• • • • • • • • • •
Al MANN g'.xd'~ POll O FF ICI lOX 14-' •
1
(201) 431-2429
FREEt40LO. NEW J ER SEY 017'28
&M-0,.4. ('~might ~:::::::::::::-~~~ by Al Mann Exclusives)
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STUDY IN FLYING OBJECTS .
One hundred years ago , New York medium, Henry Slade
became
world · fa~ous
due to the str ange phenomena that occured
during his 'readings .' Pheno~ena never ceased for the 15 minutes that the sitter sat in broad daylight in front of Slade , Chairs , books , pencils. slates and other objects fle w across the room without visible means except the ~anifestation of str ange powers . The chair and table where the sitter sat were levitated and knocks and music heard. This amazing art is almost extinct today although it is prac-
ticed occassionally.
Yet , this art which gives the sitter an escape from reality , thrills and chills and of which they talk much later is most easy to do. means of secret proThe magician has at his co~~d many pulsion by which he can make objects fly at will I We will treat each section separately . Here is a partial list , 1. Sleight-of-hand (and sleight-of-foot) and the ability to throw objects undetected. (Impromptu) 2. Catapults. These are usually made with rubber bands and springs and of course are hidden and secretly activated . J. Strings , threads , hairs . 4 . Magnets . 5. Secret machanisms. 6. Ideo-Motion . Suggestion! The professional prizes his sleight-of-hand and ideo-Motion above all else , since nothing can fail BUT keep in mind that your s itter or audience cares little about your method . They want to be entertained ! The most fabulous thing you can do at the ' readings , ' is to read the sitter ' s mind ! They get a weird thrill out of the experience . But then they will talk about the ' other ' things that happened at the reading . "A chair was lift ed and thrown up against the ceiling and then came crashing down besides me and he did not even move . He was sitting in front of me and there was no one else in the room . It sure was spooky ! " f. tt/nb/fn
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EFF-DES
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
?_,f.IIMj1(t,t: This section covers effects done by sleightof hand and other means. These effects are caused by the secret movement of one of the fingers or thumb BUT the movement is invisible when the move is pre sente d correctly which means that you must practice the move diligently. A BOOK FLIES AWAY WHEN THE HAND OF THE PSYCHIC APPROACHES IT I Fig . 1 shows the secret move . BUT it is not as easy as it looks. In order to do the sleight correctly , the fingers of the hand and the visible muscles must not move . Only the thumb
mOVes . A few trials will make you a master.
Hold the four fingers of your hand rigidly together . Simply tense the four fingers into a solid shield until it feels Fig . like if they were welded together. Then 1 move your thumb. The four fingers hide the \ secret movement and also kee p the muscles of the hand from twitching. The book that is used is a small pocket note book or dictionary . As your hand ap proaches, only the tip of your middle finge r touches the table while the fingers remain rigid and the thumb thro ws the book sideways and off the table ! The sleight is actually performed while you are talking to the sitter so that his eyes are looking at yours . The back of you~ p~d~s facing to the left over the sitter ' s right shoulder. "Did you see that? " You ask . " The good forces are surely with us." THE SAME MOVE CAN BE MADE WITH A DECK OF CARDS OR BUSINESS CARDS ! BUT do the move so that the cards fly towards the sitter instead of to the floor. The book can also be made to f l y towards the sitter. To move the object forward the thumb moves in a forward direction instead of sideways . BY THE SAME MOVE A PENCIL IS ~ftDE TO FLY AWAY ALSO a small slate, tablet , key , etc. This type of effect should only be done once during a reading. At first the sitter will assume that it was some trick , but later after other objects flya way when no one is near, an eerie feeling will engulf your sitter. The 'thumb ' move should be done when looking for the correct key in the Seven Keys to Baldpate , or looking for the correct ESP card that the sitter is thinking of . The key or card flyaway and expose their fate as the chosen ones. Practice tensing your entire hand rigidly and then move only the very tip of the thumb . The muscles on the back of your hand must not move.
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J EFF-OES IMPROMPTU
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE cont . . .
BUSIN~~S CARDS (OR PLAYING CARDS) FLY AWAY AS THE HAND OF THE SITTER APPROACHES . This is a modification of Jean Hugard ' s move for the self-cutting '\ deck , In Effectl The psychic offers the Fig. Z sitter his business card. As the sitter takes the card about half of the stack <1C-----__ of cards flies away in a mysterious way. This move really startles the sitter . The cards are catapulted upwards towards the psychic by the IToovement of the • first finger that holds the cards . Any ~ovement of the hand ~ or fingers is conpletely covered by the business card on top and the hand of the sitter as she takes the card. . In Fig ' d2'fh,~lf of the stack of _ bUSlness car S les upwar d s. A single card which contains the sitter ' s chosen design can also be made to fly. Simply tell the sitter to touch the cards.
!
APPORTS, Apports are the rrost baffling phenomena of spiritualism . And it is the most impressive test that can be done for the sitter simply because it involves something that belongs to him and which had been lost, To create the effect simply get an object that the sitter has lost from a previous visit or whenever and then throw it up in the air when he or she is not looking so that it appears to come from the air. The test s hould be done in a room with all the doors locked. Another very strong test is to apport a cealed envelope which contains a question that the sitter had written weeks before and which is signed by him. During a previous sitting, a question written by the sitter was switched and then burned. You of course still have the question . Bear in mind that as far as the sitter is concerned , his or her question was burned without a doubt ! When the envelope is apported. you say, "That is weird! Here is a question signed by you which I have never seen! " When the sitter sees it she may say , "That is the question that I wrote and which we burned some time ago ! " Or she may not remember but chances are that her problem is still in her mind. So you say , "This question is foremost in your mind and very important to you." etc . The first report of this type phenomena was made in Paris in 1819 by Dr . G. P . Billot . A dove materialized with a written message in its beak . If the reader can produce doves you are in the money!
