Buzz
Quack doctors come in all shapes and sizes. Some are driven by the desire for wealth, preying on the vulnerable, while others genuinely believe they've uncovered a miracle cure or the solution to humanity’s ailments. Regardless, both types of quacks owe their success to the people who put their trust in them.
10. Louis XIV And The Healing Power Of The Royal Touch
Being a monarch comes with immense pressure, and many rulers were thought to possess the legendary "royal touch"—a supposed gift that allowed them to cure ailments like scrofula (a form of tuberculosis). This belief dates back to Edward the Confessor in England, whose reign ended in 1066. Even Henry VIII was rumored to have the power, offering his ill subjects a protective coin to wear as a charm.
While some monarchs took the royal touch to greater lengths, Louis XIV of France stood out by administering his touch to around 3,000 people during his coronation alone. Throughout his reign, he is said to have touched, and perhaps even healed, approximately 350,000 individuals.
The royal touch was believed to be conferred through a special oil, a sacred substance used to consecrate the new king. This oil, which had been passed down through generations of kings, was said to have been brought to Earth by a dove at the baptism of King Clovis in 496. It was kept in Reims Cathedral for centuries and was thought to bestow divine healing powers upon the monarchs.
Not all monarchs supported the practice of the royal touch, with figures like William III dismissing it in favor of practical solutions over divine intervention. The tradition faded over time, largely due to Louis XIV's lack of faith in it. Voltaire famously pointed out that if the royal touch truly had healing powers, the king should have been able to cure his own mistress, who ultimately succumbed to the disease.
9. Dr. Adolf Fritz, the Ghostly Surgeon
Dr. Adolf Fritz, a German doctor who perished during World War I, couldn't bear to leave his medical work incomplete. So, he allegedly began inhabiting the bodies of Brazilian men, transforming them into something between surgeons and faith healers.
His first host was Ze Arigo, who served as a conduit for Dr. Fritz's spirit until 1971. Part of Arigo’s process involved meeting with sick individuals and then writing out enigmatic prescriptions for their ailments. Conveniently, his brother, a pharmacist, was the only one who could read his handwriting. Eventually, Arigo progressed to psychic surgery, performing miraculous tumor removals and other procedures without leaving a single incision.
Although Ze Arigo passed away in 1971, Dr. Fritz's influence continued through other hosts. Currently, he resides within Rubens Farias Jr., where he has shifted from psychic surgery to practicing astral healing, a method focused on treating the 'spiritual body' to cure the physical one.
In 1997, members of the Heart Disease Research Foundation observed Farias in action. Diagnoses were completed in mere seconds, and most patients were given injections of a mysterious brown liquid, often applied near the site of their complaint. On occasion, Farias even performed surgery, though with the help of licensed medical professionals.
In 1999, law enforcement took an interest in Farias when his office was raided. Along with a stockpile of prescription medications he was dispensing without a license, authorities discovered an armed guard with an illegal weapon, plus numerous accusations of fraud—one of which came from the armed guard, who claimed people had died under Farias' care before being transferred to a traditional hospital.
It is important to note that no concrete evidence has ever been found to support the existence of a World War I surgeon by the name of Dr. Fritz.
8. Johanna Brandt’s Grape Cure
In her 1925 book, *The Grape Cure*, Johanna Brandt presents her method as humanity's ultimate solution for conquering cancer. She claims that her approach not only prevents cancer but also has the potential to eliminate it completely, should one follow her guidance.
Her regimen is relatively straightforward. First, prepare the body by fasting for two to three days, staying hydrated with plenty of water, and completing several warm-water-and-lemon-juice enemas. This ensures that the body is thoroughly cleansed before the grapes can begin their work. Following this, you drink some water and have your initial grapes-only meal. For the next week or two, you continue eating grapes exclusively every two hours, from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
The recommended duration of the grape-only diet may vary from one to two weeks, or even up to a month. Although Johanna Brandt’s instructions lack precise details, she is very clear on one point: you should only consume grapes. While you can eat grapes in all their forms—different parts and various colors (presumably to keep the diet from becoming too monotonous)—the primary rule is to eat grapes exclusively. At the very least, she advises eating 0.5 kilograms (1 lb) of grapes daily, with a maximum of 2 kilograms (4 lb). If you begin to feel overwhelmed or frustrated by the thought of grapes, it’s okay to skip a meal or two, but for the diet to work, you must embrace and enjoy the fruit.
