The Weird History of Hypnosis: James Esdaile, Testicular Tumours, and the Penisectomy

What if someone told you that major surgery could be done with zero anesthetic and zero pain... using only hypnosis?

It sounds impossible, yet in the mid-1800s, a Scottish surgeon named James Esdaile was doing exactly that. He wasn’t using ether or chloroform. He was performing complex surgeries with patients in deep trance states, and the success rate was astonishing.

This is the incredible, often outrageous, and completely true story of how hypnosis not only changed lives but saved them. Welcome to one of the strangest and most impressive chapters in the history of hypnosis. It includes primitive mesmerism, mysterious magnetic passes, massive testicular tumors, and a hypnotic state so profound that hypnotists still use it today.

Before Hypnosis Was Born – The History of Mesmerism

Before James Esdaile began his work, there was Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer believed he had discovered a universal energy called animal magnetism. According to his theory, invisible currents flowed through the body, and illnesses were caused by blockages in this energy field. His solution? Using magnets and sweeping hand gestures to move the energy and restore health.

Mesmer's treatments often worked, not because of magnetism, but due to the power of belief and suggestion. Without realizing it, he was practicing early hypnotic techniques. The mesmerized subjects entered altered states of consciousness, often showing relief from pain and emotional distress. This was the primitive foundation of hypnosis, even if the scientific understanding lagged far behind.

James Esdaile in India: Hypnosis Goes Medical

Dr. James Esdaile was a military surgeon stationed in Kolkata, India, during the British colonial era. He began experimenting with mesmerism to ease pain and calm his patients before surgery. What he discovered changed everything.

Using techniques that closely resemble what modern hypnotists would now call hypnotic deepening, Esdaile and his assistants performed repeated magnetic passes over patients. These passes helped induce deep trance states that allowed for surgical procedures without any chemical anesthetic. Patients became so unresponsive to pain that Esdaile could perform amputations and tumor removals while they remained calm and pain-free.

At a time when the standard "anesthetic" was a bottle of rum and a few strong men to hold the patient down, Esdaile's work was revolutionary. He documented over 300 major surgeries and more than 1,000 minor ones, all using hypnotic trance instead of drugs.

Painless Surgery and Astonishing Success Rates

The success of Esdaile’s hypnotic anesthesia was not just anecdotal. His surgical mortality rate dropped from the typical 50 percent of the time to as low as five percent. This was an extraordinary accomplishment, especially considering that germ theory had not yet been accepted and antiseptics were not in widespread use.

Patients avoided the shock that often accompanied painful procedures. The trance state reduced anxiety, controlled bleeding, and even seemed to speed healing. In the absence of chemical sedation, hypnosis provided a powerful alternative.

This wasn’t just a sideshow or a strange experiment. It was real medicine, with real outcomes, backed by real data. Esdaile recorded his methods and results meticulously in his book, Mesmerism in India, which is still available in the public domain today.

The Most Infamous Surgeries in Hypnosis History

While all of Esdaile’s surgical work under hypnosis was remarkable, some of it bordered on the unbelievable. His most notorious cases involved the removal of massive testicular tumors caused by elephantiasis. Some of these tumors reportedly weighed up to 80 pounds.

Yes, 80 pounds.

These patients would sometimes arrive at Esdaile’s clinic using wheelbarrows to carry the tumors. The results were stunning. Patients remained still and reported no pain, and many went on to recover successfully.

For modern hypnotists, these surgeries are more than just historical curiosities. They serve as compelling evidence of the power of deep hypnotic states and the body’s capacity to respond to suggestion.

And as if the removal of 80-pound tumors wasn’t strange enough, some stories take an even more bizarre turn. It's rumored that Esdaile also performed complete penile amputations using mesmerism. This claim has not been verified, and no official source confirms it. Still, the rumor persists.

Whether or not these particular surgeries ever happened, the documented facts are already enough to cement his place in the hypnosis history.

Why It Worked in India, But Failed in England

After years of success in India, Esdaile returned to England, expecting to continue his hypnotic work. But it didn’t work.

The difference wasn’t in his methods, it was in the environment. India, with its rich spiritual traditions and open mindset, created the perfect atmosphere for trance work. Esdaile’s patients in Kolkata were often receptive to mystical practices. They believed in the power of what he was doing, and belief is the fuel that drives hypnosis.

In contrast, Victorian England was rational, skeptical, and suspicious of anything outside conventional medicine. Esdaile’s techniques fell flat, not because they lacked effectiveness, but because they lacked context. Hypnosis depends on belief, environment, and suggestion, all of which had aligned in India, but disappeared in the streets of London.

The Esdaile State: From Obscure to Essential

Although Dr. Esdaile’s career ended quietly, his contribution to hypnosis lived on. In the 20th century, hypnotist Dave Elman rediscovered this profound trance state and named it the Esdaile State. Elman developed a method for reaching this state quickly and reliably through a structured hypnotic induction.

At the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy and in the Architecture of Hypnosis training. Students learn to guide clients into the Esdaile State using the Dave Elman induction. This state is extremely useful for pain control and various other purposes. It is taught responsibly, with a focus on ethics, safety, and real-world applications.

No surgery required.

Strange History, Powerful Future

James Esdaile’s story is more than an entertaining piece of hypnosis history. It’s proof of what’s possible when belief, suggestion, and intention come together. From bloodless surgery in colonial India to modern changework in a comfortable therapy chair, hypnosis continues to evolve.

Today, hypnotists no longer need hours of magnetic passes or incense-filled temples. The techniques have been refined, the understanding deepened, and the results remain just as powerful.