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From: nazgul@apollo.uucp (Kee Hinckley)
Newsgroups: net.sci
Subject: Re: Theatrical Hypnotism and Santa Claus
Message-ID: <23332748.8e4@apollo.uucp>
Date: Mon, 26-Nov-84 13:54:10 EST
Article-I.D.: apollo.23332748.8e4
Posted: Mon Nov 26 13:54:10 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Nov-84 03:10:17 EST
Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, Mass.
Lines: 58

<you are very sleepy...>

I don't know about 'Raveen', but I saw Russ Burgess when I was in school
(Bates College, ME), and I can guarantee that he was not using actors.
Bates isn't a large school, and I knew most all of the people that he
put under, and I spoke to them afterwards.  They were DEFINITELY hypnotized.
People also tend to improvise while under, and others may fade in and out
if they arn't totally under, thus the 'bad actor' impression.  Some, on
the other hand, accept it totally.  Some samples:

    o   He told several people to forget their names.  Then he went to each
        one and asked them for their name, while joking with the others about
        the fact that this person couldn't remember it.  The others joked
        and laughed, and agreed that it was silly, but when asked for their
        names they would just stand there with a puzzled look on their face
        and stutter.

    o   He told one person that whenever he (Russ) rubbed his nose they should
        chastize him for doing such an obscene thing in public.  Then he
        told her to forget that she had been put under, and sent her back
        to the audience.  Sure enough, whenever he rubbed his nose, she would
        stand up, in the middle of a crowded gymnasium, and berate him for
        being so disgusting, while all around her everyone else was in
        hysterics.

    o   He gave someone else a post-hypnotic suggestion that there was
        a great blizzard coming and that he was to direct us all to the
        buses for safety as soon as Russ said "Bates College".  Right
        on cue the guy rushed up, took the mike away from Burgess and tried
        to persuade us all to leave.  It wasn't until he started getting
        very upset and confused because we were ignoring him, that Burgess
        put him out of his misery by releasing the suggestion.

    o   He sent his subjects on a trip to the moon, where they wandered
        around and met a little green man.  (Here is a perfect example
        of improvization).  One girl (with no prompting at all) came up
        to him:
            Girl:   I think he likes me.
            Russ:   Why do you think that?
            Girl:   (pointing to the top of her blouse) He just crawled in.

    o   He told the subjects that the entire audience had just lost their
        clothes.  The reactions were pretty amazing.  Some people just
        gawked.  Others turned bright red and looked the other way.  I
        spoke to one person afterwards who said that she didn't really
        SEE them all naked, she just KNEW that they were; with the exception
        of those whom she had seen naked before.  Those people she SAW as
        being naked.

There were a lot of other scenarios, most of which were equally hillarious.
He also did some "mentalism" tricks which were open to scepticism.  However,
if you ever get a chance I highly reccommend him.  He puts on an excelent show
and you can be assured that he has not rigged his subjects.


                                        -kee
                                        
                             ...decvax!wivax!apollo!nazgul