Observations placeholder
The Unpleasant powers of Thimotheus Castellan
Identifier
010849
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
This case came from the court records of the Draguignan Assizes for 30th July 1865, the name of the village was Guiols.
The case was originally described in Heinz Hammerschlag's 1956 book Hypnotism and Crime which in turn was based on Hypnosis ad Suggestion in Psychotherapy by H Bernheim 1884, as such the story has been through rather too many hands for my liking. But it is interesting, so is repeated here.
One reason it is interesting is that it shows the abuse of hynotherapy - hypnosis in reality as there is no therapy involved.
A description of the experience
Mysteries - Colin Wilson
On March 31, 1865, a club-footed beggar knocked on the door of a farm labourer, M. H., in the village of Sollies-Farliede (Var) and asked for food and shelter; the kindly labourer gave him supper and allowed him to sleep in the haystack. The beggar was a hairy, repulsive-looking man of about twenty-five, who seemed to be a deaf-mute (although later evidence suggests he was shamming). By means of a pencil and paper he explained that his name was Thimotheus Castellan, an out-of-work cork cutter who had become an itinerant healer and dowser.
The daughter of the house, twenty-six-year-old Josephine H., found him terrifying. The next morning, the father and his fifteen-year old son went to work; Castellan soon joined Josephine in the cottage.
During the morning, crowds of curious neighbours wandered in and out; one of them claimed that he saw Castellan making strange signs in the air behind Josephine's back. Later, as they were eating the midday meal, Castellan suddenly reached out and made a movement with his fingers, as if dropping something into her food; she felt her senses leaving her. Castellan carried her into the next room and raped her.
The girl remained conscious, but unable to resist. She was also unable to move when a neighbour came and knocked on the door.
Later that day, Josephine was seen to leave the house with Castellan; she seemed upset and made incoherent noises. For the next three days she remained with Castellan. At a farmhouse at La Cappelude, she seemed to experience extremes of tenderness and violent revulsion towards her companion. She asked a girl to allow her to go home with her for the night, but Castellan ordered her to stay. He made signs with his hands, and she seemed to become paralysed. He asked if they would like to see her laugh, and she immediately burst into peals of hysterical laughter. When he slapped her face, she suddenly recovered and seemed perfectly normal. She accompanied Castellan to bed without protest.
The next morning, Castellan again demonstrated his power over her, by rnaking her crawl around like an animal. The farmer was so outraged that he threw Castellan out. The girl now seemed to become partly paralysed, so Castellan had to be called back; he slapped her face, and she recovered.
The following day, the girl managed to run away while Castellan was engaged in conversation with some hunters. She remained violently disturbed for the next six weeks, but slowly recovered.
Castellan was sentenced to twelve years in prison for rape.