Mentalists are widely recognized as psychic entertainers who use mind manipulation during their performances.
With performances that focus on fooling their audience’s minds and imagination, they combine their deep understanding of human psychology with excellent showmanship and theatrics to create the illusion of having extraordinary powers.
There’s no denying that this niche in the magical world has gained popularity with the help of traditional media. And as technology continues to advance, mentalism has been able to gain even more traction, giving people easy access to performances done all over the world.
But whether you believe it or not, mentalism has been around a lot longer than you think. Taking a look at its roots, you’ll find mentalism to have existed long before the advent of television.
In this article, we’re going to look at the history of mentalism – how mentalism became what it is today.
Biblical Origins and Medieval Times
If you read the bible, you’ll notice that in the Old Testament, fortune tellers were revered as god-like figures. They were held in extremely high regard by the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
People believed they had a direct line to the divine. Their prophecies were thought of as direct messages from God — signs, as you would have it.
In Ancient Greek, they were often referred to as Oracles, particularly in places such as Delphi.
Commonfolk often thought Oracles were gods themselves because of their seemingly psychic abilities — or at least having supernatural powers allowing them to glimpse into the future and know the will of the gods.
A visit to the oracle was considered an opportunity to pay homage to the gods. Whatever advice they dispensed was taken with utmost seriousness — they celebrated the good news and took every precaution against the bad. There was absolutely no space for doubt and disbelief.
Kings during the Middle Ages were known to believe in the seers and oracles, so their presence — along with prophets and soothsayers — was common in royal courts.
They held sway over figures such as kings and conquerors — to the point that these powerful individuals consulted them before making strategic decisions. The words of oracles and seers were crucial during historical events such as war.
People believed they could predict events well before they occurred, making them indispensable. They also used their psychic power to speak with rulers of the past for guidance.
In the presence of these individuals, people truly believed what they experienced was divine intervention. Historians, however, think that they were likely witnessing the work of early mentalists.
Mentalism in the Dark Ages
Girolamo Scotto accomplished the first recorded mentalism act in 1572. Despite this, mentalism didn’t break into the mainstream until the early 1800s.
Scotto successfully astounded his audience with his sleight of hand techniques that they were convinced he had supernatural abilities.
Over the years, many theories have come to light that has found their way to the public.
Some say earlier mentalists did not hesitate to use their abilities of mind manipulation to individuals in power. Some say these happened before the events that eventually led to the Second World War.
Other stories go as far as saying both Hitler and Stalin were recipients of several techniques to influence the mind and were acting under these influences during significant times in history.
Of course — none of these were ever proven.
Mentalism in Contemporary Times
Just like all things, mentalism has gone through numerous iterations over the years. The more time passes, the more it has evolved.
Several famous mentalists led these changes, such as J. Randall Brown, Theodore Annemann, Al Koran and The Amazing Kreskin, Uri Geller, Max Maven, and Richard Osterlind.
In modern times, mentalism is considered a respected performing art. It requires a specific set of skills to be developed and not something every Tom, Dick, or Harry could accomplish.
Modern mentalists such as Luke Jermay and Peter Turner continue their efforts in discovering new ways to hone their skills. These include more progressive methods to read body language or using carefully worded scripts and enhanced techniques to manipulate their audience’s minds.
Clear lines have also been drawn between mentalism and traditional magic and card tricks. Although these performance art forms share common threads, it has been established that the skill-set required of a mentalist is vastly different from that of a magician.
A Modern Mentalist’s Skill Set
Applying a wide array of mind manipulation techniques to perform in front of a large crowd is not an easy feat. These require mentalists to go beyond memorization of scripts and practicing movement.
In present times, the best mentalists even go as far as using theatrical abilities to bring performances to life.
And it doesn’t end there. Other qualities and capabilities often required of mentalists are as follows:
Interpersonal skills. The ability to connect with a subject and put them at ease. It allows them to lower their defenses and often results in them sharing more information during the act.
Listening skills. The ability to gather information from verbal responses as well as physical and non-verbal cues. Mentalists don’t just listen to the things that are overtly said. They also need to pick up on bits and pieces of information that may help them understand the subject better.
Analytical and Critical Thinking Skills. The ability to connect the dots between all the little details gathered and form educated guesses.
On top of these, mentalists have to be flexible and agile enough to turn situations on their head – forcing them to a more favorable direction if it isn’t going the way it was supposed to.
It also helps if a mentalist can use humor in his performance. Not only does it help keep the attention of the audience on him, but it also leaves them with a better experience.
Similar to how mentalism has evolved, mentalists must also continue to develop themselves because learning in the world of mentalism is a never-ending journey.
Mentalism on Multiple Platforms
Mentalist performances have been done on different platforms.
What was originally done onstage, in a theatre with a captive audience, was eventually brought to the fast-paced environment of the streets.
Modern mentalists have embraced the presence of media — and now social media — and have begun appearing on television, making it more popular than ever.
Non-Negotiables in Mentalism
Contemporary mentalist performances include requiring highly developed mental activities and mind manipulation. These include mind reading, mind control, telepathy, clairvoyance, hypnosis, and memory stunts, to name a few.
Mentalists, however, firmly stand behind the belief that you should use these skills for entertainment purposes only. They are also quick to disclose to their audience that in no way do they have supernatural abilities.
In line with this, some mentalists have taken up advocacies dedicated to debunking and exposing fake psychics since actions directly oppose what mentalists believe. They use mentalism tools to take advantage of people who are grieving or vulnerable. They also openly claim to be blessed by abilities that go beyond what is natural.
The mentalism community does not acknowledge these individuals, and they are not considered mentalists.
Wrapping It All Up
Mentalism has a rich history — something that all mentalists should take the time to know and understand. It has changed over the years, continuously redefined to stay relevant to the current era.
In turn, this has required mentalists to grow as well.
There will always be universal truths about mentalism, and some resources, such as Tony Corinda’s 13 Steps to Mentalism, will always be sacred.
But mentalism has survived the changing times because it allowed itself to evolve to a better, more intricate version of what it once was.
And, as time passes, it will continue to do so.