Welcome Darklings.... Welcome to the second issue of The Mystic Menagerie, an occasional e-zine for the mystery entertainer. I want this to be a melting pot of ideas, so anything you wish to contribute contr ibute will be considered. As ever ever,, I wish to thank all of the great minds that have have contributed to t o this issue and made this possible. So what’s in this issue? effects produced by UK based dealer The Black Hart, a superb spooky story routine by Graham Graham Yates, Yates, Dan Baines the man behind the very wonderful Lebanon Circle presents The Corpse Candle, a lovely lovely piece called Dixie Nightmares N ightmares from the talented Paul Prater, Prater, some bits and pieces from myself and other lov lovely ely goodies from the dark realm for you to feast your eyes upon. May I take this opportunity to thank all of those who sue. We intend to continue providing a publication which will always feature items of worth. May I thank those who contributed towards this issue and Bertoneski who does a sterling job making this little magazine look like the slightly sinister delight it is intended to be. Until next time,
Freddie Valentine Freddie Valentine YOUR HUMBLE EDITOR
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Black Hart’s Bizarre Artefacts
By Freddie Valentine For those of you who are unaware who The Black Hart is -and if you are a UK based bizarrist, you should be ashamed of yourself-, it is the pseudonym of Keith Hart, a performer and producer of sinister magical effects who resides in the Scottish Isles. I have a number of Keith’s effects and hopefully this article will guide you around the myriad items he has for sale on his website - www.blackhart.co.uk . A couple of my favourite card effects Keith sells are The Devil in Mind -which uses playing cards- and Power of the Tarot. The Devil in Mind is a great effect and hugely deceptive. You spin a yarn to the spectator concerning how the devil can influence you without you knowing -or whatever suits your style- and offer then a deck of cards to shuffle. You then show them a folder which contains three laminated cards representing the conscious, unconscious and subconscious, each bearing a picture of Lucifer himself. You then ask the spectator to think of a number and to deal that many cards onto the table and the deal a hand to each of the three ‘devils’. When the top card of each pile is turned over they are all sixes – 666: The Number of The Beast! What you need to remember is that you never touch the cards. They shuffle, they choose the number and they deal. It’s an incredible effect in itself, but with the right degree of suspense and 3
into a chilling revelation. And yes – you use a normal deck of cards! -I go for aged onesThe Power of the Tarot is a superb effect that uses – you guessed it – tarot cards! The spectator is shown two piles of tarot cards and clearly shown that are both in a totally different order. The spectator chooses a pile which is mixed according to their instruction. Both piles are then show to be in exactly the same order! As a playing card effect, this would be rather mundane and unexceptional, but with the ever alluring tarot cards it becomes a demonstration of their power and mystery. To be honest, when I read the workings of this effect, I didn’t hold out much promise for it. That is, until I performed it for one of our ever truthful laymen who was completely bowled over by it. It has been getting a great response for me ever since.
plexed as to the method. If you are after this kind of effect, Slasher is not only cheap – it’s bloody great! Another nice little effect from Black Hart is something called a pendant is shown-worn or whatever you like and a small number of laminated cards which are blank on one side. The cards represent souls of dead celebrities and the spectator can freely shuffle the cards and deal them on to the table. Card and then eliminated one by one, each time revealing the name of a dead famous person. You are then left with one card. The name on this card which was left after the spec freely eliminates all the others is revealed to be the same person whose photograph is revealed when the selves. Nice props and a great use for a much underused method. Black Hart has a whole website full of bizarre goodies – give it a look!