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EFF-OES
fiN ilL MANN EXCLUSIVE
"'~e. L()"~~ mi,4~l().e : The flying object in this effect is the sitte~s ~ationality . lifter witnessing the following phenomena the sitter's reason is completely shattered as no amount of logic will solve the mysterious hilppenings! EFFECT AND PRESENTATION I The sitter writes a question secretly on a piece of paper or card. The psychic takes the sealed question and says, "I am going to tear this missive to pieces and as I do a lot of powerful energy will be released. It is an invisible force which you will not believe possible ." The sealed missive is torn to pieces and burned, The psychic then looks hard into the sitter ' s eyes and says , "I have no idea what the question was that you wrote. The written question is now destroyed beyond recovery . But the unknown energies that were released will ans wer your question with the help of my mediumship." Psychic then looks into his crystal baIlor water bowl. "I feel that these unknown forces are a t this very moment writing an answer to your question." "Yes I Your question has been ans wered. I see a neatly folded missive suspended high above us." Looking again into the s itter's eyes , the psychic says , "Please look up to the ceiling and tell me what you see l" When the sitter looks directly overhead he will see a folded paper attached to the ceiling. It is out of reach. So a chair or ladder is used to retrive it . When the paper i s unfolded it contains an answer to the question!
The plot is profound and leaves nothing else to be desired as far as phenomena is concerned. THE METHOD, A folded billet is attached to the ceiling with a piece of double-sided scotch tape . This billet is a blank 'dummy !' The sitter ' s question is switc~ed by your favorite ffiethod. All you need is to rsad the question. As the reading progresses you secretly write out the answer to the question on a pre-folded piece of paper to resemble the billet on the cei ling. When the billet on the ceiling is retrieved, it is switched for the billet with the answer I A one -hand billet switch is the best . (see Acidus) . Ths above plot is peppered with imponderables! "How did anyone know my question?" "The answer must have been attached to the ce iling before I entered." - -" But how did they know ahead of time what my question would be?" - "Was I hypnotised? " "Str ange Forces?" If the ceiling is very high , so much t he better as then you will need a siX-foot or higher ladder to retrieve the billet which will g ive you plenty of opportunities to switch the billets and throw the correct one on the table .
5 AN At lM\NN E(CtUSIVE
EFF-OES
eAtA!'4eeA-:
Secretly activated catapults that can throw a heavy book across the room can be made with innocent and harmless appearing rubber bands ! An enormous ruckus can be created on a high shelf with simple ~eans .
EFFECT .
It
BOOK IS THROWN ACROSS THE ROOM
WHILE NO ONE IS NEAR I Method . Use three ce dium size hard - cover books of the same size, Place two books side by side , but with the spines touching , as shown in Fig. J . Then stretch two (or three) r ubber
Fig . J
bands around the two books , It and B .
Next take the third book , C, and place it squarely on book II and then !'old book B over all . Hold the three books together in a stack as shown in Fi g . 4 NOW if these trxee books are placed on the table and a fourth heavy book is placed over them , the catapult will be acti vate d when the fourth book is picked up l
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If the stack is placed high on a shelf the catapult can be activated by a string that removes the fourth book fro~ the stack, Fig , 4 is placed in front of the stack to prevent the There must also be some other books behind the books do not move backwards . The catapult can also be activated simply sitter to hand you the top book . As the sitter book C is seen to flyaway and to the floor.
)
.~
B
mil
C
I
A
Ilf) Fig . 4
-
shows a penci l that books from moving. stack so that the by telling the removes the top book ,
SIZES APPROXIMATELY , Books should ceasur e 5* by 7* by J/4 inch , The rubber bands are about J; long and 1/8 inch wid e . THE BOOKS MUST HAVE A PAPER DUST JACKET. That way they will slide better . The reader must practice with his own materials. Sometimes it is necessary to use four rubber bands . To create a loud noise when the book hits the floor use very large and heavy books and many rubber bands . Books without dust jackets can be used also but the number of rubber bands may have to be incr eased , Fig. 4 shows the end view of the three books. The solid line shows how the rubber bands are tied a round the books. The catapul ted book can be used in a weird book test as follows. But besides the book test, the catapulted book may contain a special message for the sitte r or flowers , photographs , etc .
•~ • • • • • • • • • •
6
EFF-OES
AN AL MANN
~CLUSIVE
"BtH!X..
'1It.C«4,!IJI.',4 EFFECT liND PRESENTATION I Mentalist hands the sitter a sealed envelope saying, "1 have written a sentance from a book on a slip of paper and have sealed it in that envelope . You of course do not know the sentance nor the book it is in, And of course you do not know where the book is," "Would it surprise you if I tell you that you are going to find the book and the page? Please note that in this office there are hundreds of books , " "But the 'force' is wi th us and you are going to be led to the book and the page which contains the sentance! " "Please take this card and stick it anywhere into the thick book on that stack of books . Stick it into any page you wish . It is your choice , Now if that is the correct book , the sentance will appear on the page where you stuck your card ! " "So open the book to that page and read the first sentance." As the sitter picks up the book another book flies out from the stack across the room. The Mentalist also flies up with excitement and ther. point to the book on the floor saying , "That ' s the book ! You fo~~d it! That is great. But read the line on the book you are holding . It is not the sentance that I wrote. Take the card again and sti ck it into the pages of that book that jumped out . Now read the first sentance. " Mentalist takes the book from the sitter and tells her to open the envelope and check the sentance . It is the same sentance that the sitter just read !
The plot is good, of course and you can present it by having the sitter check various books until the one book flies out. The flying book is of course a force book that contains only one page throughout . A VARIATION WITH ANY BOOK I Prepar e any book with a sealed envelope 1nside that- says , "Please read t he first sentance on page 101 . " This book is used as the !'lying book . The sitter is told that the book will declare itself . Have the sitter check several books until the correct book flies out ! You have of course pre dicted the first sentance on page 101 !
