In 1778, a charismatic German physician named Franz Anton Mesmer claimed to have made a dramatic breakthrough in the field of medicine. Mesmer said he was able to wield magnetic healing powers and cure almost any illness using just his hands. He called it ‘Animal Magnetism’. While he gained some popularity, many remained skeptical and saw him as a fraud and charlatan. But something strange was happening in Mesmer’s rituals... This is the fascinating history of hypnotism.
