CONTENTS 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