Mentalist Collapses on Seattle Stage
A theatrical performance of 'muscle reading' turned into a medical emergency when Prof. J. McIvor Tyndall collapsed in a cataleptic fit.
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.
The psychological exhibition given at the Seattle Theater last evening by Prof. J. McIvor Tyndall came to an abrupt close. While performing a mind-reading test, the performer became momentarily baffled and began describing the man he was seeking, claiming to see a mental picture of him wearing pansies in his buttonhole. Moments later, his nervous system gave way under the strain and he fell in the aisle in a cataleptic fit. He lay rigid on the floor of his dressing room for fifteen minutes before recovering, leaving the audience both startled and sympathizing with the 'professor.'
“He fell in the aisle in a cataleptic fit.”
Performances like Tyndall’s were the 19th-century precursor to modern stage mentalism and reality TV, blending genuine performance with public spectacle. Seattle audiences were clearly hungry for such 'mysterious' entertainment, even when it turned dangerous.
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