The Hanged Man
A twisted soon-to-be serial killer decides to recreate his own version of the Hofling Hospital Experiment. In 1966, psychiatrist Charles K. Hofling conducted an experiment on obedience. At a hospital…
The Hanged Man
A twisted soon-to-be serial killer decides to recreate his own version of the Hofling Hospital Experiment. In 1966, psychiatrist Charles K. Hofling conducted an experiment on obedience. At a hospital, 22 nurses were ordered by an unknown, unseen doctor to administer a dangerous dose of a drug to their patients. Even though the nurses were aware the official guidelines forbid the administration of the drug. Of the 22 nurses involved in the experiment, 21 decided to administer the lethal dose, never questioning the unknown authority figure. How far will a person go because an authority figure tells them? Objective one of two Objective one: Human Obedience The experiment starts. Round 1: Ten people lay unconscious in different decaying rooms, two people in a room. Each is wearing a bar gag in their mouth which connects to a shock collar around their neck. The killer assigns each fighter a different pseudonym (COP, NURSE, HIPSTER) reducing them to a single stereotype. Cameras record from the corner of every room. The five feeds are streaming live to the internet. Abruptly everyone receives an electric shock, violently waking them. An upbeat computerized voice speaks: "Welcome. We are excited to have you here. When the buzzer rings you will have precisely 60 seconds to kill the person in front of you." *Participants look to their opponent -some size the each other up, while others desperately look around for an escape. "If you fail to complete this task both participants will be terminated. To encourage you to continue fighting you will be administered warning shocks. For Example." *All participants receive an electric shock, throwing them into convulsions. "Are you ready? Let's begin. 60 seconds." *Buzzer sounds. NURSE versus GOLD DIGGER. GOLD DIGGER slams NURSE into the wall repeatedly. NURSE knowing she can't take another hit uses the ridge of her hand to chop into GOLD DIGGER's neck. GOLD DIGGER struggles to breathe choking to death on her own blood. COP versus METH HEAD. COP tries to figure out how to control the situation but METH HEAD wildly charges at him. COP leaps out of the way as METH HEAD cracks his skull into the wall. LAWYER versus PRISON. Neither hesitates and immediately starts fighting. PRISON chokes LAWYER with his handcuffs but LAWYER slips out of his grasp. LAWYER grabs PRISON's face and smashes it in with his knee. GANG versus COLLEGE. COLLEGE freaks out screaming and swats at GANG. She attempts to run away but GANG catches her. Gripping COLLEGE's ponytail GANG bashes her head into a sink. He lets her lifeless body fall to the ground. HIPSTER versus SCHIZO. HIPSTER hurls punches wildly at SCHIZO, but she manages to dodge HIPSTER's flailing arms. As HIPSTER tries to grab SCHIZO, she trips him head first into a water heater. HIPSTER collapses to the floor with a broken neck. All participants receive another electric shock and drop to the ground unconscious. Rounds 2 and 3: take place with NURSE, COP, LAWYER, GANG, and SCHIZO continuing to win against different opponents. Videos of the fights start to go viral across the internet causing a host of people to create commentary and reaction videos. Many wonder how they can be chosen to be in #shockfight, make fun of the fighters, and post excitement to watch the next round. YouTuber, GIRL IN THE KNOW, becomes obsessed with GANG. She posts videos after each round gushing over him. Internet show, MMA Beat Down, has hosts DUKE and professional bare-knuckle boxer TAYLOR "KILLA BEE" STARLING recap the fights and discuss the fighters' performance. Round 4: COP, GANG, and SCHIZO have new opponents but NURSE and LAWYER are facing each other. LAWYER reaches for NURSE lovingly, their hands connect revealing matching wedding bands. LAWYER grabs a knife and slits his own throat sacrificing himself for her. Round 5: COP and SCHIZO face new opponents however GANG is fighting NURSE. NURSE distraught over losing her husband does not fight back. GANG plays with her as a cat would with a mouse. Using the same knife as her husband, GANG viciously stabs NURSE in the face. Streamers