A most unusual test that can be introduced into a program at any time is one which needs no preparation in one version and but a little in another. It is one of those tricks that can be done before practically any sized audience and it is just as effective if presented for a single person. Professional performers know only too well how rare and hard to find such an effect is. The first version is impromptu with any cards that may be borrowed. The performer states that what he is about to do must not be confused with card…
One of the greatest effects in thought transmission is the coding of pictures freely drawn by the audience. It goes without saying that it is at the same time the most intricate of methods. Julius Zancig was most adept at this feat and developed it over a period of years through undisputed ability plus a thorough grounding in transmission secrets. What I am presenting here is a poor substitute for what that master could accomplish, but in itself and as far as it goes, the effect is quite marvelous to an audience and at the same time satisfying to the…
An extremely cute match divination can be presented impromptu with the paper packages that are so common now. Hand a paper of them to a person and ask him to turn his back. First he is to remove several and pocket them so that the performer will not know how many are in the pack. Now he is to count those remaining and tear out enough more to represent that number. For instance, should there be fifteen left, he is to tear out one and lay it on the table, and then tear out five to lay alongside it, in…
Here is an old card principle in a new dress and for a different effect. Magicians all know the old stunt of putting four aces on top of the deck and having it cut into four piles. Then, cards are moved from pile to pile by the spectator, at the performer’s direction, and for a climax, the top card of each pile is turned and shown to be an ace. Now try it this way. While seated at a table, write a prediction on a piece of paper, fold, and let someone keep it. Pick up the pack, false shuffle…
I know many people who don't care for an effect like that which is to follow in the wake of these lament but nevertheless there are a few who will make use of it in their spare time. When Mr Cole showed it to me I thought it rather cute and different in several ways from the usual run of such stunts. I find it nice to do when I have the back of an envelope that is without notes and upon which the lenient victim can make his notations as well as calculations. The person in question is asked…
Good publicity stunts for newspaper men and offices are not easy to find. This not only fills that need but is also good for impromptu use anywhere at any time. Tearing a piece from any handy newspaper, the performer has his witness look it over and encircle any word thereon with a pencil line. The paper is folded and the spectator is asked to concentrate upon the word. The performer tears the piece of paper into bits openly, drops them into an ashtray and sets fire to them. As soon as the paper is burned he reveals the chosen word…
Of all the single or group reading methods that have been invented and created, I think none have been as practically simple as the window frame idea. I've always thought that it was mine but after eleven years I'm not so sure. I made my first note of it on January 12, 1924 and thought of it while reading about an alcohol envelope feke on page 92 of Alexander's Dr. Q book. I handled a lot of correspondence then and passed it around. Later it was advertised in The Sphinx. Howard Albright used it in his Super-Psychic Mental book, and…
This trick, to my mind, is one of the greatest one man psychic effects used to puzzle an audience. It has all of the necessary elements to make a great talk-maker, and a performer with only a bit of showmanship can't help but make a good thing of it. One with a decent amount of that valuable asset will create an astounding impression whenever he presents the test. Last, but far from least, the effect needs very little preparation, and it can succeed under most exacting conditions. In short, we have before us an idea with unlimited scope. Another of…
In many instances a performer wants to present a two person effect of mentalism, but is prevented from doing so because of intricate codes and methods of communication requiring rehearsal. In this instance we learn of a truly simple way by which the medium (or party of the second part) is able to receive the desired information right in front of those witnessing the test. No practice is necessary on the part of the medium, and so it becomes an ideal 'stunt' for those whose wives decline with vehemence to 'learn all that stuff'. For illustration of the communication principle…
One of the most novel effects that has come to my attention is that which follows. True, it is a principle which is neither new nor original, but the application makes it something that will be of interest whenever shown, and allows of not a little histrionic byplay. Mr Robson has long been noted for his ghost stories and horror tales under green lights and such so this emanation from an imaginative brain is excusable. Certainly the variation will be remembered above other forms of the principle. You have six small cards like those illustrated and on which are printed…