Death by hypnosis: an 1894 Hungarian case and its European reverberations.

The story of a fatal hypnotic séance in a castle in provincial Hungary in 1894 was sensationalised by the media and propelled across national and social boundaries within a few days. It stirred public feelings and compelled prestigious medical mandarins, legal professionals and social commentators of the day to express wide-ranging views concerning hypnotic practice. The case intensified social and professional anxieties surrounding hypnosis in late 19th century culture and illustrates the complex relationship between medical hypnotic research, lay hypnosis and widely reported and sensationalised forensic cases.