The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

It was a fairly uneventful month before Zo came to town. But then, most months were uneventful months. That was the price of living in a small town an hour and change away from the nearest city. But Viora had lived in town all her life; and she thought she always would. Unlike some of the other towns in the area, their town had no issue with retaining their youth. There were quite a few other younger adults her age, most of whom had been their all their lives too.

So that month was fairly similar to all the months that had come before it; and in that month, as in every month, Viora assumed it would be the same as all the months that would come after it too.

But as it turned out, that month ended up being quite different. Because at the end of the month, with just a few days to spare, Zo came.

Her arrival itself was noteworthy; only because their town didn’t get many visitors. They had lots of passers through, who would stop off for gas, or for food, or to browse in several of the stores. But not to stay.

Nevertheless, the town did still have a small motel; only because the owner didn’t keep up the motel full time, and only kept it as a side-project. So Zo’s arrival was taken note of immediately, because there was suddenly someone staying in the motel again.

In fact, since it was so out of the ordinary, it became the subject of immediate gossip. Zo pulled in in her car in the morning, and by lunch time the whole town was talking about it. Especially because, as the motel owner told it, she’d been friendly but cagey. Hadn’t explained why she came to town at all; only asked for a room, given her name, paid in cash, and then retreated to said room, and not re-emerged.

This had launched town-wide speculation. Everywhere Viora went that day, during the course of her errands and goings-about, her neighbors were describing their detailed theories of why Zo had come. She even got pulled into a few of these conversations herself; though she didn’t have any theories of her. Frankly, as far as Viora was concerned, she didn’t particularly care why Zo had come to town, or why she was planning on sticking around for at least the foreseeable future. But it was fun to go along with the gossip, at least to hear it out for a few minutes.

Maybe that’s all the impact Zo’s presence would have had, if she’d just kept to herself in her motel room and then left town again a few days later. But that wasn’t what she did.

Instead, that evening she came in to eat at the town restaurant.

The town restaurant itself was the best place she could have possibly chosen to go, if Zo wanted to make maximum impact. It functioned as kind of the hub of the town; people were in and out of there all day long, and often they didn’t buy anything more than a cup of coffee as an excuse to hang around for an hour and see everyone there. So Zo’s entry to the diner was immediately noticed; and the energy of the diner shifted dramatically.

Usually it was boisterous, full of people loudly chatting and calling across to other tables, or to the restaurant counter. But when Zo entered, and took one of the empty, smaller tables, the noise level came way down, as everyone’s focus at least partly shifted to observe what she was going to do.

Viora happened to only be sitting a few tables over from the table Zo chose; drinking a cup of tea, and reading her evening newspaper after having already caught up with everyone. But though she was less invested in the strange visitor than her fellow townsfolk seemed to be, even she couldn’t help but watch Zo out of the corner of her eye.

However, for all the town’s attentiveness, Zo did nothing particularly interesting. When the waitress went to her, all she did was order a cup of coffee, then pulled a plain-colored book out of her purse and began reading, apparently unaffected by the diner’s obvious awareness of it. Still, everyone watched her carefully for the next few minutes, as the waitress delivered her coffee, and she slowly drank it.

Viora took the time to give Zo a look herself, at this point. She hadn’t actually seen the woman before; few in town had, apart from the motel owner, whose description Viora thought now hadn’t been entirely accurate.

She was quite pretty; but the first thing Viora noticed was how well-dressed she was. Her clothes were all clearly of a designer label, and they were obviously made of high quality fabrics. Purchasing them had obviously been expensive; and Viora remembered how Zo had paid for her motel room in cash. Clearly, she had money to spare; if she was carrying enough cash on hand to just dish it out for a hotel room, and if her clothes were anything to go by. Viora hadn’t heard anyt gossip about Zo’s car, but it was probably a nicer model, too.

Zo’s close were so brightly colored and eye-catching that it took Viora a few seconds of looking to take in Zo’s actual features— which were lovely too, but there was something asymmetrical in her face that was unsettling and alluring at the same time. It made Viora want to look longer, as if there was something to make sense of in it.

All Zo did was go on drinking her coffee, and reading her book quietly. Eventually, even Viora’s neighbors had no choice but to give up watching her, and when it seemed the entire restaurant had given up and concluded that Zo wasn’t going to do anything more interesting than sit there and read, the usual atmosphere of the restaurant came back.

But it was just as this was happening that Zo drank the last of her coffee down, set her cup back on the table, closed her book and stood, with her eyes turned to the diner. Apparently, she hadn’t been as unaware of the attention on her as she’d seemed. And as soon as she stood, the diner fell silent again, as all eyes turned to her.

