypnotherapist Deirdre Barrett points out in 'Hypnosis in Popular Media', the vast majority of these depictions are negative stereotypes of either control for criminal profit and murder or as a method of seduction. Others depict hypnosis as all-powerful or even a path to supernatural powers.
The She-Creature, or The She Creature, is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction horror film, released by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff. It was produced by Alex Gordon, directed by Edward L. Cahn, and stars Chester Morris, Marla English and Tom Conway, and casting Frieda Inescort and El Brendel in smaller roles. The producers hired Marla English because they thought she bore a strong resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor.
Lost+Brain is a Japanese manga series written by Tsuzuku Yabuno and illustrated by Akira Ōtani. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from December 2007 to July 2008, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes.
Adrienne Kroell, was an American actress. She appeared in over 75 to 90 films between 1909 and 1914.
Stage hypnosis is hypnosis performed in front of an audience for the purposes of entertainment, usually in a theater or club. A modern stage hypnosis performance typically delivers a comedic show rather than simply a demonstration to impress an audience with powers of persuasion. Apparent effects of amnesia, mood altering and hallucination may be demonstrated in a normal presentation. Stage hypnosis performances often encourage audience members to look further into the benefits of hypnotism.
Hypnotized, released in Britain as A Quack Hypnotist, is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on May Smalley and Jack, who loves her, who attend a traveling show that comes to their little town. The show consists of a hypnotist and a Hindu magician and proves to be a popular show, but the hypnotist who is becomes interest in May. The hypnotist lures May away by telling her that he has a message for her from the spirit world and later gets her to leave town with him. Jack knocks the magician down and takes his costume and follows the hypnotist and May back to their hotel, where he rescues her. Aside from William Russell's role in the film, the production and cast credits are unknown. The film was released on December 30, 1910, it was met with positive reviews. The film is presumed lost.
Subterfuge is a 1912 American silent film drama produced by Chauncey D. Herbert. The film stars Adrienne Kroell and Louise Reming. The film was released together with The Geisha Girls of Japan. The film status is uncertain but a release flier survives which is now at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
A Man Among Men is a 1912 American silent film drama produced by Hardee Kirkland. The film stars Carl Winterhoff Adrienne Kroell. The film status is uncertain, but a release flier survives which is now at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; it was part of the Charles G. Clarke collection. The film was distributed by the General Film Company and was released on November 18, 1912. The film reel was 3,300 feet.
The Food Chopper War is a 1913 American silent film drama produced by Lorimer Johnson. The film stars Charles Clary, Adrienne Kroell, Timmy sheehan and Julius Frankenberg. The film status is uncertain but a release flier survives which is now at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, it was part of the Charles G. Clarke collection.
Tommy's Atonement is a 1913 American silent film drama produced by Hardee Kirkland. The film stars Harry J. Lonsdale, Adrienne Kroell and Carl Winterhoff. The film status is uncertain but a release flier survives which is now at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, it was part of the Charles G. Clarke collection. The short movie was released on April 10, 1913, the reel was around 600 feet long and was in the same reel with The Tombs of the Ming Emperors which was set in the Ming Dynasty.
The Eyes Have It is a Donald Duck animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions, originally released on March 30, 1945 by RKO Radio Pictures. It was the final Disney short animated by Don Patterson and it was the only short to have his on-screen credit. The last Donald Duck cartoon to feature Pluto, it centers on Donald using hypnosis goggles to turn Pluto into various animal-like states.
Hypnotist's Revenge was a 1908 French short silent comedy film by Georges Méliès. The film, now presumed lost, was a skit on the popular topic of hypnotism; it featured a magician-hypnotist using his skills to cheat at cards, before being caught at it and pursued in a hectic chase.
