Ormond Dale McGill (June 15, 1913 – October 19, 2005) was a
stage hypnotist, magician and instructor who was considered to be the "Dean of American Hypnotists". He was also a writer and author of many books including Hypnotism and Mysticism of India (1979) and The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism.
Early life and career
Born in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...
, McGill became interested in
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
as a child (and was later considered legendary in magic circles), but first studied
hypnosis
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
in 1927 while still a teenager. He wrote the seminal ''Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism'' (the acknowledged bible of
stage hypnotism) in 1947, and continued to teach courses and lecture right up until a few days before his death. He died in his native Palo Alto. He has explained in his book about position of chicken that present them as motionless and appear as hypnotized. McGill explained that the reason for a chicken's hypnotism was due to the tonic indolence that the chicken adopts to save itself from predators by bluffing them as being dead.
[Paranormality: Why we see what isn't there ]
From 1947 to 1954, McGill performed hypnotism and magic under the stage name of Dr. Zomb. His "
Séance
A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...
of Wonders" show featured horror-themed routines and costumed assistants typical of the midnight "
spook shows" which were popular during that era. He has performed in several stage shows all over the globe in the 20th century. Ormond McGill also trained students for therapeutic applications through hypnotism.
McGill continued to collaborate with other colleagues including
Gil Boyne
Mark Thomas Gilboyne (October 28, 1924 – May 5, 2010), ''nom de guerre'' Gil Boyne, was an American pioneer in modern hypnotherapy.
In addition to his own practice, his main focus was on the training of "lay" hypnotherapists in Glendale, Cali ...
, whom he mentored, and to teach hypnotherapy until his death in 2005 with
Randal Churchill at the
Hypnotherapy Training Institute.
Other Attributes
In addition to his career as a world-traveling magician and stage hypnotist, McGill was also a skilled
hypnotherapist
Hypnotherapy is a type of mind–body intervention in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern. Popularized by 17th and 18th cen ...
and a student of
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
. He wrote between twenty-five and forty books (sources disagree on the total), including such titles as ''Grieve No More Beloved'' (about his
afterlife
The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
contact with his deceased wife), ''Hypnotism and Mysticism of India'', and his autobiography, ''The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill''. McGill has revealed the truth behind magical events such as the Indian rope trick and others during his visit to India .
Books and publications
* The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism
* The Search for Cosmic Consciousness: the Hypnosis Book Einstein Would Have Loved
* How to Produce Miracles
* Hypnotism and Mysticism of India
* The Secrets of Hypnotizing Women: How to Entrance and Charm Women, Communicate Subconsciously, Enhance Romance, Flirt Successfully, Sexually Enthrall
* The Many Lives Of Alan Lee
* McGill's Hypnotherapy Encyclopedia
* Religious Mysteries of the Orient
* Professional Stage Hypnotism
* Chalk Talks!
* The Mysticism And Magic Of India
* Seeing the Unseen: A Past Life Revealed Through Hypnotic Regression
* Mind Magic - Tricks for Reading Minds
* Secrets of Stage Mind Reading
* Atomic Magic
* Paper Magic
* Magic With Soap Bubbles - 1987
* Secrets of Dr. Zomb: The Autobiography of Ormond McGill, Dean of American Hypnotists
* The Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism: For Magicians Only
* Voice Magic
* Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Everything
* The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill: Dean of American Hypnotists
* Entertaining With Magic
* Science Magic: 101 Experiments You Can Do
* The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill
* Hypnotism and Meditation: The Operational Manual for Hypnomediation
* The Secret World of Witchcraft
* Grieve No More, Beloved: The Book Of Delight
* Balancing Magic and Other Tricks
* Healing Is Remembering Who You Are
* Beyond The Strange
* The Amazing Stone-Deaf Hypnotist - Dr. Rexford L. North
* The World's Greatest Hypnotists
* The How To Book Of Hypnotism
* Hypnotism: A Hypnosis Training & Techniques Manual: The Real Questions & Answers
References
External links
Ormond McGill's Bio at Hypnotherapy Training InstituteOrmond McGill Memorial SiteSan Francisco Chronicle obituary (SFGate through Legacy.com)
* (originall
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGill, Ormond
1913 births
2005 deaths
American hypnotists
American magicians
American male non-fiction writers
American spiritual mediums
American occult writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American male writers