“Hello,” she said, and there was a murmur of sound as various people in the restaurant gave a greeting in return. She nodded in acknowledgement. “I’m Zo, but I think you already know that.”

This time there was no response, as the townspeople waited for her to go on.

“I run a travelling hypnosis show by myself; I like to stop off in small towns along my route and put shows on, if the town is willing. I was wondering if your town was willing to host my show for a few nights; possibly up to a week.”

There were some other rumblings among the restaurant crowd; they sounded almost excited to Viora. Their town didn’t have many entertainment events put on by outside performers. There was plenty of entertainment from within the town; town festivals, town theatre productions, so there was no shortage of events to attend. But never put on by an outsider; and they had never had a hypnotist.

But there wasn’t total agreement. One of the town council members spoke up, clearly less enthused. “And what’s your fee for a week’s worth of shows?” He asked, and the excitement in the room seemed to dampen a bit.

Zo smiled; it was a good smile, Viora thought, but there was something about it that was hard to read.

“$5 admission at the door, paid by anyone who attends,” was her answer, and the councilman looked appeased. “No charge to retain me; just admission fee. I provide everything else, so long as there is a space I can use for my show.”

The chatter was unmistakeably excited again, and the group of defacto event organizers spoke up next; they were all at the same table together. “The biggest space is the town theatre— there’s no show rehearsing right now, so it’ll be free for the next week. Is that acceptable?”

Zo smiled again. “That will be acceptable. I’ll put the first show on tomorrow night, at seven o’clock.”

Then as nonchalantly as she had entered, she took up her purse, put some cash down on the table, and left the diner to its further gossip.

There could have been no better publicity campaign than the gossip that spread through town the next day. Everywhere Viora went, people were talking about that night’s show at the town theatre, and guessing at what the show would be like. Viora herself was planning to go, and probably go earlier, because it seemed like everyone in town was planning on turning out.

When she showed up to the theater that night, it turned out she was right; and at seven o’clock, as promised, the doors opened, and there was Zo, with an outstretched hand, to accept each incoming $5 dollar bill.

It was only when the theater was completely full that Zo folded all the money up, and tucked it into her purse, closed the doors behind the town, and took her place on the stage. She gave a brief introduction, and then chose seven people out of the audience to take the seven chairs she’d placed on stage.

It was a captivating show, especially to Viora, who had never seen a hypnotist’s stage show before. Zo made the participants do amazing things; made them feel sensations only by telling them they were experiencing them, and dropped them in and out of trance with only a confident snap of her fingers. It passed in a blur for her; it was so captivating to her that for the time she was watching it, it seemed like the world outside the theater ceased to exist, and the show was over well-before Viora knew it. She found herself in a daze in the audience, only coming back to reality as the last of the audience was filling out.

Zo, for her part, was still on stage, carefully stacking the chairs. Viora hesitated for a second; she considered following the rest of the town out— but the show had been so engaging to her that she felt she needed to let Zo know this personally. So instead of leaving the theater, she approached the stage.

Zo’s back was to her, stacking the chairs, so she didn’t see her approach.

“That was a great show,” Viora said.

At that, Zo turned from her task to look to her. “I’m Viora,” she introduced.

“You already know my name,” was Zo’s short reply.

“I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the show,” Viora said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show I enjoyed so much; or that I’ve ever felt that entertain. It was magical the way you… well, just everything you did really. Two hours really seemed to streak away. I barely noticed it pass.”

Zo’s frosty politeness thawed; there was an interested look in her eye, now. “Well, thank you. That’s quite the compliment. It sounds like maybe I got you into a secondary trance— it usually happens to some members of the audience. It usually means they’ll be very susceptible to me. Maybe tomorrow night I should bring you up on stage.”

Viora blushed. “Oh, I don’t think I could do that.”

“Part of you really responded to what I did,” Zo countered. “You were the only one in the whole town who stayed afterwards to tell me specifically how much the show meant to you.”

There was no denying that— but to be a show participant? To go onto stage, and become that vulnerable? To let Zo drop her into trance? Just the way she’d seen her do it to the seven others? It was appealing… but also frightening. Zo was a complete stranger, and no one knew anything about her, where she came from, or where she might be going next. Viora didn’t feel safe putting herself into Zo’s hands… even as part of her very much wanted to.

“No, like I said, I really don’t think I could,” Viora elaborated, after a moment of silent internal disagreement. “I don’t think I would make a good subject anyway; I don’t think I’m trusting enough.”

