“It has been said, and not untruly, that a person cannot be hypnotised into doing anything which is contrary to his real nature. But what is the real nature of each one of us?”
~ Dion Fortune (1930)
My attention was first turned to this realm of dark psychology by the personal experience of a psychic attack and intrusion which left me with such a profoundly shattered internal state of being for a considerable period. I know for myself the consuming horror of such an experience – its insidiousness, its impact, and its horrible effects on the mind and heart. It was this experience which led me to consider the darker aspects of human nature.
It always appeared to me that in love obsession, wherein an individual is fervently and in a manner self-neglecting attached to an indifferent other, we find the complete domination of one mind by another. It is psychic domination, and I can explain this in terms of the known psychology of hypnosis.
Literature abounds in information regarding relationship manipulation and hypnotic manipulation, but I have not found an individual venture within the psychodynamics of these relationships - or rather, enslavements. Hence, I venture into the depths, with all its monsters and darkness.
Before I proceed further, I must define hypnosis precisely. Hypnosis is not a somnambulistic, sleeplike state, it is a trance state. To be in trance, one does not need to be asleep. A sinister example I can immediately conjure is the state in which one can observe Pentecostal Revivalists or Charismatics when the alleged ‘flame of the holy spirit’ descends upon them and they are infused with the power of the apostles – to speak in tongues and cast out demons. What follows are convulsive and epileptic paraproxysms. It is after this, when the psychic filter between the conscious mind and the unconscious, has been broken down and disinhibited by the constant suggestions of the pastor, the elicitation of psychological response via the emotionally moving music, the overstimulation of message units via the other congregants who are “laying hands”, and the contagion of hypnosis from others who are undergoing this exact process that the pastor then delivers his true message – the request of a donation of a large sum of money. At this point, the parishioner has been sufficiently overloaded with messages and the pastor has successfully infiltrated their mind. Being in such a psychologically vulnerable and receptive state, the pastor (or leader) then takes advantage of their messianic position and assumes the role of the group superego. Bearing the psychological authority as the “voice of God”, the individual submits to the psychological pressure of the pastor. What follows is the so often heard of case where an individual donates a large percentage of every cheque that they receive, even including the church or its leader as entitled to a portion of their final testament. In more extreme cases, we have heard of the thousands of dollars, properties, and assets that have been left in the name of the church or its leader. What’s even more disturbing are the reverse speech analyses done when these pastors lay their hands on the individual's head and speak in mumblings the ‘language of heaven’. What is heard when these so-called ‘blessings’ are reversed are messages such as “You are all stupid”, “Give me money”, and “I am lying.” (Oates, 2024)
When one considers how an individual can achieve these effects, or whether they can even achieve them at all, they often neglect the fact that all individuals enter hypnosis throughout the day without even recognising it. Moments of automatic, repetitive behaviour are also hypnotically inducing. For example, the car ride to and from work: Often, people will arrive at their destination not remembering how they got there and realise only later that they were daydreaming (in trance) the entire time. After 15 minutes of driving, the brain becomes attuned to the vibrations of the car and enters a drowsy state similar to pre-sleep (Zhang et. al., 2023). Low-frequency vibrations can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (Chesak, 2022), thereby inducing relaxation and rest.
Hypnosis is not only a state of being, it is also a relationship (Lynn et. al., 2010). In hypnotherapy, hypnosis is a state that is created between the client and the therapist. Through the interpersonal relationship formed, the hypnotherapist is able to disarm possible defences and resistance held up by the client. The client learns to trust the therapist and allow him entry into his or her internal world. Remember then that hypnosis is a state of heightened receptivity to information and psychic penetration.
Thus, the manipulator uses this state of hypnosis created within the individual to exert control, manipulate, or harm the subject. The manipulator by no means needs to be learned in psychology or hypnosis in order to perform this. Malevolent hypnosis is thusly defined as the exertion of psychic or hypnotic control over an individual, normally without their deliberate consent, in order to effectuate manipulation, harm, or control.
Before going further into the precise psychodynamics of malevolent hypnosis, I will explore it using art and symbol – as I feel that it very aptly portrays its function.
