Step right up and get hypnotized.

This year at the Wood County Fair, there will be a hypnotist from North Canton performing.

Mike Bishop has been performing entertainment shows since he was only 8 years old. By the time he was 12, he was getting paid to do magic shows.

When he was 16, he said he saw a hypnotist perform at his high school and was amazed. The hypnotist introduced him to someone who taught the craft. After that, Bishop said he started doing hypnosis and never looked back.

Over the years, he’s performed at fairs all over Ohio as well as colleges, high schools, casinos and resorts.

During his shows, Bishop will ask people to volunteer and they will all be hypnotized at once. He said he expects to be able to fit 20-25 people on stage with him.

“Hypnosis is real. That’s the most important thing I can tell you. People who volunteer will be hypnotized, and that’s the key thing,” he said. “Then once they’re hypnotized, they’re going to discover why so many people are willing to volunteer for a show like mine, because it feels really good and they enjoy it.”

Bishop said often people don’t know what to expect from being hypnotized, but during his shows they should expect to feel good. He said they may not remember everything that happened while they were hypnotized, but they will leave knowing they had a good time.

Hypnosis isn’t just for fun, as it can also have many benefits. Bishop said sometimes people agree to be hypnotized because they want help with something, like smoking.

“It’s a very unique experience and that in itself drives a lot of people due to the curiosity of coming,” he said. “Others come because they want to be hypnotized because they have either heard of the benefits of it or just want to try something that they’ve never done before.”

During his shows, Bishop performs many different routines and tricks. Some of his routines cause people to hear or see things that aren’t there and sometimes people will think they have 11 fingers instead of 10.

To make sure each show isn’t the same, Bishop often changes the tricks and routines he does. He said that there are certain tricks he does most shows, but there are also ones he only does occasionally.

This ability to change things up, is one of the reasons Bishop said he enjoys hypnosis so much. He said each show is always different and he never knows how someone will be when they are hypnotized.

“That’s why I took comedy writing, training, why I took improv training, all that kind of stuff, because it’s not just about the hypnosis anymore,” he said. “It’s about bringing out the great personality from that guy who volunteered for your show.”

Along with coming to his show, Bishop also encourages everyone to come to the fair and enjoy everything the community has to offer.

“I encourage all seniors to come out on senior day at least, but I also encourage families. I mean, if you can’t find anything to do at the fair, you aren’t looking very hard,” he said. “It’s probably the biggest variety of different things to do that you’re going to find.”