of the fight videos have mixed reviews, some happy NURSE was taken out, others upset by her savage demise. Round 6: SCHIZO takes on new opponent REDNECK. REDNECK throws SCHIZO around like a rag doll snapping her spine. As REDNECK drags her along the ground SCHIZO grasps two bricks and smashes REDNECK's head between them. His body topples over while SCHIZO screams out in pain unable to stand up. COP and GANG wake up together on a deserted dirt road. They charge at each other and a ruthless fight unfolds. Both have blood pouring from them as GANG desperately gouges COP's eyes, blinding him. COP reaching along the ground manages to grab GANG. COP proceeds to beat GANG's face with a brick. Streamers watching the two fights struggle to process the brutality of this round. It is no longer fun. Only COP and SCHIZO remain. Round 7: COP and SCHIZO awake in a desolate room. COP is blind and SCHIZO lays unable to move with her body contorted. COP reaches out and feels for an opponent, finding SCHIZO he pulls her into his arms in a protective embrace. Both, unable to fight, silently decide to let time run out and die together. The voice counts down the remaining seconds. "FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE" - both receive an extra-long electric shock throwing them into convulsions. Then everything stops. The voice speaks: "Experiment Terminated." COP and SCHIZO slowly let out a breath, both releasing all of their emotions that have been building through the entire ordeal. The experiment is finally over for them. However, people streaming the fights are unhappy with that ending. One streamer questions, "You mean they could have just stopped fighting this entire time, chosen not to fight and it would be over? Then why are we watching this?" The Killer lists his results. Objective one: Human Obedience Seven rounds took place before a challenge to authority. Objective two: Human Apathy No observers tried to stop the fights, the rounds could have continued indefinitely. The Bystander Effect is a phenomenon that as the number of witnesses or bystanders increases, so does the time it takes for individuals to respond to an emergency. Play Next Experiment
The Hanged Man
Documentary
Film Details
A twisted soon-to-be serial killer decides to recreate his own version of the Hofling Hospital Experiment. In 1966, psychiatrist Charles K. Hofling conducted an experiment on obedience.
At a hospital, 22 nurses were ordered by an unknown, unseen doctor to administer a dangerous dose of a drug to their patients. Even though the nurses were aware the official guidelines forbid the administration of the drug. Of the 22 nurses involved in the experiment, 21 decided to administer the lethal dose, never questioning the unknown authority figure.
How far will a person go because an authority figure tells them? Objective one of two Objective one: Human Obedience The experiment starts. Round 1: Ten people lay unconscious in different decaying rooms, two people in a room. Each is wearing a bar gag in their mouth which connects to a shock collar around their neck.
The killer assigns each fighter a different pseudonym (COP, NURSE, HIPSTER) reducing them to a single stereotype. Cameras record from the corner of every room. The five feeds are streaming live to the internet.
Abruptly everyone receives an electric shock, violently waking them. An upbeat computerized voice speaks: "Welcome. We are excited to have you here.
When the buzzer rings you will have precisely 60 seconds to kill the person in front of you." *Participants look to their opponent -some size the each other up, while others desperately look around for an escape. "If you fail to complete this task both participants will be terminated. To encourage you to continue fighting you will be administered warning shocks.
For Example." *All participants receive an electric shock, throwing them into convulsions. "Are you ready? Let's begin. 60 seconds." *Buzzer sounds.
NURSE versus GOLD DIGGER. GOLD DIGGER slams NURSE into the wall repeatedly. NURSE knowing she can't take another hit uses the ridge of her hand to chop into GOLD DIGGER's neck.
GOLD DIGGER struggles to breathe choking to death on her own blood. COP versus METH HEAD. COP tries to figure out how to control the situation but METH HEAD wildly charges at him.