In the painting “The Nightmare” by Johann Fussli (1781), we are the onlookers of a very intimate situation. A woman, in sleeping garments, is shown in deep sleep. She is in a very vulnerable position, her chest and breasts are exposed as well as her neck. On her chest is a nightmare, an evil spirit that is believed to sit on the chest of sleepers and produce terrifying visions. Behind the drapes emerges a monstrous, demonic horse.
From my analytical perspective, she is in a sleeping position that produces nightmares. Positions that involve the crossing of arms over the body like a corpse, the chest being raised so that it is higher than the head, or the decline of the body so that it is slanted with the inferior zone being higher than the superior zone are all sleeping positions that produce nightmares. She also appears to be sleeping at the foot of the bed, which is also believed to be unlucky and inviting night spirits. This is also, very clearly, a symbolic, spiritual, and psychological representation of sleep paralysis. The woman is so deeply immersed in sleep that she appears to be almost dead – akin to paralysis. On her chest, rendering her immobile is the demon, seated and casting his sinister gaze both on her and the viewer. From within the shadows emerges the demonic horse, akin to the shadowy hallucinations experienced by those who have sleep paralysis.
This painting became very notorious and from it, many other versions of were created. Another popular version is the following.
Here we see a more spiritual depiction. The nightmare has become more demonised. Not only are its horns and monstrous features more accentuated, but it smiles sinisterly at the viewer, as if knowing that this very same experience has been felt by the viewer just as much as the woman. Its gaze seems to almost threaten the viewer. The horse is more ghostly, more prominent, and less diabolical. In the 1781 version, the woman appears to be the central focus. In this 1791 version, it seems to be the demons. Notwithstanding these minor refinements, the fundamental symbols remain the same: The elevation of the inferior zone of the body; the vulnerable sleep position; the demon seated on the chest; the demonic horse; and the woman sleeping at the foot of the bed.
Combining the meanings and my analysis of both versions of the painting, we can arrive at my final interpretation – the painting as a depiction of psychic attack and malevolent hypnotic domination. Merging both paintings into one, I view the nightmare, seated on the chest of the woman, as representing the psychological and hypnotic domination inflicted by one person over another. His intense, penetrating stare that seems to protrude even outwards from the painting is hypnotic in and of itself. Intense staring is a form of hypnosis, especially when done malevolently, as it is the exertion of psychological force and pressure onto another person. He has rendered the woman psychologically defenceless. The dark horse peering in from behind the drapes represents psychological intrusion.
The sensuality of the painting cannot be ignored either. It is no surprise that sensuality is an element of ‘The Nightmare’ for it fits perfectly with my premise of malevolent hypnotic domination. There are two pillars by which an individual must pass through in order to gain access to the unconscious – the survival instinct and the sex instinct (Fortune, 1930). Once someone knows how to access these two facets of an individual, one has gained total and absolute control over the individual. Survival and sexuality correspond to Eros, the life instinct (Freud, 1990). Thus, the nightmare as psychological manipulator has usurped control over his subjects’ psyche and has gained not only psychological control over her, but sexual control as well. Chu (2006) interprets the horse penetrating the red drapes as inherently symbolic of sexual penetration. Herein the symbol of the demon as an incubus assumes its psychological definition. The Incubus is a male night demon that is believed to assault and rape sleeping women. Most individuals have heard the stories of women who have claimed to have been raped by ghosts in their sleep. When applied to my premise in this article, The Sleeping Woman signifies the hypnotic subject. She has completely surrendered her sense of autonomy and agency to The Incubus – The Malevolent Hypnotist. Her exposed neck and open pose parallel the openness created when one is stripped of their psychological defences. The Incubus’ animalistic, leering face not only signifies, as mentioned, the technique of intense, uninterrupted, unwavering eye contact as a method of forced malevolent hypnosis, but also the external force imposing its will – planting fears, desires, or commands into the victim’s psyche. The Demon Horse represents the hypnotist’s ability to make the individual feel as though they are being watched or controlled, even when unaware of it or far from them. Its emergence from the darkness represents the resurgence of hidden and unconscious material. The Incubus’ physical dominance over the woman mirrors the mental domination in a relationship where one person exerts control over another. In this painting, sleep is a metaphor for hypnosis.