.,/u. &"1 ~.. ~fA. : The self - cutting deck done with rubber bands was treated by Charles T. Jordan in his Thirty Card Mysteries . An excellen t version of it also appeared in The Pallbearers Review , vol. 9 #3. The effect is beautiful and magical. For the seance room it suffices to have the deck cut itself and locate the selec t ed card which appears as the top card of the lower half of the cut. Here we presen t it as a display of un known forces ! EFFECT I A card is chosen and returned to the deck. Mentalist wraps the deck with a rubber band and throws the deck on the table. The deck mysteriously cuts itself into two parts. When the top card
7 AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
EFF-OES
THE SELF CUTTING DECK
cont . . .
of the lower half is turned over it is seen to be the chosen card! METHOD I The chosen card is controlled to the
top . A rubber band is then placed around the deck.
I
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Take half of the deck with your right hand while the deck is held facedown in left hand , and ~ove the cards to the right until it clears the lower half and then turn the cards in the right hand over end-for - end as in Fig . 5. Show the face card as an indifferent card asking the sitter if that is his card, At this time he ~ill be looking into your eyes so then you push the right hand cards down and under the left hand cards so that the Ace of Spades cecomes the bottom card of the deck. Unknowr. to the sitter , his chosen ~ card is now the top card of the lower half . ~{f-When the deck is thrown on the table it will cut itself ~~d look like in Fig . 6. Fig . 6 "The deck has oysteriously cut itself into two parts!" You say . "It is trying to tell us something." "Please take a look at that card." You say as you point to the top card of the lower part (arrow in Fig. 6) . T~ FO~CEI ~his principle is excellent for forcing one or several cards . Just place the cards you wish to force at the top of the deck ~~d then wrap the rubber band around it after a good shuffle (re~L~ing the top stock) and do the self-cutting bit . Tell the sitter or spectators that a card or cards will be chosen by chance. Where ever the deck parts itself , we will use that cut to pick cards from, you say. So after the set-up hand the deck to the sitter and tell him to throw the deck on the table! Or you ~y throw the deck yourself on the floorl VARIA~IONS I There must be a good one dozen ways on how to make a self - cutting deck without the use of rubber bands or threads I Here are so~e ideas I Slick and rough cards. The deck separates at the slick cards when the deck is thrown on the table! Say that you want to force three cards. The three force cards are slicken on the face and roughen on the back . These are placed over cards that are s~ooth on the back and roughen on the face . The rest of the cards in the deck are roughen on the face and back! A method that never fails is to tie three stacks of cards through~the --center wftfl loose thread and then cover the front and back of each stack with cards to hide the thread . This deck can then be riffled and cut and when it is thrown on the table it will part into three sections ! The top or bottom cards of each section are forced ! NOTE, ~he move in Fig. 5 can be repeated two or more times so that the deck will cut itself as many times!
II II II II
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8
EFF-OES
.,tt.e
Sa.r~ ttl.
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
1).uue 06:?of II! V"""C4 :
Accor ding to Flavious Josephus , 1st century scholar and historian, what he called ' The Feat of Eleazar" was indeed a miracle to behold .
By the co~~d 0: the magician , which was given in a loud voice , some vases on a high shel f would dance , gyrate and ju~p off . The magic would escape once the vase broke. "Let a cupboard be so placed, as your confederate may hold a blacke trxed without in the court , behind some windo"/I of that roorne l and at a cer t e ine lo wd
word spoken by you , he may pull the same thred,
being wooned about ~he pot , Etc, And this was the feate of Eleaz.ar, which Josephus reporteth to be such a miracle" The Discoverie of Witchcraft Reginald Scot (1584) Eleazar ( Eleazer) was a 1st century magician , healer and rabbinical scholar and neighbor of Josephus. The =.oral o~ the above story, Gentlemen , is that if it is good enough fo r a high Priest it should be good enougr. !'or us. 50=.e fabu.lous magic has been performed by the aid of string , hair and 'invisible' thread. These topics have been well covered in ~~ cagic books . so I will touch it l i ghtly here .
-'Ue ~(c.t('lte tIt~..i.. : Gentlemen , you have probably read the following effe~r many times , as it has appeare d i n print in many books, You may have tried it and discard it as not workabl e . Here are ~ notes on it . It is trul y amazing if properly presented. The ef.!'ect was first recounted in "Dean ' s Legerdemain. " This treatise in =agic was wri tten sometime before 1790 . It appeared i n print again in the "Conjuror's Magazine " for September 1791. •• E?FEC:I f, suspended object falls on command of the magician.
It is ~old that a Pal atine Maiden went from door to d oor t hrough the towr. perfor~ing only one effect and making a good living at it . She would suspend a ring from a string and t hen have someone set fire ~o ~he string which burned to ashes , but the ring remained suspended ~n~il the maiden touch it . This ef:ect baffled many a learned person who tried the ef f ect but failed as the ring always fell off when the string was burned . •• "The Whole Ilrt of Legerdemain or Hocus Pocus in Perfection" by Henry Dean, published in London in 1722.
9 ErF-OES
AN ilL MlINN r;.::CLUSlVE
THE PALATINE AFFAIR I
cont.
The maiden would not part wi~h her secret fnr love or money. But she did sell it for a pittance when taken ill to a Mr . Jonas, (probably Juatus Jonas, German Scholar circa 1500). THE SECR~ is that the string has been soaked in salted water ! When the string is set on fire , the salt burns but the ashes remain intact ~ If the ~eader tries the test it will no doubt fail , as the ring will fall !ro~ the burning string. One reason for failure may be that rings today are heavier than they were ~OO years ago. Fortunately, the lay mind believes that anything that is sus pended from a string should fall when the string burns ! So that if we suspend a safety pin on a string and then set fire to the string without the safety pin falling , it i s a miracle. To the lay mind , the sa~ety pin has weight and it should fall . When the ~giclan makes the safety pin fallon command then the mystery deepens ! METHOD .
~~1e
SA?ETY PIN should be about 1; inch long.