COP leaps out of the way as METH HEAD cracks his skull into the wall. LAWYER versus PRISON. Neither hesitates and immediately starts fighting.
PRISON chokes LAWYER with his handcuffs but LAWYER slips out of his grasp. LAWYER grabs PRISON's face and smashes it in with his knee. GANG versus COLLEGE.
COLLEGE freaks out screaming and swats at GANG. She attempts to run away but GANG catches her. Gripping COLLEGE's ponytail GANG bashes her head into a sink.
He lets her lifeless body fall to the ground. HIPSTER versus SCHIZO. HIPSTER hurls punches wildly at SCHIZO, but she manages to dodge HIPSTER's flailing arms.
As HIPSTER tries to grab SCHIZO, she trips him head first into a water heater. HIPSTER collapses to the floor with a broken neck. All participants receive another electric shock and drop to the ground unconscious.
Rounds 2 and 3: take place with NURSE, COP, LAWYER, GANG, and SCHIZO continuing to win against different opponents. Videos of the fights start to go viral across the internet causing a host of people to create commentary and reaction videos. Many wonder how they can be chosen to be in #shockfight, make fun of the fighters, and post excitement to watch the next round.
YouTuber, GIRL IN THE KNOW, becomes obsessed with GANG. She posts videos after each round gushing over him. Internet show, MMA Beat Down, has hosts DUKE and professional bare-knuckle boxer TAYLOR "KILLA BEE" STARLING recap the fights and discuss the fighters' performance.
Round 4: COP, GANG, and SCHIZO have new opponents but NURSE and LAWYER are facing each other. LAWYER reaches for NURSE lovingly, their hands connect revealing matching wedding bands. LAWYER grabs a knife and slits his own throat sacrificing himself for her.
Round 5: COP and SCHIZO face new opponents however GANG is fighting NURSE. NURSE distraught over losing her husband does not fight back. GANG plays with her as a cat would with a mouse.
Using the same knife as her husband, GANG viciously stabs NURSE in the face. Streamers of the fight videos have mixed reviews, some happy NURSE was taken out, others upset by her savage demise. Round 6: SCHIZO takes on new opponent REDNECK.
REDNECK throws SCHIZO around like a rag doll snapping her spine. As REDNECK drags her along the ground SCHIZO grasps two bricks and smashes REDNECK's head between them. His body topples over while SCHIZO screams out in pain unable to stand up.
COP and GANG wake up together on a deserted dirt road. They charge at each other and a ruthless fight unfolds. Both have blood pouring from them as GANG desperately gouges COP's eyes, blinding him.
COP reaching along the ground manages to grab GANG. COP proceeds to beat GANG's face with a brick. Streamers watching the two fights struggle to process the brutality of this round.
It is no longer fun. Only COP and SCHIZO remain. Round 7: COP and SCHIZO awake in a desolate room.
COP is blind and SCHIZO lays unable to move with her body contorted. COP reaches out and feels for an opponent, finding SCHIZO he pulls her into his arms in a protective embrace. Both, unable to fight, silently decide to let time run out and die together.
The voice counts down the remaining seconds. "FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE" - both receive an extra-long electric shock throwing them into convulsions. Then everything stops.
The voice speaks: "Experiment Terminated." COP and SCHIZO slowly let out a breath, both releasing all of their emotions that have been building through the entire ordeal. The experiment is finally over for them. However, people streaming the fights are unhappy with that ending.
One streamer questions, "You mean they could have just stopped fighting this entire time, chosen not to fight and it would be over? Then why are we watching this?" The Killer lists his results. Objective one: Human Obedience Seven rounds took place before a challenge to authority. Objective two: Human Apathy No observers tried to stop the fights, the rounds could have continued indefinitely.
The Bystander Effect is a phenomenon that as the number of witnesses or bystanders increases, so does the time it takes for individuals to respond to an emergency. Play Next Experiment.