A sly smile on Zo’s face. “You don’t trust me?”

Viora swallowed. “No; I really don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you. You just rolled into town, and put on this show. I wouldn’t feel comfortable making myself vulnerable to you.”

“Well, we can fix that,” Zo said, resting her arms on the back of a chair she had yet to stack, and leaning forward. “What would you like to know?”

Viora thought for a moment. “Is this all you do? Travel around, putting on shows, living a vagabond’s life?”

Zo laughed. “Oh, no. I have quite an extensive estate. But my home is very far away… and I do spend a far amount of my time in a month on the road. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been home, now. I think after my run here, I’ll be going back there for awhile.”

“Far away,” Viora repeated. “How far?”

Zo smiled again, but it was once more unreadable. “Far away,” she repeated. “I can’t unveil all my mysteries. But it’s a lovely place; on its own plot of land, far away from any neighbors. There are extensive gardens, all kinds of amenities. It’s quite beautifully decorated, too, if I do say so myself.”

Viora frowned. “And you live in such a big space all alone?”

“Not alone,” Zo said. “I share it with some other young women. Former assistants of mine; they used to assist at shows of mine. Eventually the fit with each one of them stopped working, for whatever reason, but we all stayed on good terms, and they seem to enjoy living there. With all the amenities, who could blame them? Not to mention, I keep a chef on staff and have all the finest foods imported and delivered. It’s really a house for senses— all the finest textiles, and foods.”

Viora was caught in the descriptions of the house for a moment. But once more, the spell was ended, as it had been with the end of the show. This time, it was Zo’s concluding statement that kicked her out of it: “It’s too bad I can’t show it to you. I’m sure you’d like it there.”

Viora frowned again at the strange statement. “You don’t know me any better than I know you,” she said, and took a step back.

Zo gave another patient smile. “But you were captivated by my description, weren’t you?”

Viora stammered for a rebuttal, and came up empty.

But Zo seemed to take her discomfort as a cue. “Well, I should finish stacking these. I hope I’ll see you at tomorrow night’s show.”

Viora mumbled a hurried a goodbye, and fled the theater as if something were chasing her. Privately, she swore to herself that she would not attend the next night’s show.

But part of her couldn’t be entirely sure that wasn’t a lie.

The next night, despite her best efforts to stay away, Viora found herself drawn to the theater as if by magnetic pull. She just couldn’t get the show from the night before out of her head, or the memory of how captivating she had found it.

When she passed once more through the theater door, and gave her five dollars to Zo, there was a quiet, self-satisfied smile on Zo’s face as she took it. Viora immediately regretted coming when it happened, but it was too late to turn back, and she didn’t think she could have, even if she’d wanted to. She’d come too far.

The audience was smaller than the night before, but still the theater was almost packed full; clearly, she wasn’t the only one who’d wanted to see a second show.

The show started in the same way as the one the night before, with a brief introduction, and Zo calling participants up onto the stage. Unlike the night before, for her seventh participant, she called on Viora.

Viora froze in her seat when it happened. What she’d said to Zo the night before after the show was still true, but she felt the same pull that had brought her back to the theater. That same fascination made her want to climb up onto stage and take the seventh chair. And no other participant Zo had called on, either night, had said no when called on. Viora felt the pressure to conform, to be the same as the other participants.

Zo repeated her name, and extended her hand. And Viora’s mind was settled. She stood, and took the stage.

If she had thought the night before passed in a blur, the second night’s show passed even more quickly. Whether Zo had her in trance or not, Viora’s mind never entirely seemed to clear, and even when she was waking again she never felt entirely aware. The things Zo made her do all streaked away from her, but the things she made her feel seemed to linger and only grow deeper, even when Zo had officially dismissed them again. And though there were six other people on the stage, Viora felt entirely alone with Zo; and entirely naked to her.

Somewhere, among the haze, Viora straightened her head enough to realize that the magnetic pull she’d felt, that had led her back to the theater, and then up onto the stage was a pull to Zo specifically; and throughout that show, she felt it grow ever stronger.

At last, at show’s end, Viora’s mental clarity was returned to her, and she came back to awareness to find the audience clapping, and Zo taking a bow. It felt disorienting to be back in her right mind after wandering through a hazy mental fog for two hours; and even though she was back to herself, she found she moved much more slowly than the other participants, who cleared the stage. It took her longer to stand, as she still felt some residual dizziness— and by the time she’d collected herself enough to come to her feet, she found the theater once again emptied of everyone but her and Zo.