Slasher is a cut-throat razor which produces a similar effect to the magician’s favourite Knife Thru Arm. KTA always seemed unrealistic and gimmicky to me and that fact that this was a damn sight cheaper made me wonder whether it would be much cop. It sounded good, but for under -n18 was it going to be cheap tat? It is, in fact, superb and gives a very realistic illusion of slashing your throat or wrists and the dispensing of blood looks accurate and uncannily realistic. I used this onstage as part of my cabaret variety show and a fellow psychic entertainer, who was performing on the show, said it looked great from all Ouija Card angles and they were per-
The Mad Hatter Returns
by Graham Yates A rather wonderful seance style routine with a great story from Graham Yates:
It is now over 120 twenty years since my Great Grandfather died. Without whom we wouldn’t own this lovely Victorian house that we sit in today. My Grandfather was a hat maker to Royalty both in England and Europe. He was renowned for the design and quality of his hats. The money he received allowed him to live a good and prosperous life, it also gave him the money to buy this house, which has been passed down through the generations ever since. Just recently I have been experiencing strange occurrences with this old hat box, nothing cer Tsar of Russia. Today I would like to see if we could contact his spirit to allow my mind to settle about the hat box and the strange feeling I have towards it. I have also brought a crystal bell that stood in his shop for the customers to gain his attention and some replicas of his business card that I have had made, unfortunately there is only one of his business card left which is far t oo fragile to use, so I have had these made to preserve their design. The hat box is placed in the middle of the table surrounded by the sitters, inside is placed the crystal bell and a single business card with today’s date on it, is placed underneath it,the lid is then put back on the hat box and silence falls through the room. After what seems like an eternity a muffled ringing of the bell is heard. The lid is removed and it is seen that there is a single word on the card “Believe”. How? The writing on the business card is our old favourite the Out to Lunch principle. The ringing of the bell, whilst the method is not new, I have not come across it used with this equipment. Rather than use a tape recorder a mobile phone is used. This allows for a normal object to carried on your person and not really questioned. The recording software is set running and the bells is rung a few minutes into the recording enough time for the script and also a good period of silence, the bell is rung in the open to give a good clear sound. When in performance the phone is placed in your pocket and set to play, when it comes time for the ring it will sound muffled because it is in the pocket and sound as though I comes from the hat box.
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The Corpse Candle
Spook Lights for Seance By Dan Baines -Lebanon Circle MagicForeword Ideas for illusions always sneak up on me when I am least expecting them. This particular effect started to manifest itself in my psyche earlier this year -January 2007- at Cirque du Soleil. The idea then went to ground for a few months until I saw something similar at Lord of the Rings -the musical- in the West End. The idea was simple but very effective and emulated fair it may be a laser. But without a light source or reflective surface I couldn’t see how this would be possible. The point of light was simply there, dancing in the ether. Thankfully the mystery of this entrancing light effect was revealed when my girlfriend purchased the most expensive theatre seats slap bang at the front of the stage. Finally I could see how it was done, but only just! Admittedly this effect is not a conventional magic trick although if performed under the right circumstances will look magical. It’s also not the most diverse of effects but as a seance or story telling tool it will allow you to create something captivating and strange to the unknowing eye. Due to the slight limitations with this effect I though it may be more rewarding and fun to provide it in kit form, at least this way you’ll get the satisfaction of the build. I have however, used the Corpse Candle in conjunction with one of my dead fairies at a children’s party and at a small seance to create orbs which left both audiences dumb founded. As with all magic, I can provide you with the tools and ideas, all you need to add is imagination.
Spook Light Folklore
The name ‘Corpse Candle’ refers to the ghostly lights sometimes seen at night or twilight often over marsh land. They are also referred as a Jack o’ Lantern, Will-o’-the Wisp and Spook lights depending on region. It looks like a flickering lamp, and is sometimes said to recede if approached. Much folklore or elemental. Briggs’ “A Dictionary of Fairies” provides an extensive list of other names for the same phenomenon though the place they are observed -graveyard, bogs etc.- influences the naming considerably.
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Many tales surround the origin of such mystery lights. An Irish story tells of a ‘ ne’er-do-well’ named Drunk Jack or Stingy Jack who makes a deal with the Devil, offering up his soul in exchange for payment of his pub tab. When the Devil comes to collect his due, Jack tricks him by making him climb a tree and then carving a cross underneath, preventing him from climbing down. In exchange for removing the cross, the Devil forgives Jack’s debt. However, because no one as bad as Jack would ever be allowed into Heaven, Jack is forced upon his death to travel to Hell and ask for a place there. The Devil denies him entrance in revenge, but, as a boon, grants souls are forever condemned. Jack places it in a carved turnip to serve as a lantern.
Among European rural people, especially in Gaelic and Slavic folk cultures, the will-o’-the-wisps are held to be mischievous spirits of the dead or other supernatural beings attempting to lead travellers astray. A modern Americanized adaptation of this travellers’ association frequently places swaying Ghost Lights along roadsides and railroad tracks. Here a swaying movement of the lights is alleged to be that of 19th- and early 20th-century railway workers supposed to have been killed on the job. Sometimes the lights are believed to be the spirits of unbaptised or stillborn children, flitting between heaven and hell. Modern occultist elaborations bracket them with the salamander, a type The examples I have used in this document incorporate fairies and spirit orbs although as you can see, the source of suitable ideas from folklore and legend is endless.
