“I can hypnotize a man — without his knowledge or consent — into committing treason against the United States.”  

~George Hoben Estabrooks (1885 – 1973)

On October 21st 2011 BBC Channel 4 air a program featuring Hypnotist and Magician, Derren Brown. The aim of the program was to see if a healthy, mentally stable person could be programmed to kill by means of hypnosis.

The conclusion shows a generally kind and healthy young man becoming a hypnotic assassin with one object: to fire a loaded gun at whomever he was told.

The assassination attempt took place in a public setting against a public figure. The assassination was designed to happen completely without the subjects knowledge and to have no memory of performing the assassination. In other words, the goal was to create a perfect hypnotic assassin.

Thankfully, because this was to be a BBC broadcast and Derren Brown has a sense of ethics, measures were taken so that no one was actually harmed during the production.

(Videos of the episode are at the bottom of the page)

Out of this broadcast I will attempt to dissect and extrapolate a protocol to create just such a hypnotic killer.

Selection of Subject

The ideal subject must be able to demonstrate the following qualities.

• Able to quickly enter the hypnotic state.
• Able to respond quickly and exactly to any instructions given in hypnosis.
• Able to demonstrate amnesia on command.
• The ability to completely dissociate from the body and from their actions.

Derren Brown says that this type of hypnotic subject represents only 1% of the population.

To find this subject he sets up an entertainment based performance to show the public what hypnosis is really like.  First hypnotizing the entire audience he is able to get them all comfortable with the concept of hypnosis and then invites them to come forward as active volunteers. Thus he is able to select those people who will respond best to more specific demonstrations of hypnosis.

By their volunteering to come forward they demonstrate a predisposition toward hypnosis. Further hypnotic tests made under the pretense of entertainment and education.  Each test is designed to further select the best and most responsive candidate to train as an assassin.

One test is to see if the hypnotized subjects would throw acid into someones face by means of hypnotic command.  The acid was covertly replaced by water. This tests responsiveness to extreme commands.

The final tests of this public demonstration test first anesthesia to pain. The two best candidates are hypnotized to feel no pain when their hands are placed in Ice water.  Both respond well but Derren intuits that his final candidate, Chris, would respond best.  This brings him to the final test of the show.

The final test is for Chris to emerge his entire body into a tub of ice filled water and to feel no response.  This is a demonstration of anesthesia and it also demonstrates Chris’s ability to complete dissociate from his body; something important for a hypnotic assassin because it means the assassin can do the job and be completely detached from the action. Chris exceeded all expectations letting himself be submerged in ice water for more than two minutes. He showed no pain nor did he even shiver from the cold.

Hypnotic Training

It is safe to assume that much more hypnosis was done on Chris that was aired on the BBC broadcast.

The Shooting Range

Under the pretense of filming how hypnosis can improve various skills Chris was invited to a shooting range. He had never before shot a firearm and his first efforts were unskilled. After the hypnosis his shooting skills improved dramatically.

What the pretense hid was Chris’s training to

1. go into the “marksman” mode where all his focus was on shooting the target.
2. respond to triggers (aka anchors) that would put him in that mode.

The first trigger was a self generated trigger (or anchor) of putting his index finger to his forehead.  The second trigger was a specific cell phone ring tone.  While it was not shown on the broadcast it is safe to assume that these triggers, especially the ring tone, were practiced enough so that Chris could instantly enter the marksman mode.

Off Site Practice

At another time and location Chris was to demonstrate his hypnotic shooting skills again. This was done to make certain that he would respond in any environment outside the shooting range and to reinforce the triggers for the marksman mode.

This same location was used to create a trigger for amnesia by using a pattern of blue with white polka dots, that same type of pattern used on a handkerchief that triggered throwing acid during the hypnosis presentation. The pattern was shown on a video screen and, hypnotized, Chris was instructed that whenever he saw the white on blue polka dot pattern he would have amnesia until the pattern was removed.  The pattern was removed and Chris woke. He perceived that only ten seconds have passed when it had been at least 2 minutes and 20 seconds. This demonstrated amnesia.

A second test was made when Derren asked Chris to think of his bank PIN number. The polka dot pattern appeared on the screen and Derren asked Chris’s PIN number and Chris told him. When the pattern disappeared from the screen Chris had no memory that he had given out his PIN number.

This session helped set in place the two triggers that would be needed to have an ideal hypnotic assassin, one trigger to create amnesia and another trigger to put him into the marksman mode.

In the ideal execution of this hypnotic assassin model the amnesia trigger (polka dots patterns) would be activated first then the trigger for the marksman mode (ring tone). All that would be needed from that point would be knowledge of who the target it.

For the purpose of entertainment value of the broadcast and to also reinforce Chris’s amnesia trigger another demonstration was devised. In yet another setting, Derren hypnotized Chris and instructed him that when he saw a blue with white polka dot handkerchief to remove his shoe and place it in a bread bin without remembering doing it. This worked perfectly and Derren proved himself to be an excellent “pick pocket” able to take someone shoe from them without knowing.

Testing (Dry Run)

With the triggers in place and apparently working Derren designed a scenario that would work as a “dry run” to test its application.

For this dry run Chris was invited to a restaurant dinner with Derren and friends. Unknown to Chris everyone in the restaurant was involved in the dry run. Chris was shown the polka dot pattern creating the amnesia trance.  The ring tone was then played  to put Chris into the marksman mode. Derren then handed Chris a squirt gun and told him to shoot a specific person in the restaurant which he did without hesitation.  The polka dot pattern was removed and the normal conversation continued as if nothing happened.

The dry run seemed to work perfectly.

To further test the power of the amnesia trigger Chris was subjected to a lie detector test. The results of the test demonstrated that Chris had no memory of firing a squirt gun at a man in a restaurant.

It would be a safe assumption that if there were a covert agency that trained hypnotic assassins they would go through many dry runs before being put into real application. To the perception of the hypnotic assassin a dry run would always be indistinguishable from real life.

Application

This is the final test. The goal is to see if Chris will shoot a public figure, actor, author and film director, Stephen Fry,  in a public setting and have complete amnesia for his actions.

The pretense is that Chris is to meet Derren and Stephen Fry after a speaking engagement and Chris is given the option to stay and watch Frys presentation.  Chris is given a package that contains a hand gun and is told in has three rounds in it. He is to make sure the weapon is given to Derren when they meet.

Taken to his seat in the theater at about 17 minutes into Stephen Fry’s presentation a woman in a dress of  blue with white polka dots sits in front of Chris. This is designed to trigger the amnesia state. Shortly after her arrival her cell phone goes off using the familiar ring tone that triggers the marksman mode. Shortly after that she turns to Chris and say “Stephen Fry is your target.”

It works perfectly. Chris grabs the hand gun from the case and fires three rounds at Stephen Fry then drops into a hypnotic stupor.

Because this is not real life Derren Brown rushes out and helps Stephen Fry off the ground and explains to the audiance the experiment then instructs Chris to awaken and quickly leaves.  Stephen Fry resumes his speach as if nothing happened.

Even after the event when Chris met up with Derren and Stephen he had no memory of his part in the assassination.