Which was terrifying, and exciting, at the same time.

“Well,” Zo commented, once more leaning forward over one of the other chairs on the stage. “You were a much better subject than even I would have hoped for. You seemed to drop much deeper than any of the other participants. What did it feel like for you?”

Viora swallowed, but found herself eager to answer inspite of her trepidation. “It felt like being underwater,” she replied. “I barely noticed the time pass; even more than last night. I could barely remember anything you said, and I wasn’t aware of anything around me.”

Zo looked thoughtful. “So deep as to achieve partial amnesia. That’s quite special; often it takes many sessions of trance to reach that level of depth. I thought you had an inclination towards it; but I had no idea it ran so deep. You’re a dream subject, really. You were the easiest of everyone up here to drop, and clearly you dropped deepest. Not that you were aware of it, but your responses to my commands were much more powerful, too— I think the audience enjoyed your participation more than anyone else. I did favor you a bit— you were the most fun to command.”

Viora stood there, feeling that same magnetic pull to Zo, even though she was only standing a few paces away. She felt drawn to go to her, and couldn’t explain it rationally. Go to her for what reason? Go to her why? All they were doing was standing and chatting— that wouldn’t change if Viora was standing 10 paces away or 5.

Yet she just felt a draw to be near her— inexplicable, but present.

“It was certainly an interesting experience,” Viora granted. “I’m glad I came back tonight, just to try hypnosis once, at least. But I don’t think I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“I wouldn’t call you again,” Zo said, quickly, as if to reassure her. “I never use the same participants twice. It’s best to give as many different people in the audience a chance— and not wise to show favoritism. But I really did enjoy hypnotizing you specifically. It’s fair to say you’ve been my favorite subject on any of these travelling shows.”

Viora blushed— and though Zo’s reassurance comforted her on one level, another part of her was disappointed to think she wouldn’t be hypnotized again.

It must have showed on her face, because Zo went on. “Of course, I could hypnotize you privately… sometimes it’s even more successful in a one on one setting. It’s more intimate, more effective.”

Zo’s voice was low, and held the promise of all kind of mental delights; but Viora felt her fear come back. Though she was drawn to her, she still did not trust her, and though the stage show had left her with a greater craving for further hypnosis, she was afraid of letting herself have it. Of how much more she might crave it if she did.

“I don’t think so,” Viora said. “I still really don’t know you, Zo. And I’d trust you even less to hypnotize me if we were alone together with no other witnesses. So thank you for the offer, but I’m leaving now; and I probably won’t see you again before you leave town in a few days; so thanks for two great shows.”

“I can tell you a little more about myself,” Zo said. “For instance, I use quite a lot of hypnosis in my personal life— on the other girls I live with. They respond to it quite well, but none so well as you. And they really enjoy it; enjoy living in my home, enjoy the mental games I play with them. You felt it, when I had you under. It’s the most supreme feeling of peace, and it enables me to create any experience in your mind that you’d like. And they’re quite friendly girls— very sociable. It really is a lovely way to live, in such a lovely house, and that mental enjoyment.”

Viora felt drawn again— to the description of that lifestyle, to be closer to Zo’s person, to agree to her offer. She was slowly realizing that something in Zo called to her— that Zo herself could call her, and she was finding more and more that she wanted to follow Zo’s call to wherever it led her. Even in listening, she found herself leaning unintentionally closer in towards Zo.

But she shook herself out of it.

“How nice for them,” she said flatly. “But I need to go now.” She made to climb down from the stage, and leave.

“You could have that too, Viora,” and Viora stumbled. “I can see the idea appeals to you; you could come with me when I leave town, and I can take you back there with me. You can live that life; you can be among them, enjoy their company, enjoy all the delights of my home— enjoy my company. In fact, if you want, when I go out again in a few weeks for another round of shows, I could take you with me as my assistant this time, so you don’t have to be separate from me. I think you’d be a good fit; maybe the best assistant I’ve ever had.”

Viora flushed again at the praise, and was shocked to find how much of her was craving to go with Zo, and stay close to her. But leaving all she’d ever known wasn’t a real option; especially not if it was to run away with a stranger.

“Thank you,” she said, stiffly. “But no thanks.”

“Well, think about it. I think I’ll make tomorrow my last show, and leave right afterwards; you can come with me, or not. I think it’ll be a shame if you don’t. But it’s your choice.”

Viora said nothing, and made her way back out of the theater again. She made sure not to look back as she went up the aisle, even though everything in her was begging her too.