As expected, the American Cancer Society has stated that while grapes are indeed beneficial to health, they are unlikely to cure cancer on their own anytime soon.
7. Peter Mandel and Colorpuncture
In the 1960s, Peter Mandel pioneered a unique healing technique that combined acupuncture, holistic medicine, and spirituality. He posited that illness stemmed from an imbalance between the unconscious mind and the physical body, and he developed a method known as colorpuncture, or acu-light therapy, to restore harmony and balance between the two.
Colorpuncture, as the name suggests, involves using light therapy on acupuncture points. Rather than traditional needles, it utilizes different colored light frequencies applied to these points. Peter Mandel theorized that applying color to specific areas of the body could help restore the balance between the soul and the body, alleviating the stress that contributes to illness. The light is directed onto the skin using an 'acu-light wand,' which not only applies the light but focuses it as well.
To ensure the body remains in harmony during treatment, practitioners often combine colorpuncture with other healing modalities like healing crystals and sound therapy. The Esogetic Colorpuncture Institute in the United States, founded by Mandel, claims success in treating conditions like migraines, sleep disorders, respiratory problems, and learning disabilities in children.
6. Charles Baunscheidt and Baunscheidtism
In his 1800s book on Baunscheidtism, Dr. Charles Baunscheidt shares his belief that society is on the brink of major medical breakthroughs, all stemming from the realization that bloodletting is no longer a valid method for treating illness. He expresses hope that this outdated practice will soon be eradicated, as he has a far more effective solution in mind: the Lebenswecker.
Also known as the Resuscitator, Baunscheidt’s medical tool consists of extremely sharp needles. By pricking the skin, these needles help to drain out the harmful substances causing illness in a way that Baunscheidt claimed was far safer than bloodletting. His method became highly popular after he perfected the design of the tool in 1865. In fact, it was so successful that the company producing Lebensweckers continued until it was bombed by Allied forces in 1944.
Baunscheidt later incorporated oils into his treatment, claiming that his secret blend, when applied to the skin, would accelerate the detoxification process. The theory was that the more irritated the skin became from this secondary trauma, the more the body’s attention would shift away from its illness, helping to expel it faster. The ailments his method was said to cure ranged widely, from baldness to whooping cough and various mental disorders.
5. James Morison and The Vegetable Universal Pills
James Morison is a fascinating and somewhat contradictory figure in the field of medicine. On one hand, his ideas were groundbreaking—he theorized that many illnesses stemmed from the blood, and he believed in the connection between the mind and body in both health and disease. On the other hand, he was highly critical of doctors, accusing them of committing a crime by over-prescribing medications to their patients. Morison also believed he had discovered the perfect universal remedy in the form of his Vegetable Universal Pills, a miracle cure for nearly everything.
Originally a businessman, James Morison launched his campaign in 1825. Driven by a genuine desire to help people, he first distributed his pills for free. When they weren’t taken seriously, he began charging for them. Within five years, he was earning what would be around $4 million today. He eventually founded the British College of Health to sell the pills from.
During the following decade, Morison faced several legal challenges, with lawsuits alleging that overdoses of his pills had led to multiple deaths. However, these setbacks didn’t slow him down. His pills were soon marketed with a clear promise: only the genuine article would cure everything from cholera to jaundice, liver issues, joint pain, and even snakebites.
Morison passed away in 1840, and his son, content to let the company run its course, didn’t make many changes. Over time, the pills evolved and, by the 1900s, it was discovered that they contained ingredients like myrrh, aloe, and rhubarb.
4. William Bates and Sun Gazing
Most of us are taught from a young age that staring at the Sun is harmful to our eyes. This advice, however, directly contradicts the recommendations of ophthalmologist William Bates.
According to Bates’s early 20th-century methods, gazing directly at the Sun was actually the key to maintaining eye health and preserving sharp vision. He encouraged regular sun gazing, coupled with specific eye exercises, such as tracing circles around the Sun with your eyes, followed by moving them in a figure-eight pattern. These exercises were designed to strengthen both the eye muscles and the vision. Bates believed that exposure to the full spectrum of sunlight was essential for the proper functioning of the body and eyes, preventing vision from weakening.
