Retro Bio: The Intimate Casebook of a Hypnotist

Arthur Ellen's book about hypnosis isn't mesmerizing, but the lively accounts are enough to hold readers' attention.

Ellen worked as a stage hypnotist for 20 years before entering private practice. He estimated he had hypnotized over 150,000 people during his then 30 year career. At the time his book was published, Ellen was fighting state bills to ban stage hypnotism. He wrote to California governor Jerry Brown and helped stop the state legislature from turning such a bill into law.

Beyond the anecdotes, Ellen mentions what hypnosis can and can't do and he debunks many of the common stereotypes. Ellen blames George Du Maurier's story about the evil Svengali hypnotizing the innocent Trilby into doing his bidding as the basis for many people's notions that hypnotism can induce people to commit crimes. Not so, according to Ellen -- a person won't do anything he or she finds morally offensive.

In 1958, The American Medical Association approved hypnotism for treatment. Many have thought hypnotism cures diseases, but as Ellen often states, he just guided people to heal themselves through the suggestions he gave them while they were under a trance. It won't affect organic conditions, only those with an emotional origin, which can mean anything from anxiety to asthma. He didn't claim to be a doctor and held no medical license, which got him into trouble with the law in January 1967 for violating a state code restricting medical treatment to licensed professionals, however, Ellen stated it also condoned "treatment relating to religious prayer." The charges were later dismissed.

Ellen's accounts follow a repetitive format: he describes a person's problem, his suggestions to help the person overcome it, and the results. He encouraged overeaters to overcome their emotional needs to eat, cigarette smokers to quit, connecting the taste of nicotine to pepper or burnt cabbage, and guided athletes who despite evidence to the contrary, believed they were injured. Many clients suffered from adults' remarks when they were children, which became stuck in their subconsciousnesses.

He treated the famous, too, actors, singers, and sports figures, showing that people from all walks of life can benefit from hypnotism. He believes anyone can be hypnotized unless they resist. Leo Durocher called Ellen to help the New York Giants (one of the many teams Ellen worked for) -- he earned his best result with Sal Maglie, who thought he had a hip injury; after hypnosis, he pitched a shutout. Ellen's evidence shows the right suggestions can boost players' confidence in their games, and he believes teams should have their own hypnotist.

Ellen himself gained fame in the mid-1950s for an episode of the TV show Truth or Consequences.

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