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Origins -

Hypnosis emerged in the 18th century, when German physician Franz Mesmer developed mesmerism. The term "hypnosis" originates from the Greek word for sleep.

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Sleeplike state -

Hypnosis puts you into a sleeplike state. In this state, a person becomes more suggestible, i.e. open to suggestion by another.

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Focus -

Although hypnosis and sleep aren't related, they do have something in common: both focus the brain.

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Active -

The brain becomes more active during hypnosis. In fact, compared to a resting brain, under hypnotic trance many areas of the brain come online.

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Sense of self -

Becoming less conscious of yourself may be the reason why hypnosis works so well. But being hypnotized shouldn't mean losing free will, or control over behavior.

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Unusual deaths -

Despite this, hypnosis isn't without controversy. There have been a number of unusual deaths implicating hypnotized people.

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Ella Salamon -

The case of Ella Salamon in 1894 is one such bizarre story. Ella was a 23-year-old Hungarian psychic whose client asked for her advice. She agreed to be hypnotized, to get answers about a medical issue.

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Ella Salamon -

After giving an in-depth description of the physical problem the client's brother was suffering from, she collapsed and died. She is believed to be the first person to die under hypnosis.

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Girard Rosenblum -

Girard Rosenblum's body was found by his mother in 1952. The 21-year-old's death had been self-inflicted. A month later, the coroner in his case found his death to be the result of a failed attempt at suspended animation.

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Girard Rosenblum -

A master's student, Philadelphia native Rosenblum had used self-hypnosis to try to learn how to levitate.

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Thomas Patton -

In 1894, a wealthy farmer in Kansas named Anderson Gray hypnotized his farmhand Thomas McDonald. He told McDonald to kill his neighbor Thomas Patton.

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Thomas Patton -

McDonald didn't have a good aim prior to hypnosis, but Gray's suggestibility worked and he killed Patton.

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Thomas Patton -

Both men were arrested, but McDonald was found not guilty due to being under Gray's trance.

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Robert Simpson -

In 1909, Robert Simpson attended a hypnotist show in Somerville, New Jersey. He was drunk and volunteered to be hypnotized.

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Robert Simpson -

When the time came to wake him up, he collapsed and was unresponsive on the floor. Doctors found a ruptured aorta, reasoning that he had probably been sick for some time. The hypnotist was acquitted of charges due to Simpson's preexisting condition.

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Marie Colombos -

In 1938, Marie Colombos was due to give birth to her first child. Nervous, she got in touch with Robert Gilbert, a famed vaudeville performer specializing in hypnotism. He came to her house in Glendale, California, to help her have a painless birth experience, using hypnosis.

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Marie Colombos -

When police arrived later, Colombos was found dead. Gilbert said she had collapsed. Following autopsy, burial, exhumation, and another autopsy, no cause of death was found. Gilbert was sentenced, but his conviction was overturned due to lack of evidence.

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Jerome Ferreri -

Jerome Ferreri brought a woman back to the home he shared with his wife in LA in October 1948. Later, Ferreri returned home and attacked his wife. A man renting a room in the house gave a gun to the handyman Allan Adron, telling him Ferreri was killing his wife.

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Jerome Ferreri -

Hearing her screams, Adron ran to the kitchen and shot Ferreri. At trial, defense lawyers argued Adron was under the power of suggestion when he was handed the gun. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

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Hans Wisbom and Kaj Moller -

Palle Wichmann Hardrup shot bank manager Hans Wisbom and teller Kaj Moller in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1951. When Hardrup was arrested, he claimed he had been hypnotized by an old cellmate.

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Hans Wisbom and Kaj Moller -

Hardrup accused Bjørn Schouw Nielsen of hypnotizing him three times a week over a three-month period, which included the robbery planning. Hardrup was committed, and Nielsen received life imprisonment for the deaths.

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Marcus Freeman, Wesley McKinley, and Brittany Palumbo -

North Point, Florida, was the location of three separate deaths in spring 2011. Marcus Freeman died in a car accident, while Wesley McKinley and Brittany Palumbo were found to have suffered self-inflicted deaths at home.

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Sharon Tabarn -

Sharon Tabarn took part in a hypnosis show at a pub in Lancashire, England, in 1993. To end her trance, the hypnotist said she would feel a 10,000-volt electric shock in her seat.

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Marcus Freeman, Wesley McKinley, and Brittany Palumbo -

Afterwards, it emerged that the trio were part of a group of 75 students who were taught to hypnotize themselves. George Kenney, the school's principal, had shown the group how to use hypnosis. Kenney took leave and was given probation for practicing hypnosis without a license.

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Sharon Tabarn -

Afterwards, she complained about feeling dizzy. She passed away in her sleep and her death was ruled an accident. Her lawyer argued the hypnosis had somehow relaxed her reflexes, which led to her death, as she hadn't drank enough to become ill.

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Stage hypnosis -

In 1995, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis published a section on stage hypnosis and the complications that can arise from it.

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Stage hypnosis -

The journal advises against stage hypnosis, as many complications occur when hypnosis is used in the context of entertainment.

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Untrained hypnotists -

In 1978, the British Medical Journal warned about the dangers of untrained hypnotists acting in unregulated ways such as using stage hypnosis.

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Trance-like state -

The altered, trance-like state caused by hypnosis can cause bodily changes. A person’s subjective perceptions can cause real physical reactions.

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Clinical setting -

In a clinical setting, a trained hypnotist will ask their client about any phobias they have. This is so they can avoid any suggestions that could cause a phobic reaction while the client is in a deep trance state.

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Investigation -

Prior to commencing a session, a trained hypnotist carries out a detailed investigation of the person’s background and psychological state, making them aware of potential dangers.

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Powerful -

These cases of deadly hypnosis show suggestion is powerful. Hypnosis induces a deeply altered state of consciousness, that should be entered with a trained professional.

Sources: (Listverse) (Time)

See also: Is astral travel real?

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