Fuseli imbued his own personal sentiments into the painting as well. His unrequited love for a certain Anna Landholdt has been linked to the painting (Salazar & Grado, 2023). The Incubus, therefore, is a projection of Fuseli himself. The painting is thus an embodiment of his erotic and aggressive rape fantasy. The creation of the painting was thus a form of wish fulfilment whereby he was able to, in fantasy, dominate his Anna as he would’ve desired, having her surrender her sexuality and love unto him. Thus, the painting is imbued with aggressive, hostile, and sexual energy.
Malevolent hypnosis and psychological manipulation are intimately intertwined. Not all psychological manipulation is malevolent hypnosis, but all malevolent hypnosis is psychological manipulation. Malevolent hypnosis is unique in that the evil ones who perform this exploit psychological vulnerabilities like fear, guilt, or loneliness.
A colleague of mine – a very reticent young man, only several years younger than myself – very recently responded to an enticing job offer. The job was at a life insurance business, and he would be working very entrepreneurially earning a very substantial amount of money. I had advised him not to go, but given that several other colleagues of ours were going, he decided to go as well. The next day, he returned very disturbed by the events of the evening past.
My colleague informed me that when he arrived where the interview was to take place, he was greeted by a woman who remained with him throughout the entire evening. As the event continued, he began to realise that my warnings not to go had not been in vain. He began to suspect that a sort of pyramid scheme was in place and informed his interviewer of his disinterest. When this occurred, she became noticeably offended and began to speak in an accusatory tone at him. When he expressed that the interview was to continue no longer, she looked him in the eyes intensely and asked “Do you want to leave your parents in debt? If you die, will you leave them with that burden?” He felt immediately uncomfortable and left. As I mentioned, my colleague is very quiet and reserved. People who are self-inclined have a higher level of psychic defence in comparison to others. The interviewer used various hypnotic language techniques, one of them being guilt manipulation through emotional blackmail. The phrasing makes the individual feel responsible for their parents’ emotional well-being. The interviewer tried to make my colleague feel as if his actions (or lack thereof) will directly cause harm to his parents. Thankfully, his psychic barrier was not so easily able to be pierced by the dagger of that woman’s evil greed. But even the strongest minds can be lured into trance by the right combination of charm, repetition, and suggestion. The hypnotic techniques that she used are called “embedded commands” and “future pacing”. The former involves implanting an idea within the subjects’ mind subtly, the future pacing forces the individual to imagine a future where they are dead and their parents are alone without their aid, abandoned by them. Various psychological manipulation techniques are used as well. Firstly, the entire statement is meant to induce guilt. This is called “guilt-tripping”, thereby creating emotional pressure. The interviewer likewise used "leading questions", wherein an individual is asked a question with an obvious answer, but meant to incline the individual to where the querent wants them to go. It does not surprise me that these techniques would be known or used in a financial scam. Most psychopaths are entrepreneurs or individuals in very high levels of corporate power, for these avenues and professions provide the psychopath with most, if not all of their desires.
Popular thought entertains the idea of clinical hypnosis as something dangerous – when truly, the danger of hypnosis is not found in the therapist’s office, but rather, in your very home. Sometimes, it is not a stranger, but a familiar face that wields the greatest power over one’s thoughts.
A chilling example of malevolent hypnosis is provided by Dion Fortune (1930) who wrote significantly about malevolent hypnosis in her book “Psychic Self-Defense”. In it, she refers to the following case:
“A concert singer had had "treatment" for the improvement of her voice from an adept of sorts. She finally decided that she would spend no more money on this enterprise, and told him so at the visit which she had decided should be the last. He concentrated his gaze upon her and told her that if she broke with him, as soon as she went on the concert platform she would see his face in the air in front of her, and her throat would close and she would be unable to utter a sound, and that this horrible experience would occur every time she tried to sing until she returned to him and continued to have "treatment.” (Pg. 62)
In her fictional horror story “The Demon Lover”, Fortune creates a realistic horror story using actual psychological premises in order to illustrate the dangers of malevolent hypnosis – she herself having been subject to a powerful psychic attack as well. The Demon Lover follows Veronica as she becomes romantically entangled with a mysterious and charismatic man named Lucas. Lucas is charming but exerts an unsettling, almost supernatural control over Veronica. The Demon Lover is a powerful exploration of psychological and spiritual ensnarement. Through the lens of supernatural horror, it examines the dangers of losing one's autonomy to manipulative forces, both human and otherworldly. It serves as a metaphor for abusive relationships and the importance of self-awareness and resilience in the face of such threats. Fortune is popular for imbuing within her fictional stories real information and histories.