A longer pin can be tested also.
tae a three strand cord slightly thicker than a string . should be cotton. 1/16 inch dia. cord . Tie the string in a loop as in Fig . 8 . The loop sho'.:ld be about J or 4 inches long . Place ~~e knot of the string on the bottom of t~e loop so that the knot will burn first . Set both ends of the string on fire at about the saee tit:e. The pin will remain suspended from the ashes which _111 not break until you give the command . TO KAKE :h~ PIN DROP ON COMMAND , use a magnet cupped in your hand and place the hand under the pin. ~.en the magnet is about 1/2 inch under the head of the pin , the pin will drop ! If you ~~ve a magician ' s ~agnetic ring , it will work also . The
STRIN~.
The string has of course been soaked in sa l ted water and allowed to dry. Use a solution of half salt and half water. Soak the strings for as long as you wish, 10 minutes or over night. The safe~J pin will of course fall if an unprepared string is used .
Fig . 7
Fig. 8
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. 10 EFF-OES
fiN flL MIINN EXCLUSIVE
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~ r~:'(·~ 94t""t.e«.: In whi ch we consider the powers of the magnet. The use of a magneti c field embedded in your den table or in your brief case , wallet or what-have-you has been well cove r ed in Psycho -Mentisis (liME ) and in other writings . The ef f ects possible by the use of this field are fabulous. We
owe it to J. van Rinkhuyz en of Holland for bringing this technique to the fore . The followL~g is a mere addenda t o Psycho -M entisis . THE
~AGN~IZ~ ~~~l)LEI
Very few persons are aware that a sew-
ing needle can be conv erted into a permanent magnet almost instantly. This is because a se wing needle is made of hard steel which has
t he ability to
re~in
'induced ' magnetism when placed near a per-
manent magnet . :he ~gnetized needle also developes polarity and has a north and south pole like t he permanent magnet! On the other h~~d , paper clips and safety pins which are made with soft ~etal do not become magneti zed . That is why when you link paper clips over a hidden magneti c field and then give the same paper clips to the sitter across the table the clips will no longer link together. So place so~e se wing needles on a permanent magne t to magnetize them and then you can pick up one needle wi th the other due to their magnetic properties. The effect is not impressive since your sitter will correctly su-~se that the needles are magnetised, BUT we can hide the needles so tha t they are not suspect and then miracles will ensue. (1) Magnetize several small needles , say 1 inch or 1-1/8 inch long and then stick these tiny needles into paper matches in a book of matches . If you now tear out the matches , they will stick to each other by their extreme ties. Practice a bit with these paper matches and keep in =ind that one needle can only pick up another needle by the correct end (opposing polarity). fig. 9 . (2) I n the sace ~er , tiny needles can be embedded into newspaper (at the margin line) . If you paint the needles with a bl ack ink marker they wil l be hard to see . Then tear off piece s of newspaper , about one inch wide by 2 inches long . When the needle points come together. two pieces of paper can be picked up. (J) Renove about 1! inch of lead from a lead pencil and then embed a needle into a piece of plastic rod the same thicknes as the pencil lead and glue it to the pencil . Then you can use the pencil to pick up piec es of paper. e t c . The piece of plastic rod must be painted black to re semble the pencil paint.
(4) A tiny needle can be embedded in the end of a string and then the string moves about the table by the use of a hidden magnet under the table! The string has become po ssesed by th e spirit of a snake! you say .
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11 EFF-OES
AN ilL MANN D:CLUSlV"E
THE INVISIBLE FORCE
cent.
(5) PSYCHIC MOTIONI This is the most impressive effect you can do with the magnetised needles! Take two or three tiny magnetized needles and stick them into wooden matches so that they are totally out of sight . This is not easy to do . You cay have to use a tiny drill and vise to make the proper bed for the needles. For the effect, throw the three prepared matches together with three unprepared natches in abunch on the table and then say that you will tTl to cove the matches by the power of thought alone . lifter due concentration , several matches are Been to move ! eerily ! You make the matches move with that magnet strapped to your knee ,
Then break an unprepared match and say , "lifter the match is
broken the power leaves !" If your cagne~ is a strong one, it will make the matches stand up ! kagicians place a glass bell over the matches to sho w that there are no strings being used. A better idea is to have the sitter choose a match (one of three) and to lock it inside a glass box. The catch will then stand on command! The match stands because one of its poles is attracted to the opposite pole of the magne~l :~~s, Gentlemen , brings us to THE FABULOUS EKPLOITS OF ••. ...
_to
Prj'tt I~... :~ " York Clly, is • young Iheolo9h~ Ind ordlintd "Inlster. HI is 11$0 I Master Ht ~tllls~ ':l4 ..pin III Bltek Hl gic . He hIS Irnellto to IMbet Illd (gJpt, indll Ind Uric •• 'IInil. h ltdcl _I .lIllIe I" (IVln of '" .ncient Pri,st li nD lnlhled nl_sdl ov,r • foot off the 9(OlIlId. (In\$ 'ut .,Ilitito 'rlll" lht bb bu t the s.trel hs bun III tile ,/JIlt archives for salt li_, fill.d unarr ~r~r:it:e~ ;;S~ • . M) Prj·u I •• ~o I, ueo Into leyit,lions, ~ilocilion and invisibility. h till uh hluelf Invisible It . ,1I 111 nls C""rt~. ",nil. itehring Defore his tongrrgltion Ind vnil . .. liking ..ongst the • • He is 1150 I~ uClut II I"' 'Cold h,d ' Illd un prod~te $l)irit forlS frOt his flngertlpsl 0. ' Dr . ~t·, '<32, Prl~ct Ih.Db vlsihd tile ,/JII( OIHt. and ... hlh hen, the house li gh ts we ol cOIO\rtrh 0.1 1-: ntwrn.d In 1 h .. seconds 0) . Herr is I ~ird ' s .~, vi .... of SOli of thl Pr ince ' ~ ~I~lt:
.,c_~ ~I&' ?J)i (.IfI, :
Prince Thebb passes his hand over a digital watch and the watch goes Berzerk . No l He does not push any buttons or ~ove any dials , he just passes his hand over it l Next he takes a pocket watch with a second hand sweep and makes it stop and start at will! The Secret . Prince Thebb has a large magnet embedded into a book . The ~agnet is about the size of a bar of soap. When he places the digital wat ch over the book , the watch goes berzerk but no one knows it yet. He ~hen picks up the watch and passes his hand over
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12 AN ilL M/lNN E(CLUSIVE
EFF-OES
cont . . ,
TIM"E GONE WILD
it and mumbles soce magic words and gives the watch back to the
owner who is of course amazed at what he sees. The Digital watch is now racing and will continue racing until the battery runs down l
The digital
wa~ch
will be completely ruined after that and of
no further use to anyone, BUT Prince Thebb looks at it this way, The owner benefitted from witnessing a miracle and seeing a great psychic at work. He will probably have no complaints. He will treasure the watch as a ' psychic ' souvenir ! The reader ~y want to do the effect with a ' planted ' cheap digital watch. ~he ef~ect is great I With the pocket watch that has a sweeping second hand, This watch will stop as it nears the magnetic field and will start again when it is re~oved ~rom the field I Do not let the watch remain too long over the field or it will become magnetized and ruined also .
