The Hypnotic Lothario of Tacoma
A wealthy widow discovers that her 'handy' boarder was a con man who used alleged hypnotic powers to swindle her and charm local women.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Mrs. Agnes Scott, a wealthy woman residing at 1515 G street in Tacoma, tells a sensational story regarding the influence of Michael T. Ward. Mrs. Scott claims Ward bunkoed her out of $1,922 and possessed a bundle of love letters from several Tacoma women—including a saleswoman who signed herself 'Your little one'—showing they were under his influence. Part of the money was squandered during a drunken spree in Seattle where Ward lost his purse in a gutter. Mrs. Scott became convinced Ward had used hypnotic control over her, noting how he would work his fingers curiously, braiding them and pulling them apart. Ward had boarded with her for months without paying, acting as a handyman, before convincing her to mortgage property to fund a coal mine investment that never materialized.
“Mrs. Scott now recalls that Ward worked his fingers curiously, clasping and unclasping his hand, and braiding fingers and then pulling his hands suddenly apart.”
This 1892 report taps into the late-Victorian anxiety regarding 'hypnotism' and 'mesmerism' as tools of criminal seduction. It echoes modern stories of romance scams and financial exploitation, showing how predators have always utilized new-age fads—or fears of them—to obscure their financial motives.
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