In more recent times, hypnosis as a tool for sexual assault has been documented (Hoencamp, 1990; Gibson, 1992;). In 2014, a divorce attorney used indirect hypnosis to sexually assault emotionally vulnerable women during turbulent moments in their life. He monopolised on their emotional receptivity and assumed the role as defender against the abusive, unfaithful, betraying husband (i.e. the relationship aspect of hypnosis). He would tell his clients that he was doing relaxation techniques as they discussed their divorce. Once in trance, he would implant suggestions into his clients’ minds such as “Every time I touch you, it’s going to be an incredible sensation of incredible arousal and excitement and intense pleasure.” (Inside Edition, 2017)
As I mentioned previously, I had been the subject of a prolonged psychic intrusion that rendered me utterly and irrevocably at the mercy of an individual. I obtained my release from the bondage (after a considerable amount of time) by confronting the situation via trance and finding out exactly what had been done to me and how I could protect myself against a repetition of such a perfidious experience. This individual was not unknown to either myself or my family, and was of no superior social or educational standing. May this serve as an example that hypnosis, when done by the hands of a certified professional, is not naturally dangerous or malevolent. It is when it comes into the hands of these perfidious and ill-willed individuals that it turns into a tool for harm. Thus, it is not the hypnotic power of the therapist that must be feared, but rather, the spouse, friend, family member, or stranger. Additionally, one need not read books to learn how to perform this. Anyone sufficiently blackhearted and predisposed to evil may learn this very simply from the school of life – as in my own personal case. I was certainly superior in education in comparison to this individual, but they were as cunning as a fox and as deceitful as a serpent.
Here I arrive at another point: Individuals may perform malevolent hypnosis on another person without even knowing that they do. This is actually the most common form of malevolent hypnosis (Fortune, 1930). Very rarely are individuals the deliberate subjects of psychic attack. For this to be the case, there must be a specific aim desired by the malevolent hypnotist. This aim is very commonly either money or sex, but it can most certainly be anything between and beyond these two desires. The perfidious one who rendered me subject to their onslaughts most certainly did not learn this from studying books. This was learned through a difficult life lived by them as well as the sinister people they were raised with and by. What I most recall once was a time in which they, with their sapphire eyes, looked piercingly into mine and said “I cannot look at you in the eyes as I used to. You must do all in your power to restore this condition of mine, so that I may love you as I once did.” The hypnotic procedures are clear: Firstly, intense staring as a means for psychic penetration; the utilisation of erotic love (the Eros instinct) as a means for psychological leverage; and the imbued direct hypnotic demand “You must do all in your power to restore this condition”. What followed was an emotional and physical coldness from this individual that was meant to psychologically reinforce the demand to restore. In other words, I was hypnotised into believing that they would not feel passionate love for me until I restored their love for me once again. Without telling me what to do, I would attempt everything possible to restore their affection until finally, financial investments were what restored their warmth. This created a psychological reinforcement whereby, to maintain affection, I would essentially funnel money as a generator for affection. There was a power imbalance in this relationship which the manipulator sought to rectify. Having tipped the scales in their favour, the manipulator used the imbalanced power dynamic to make me more susceptible to their suggestions. As I mentioned before, this individual had no superior academic education, but was very well-versed in “The Psychology of Life”, as they once told me. This individual was popular for being a seducer and a philanderer as well – as are most people of this class. Yet, there is always something odd, cold, and distinct about these individuals. They seem to exude caution as a rose exudes perfume.
Psychodynamically, in abusive dynamics where one partner uses hypnotic techniques to dominate their partner, what almost always occurs is a form of vampirism, wherein the subjects’ energy, vitality, financial resources, sexuality, emotions, or another resource is siphoned by the manipulator.