(SECRET MECHANISMS) A thin :e~l disc (1-)/8 inch diameter) that can be palmed and which stores enough energy to jump up over three feet automatically is so:ething to ponder about. I a~ re!'err':"ng to the "Jumping Discs" sold by Edmund Scientific of Barrington, N.J. but which may be available in your locality . These discs have been around for a number of years and many persons have seen them, so that making them jump in the air is not what we may call 'psychic manifestation.' As Mentalists we are only interested in using this stored energy in a disguised fashion. We can also use the 'cliking ' noise that the discs cake when they contract. The discs are :roade with two metals like the home ther:os~t. The metals expand and con A tract at di~ferent temperatures! In its nor:al state , the discs look like a dish (Pig. lOA) and they have two sides. B The top concave side is called the face and the betto: convexed side is called the back. When the center is warmed and depressed it looks li~e in Fig. lOB and if it is laid c on a hard sur!ace it will contract when it Fig. 10 cools of! and will snap downwards and jump high into the air. If the disc is depressed and placed face-downwards like in Fig. lOC i't will not jump as high . As Mentalists we must learn to use the discs in both positions. When the discs contract they nake a cliking noise that can also be used to advantage. When the discs are cocked ready to jump as in Fig. lOB, it is said that they are in "Cliked " position. In order to activate the eli ked discs they must be placed
lJ AN AL MANN EXCLUS I VE
EFF-OES DISCQBOLUS
. . cont . . .
where they can cool off . The cooling peri od determines the time it will take the discs to activate and jump. This is advantageous to us . As you can experi~ent and tell more or less how long it wi l l be before the discs do their wor k. THE JUMP ! NG SPOON I EFFECT. A spoon jumps off a shelf when no one i s near. One minute be~ore your sitter comes into your den , place a spoon on the ~ very e dge of a low shelf in your of ~,~ fice . Depress a d i sc a."'ld place it face --<........-- ..- - -down (Fig . l OC) and place only the tip Fig . 11 of the spoon r~"'ldle on the disc. The disc _ill activate in about 2 to 4 minutes and throw the spoon off the shelf. NOW if you place t he disc over a soft sur face like a pack of cigarettes. the disc will remain in place and wi l l not fall to the :loor . Only the spoon will fall. Who threw it? The disc ~~ farther be disguised by a paper covering. By the made to fly
~e
eethod , a business card , book of matches can be shelf .
o~~ ~he
THE CASCAD:NG DOMINOES . You may be able to get a good effect out of cascading do~noes . A set of dominoes are stood up on ed ge like little soldiers and when the disc is ac t ivated it will cause a chain reac~ion ~o topple all the dominoes . Lean the disc at an angle so tha~ it will hit the top of the first domino. THE S?IRI:S RING A BELL I Place a disc in click postion as in Fig. 103 face up ~~der a bel l . When the di sc activates it will jump straight up ~~d hit the bell l THE fXPAND!NG BEER Cl!.l'i§. . EFFECT. Psychic points to some beer cans on a shelf ~'1d says , "Please notice t hose beer cans. If the force is with us today we can cause them to heat up and expand. If so you will hear the noise . " In a few moment s the expanding noise of the beer cans is heard! Use a'1Y cans. Even some empty novelty cans can be used. Place the cans on a low shelf and place some discs behind them in position face - down (?ig . 10C) . The di scs wi ll activate in a few minutes and will not j~p but only make the clicking noise which dUplicat es ex actly the noise cade by expanding sealed cans . Place the discs on a soft sur!'ace. When buying discs , be sure to buy the large ones the si z e of a silVer dollar . For our pur poses these are the best . Here is the address l Ed~'1d Scientific , Edscorp Bldg ., Bar r i ngton , N.J. , 08007 . The discs cool off faster on a lo w shelf in your office. A High shelf ~~y delay the ac t ion indefini te and too long.
14
EFF-OES
AN At MANN EXCLUSIVE
Ideo-Motion, n"
motor activity caused by an idea. The Random House Diet . Ideo-Motion is responsible for the vibrations the Magician gets from the mind of the subject in contact and non-contact mindreading . It is also responsible for the movements of Chevreul ' s pendulum by the Ifill of the subject.
