Axel Hellstrom
Encyclopedia
Axel Hellstrom was a muscle reader
Muscle reading
Muscle reading, also known as "Hellstromism", "Cumberlandism" or "contact mind reading", is a technique used by mentalists to determine the thoughts or knowledge of a subject, the effect of which tends to be perceived as a form of mind reading...

, mentalist and stage magician. He re-defined the art of muscle reading to such an extent that this technique, also known as "contact mind reading" and "Cumberlandism" (after a 19th century practitioner named Stuart Cumberland), is now best known by the name "Hellstromism".

Biography

Axel Hellstrom lived in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and fought in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 where he watched a man perform an act of muscle reading
Muscle reading
Muscle reading, also known as "Hellstromism", "Cumberlandism" or "contact mind reading", is a technique used by mentalists to determine the thoughts or knowledge of a subject, the effect of which tends to be perceived as a form of mind reading...

. At the time, Germany did not allow mind reading unless it had a plausible explanation behind its means. The only type of mind reading
Mind reading
Mind reading may refer to:* Telepathy, the transfer of information between individuals by means other than the five senses* The illusion of telepathy in the performing art of mentalism...

 allowed was muscle reading, and so Axel took advantage of it. He studied it carefully and taught himself everything. He entertained his fellow soldiers and became quite good at this old technique; and so, after the war, he and his wife moved to America where he knew his art form would be accepted by many - especially the magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

 audiences. He practiced and astonished many. Soon he was performing for professional magic audiences and amazed and bewildered all. After a short while mind readers, and even fellow hellstromists where questioning his ability.

During his live performances, his manager spoke for him because his English vocabulary was limited. Hellstrom would successfully complete many different challenges such as locating hidden items, performing actions of which others were thinking and determining which object someone had selected out of many. The accuracy of his results was astonishing and he was soon known throughout the United States. He was well respected by his peers ain the stage magic community, and other performers paid hundreds of dollars just to learn the secret behind his work. He lived a good and profitable life and set the bar high for future Hellstromists.

During the 1930s, the American magician and mentalist Robert A. Nelson published the definitive book on Hellstrom's techniques, with his cooperation. This book, "Hellstromism," has remained an important reference on the subject of muscle reading well into the 21st century.

Modern practitioners of Hellstromisnm include the magicians Banachek
Banachek
Banachek is an American mentalist. Banachek has written books on mentalism, such as Psychological Subtleties, and invented various magic and mentalism effects, including the Penn & Teller bullet catch and the original "buried alive." Banachek is also the Director of the James Randi Educational...

 and Kreskin
Kreskin
The Amazing Kreskin , born George Joseph Kresge, is a mentalist who became popular on North American television in the 1970s...

.
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