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Effect Synopsis You produce an antiquated grimy jar with no visible contents which can be fully inspected. A spectator is requested to unclip the jar lid and open it. All join hands, the lights are turned off and the room is immersed in complete darkness. You begin some ancient incantation that will summon forth the ghost light. A small point of light appears inside the jar and begins to rise above the spectators dancing and The spook light suddenly vanishes and then reappears almost instantaneously on the other side of the table. It then continues to dance in and around the spectators, weaving about their heads, up to the ceiling and back down again. You give the command for the light to return to the jar and slowly and reluctantly it obeys. The light fades and the room is once again cloaked in complete darkness. Quickly you ask one of the spectators to grab the jar and clip the lid back on tightly. The jar can be fully inspected or even given away as a souvenir The corpse candle will Can be used on stage or at home. For children’s parties - release a captured fairy from the jar. For seances - make a spirit orb materialise in the centre of the table then journey around the room
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How does it work? Based on a stage lighting effect currently used on Broadway and the West End the Corpse Can remote control systems are used; the spook light appears in mid air and dances around the heads of your spectators, flies off around the room and will vanish and reappear at your command. allows light to propagate along its length from the light source. The black plastic coating prevents any light escaping along its length thus when the light reaches the end it appears to be floating in space in a darkened room. A rod construction allows the user to reach over spectators and ‘animate’ the point of light. Just a slight wrist movement will make the light move in an erratic manner. The operator can then make the light move around the room over spectator’s heads. The switch on the led torch can make the spook light vanish and reappear in another location almost instantaneously. A magnet on the cable is powerful enough to lift metal objects such as spoons from the jar. Using this concept you create the illusion that there is something in the jar trying to get out. How to build your ‘Corpse Candle’ To build your ‘corpse candle’ you will need a few special items and the rest of the components you may already have at home or in your garden shed; a long stick, ideally a garden cane, black paint and glue. If you have issues sourcing the parts just e-mail me as
[email protected] and I’ll be pleased to point you in the right direction. and after that you’ll be able to practice. The design can also be adapted for stage so you may started!
You will need: Heat shrink Black masking tape Mini led torch Tube cap made from blue tack or modelling clay Cocktail stick Lighter 2-part epoxy glue or something of similar strength.
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1.To start let’s get the bits out of the way that can be drying while we build the fun stuff! Take your garden cane and paint it black. Children’s blackboard paint is the best as it provides a matt 2.Slide magnet over the cocktail stick and then slide the heat shrink over both.
until it tightens around the magnet. Be careful not to set the heat shrink or cocktail stick on shrinkage.
4Remove the encased magnet from the cocktail stick, trim the ends slightly and thread it on to slide the magnet over it to secure it to the cable. Leave to dry.
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blob of plastic again taking care not to set the cable alight.
7. Take the LED torch and slide the black plastic tube over the bulb. There is no need to glue this in place.
the cross section diagram below demonstrates.
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9. Once the glue has set glue the tube cap on to the plastic tube and wrap tape around the black tube and cap to unsure it is light tight.
cable illuminate nice and brightly.
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11. Decide how much cable you need at the end of your rod. 1 metre is about the right length can easily remove the cable and re secure it at the new desired length. 12. Secure the cable to the very end of your rod and extend the cable along its length with black tape approximately every 100mm. The cable needs to be sitting flush with the stick, if it is slack there is a possibility that the cable will ‘slap’ against the cane and make a sound when operated. The construction needs to be as silent as possible. If you have enough tape you may want to wrap it completely around the cable and rod so there is absolutely no chance of noise.
DO NOT cut it to size as you may need additional cable at a later date. Instead make a neat coil and secure with tape. ideal ergonomically. Cover the torch and black tubing completely with tape to ensure no light button can be operated easily.
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Next we need to make a receptacle for our spook light. This grungy jar recipe will create a earthenware type effect using a few kitchen ingredients and a glass preserve jar. You will need: 1 pot of ground allspice A cup of coffee granules PVA glue Paint brush 1. Tip the pot of ground allspice and coffee granules into a bowl and mix together 2. Take your jar and cover in PVA glue using the paintbrush fully covered 4. Place jar upside down on greaseproof sheet in the oven water and PVA glue over the jar in a random fashion. Do not fully coat it.