That next morning, Viora made sure to stop in and see her friend Joy for breakfast at her house. Joy was always a good sounding board, and Viora felt that all she needed in the world at that moment was someone to tell her the thought of running off with Zo was insane. And she thought Joy could give that to her better than anyone else she knew.

Joy was happy to see her, and invited her into her kitchen table, before serving her up some breakfast.

“So how are you?” Joy asked, cutting into her own food.

“Confused,” she answered, honestly. “I went to that hypnotist’s show two nights in a row— and last night I was one of the participants. It’s shaken me up.”

Joy slipped a piece of bacon into her mouth. “I heard about that,” she remarked. “People have been talking, like they always did. Said you seemed pretty far gone up onstage; and that the night before, in the audience they remembered you looking engrossed in what was happening.”

“I was,” Viora agreed. “But it’s confusing… I’m feeling a real attraction to Zo. Like she’s pulling me with a magnet… I just want to be with her, and see her… I haven’t felt like this before. It got even worse after the show last night.”

Joy looked thoughtful. “There’s nothing wrong with a little crush. It’s understandable— she’s a stranger mysterious visitor, who swept into town from who knows where. The intrigue can be alluring in itself.”

Viora bit her lip. She didn’t feel she was quite getting her issue across. “Maybe there’s nothing wrong with a crush,” she admitted. “But it might be more of that— like an obsession. Which would maybe still harmless in itself… but she asked me to leave town with her when she goes tonight… and I want to.”

Joy froze in the midst of raising her fork to her mouth. “What?”

“After the show last night— actually, after the first show too— we talked. And last night she asked me. And I almost said yes.”

Joy slowly lowered her fork. “I see why you’re concerned,” she said.

Viora nodded. “It’s crazy, right? I know it’s crazy.”

“It’s crazy,” Joy affirmed, stressing the second word. “You don’t know her— don’t know anything about her— she could claim to be anything, and no one would have anyway of confirming it. It’s the most dangerous thing you could do; not to mention you’d be leaving your entire life, and everyone you’ve ever known behind you. And who knows if you would ever come back? Who knows what she might do to you, when she has you alone with her out on the road?”

Viora was nodding along to everything Joy said. It was all true— it was all exactly what she needed to hear.

“Good,” Viora said. “Keep saying things like that— it makes me feel more like myself again.”

Joy put her fork down completely, and leaned closer. “It’s a huge risk to your life. You’d basically just disappear without a trace, and no one would know where to find you again— and everyone you know, and who loves you would wonder where you went, but you might never see them again.”

Viora nodded one last time. “Thank you. That was exactly what I needed to hear.”

Joy exhaled. “Good; we’d all be sad to lose you.”

“You won’t,” Viora replied. “But I have some other things I need to get to— I have to go. Thanks for this. I needed it.”

“Any time,” Joy said, but her brow was furrowed, as if by some lingering concern.

To be honest, Viora felt that too. She knew it was crazy. She knew it. She wouldn’t do it.

She wouldn’t.

She tried to stay away from the show that night— she tried everything she could to keep herself from going. But just as she had the night before, she went.

There was a knowing look in Zo’s eyes as she took Viora’s five dollar bill this time. Viora wondered what Zo imagined she knew.

At the beginning of that show, Zo announced she’d be leaving town that night, and had already checked out of her motel, before calling seven more participants to the stage.

As the show streaked past Viora’s notice, washing her through with dreamy unfocused feelings, and that same pull to Zo, Viora started to think she knew what Zo had been thinking as she took the money. That Viora was going to go with her. And as she watched the show, she didn’t care about any of the reasons why it was crazy, or why she shouldn’t do it, or what she would be leaving behind. She was drawn to Zo; Zo called to something in her. Zo called to her, and Viora wanted to follow her to wherever Zo would lead, even if she’d been lying about everything she’d told her.

She knew. She was going to go with her.

When the show ended, the applause was thundering, and Zo took multiple repeated bows. Viora waited until all the audience filed out, and then stepped to the base of the stage, but did not stand. She thought fleetingly that she would never see the town theater again— never watch another town company production.

“Take me with you,” she said. “Wherever you’re going to take me. I’m going with you.”

Zo gave a small smile. “I know. We’ll go right now.”

This time, Zo did not stack the chairs: only retrieved her purse, and led the way out of the theater. Viora followed close behind, feeling the draw pulling her easily. Feeling the warmth of being close to Zo. She followed, as she would always follow; followed Zo to her car, into car, and out of town when Zo drove them there.

The night highway stretched before them, and they drove on into the darkness.