My conception of difference between a strong and a weak effect does not lie in the mechanic of a trick but rather in the convincing ability of the performer. The greater the convincement the mightier the effect. I do not believe there is any bad trick.. the fault invariably rests in the presentation.. or in other words the wrong “approach”.

By convincement I do not allude to such indiscreet tactics as deliberately sticking out the hands for examination or indulging in such remarks as “this box is devoid of any preparation”. These would not be convincing but CONVICTING. In the course of our life’s daily routine we learn of these things. Have you not had experience of a guilty person over emphasizing his point of innocence ? It is the same in Magic. You over emphasize a point and you defeat your own end. Convincement, from my point of view, should be done insinuatingly… something should always be left to the imagination. You must let the audience imagine in their own mind that things are being done exactly as they think. Every person in the audience has his own opinion as to how a trick is being done… one should work along their line of thought… leading them on according to their own fancy… up to the culminating point in the Climax… and the simultaneous explosion of their theory.

I will now refer to that “magnetiser” effect in which the performer gives a demonstration of “personal magnetism” by causing articles to cling to his fingers. Personally I did not care for the original version as I considered the approach rather flimsey.

The fact that the assistant feels a decided “resistance” when the article is being removed from the fingers suggests one thing. “Glue”.. despite the fact that we describe it as “Magnetism”. Then the idea of preparing the fingers in advance sounds very well but in practice did not prove very successful as others may have noticed that the magnetic “fluid” is too magnetic to resist “dirt”. To overcome these I have evolved the “Human Magnet” which stands up to my requirements. So subtle and deliberate are the moves that I do not hesitate in saying that it will fool not only the layman but the magician who is already doing this effect. Now to the business side of it.

Obtain one of those torch fountain pens and remove the bulb and fittings from the light end. Open the pen in the center and fill the bottom half with the “magnetizing fluid”. I shall describe my recipe later on. The lower half of the pen acts as the reserve chamber for the fluid and you always carry it about so that you are “Everready” like the pen for a demonstration. Now get a wad of cotton and push it down the mouth of the torch where the bulb was. Don’t ram it right in but allow an eighth or a quarter of an inch of the surface to protrude above the edge of the mouth. Dip the cotton end of the torch in the “fluid” and shut the torch. Place this torch in your inside breast pocket… cotton end up. In the same pocket place a cigar or pencil.

When ready to demonstrate the “Human Magnet” approach someone in the audience and explain the properties of the ordinary magnet. You continue, “In the human system lies dormant a certain percentage of this Magnetic Influence, all of which can be brought to the surface by generation.” Now rub your four fingers against your sleeve and ask someone to hold out his hand in a fist… palm up. You place your palm on his hand and rub in a circular motion. Suddenly you raise your hand and the spectator’s hand automatically shoots up following your own hand. This is a very old stunt. While rubbing against his palm you are continually pressing down, and when the pressure is removed it is but natural that his hand should shoot up. This serves to demonstrate the point that the magnetism you have developed in your fingers by friction has attracted his hand. The real purpose, however, is to insinuatingly convince them that your hands are unprepared when you come to the actual demonstration. You repeat this with two other persons and then ask someone to stand up. Let him stand beside the wall with the back of his wrist pressed against it.

While he is thus engaged you keep rubbing your fingers on your sleeve and in your mind count up to 30. Instruct him that as soon as you place your fingers near his hand he is to turn and allow his hand to hang “limp” by his side. Without touching his hand you slowly raise your hand and, Strange As It May Seem, his hand rises slowly and gracefully, following yours up to his shoulder level. You ask him what he felt and he MUST SAY that he felt SOMETHING drawing his hand up. This is very uncanny and I’m not going to try and explain what causes it. Try it on yourself and you’ll wonder what causes the hand to rise. After the wait of a 30 count, and with pressure constantly against the wall, the hand rises and it feels as though something actually was lifting it.

Repeat this with one or two persons. It isn’t so much to lengthen the routine as to drive home into the minds of the spectators and assistants that there is something strange at foot.

We now come to the actual demonstration. Reach into your pocket and withdraw the cigar. As soon as your hand goes to your pocket allow the middle section of your second and third fingers to glide over the cotton in the pen so that they may collect some of the “fluid”.

Leave the cigar on the table… and again rub your fingers on the sleeve. This rubbing is now done with the object of spreading the fluid into your skin and also to take off all surplus moisture. Be careful and DON’T allow the “fluid” to touch the first and little fingers. After you finish rubbing no one can tell that there is anything wrong with your fingers as the natural appearance of the hand will not alter a bit.

Now place your fingers on the cigar and raise the hand slowly about a foot off the table… and then turn your hand half way so that the edge of the palm will be parallel with the floor and the cigar is standing vertically. Approach someone and explain how the “magnet” in your fingers is holding the cigar… walk around a bit and then place your thumb of the other hand against your pulse, or rather at the point where your hand meets your arm, and press. This will cause your two fingers to RECEDE…and the cigar will drop to the floor.