Ideo -Motion is magic of the mind in its purest form. The Magician plants an idea in the mind of the subject that results in positive motion as willed by the Magician and the subjectl It causes one of cany pendulums to swing inside a bottle ! It makes a heavy key turn over while held by a spectator! It causes tables to tilt and knock and fly off the floor! THE
Kb~,
Fig. 12 shows
a superior and easier ~ way of making the /' , key turn. I Tho tost ~ appeared in a ~~--\. German Magic \I ~ magazine and / ." ~. shows the way -..../ \ . \ 7' tha t Punx __ .. does the tes't. \ \ \, It was ser.'t in by Ted Lesley. This is a bette r Fig. 12 method than the one described by Dr . Jaks in the Phoenix. Magicians have done well _ith the key effect . It has appeared in print many times , The key can be made to turn over in the spectator's hand when it is laid across the rear of the palm. The key can be made to turn over by itself with the help of a strong ~gne~ under the table . A bent key can be secretly switched for the strai~~t key to show that the key has 'turned,' The !eat of caking the key turn over at the tip of the finger as shown in ?i g . 12, is a feat of juggling, pure and simple . It is a matter of properly balancing the key and then turning the finger tip inwards ~~perceptively and of course very slowly , but the effect looks eeri e. 7he key turns over on the flesh of the fingertip. ~ THE MYS~IC DOOR I The fea t of making the key turn over on the palm, Fig. 1), can be used in com\\ ~/. bination ·. .,ith 'The Keys to Balpate.' Use your favo- , .
(l
I
0
p
rite method. An effect with a miniature door known
as The Mystic Door would be perfect. After all the \ keys are tried and failed. The ' force' is called upon to help. When the key turns on the palm, the door is tried again and this time it opens ! -----1 Fig. 1)
Vi
.
~
\
15 EFF-OES
IDEO - MOTION
AN AL MANN E(CLUSIVE
cent . ..
THE PEN OF Dr. FAUS~ I A fountain pen will turn over on the palm in the same fashion as a key. The pen must be cylindrical and must have a clasp. The pen is laid across the palm at the rear and it wi ll turn over 51o~ll' Place the pen on a clip board and let the spectator hold the clip board horizontal ~o the floor and tell the spectator to will the pen to turn O'/er. 1 t 'Nill !
THE PSYCHIC ~R3LE . Place a glass marble on the center of your cl i p bOard or on any sheet of glass or plastic and give it to the spectator ~ hold . Then tell him to will the marble to go left or right on ~~e board, Ideo - motion takee care of the rest . Get two persons ~o hold the board and the effect is greater! Bee-throu~~
?tt.e
1'Je.t:J&. ! A glass tube containing a shiny liquid is placed on the pal~ o~ a spectator . The ball of liquid moves eerily and very slo_ly at the will of the spectator.
I I I I I I I I I
Fig . l~. 5~OWS a mercury electric switch . It is o~~y a glass capsule with a blob of =er~~ ir.side. The items are not easy to !L~d, ~t you will find one aboard your ya~ct. :hey come with the emergency overboard safety lights. Fig . 14 Re~ove t:.e _ire connection and you can do the test. : t is eerie since the blob of mercury first elongates and then !:oves very slo wly . It will move easier from the left to the right 8S sho~ in Fig . 14 due to the terminals on the right side which _ill retard the movement otherwi se. These swi~ches measure 5/16 inch in diameter by J inches long and are just the right size for the test . If you can ' t find one of the i te=s ~. getting some rr.ercury and place it inside a glass test tube _ith a glass stopper . Or perhaps you can find another kind of jelly t~3t will work the same as the mercury. The substance must not stic~ to the glass. Instr~=t ~te spectator to will the blob to move BUT to not make any cor.sciou$ ~ovements of the hand , BUT by the same token not to impede a~:i =O'/e~ent or try to consciously stop the blob from moving . lIr.yt.hir.g that is free to move can be 'willed' by ideo-motion ! That is w~.y the tables move and gyrate . That is why the ouija board responds ~ questions . Ideo-~otion is akin to the response of the preliminary hypnotic test.. ~he operator must keep repeating the command to will the move~ent as needed. The test that follows is a good exampl e .
16 EFF-OES
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
"Me Otl#l.U Sl'ke'U EFFECT I A ball placed in a bowl plate moves around at the will of the spectator which holds the bowl. Methodl
Get a steel ball bearing and
a bowl dish. Place the ball bearing in the bowl and let the spectator hold it with both hands.
Instruct hi= to bring the ball to a stop at the side neares~ hi= . Next , say. "I want you 'to will the ball to travel to the right Side, (his right side) of the plate . " I am referring here to the botto= o~ the bowl. The ball will actually travel in a circle but OI"..ly 90 degrees at a time. "Please do not :::ove your hands . Do not make any conscious movement with your ha:;.ds. Just will the ball to move to the right." "Once the ball starts to move, do not try to stop it. Just keep on willing the ball to move to the right . II It wi ll ~e a fe w seconds before the ball begins to move . Do not give up on it. The spectator's will , will make the ball move sooner or late~ a~d it never fails. Once the ball ~oves to the ri ght side of the plate, instruct him to will the ball to move to the far end. Then to the left side . The Ol~ec Sphere can be used to answer questions. If the ball moves to tte ~ight it means "Yes ! " To the left means "No ! ", etc . If it does not r:ove then it means "Maybe!" The Sphere can be used to spell a name or word or sentance . For this test you ~ust place the letters of the alphabet around the bowl. The sphere will stop at the desired letter to spell the word according to the will of the person holding the bowl ! are
It is best to use a steel ball bearing because the bearings al~ost
perfect spheres while a marble may not be .
If you place the bowl on the table, you can make the ball move by the '..Ise of a strong magnet. Have the spectators sit around the table and tell them to concentrate in moving the heavy steel ball . AN IID'IA~~:ED TEST. Have a second person hold the wrist of the person holding the bowl. Tell the second person to secretely will the ball to r:ove while you instruct the first person not to stop the ball from moving or to counteract its movement. The ball can be willed to ~ove to either side! This advanced test can be done also with the ' Blob' and the turning i!:B:; ! Once you establish the proper frame of mind in your group, the results are fabulous.
Get a large bowl and ball and have two persons hold it. The ball will move as you will it !
