-
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