The Bates Method is still in practice today, though the technique has evolved and is now referred to as “sunning,” which involves keeping your eyes closed during the process.
3. Norman Baker and The Crescent Hotel
Norman Baker was a man of many hats. He ran for the US Senate, governor of Iowa, and became a popular radio personality. In addition to being a radio host, he dabbled in vaudeville, magic shows, and even worked as a machinist. Though he was a high school dropout, he boldly claimed to have discovered the cure for cancer.
Baker garnered a massive following, particularly with his radio show, which resonated with anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, Republican, and small-town values. His voice reached listeners nationwide. In fact, he was invited to meet President Herbert Hoover after Hoover’s election. But in 1929, he took on the American Medical Association, proclaiming himself as the one who had the cure for cancer. Along the way, he also blamed various factors for health issues, such as fluoride in the water and aluminum pots.
In 1930, using his flair for showmanship, Baker organized a massive spectacle for 17,000 spectators to demonstrate his supposed cancer cure. During the performance, his medical team allegedly removed part of a patient’s skull, applied the cure, and declared the patient cancer-free. However, two years later, he was tried for selling a bogus cancer cure that was nothing more than a mixture of water, watermelon seeds, clover, and corn silk.
Eventually silenced by the Federal Radio Commission, Baker relocated to the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. There, he transformed the Victorian mansion into a holistic healing retreat, painting it in a chaotic mix of purple, black, orange, yellow, and red. It was while selling his miracle cures at the hotel that he ran afoul of the law for mail fraud, which led to his final downfall.
2. Ryke Geerd Hamer and German New Medicine
Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer faced an unimaginable tragedy when his 17-year-old son was tragically shot and killed while on vacation. This devastating event marked a turning point not only in his personal life but also in his professional journey. It wasn’t long after his son’s death that Hamer himself was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
This personal crisis led him to a profound realization: the two events were deeply connected.
Hamer claims to have studied the lives of thousands of cancer patients and found a common pattern—many developed cancer following a deeply traumatic experience. From this, he concluded that shock and surprise were the primary triggers of cancer, with the disease being the body’s reaction to such emotional turmoil.
He refers to this response as the Meaningful Special Biological Program (MSBP), with the event that triggers it known as the Dirk Hamer Syndrome (DHS), named after his son. From the moment the DHS occurs, it is possible that cancer will eventually develop. Often, the area of the body affected relates to the nature of the emotional crisis—for example, a mother who is deeply concerned about her child might develop breast cancer.
In response to this, he created what he called German New Medicine. He argues that it is not only grounded in common sense but also directly contrasts with the approaches typically recommended by conventional doctors. Instead of treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, his first step in healing is therapy aimed at reducing the original stress that sparked the illness, thus reversing the process.
1. Royal Rife and His Cancer Zapper
There are two main perspectives on the work of Royal Rife. Some critics assert that he was a complete fraud, while others believe that he was unfairly persecuted by prominent medical institutions, which sought to suppress his discoveries because they feared his cancer cure would undermine their established treatments.
In the 1930s, Royal Raymond Rife, a man who worked variously as an optics engineer, chauffeur, and mechanic, invented a microscope with extraordinary magnifying power. He claimed to hold a degree from Georgia Tech, though the institution has refuted this. His microscope enabled him to observe germs and bacteria, which he believed were the root cause of human illnesses. With this knowledge in hand, he developed a beam ray, which he argued could target and eliminate the harmful microbes. Rife began using the ray on patients, asking for donations to fund his research, but his inventions were eventually seized by the FDA.
Rife asserted that during his experiments, he had successfully treated 15 cancer patients who had been told their conditions were beyond help. After undergoing 60 days of therapy with his beam ray, these patients were reportedly cured.
The rejection of his findings and the eventual suppression of his work became a hot topic for conspiracy theorists. Even now, numerous theories circulate about the reasons behind the shutdown of Rife's research, often pointing to a 'medical mafia' that supposedly orchestrated his downfall through corruption and betrayal. Despite this, a small group of dedicated followers continue to champion Rife's methods in an attempt to revive his groundbreaking ideas.
