Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

Some denounced him as a charlatan; others proclaimed him a visionary healer. Franz Anton Mesmer, an Austrian born in 1734, studied traditional medicine in Vienna, but by 1775, had developed some unusual healing techniques. Mesmer proposed that the planets emitted a powerful, invisible vapor that flowed to Earth and directly influenced all matter on the planet. He called this vapor "animal magnetism" and claimed that magnets could activate this force and turn it into a source of healing.

Mesmer was accused of practicing "magic and sorcery," and was drummed out of Austria. He became wildlly popular in France, however, where he attracted the attention of science-mad Parisians. When Marie Antoinette endorsed his practices, the public could not get enough of Mesmer's animal magnetism.

Throngs of followers came to his sessions, which Mesmer conducted in a dimly-lit room. Dressed in purple robes, Mesmer requested that his patients join hands in a circle while music from a glass harmonica floated throughout the room. Moving from paitent to patient, he looked each person directly in the eyes, murmering and stroking them softly. Many claimed to be cured of their maladies through Mesmer's animal magnetism techniques.

Mesmer died in Austria in 1815, long after his practice ended. But he loaned his name to the language in the verb mesmerize, which means to captivate, charm, or fascinate.

Radio Script > Mesmerize