7. Decorate the lid with an aged piece of cloth and secure with twine. You may wish to write something on the blank label to reflect the jar’s contents. This could be a skull and cross bones, a pagan symbol or text such as ‘Fairies – Do Not Open 13
Operating your ‘Corpse Candle’
Find a dark room, preferably one that is as dark as possible. Hang the rod in front of you and illuminate the spook light. Move the rod and you’ll see that the spook light will dance in a random chaotic manner. The weight of the magnet and the slight curl in the cable will add to the random nature of the spook light’s movement. The Corpse Candle could be perceived as a form of puppetry and will therefore require a little Also practice picking up metal objects from the jar in the dark. If you are using an accomplice to control the spook light then there is a sneaky way to do this that removes the guesswork of
Additional Ideas This type of rod is excellent for stage performances. get from your local hardware store. a multitude of colours. in a tree and summon the fairies at midnight in the dark woods! hands that it should be kept under lock and key at all times. tion before you achieve the required level.
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Preparation
The Darkness
The preparation required for your performance is simple. You will need complete darkness so a cellar or windowless room is ideal. Failing this a room at night with thick curtains will do the job. There are ways to create the illusion of additional darkness temporarily and this is covered below. You can perform this effect on stage providing you have a black backdrop and your audience is seated at a suitable distance. To get the most out of this effect you will need an accomplice. It’s not the greatest selling point of this trick but some effects do need a trusty co-conspirator, fact! Many illusions still use them and they can enhance you performance beyond anything you could achieve on your own. Der example. Your accomplice will need to dress in black, preferably with black gloves a problem. For a children’s performance an accomplice is not necessary but feel free to use one if you wish.
achieve complete darkness here’s a tip. Instead of adjusting the light in the room why not adjust your audi
The accomplice should already be in the room or be able to enter and leave without being heard. The length of the corpse candle rod is designed to keep the accomplice a good distance away from the spectators. The room should be candle lit beforehand so that you and your guests enter an already darkened room. This means that the accomplice’s eyes are 15
We all know that looking into bright lights at night will impair your night vision, well this uses the same principle. Place a candle in the centre of the table and as you prepare the audience gaze into the flame. Use this as a method of relaxation so that their minds are clear and focused. After a minute or so blow the candle out. They will then temporarily perceive the room to be darker than it actually is. You then have a few minutes in which to perform before their eyes become accustomed to the darkness.
Routines To demonstrate the adaptability of the spook light I have plucked two scenarios from opposite cluded details on stage performance. contain a spell to temporarily release the spirit from within the jar. This spell takes the form of a powder or mixture of herbs and earth. This can be made up of ash, dry soil, salt and herbs or anything you wish. This magical concoction is spooned into the jar along with maybe a small ritual and the spoon is left in the spook light jar. This gives the spook light operator something magnetic to pick up and throw about if they wish. You enter a dimly lit room. Sitting on the table is a jar and a candle. The old dirty jar with no visible contents is passed around the group. You explain that it contains a captured ‘ghost light’. “Folklore holds that these lights are the ghosts of the dead lingering in areas where someone has met a tragic death. The light is their lantern or candle, aiding their search for something grisly — like their missing head, or the bodies of their children or lovers. Some say ghost lights are death omens — see one and die within a year. Still others are said to be the devil or trickster spirits, lurking in remote places to attack unwary travellers. This ‘corpse candle’ was one of many captured by a white witch on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England. The mysterious lights would lure travellers from the beaten track on their journey across the moor. It would appear at dusk and twinkle in the distance like the glow of some warm inviting coach house on the horizon. The unknowing traveller would leave the path and follow the light. As they walked deeper onto the uncharted moor land the light would never get any closer. Darkness would fall and the light would vanish leaving the poor weary traveller lost in the night. Many drowned in the peat bog or froze to death but others spoke of meeting the devil and how he offered them a safe route back to the path in exchange for their soul. Those who traded their soul would return to the moor after death to join the rest of the fools who made a hasty trade with the devil. They would join the rest of the ‘ghost lights’ and lie in wait at dusk to fool the next exhausted traveller in search of sanctuary. Traders and farmers were unwilling to venture across the moor even in daylight in fear of the spook lights. Supplies to the surrounding villages were becoming scarce so a witch was enlisted to help trap these wandering souls and make the moor a safer place to travel once again. Hundreds of jars were placed on the moor each containing a spirit lure; a secret and ancient spell used to remove troublesome spirits by tempting them into the vessel rather like a Venus fly trap for the dead. The jars were primed and left scattered on the moor during the evening of the summer solstice. No one ventured on to Bodmin that night for fear of interfering with the witch’s plan.