In fairytales, malevolent hypnosis is portrayed as a tool for trickery and manipulation as well. In The Little Mermaid, Ursula’s alter ego ‘Vanessa’ hypnotises Prince Eric into falling in love with her and not Ariel. During this event, Eric’s eyes glow with a green light – alluding to the eyes as the window to the soul (and hypnosis). In Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent hypnotises Aurora and lures her with a lulling, hypnotic song into the dungeon where she is to prick her finger and die. During this scene, Maleficent’s eyes glow angrily and green in the shadows, alluding to the technique of intense staring as a hypnotic tool. In Anastasia, Rasputin hypnotises Anastasia into hallucinating that she is in a paradisiacal setting. In truth, she is in a somnambulistic state, imagining that she is about to jump into a river when really, she is on the edge of a ship about the jump into the sea. In Deidre of the Sorrows, the druid Catvah casts a spell whereby he makes Deirdre, Naisi, and the brothers of Uisneach hallucinate a raging and hostile sea rather than the stable meadow they tread upon. In William Butlers Yeats’ Deirdre (1903), featured in Pamela Coleman Smith’s Green Sheaf, this hallucination (hypnosis) is made even clearer as Deirdre pleads for Naisi to ‘awaken’, but he ultimately hallucinates drowning, thereby suffocating. In all the aforementioned, the theme of inducing obedience and creating dependence is found.
All that remains now is the core question: How does one break this hypnotic link if one finds themselves enchained? It certainly takes a significant amount of energy and time to realise when one is even under psychic domination.
There are various ways to prevent psychic infiltration. When one feels that an attempt at psychic intrusion is being performed, the first step is to sustain a stance of closed body language. The position of crossed arms and legs is preferred (Fortune, 1930). This position not only communicates disinterest but also discourages communication on both a conscious and unconscious level. But this only works on occasions where psychic penetration is being attempted. In instances where the psychological dominance is prolonged and has achieved a state of control and dependence, the process of severance is often more complicated.
In those instances where psychological domination has transpired over a considerable amount of time, the first step of severance involves becoming aware of the effects prolonged manipulation has had on oneself. What involves next is undoing all the damage that has been done on the individual. This is akin to a puppet cutting off the strings that bind it to its puppeteer. After this occurs, total and complete elimination of contact should be done on the part of the subject. The manipulator is like a rat – they will find the smallest hole within you and consume you from the inside. Few people, however, recognise the subtle, insidious nature of malevolent hypnotic influences before it's too late. Once the damage is done (usually a grand amount), escape from then forward feels impossible. The victims of malevolent hypnotic domination are often disinclined to sever their attachment to the assailant. This is done through the bonds of fascination or even possibly their genuine affection for them (Fortune, 1930).
The last and ultimate step is to break the hypnotic cord via hypnosis itself. Though it may seem paradoxical to say, hypnosis may be needed to de-hypnotise the individual. Not infrequently do I encounter individuals who are in hypnosis throughout most of the day and do not realise it. They roam around the world in a highly suggestible state, digesting all the information that is presented unto them. Thus, they require someone to strengthen not only their psychic defence but also calibrate their levels of suggestion. This is also applicable to the interruption and severance of a psychic link between two people. Hypnosis may also be needed in more severe (yet rare) cases of telepathic hypnotic suggestion. Hypnotherapy does not prevent the minds of others from sending malignant suggestions, but it does purify and purge the mind of any pollution. Many people need to realise that they are not in love, rather, they are in hypnosis.
Evolution and nature itself provide information regarding malevolent hypnosis. The cuttlefish, for instance, mesmerises its prey to lure it into submission. Its skin contains millions of pigment cells which it can use to create changing colours, thereby fascinating the prey before devouring it (Winlow et. al, 2018). Though it is technically a predatory strategy rather than a deliberate hypnotic act, both malevolent hypnosis and the strategy of the predator cuttlefish work the same way. The intention of the cuttlefish provides us with a glance into the internal world of the malevolent hypnotist – survival. Both beings see strategic and cunning behaviour as a means to survive. Darwin indeed had reason when he promulgated his ‘survival of the fittest’. For that reason, all must learn, though painfully, how to survive.
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