17 liN ilL MANN
EFF-OES
~GLUSIV~
S,'94t :
~cI,c 0 The serious student may want to consider the following I If an idea can cause positive motor activity then a similar idea can cause perceptible reaction on any of the other sensesl As an exa~ple, we'll use the ancient ritual with a candle. Light a tall candle and place it in front of a mirror. Extinguish all the other
I I i I I I I
li~~t5
in the room and have someone stare at
the refle cted light on the mirror and wish for a color. If they wi sh for the color ' blue ' tell the person to think 'blue.' They must keep on willi ng to see 'blue. You must keep repeating the command to will 'blue.' An aura will form around the light of the cand le reflected in ~~e mirror . The blue , green and purple colo r s will be perceptible at tr.e bottom of the aura and the yello w, orange and red will be at the top. The person can change his or her mind and wish for another color and that color will become perceptible to the eye! The effect is not in the imagination. The fa ct is that light contains all the colors of the rainbow. At sunset , due to the bend ing of the lig."'It ra:,'s , all the colors of the rainbow can be seen r eflected in the SKy, BUT one at a time. At sea during a calm day the mysterious 'gr een flash' is seen as the rim of the sun disappears below tt.e horizon . Rain drops act like prisms and disperse the colors of the sun rays into a spectrum giving us the beautiful rainbows , B~~ please note that in order to see the rainbow your back must be towards the sun. You can draw a vertical plane from the center of the rain tow through your eye and to the center of the sun! In othe r words tte colors of the rainbow can be seen in the reflected light only all at once ! In the a~ve test with the candle , if you wa sh the mirror with a wet sponge and tnen wipe it dry wit~ a paper towel, the mirror will retain enoue;:l". moisture to produce a better aura of colors around the reflected light of the candle. Another ancient test used by hypnotists is to tell a person to stare at the center of a shiny white board (about one foot square) until the;,' see a black spot. This spot will then grow into varius shapes and sites. By the same token , colors can be perceived I THl:: PSYCHIC ':'OOTH PICK .
llnother 'psychic' test is to float a toothpick in a bowl of wat er and then, according to the initiates, after about four minutes ~he tooth pick will turn left or righ~ as will ed ! ~ faster and more dramatic solu tion would be to simply embed a sewing needle in a st ick of wood or straw and then cause the stick to point to any direction by the use of a hidden magnet. The stick can be ro.ade to point to a playing card in a circle of cards.
18 AN At MANN EXCLUSIVE
UP - OES
seA"'. '.6
In Fig . 15 , A is the medium's chair. B is the reading table . C is the sitter's chair D is the flying cha i r E are lead hooks F is a writing table or any small table , G. is the secret string that leads to the medium IS chair.
9-'tr~'4t;
D
Fig . 15 G
F B A
Fig. 15/1 shows an enlarge view of the slip the flying :;:::;:::~~«~§j§r::::=:::::;~ chair knot . The used arrowto ishold the upleading end of the string which secretly ~ leads to the ~ediuc's chair . Fig. 15A TO PRESEN~I When the sitter comes to the door. she is met by the medium who catches the sitter's eyes and
leads her
I
I I I I
I I
~o
her chair. The chair which
is already suspended in the air by the string is not seen by the sitter. At the proper time , the medium secretly pulls the string which releases the chair which falls down and hits the writing tabl e and is thrown forward towards the sitters chair and which may even hit her chair I 'l'he =edl'''u:: cautions the sitter not to be alarmed as the
'forces' aet that way in his presence . He states that the chair
was levitated to the ceiling and that it happens as a matter of course . The lead hooks "ROO are very small and hardly noticeable. The string is also almost invisible and is never seen. T~e eediUQ adds to the phenomena by t hrowing books, pencils and slates that he can pick up with hi s feet and throw across the room from under the table . Or with his hands when the sitter turns
around in surprise after all the noise caused by the f l ying cha i r !
tOuring this type of act , all mirrors and reflecting surfaces are covered . ) Slade would point to the chair in great excitment and say , "Look I The spir1 ts have levitated a chair I " When the s1 tter turned around to look, Slade pulled the thread and the sitter e aw the chair in mid air and falling . That completed the illusion l
19 EFF-OES
liN ilL MilNN 'D.CLUSIVE
II coffee cup . a cereal dish and a soup bowl filled with liquid sit
on the center of the table untouched ,
Mentalist bets that he can cause the liquid to spill from anyone of the dishes as chosen by the audience, without touching Fig . 17 the diah or wi~ho~t spilling any liquid from the rest l OR the effect can be presented as a psychic test.
7 ,
7
The Secret a Each one of the dishes has a different free
I I I I I I I I I
surface than the others . Therefor if t he table is jarred , each dish will create a diffe rent wave length when the liquid moves and each dish therefor has a different rhythum, Working , ?lace your finger tips on the table and press down with a slight tension . Look at the chosen di sh only. Say that the cup has been chosen . Stare at the cup and impart a sl i ght jar to the table so that the liquid moves. By looking at the surface of the cup you C~~ see the movement of the liquid so you must impart tiny jars to the table to keep in rhythum with the liquid. All trIee dishes are filled with water to about one inch from th e rim. The :ove~ents imparted to the table by you will be seen . The movements :ust be side ways , left and right. For the coffee cuP . you mus t move the table in tiny movements of about ~ i:pulses per second . For the cer eal dish, you will need about 2 i~pulses per second and fo r the soup bowl you will need an impulse per second of time. I f yo~ do not explain the method to your audience , they will be mystified as it is hard to understand why one liquid will spil l while the others remain still. You should use a light table that can easily move, The :ethod used is similar to the method of ' the s winging pendulu~s' except that with the liquid, your spectators will see the move=ents of the table. The reason this effect was named "Wind from Java ," is because ori ginally the effect wa s done with coffee cups , By doing the effect wit h the dishes shown 1n Fi g , 17 . the reader can easily see the method, Later if you wi sh you can use coffee cups , but the cups must all be of different si zes with a differ ent a rea at the rim. A demitasse cup , a regular cup and a gi ant si ze cup can be used. A little practice will make you an expert. To my knowledge , this is the first time the effect has appeared in print . so have fun with it.