Of course… all your four fingers are against the cigar… the cigar is stuck only to your two middle fingers, but to them it appears as if it is stuck to all four.

What causes the cigar to drop is this. When your two middle fingers recede they naturally carry the cigar with them but the obstruction caused by the 1st and 4th fingers against the cigar sort of knocks it off. Just hold your right hand out in position as you read this… press at the point indicated before using the thumb of your other hand, and then you will see how your two middle fingers move back as if they were being controlled with a piece of wire.

You will now have to explain that as in the ordinary magnet, like poles repel like poles… and it is the same with the human system. Your two hands are the north poles and your two feet the south poles. As soon as your two hands contacted with each other the cigar dropped.

This time raise the cigar again, but in turning the hand over push out ever so lightly with your 1st and 4th fingers so that the cigar is dislodged from the two middle fingers and left balancing against your four fingers… still vertical. This move is done DURING the turn and is not in the least bit perceptible. It stands there by its own inertia, but it is not stuck to the fingers. Now someone will think of that… especially the knowing ones… and there are plenty of them at any conjuring show who think that some sticky substance is being used. The next step is designed to explode this theory.

Ask someone to step forward and then to rub his fingers on his sleeve. Ask him next to reach slowly and pick the cigar off your fingers. He does so and he is NON-PLUSSED when he finds not the slightest resistance. The cigar leaves your fingers in the same easy way as if picked up from the table for instance. IT IS THIS LITTLE DIFFERENCE THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE “HUMAN MAGNET”. You have convinced without telling them that you don’t use “glue”. This part requires a little practice as with any other worthwhile move, but I shall explain another method equally as effective.

In this you don’t dislodge the cigar as you turn the hand but as soon as the party reaches for the cigar push out very slightly with the 1st and 4th fingers and the same result is accomplished. From here on you continue borrowing articles and causing them to cling to the fingers but in every case or instance you DISLODGE each before anyone takes it off. Suitable articles are cigars, pens, pencils, visiting cards, in fact any light article one has about his person.

It does happen sometimes when you are offered heavier articles… you pass these by with the explanation that there is a limit in reserve of this “magnetic influence” in the human system… it is quite likely that you can attract even such a heavy thing as… (whatever it happens to be) but you need some reserve for the rest of the demonstration and it is well that you do not exhaust the supply now.

One charge of the “fluid” will last for a long time, but if you ever feel it weakening rub your fingers on the exact spot on your sleeve… Which already has the surplus fluid left over when you started the demonstration.

At times I vary the opening and instead of the cigar I use a pencil. After lifting the pencil once or twice I remark… “Of course, some of you are thinking whether it is possible to magnetize the pencil and use that as a magnet.” I rub the pencil end on my sleeve and ask a lady to hold a small piece of tissue or a hair from my head on her palm. I bring the pencil near the object and without touching it the piece of paper of the hair will shoot up and cling to the pencil.

Prepare the pencil by getting an amber bead. Either you or your jeweller (the effect is well worth it) cuts the bead to the same circumference as the pencil and it is stuck to the end. It appears as one of the common decorated pencils. Amber will attract light things like a tiny piece of tissue, hair, etc., when rubbed briskly on any material. The harder you rub the amber the better becomes the drawing force. This part of the demonstration is very effective and a little experimentation with objects will give you perfect confidence.

For impromptu work I take the “fluid” from off the flap of an envelope. Carry it in your inside breast pocket with the flap folded back. The middle fingers must be moistened before demonstrating so I resort to this dodge. With the four fingers close together reach for your nose and casually stroke it with the forefinger and thumb. It’s something like the natural move of scratching your nose. Stick out your tongue sideways and touch the two middle fingers. Try it before a mirror and you’ll see nothing that you don’t want the audience to see. The hand goes to the pocket for the cigar and at the same time collects the gum from off the envelope there. Just be sure that it is a good quality of envelope. In short you have more scope with The Human Magnet than with any other version of the same effect.

I do not know what goes into anybody else’s preparation, neither does it bother me. I have worked out a recipe which gives me satisfaction and since in all of my work I am very exacting, it must be good. Get some “collodion” from your druggist. I believe this is used medically to seal up wounds as it leaves a film on any surface to which it is applied. Now buy some “rosin”.

Get the very best and powder it down. Put some “rosin” into the “collodion” and shake until it dissolves. This is your magnetic fluid.

To test its efficacy put some on your fingers. It dries quickly. Try it out even after several hours… washing your hands in between if you like. I have yet to come across another preparation that will beat this. I give no proportions but you’ll soon learn to get the right consistency for your needs. Don’t make it too thick.

Some people may object to rubbing the fingers on the sleeve after stealing the fluid from the reservoir, or dispenser, but I assure you that a little petrol or gasoline will later clean off any surplus. Still, if you don’t agree, rub the surplus onto the palm of your opposite hand or use a handkerchief to generate the powder instead of the sleeve.