This is an excerpt from the podcast transcript from episode #1 where we talk about the first issue of The Jinx, for magicians and mentalists.
The first real magic article of the series is called Hallucination, it’s by Eddie Clever, and the effect demonstrates how peoples memories can be unreliable. A deck of cards is shuffled then the magician turns to one audience member and has them lift up the corner of the top card and remember it. Turning to someone else, they lift up the top corner and remember if, and then a third time with someone else — each person having lifted up the corner and peeked at the card.
The magician then openly deals that card onto the table and asks the first person to name the card they saw. The second person does the same thing, but it’s a different card. Then the third person names their card and it’s different from the first two.
The magician reminds them of what he said earlier about memories being unreliable and turns over the card on the table showing it to be the joker, which hadn’t been seen by any of the helpers.
That’s Hallucination and it wouldn’t really have to be changed to bring it up to date — most people know that eye-witness reports are very unreliable, and everybody’s seen police line-ups in TV and movies, so this presentation is pretty much ready to go.
Of course, you could also present it as a hypnosis effect, where you are able to make people see something they really aren’t.
As far as method goes, you can get all the details from the article at Jinx Navigator. But I will say here that no sleight of hand is required, but a gimmicked card is needed. I don’t think it’s one you can readily buy, but the article does talk you through the steps of making one. Plus, since it’s not the days of horse and buggies, you can have them made at some place like TheGameCrafter.com and just throw money at the problem rather than getting down and dirty with arts and crafts.
In any case, this looks like an effect from the 1930s that could be gold in someone’s hands almost 90 years later. If you make it up, let me know how it hits.