I I I
20 (201) 431-2429 ~Sl
OHIef
.o~
'"
• fAUHOLD. >ofW JIFlUY on,.
Gentlemen, this introduces a streamline version of The Pegasus Page. Everything is prepared before the show so that you have nothing to do during the show except to act beautiful. EFFECT, The audience is handed a book of about 450 pages.
While the book is in their hands, they are given a free choice
of anyone page from 100 to 450. Before they open the book they are told to choose any word from the top line, say word 1 to 8, They are then instructed to open the book to their chosen page and to look up their chosen word. Lo and Behold! Would you believe it? When they open the book to their chosen page, the page is missing totally. It has been torn out of
"Do not fret !·
I have the page in my walle t your sight alThe Mentawalle t and taites opens it and allows the folded sheet which torn pieces in the book : "flnd~ says the Mentalist, that you t'.ave chosen written on this N
the book .
says the Mentalist, "For
neatly folded and sealed which has been in ways. list then opens his out an envelope and a person to remove fits exactly to the
"1
card !
also have the word N
The page is chosen by three members of the audience and I do not have to tell you how impossible it all sounds . 50 ... THE 5CLU~IONI In 1947. Greer Marechal created a book test whi ch he called , "500 Limited" and which made the front page of Phoenix ~121. The test is indeed fabulous as it allows the audience to believe that they are getting a free choice of anyone page in hundreds. when in actuality they get a choice of one in four ! In 'T he fllborak ' I will use the Marechal method slightly modified. The gist of the method is that the audience is given a book that contains about 450 pages fiND since the book contains less then 500 pages, three persons are asked to callout one digit under 5 . The Io1entalist informs the audience that one page between 100 and 500 will be chosen . BUT the digits are written in ascending order and they must be all difrerent . Amazingly, only four pages can be arrived at . They are pages
I I I I I I I I I I
21 EFF-OES THE ALBORIIK
AN At MANN EXCLUSIVE cent.
12). 124, 1)4, and 2)4 , The audience is not aware that zeroes have been eliminated ! Nor that the choice is limited to four pages. TO PREPARE. Get a book that contains about 450 pages in hard
covers and tear out pages 12)/124 , 1)4 and 2}4. 1 . Take page 123/124 and seal it in an envelope with a card that reads, "~his is the page that you will choose. And the word that you will c~oose will be " 2. Take page 1)4 and write across it with black crayon , "This is the page that you will choose!" Also include a card that reads I "The word that you will choose will be "
J. Do the sate
·~ith
page #234.
4. Take pages 134 and 2)4 and sealed them in a double envelope.
S. You now have two sealed envelopes . One contains page 12J/ 124 with the prediction card, and the other contains pages 1J4 and 2)4 in separate compartments, 6 , Flace the two envelopes in a Himber-type wallet or any other two-way devise , All i s ready ,
THE ?RESEN~ATION I Show the thick book to the audience, 7ell them that it contains about 450 pages, I Say that you are going to have three persons in the audience choose single digits to arrive at a page. 3 "That will give us one page between 100 and 450 1" LI TaFoe a writing tablet and an ink marker and "r approach a person on your right side of the audience, "'P,e boOK only has 5450 pages so will you please . Pig . 1 6 g~ ve me a !'l.u::ber under ," Write the number on the tablet and let the person see it. As in Fig. 16, if he calls a 4 write it on the bottom of the page . I~ he calls a 1, write it on top . If he calls a 2 or J. write it at about the middle. Approach a second person at about the center of the audience and ask :or a second digit . If he calls the same digit that is already on the tablet, tell him that you already have that one. He must also give you a digit under 5 but it must be different. Write the digits down on a vertical line but in aacending order from top to bottom. Approach a third person on your far left of the audience and get the third digit under 5. Then show the tablet to the audience as you say , "We have page 1J4 which has been freely chosen by three persons . So please take the book and open it to page 1)4 but before you do that plesse choose one word from the top line. Which will it be, say from 1 to 87"
22 EFF-OES THE ALBORl\K
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
cont.
After the page is found missing call attention to the wallet on the table which has been in sight from the beginningl NOTE . The fact that the freely chosen page is missing from the book is clioax enough for most of the audience. That will amaze them and Qany will think that it is indeed the c limax and will marvel and ~y even applaud or at least ~sp l
I I I
I
I I I I
I I I
1. If page 123 or 124 has been chosen you take out the un gimmick envelope from the Himber wallet . Open it and have the per son remove the folded page . A~k the person if that is the chosen page. The person will look on both s ides of the page and will of cour se say "Yes!" Ask him to oatch the page to the jagged e dges in the book . It will fit of course . During thi s maneuvers you will have ampl e time to write in the chosen word on the prediction card whi ch you remove from the envel ope . If you have a prompter list for the first eight words of each page then you will already know the word , othe r wi se you must wait until the person reads off the chosen word. I n any event you wri te in the chosen word with a s wami gimmick . 2 . If pages 1)4 Or 2)4 are chosen , you then remove the double envelope froc the Himber wallet and open the envelope to the correc t compartment and take out the page whi ch is marked with a black crayon . Again I say . that in itself is a dramati c climax and you really need not go any further . But you ~st prove to the audience that you are not only a magician but also a Mentalist so you have predicted the word cho sen before anyone knew what page would be chosen I
Even if that mathemat i cal prodigy sitting in the third row figures out that the audience only had a choice of one in four pages, he still does not know how you knew ahead of time exactly what page and word would be chosen . The effect is good , so use it! And save the pages for the next sho w. NO':'E I If you know the secret of The Seven Seals and the "The Seal of Proteus" then you do not need prediction cards i nside the envelope ! Nothing is seen except the torn page and the enve l ope I You rray ask , What if they notice that there are other torn out pages in the book? So, who cares' But if they ask about it you say that last month you did the test in another show and of course the choeen page was different ! RECOMMENDED READING I The Phoenix # 121 . NOTE III The chosen word can be glimpse as the page is removed from the envelope and shown to the audience.
