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Look at me, Dearie. Be in my eyes. Be in me.
―Drusilla[src]

Hypnosis was a psychic ability to mesmerize and influence the minds of other beings, allowing the hypnotist to exert a level of control (sometimes total)[1] over the victim's actions[2] or perceptions.[3][4] In some cases, the victim could also be aware that they were under someone else's control.[5][2]

Contrary to mind manipulation, the target of hypnosis wasn't their thoughts, but their actions and senses.

Cases[]

Certain vampires, such as Lothos,[6] the Master,[5] Drusilla,[1][3] and Dracula,[2] were particularly adept at hypnosis and employed it to gain advantage over their enemies, though their hypnotic powers worked differently.

The Master[]

Come here.
―The Master[src]
The master hypnosis prophecy girl

The Master uses hypnosis to paralyze Buffy.

The Master, one of the oldest and most powerful vampires ever recorded, was capable of exerting hypnotic influence over his victims, as demonstrated during his fight with Buffy Summers. The Master paralyzed her body with a wave of his arm and hand, not requiring him to speak to her or see into her eyes. He bit her neck as she could only tear up then fall into a shallow pool, where she drowned.[5]

The second time they fought, however, Buffy was capable of breaking free of the Master's influence and killed him.[5]

Drusilla[]

Look at me... Be in me... See with your heart.
―Drusilla[src]
BecomingII396

Drusilla hypnotizes Giles.

Though a capable fighter, Drusilla also employed hypnosis to gain the upper hand against certain foes. She would stare into their eyes and softly order them to look at her and to "be" in her. During her fight with Kendra Young, Drusilla grabbed the Slayer by the neck and mesmerized her by staring into her eyes and speaking to her. Drusilla placed Kendra in a trance-like state, in which the Slayer had her eyes half closed and moved her body side to side accompanying Drusilla's movements. This allowed Drusilla to slit Kendra's throat with her fingernail, who reached to hold the wound but soon fell dead.[1]

Hours later, Drusilla employed her hypnotic powers to extract information from Rupert Giles. To learn how Angel would be able to awaken the demon Acathla, Drusilla read Giles' mind, looked into his eyes, and spoke softly to him. After covering his eyes with her fingers, Drusilla altered Giles' visual and auditory perceptions, making him believe he was speaking to Jenny instead of the vampire.[3]

Dracula[]

Pull your hair back.
―Dracula[src]
Dracula-in-Buffy-dracula-7469163-742-600

Dracula casting his thrall on Xander.

Dracula employed his hypnotic powers in several ways. One was to influence the minds of certain humans to turn them into his servants, as he did with Xander. He also employed his powers on his victims in order to influence their actions, to lure them and make them desire him. This was referred to as his "thrall."[2]

Dracula's mere presence made people obedient and willing to him. Buffy, however, was able to break out of it after drinking his blood, while Xander still retained remnants of his control, once referring to him as "master" even after the vampire had left Sunnydale.[2]

This hypnosis could remain constant and continue past contact with his victim. For example, Buffy felt compelled to cover the bite mark Dracula left on her the night before.[2] His power to put people under his thrall only worked on those who were weak minded or ("secretly") wanted it.[7]

Dracula also used his hypnotic abilities to make everyone perceive him as his younger self, instead of his true form, which was that of an old man.[4]

Lothos[]

What? This is... None have ever resisted before!
Lothos[src]
Lothos hypnotizes Buffy

Lothos using hypnosis.

The vampire Lothos channeled his hypnosis powers with his hands, like the Master and Dracula. No one had ever been able to resist it until he used it on Buffy. He incapacitated the Slayer for a moment before she returned to her senses and slayed him.[6]

Others[]

  • The demon Ovu Mobani could compel people with a simple look by sending a flash of light.[8]
  • Giles hypnotized Buffy by making her look into a mesmerizing crystal. She entered a trance whenever she concentrated into its core and became unable to acknowledge when he injected a needle into her arm. Moving a hand in front of Buffy would break her visual contact and free her from the trance.[9]
  • Thrall demons, like Turfog, had the capacity to put their worshipers into a collective trance, compelling them to kill each other.[10]
  • Warren Mears created a cerebral dampener and used it on his ex-girlfriend Katrina Silber. When activated, the artifact emitted a flash of light that took away the free will of the victim, making her submissive to the user, who also became the subject of the victim’s sexual desire. Wearing sunglasses, however, blocked the effects of the dampener.[11]
  • The First Evil used a song as a hypnotic trigger to make Spike do its bidding.[12] Spike freed himself when he identified and overcame the suppressed memory that had been used to trigger him.[13]
  • The higher being Jasmine had the ability to hypnotize everyone that perceived her — in person or even via TV and radio — into devoting themselves unquestioningly to her. Over time, this hypnosis evolved into a hive mind connection to those under her thrall called the Body Jasmine. Only her blood or the revelation of her true name could cancel these effects.[14]
  • Sirens had the capacity to hypnotize their prey with their song.[15]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Canonical[]

Other[]

References[]

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