An old medic's trick treating wounded soldiers when the morphine ran out was to talk up an experimental drug that was almost too powerful to use. They would them slip them an M&M or vitamin pill. In a considerable number of cases it worked. Humans tend to see what they expect to see and to feel what they think they should.

A related effect is seen when you heat up a piece of iron to red hot and make believe your going to brand someone. Keeping them into a position where they can't see the actual event you touch the spot where they are expecting a burn with a piece of ice. Wipe any water off the ice to keep from ruining the effect. Touching a bit of hair to the red hot iron adds smell and smoke to the effect.

The effect is quite convincing and it isn't unknown for the person to develop a significant welt. As if they had been burned. tossing them out of a helicopter that is on the ground with the engine running. A nice depiction of the method was in the movie "The God Must Be Crazy II".

Blindfolded, roughed up, 'branded', and tossed out of a helicopter at '5000 feet' makes for a accusations of torture, or a rousing initiation. Which moves to the drinking phase after the initiates get hosed off and change their shorts.

The human mind can be manipulated in many ways. Mostly we fool ourselves.