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The following day groups of locals journeyed back to the moor in the safety of daylight to see if the traps had worked. Where the jars had been open the previous night they were now tightly shut. It had worked. Each jar contained a spook light from the moor, incarcerated and held in limbo by the witch’s pagan spell. The witch requested that all the jars should be taken to a remote location and buried as deeply as possible. So, as she wished the jars were taken away never to be seen again, or so everyone hoped. In the late 1960’s a section of Bodmin moor was being used to supply peat to local garden centres. The rich peat earth was fertile and highly sought after by gardeners and farmers alike. During one of these digs large quantities of sealed jars were discovered, the witch’s hoard of captured souls had been unearthed! Before long word had spread and local artefact collectors swarmed to the scene to pillage the site. Those who took their plunder home discovered to their disappointment that the jars were empty; of any physical object that is. Little did they realise that by opening the jar the witch’s spell would be broken and it was not long before things start Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the original Bodmin jars. Fortunately for me I did not attempt to open the jar until I had done some serious research. Now after years of reading ancient pagan scriptures I have learnt the skills required to temporarily break the spell and control the spirit within”. Allow the jar to be passed around the table so that it can be inspected. “Once you have inspected the jar may I ask one of you to unclip the lid carefully for me?” The spectator unclips the lid. Make sure the metal clasp is fully disengaged from the lid. “I will now place the jar in the centre of the table” The spectator hands you the opened jar and you place it in the centre of the table. “This small wooden box contains a release spell mixture that we must use to ensure the spirit returns to the jar” You then produce a small wooden box and hand it to a spectator along with a metal tea spoon. “May I ask you to open the box and put three spoonfuls of the spell into the jar?” The spectator follows your instructions. anti clockwise. Once you have done this just leave the spoon in the jar and leave it open” The spectator again follows your commands and leaves the spoon standing upright in the jar. “Please join hands and stare into the candle light” Lead the group in a simple relaxing breathing exercise whilst staring into the flickering flame. Once you are happy everyone is comfortable and suitably blinded by the light blow the candle out. The accomplice positions themselves directly behind you.
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“Ancient spirit we invite you from your glass prison and ask that you move among us, if you are with us please give us a sign” Repeat the invitation for the spirit to come forward. As you do this the accomplice moves the rod ing a spectator. If they touch you it doesn’t matter. The accomplice then marries the magnet on require some practice but is easily mastered. An easy way to achieve this is for the accomplice to place his hand on your shoulder while he positions the rod. As your head is directly facing the centre of the table the accomplice just needs to move the rod forward until the magnet attaches.
Once the magnet and spoon attach the accomplice can then move away from your shoulder. Do ing around in the jar should be enough to put most people on edge! “We thank you for joining us; we now ask that you show yourself! Will you please do this?” The spoon taps the inside of the jar a few more times and is then thrown across the table. To do this the accomplice simply flicks the rod and this will be enough to detach the sp oon from the magnet. Suddenly a small bright point of light becomes visible in the centre of the table. Your spirit light is now free to fly around the room above the spectator’s heads. The accomplice should stay out of arms reach of the spectators and keep the spirit light a sensible distance from them so that it does not touch. Emphasise that the circle must keeps their hands joined or the light will vanish. The accomplice can make the light disappear and reappear in another part of the room almost instantaneously by turning the torch off, moving their arm to another position and turning the torch back on again. 18
“You may all now relax and break the circle” You can then relight the candle. “Please can you take the jar and fasten the lid back on securely?” The jar is then resealed and the performance is over. If you wish you may give the jar away to the host as a gift.
The Release of the Fairy though an actual fairy is not required as it is only used as a prop. The fairy does nothing except fairy just tell the audience that the jar contains an earth spirit, the fact that you don’t show the contents makes the performance even more mysterious.
always like to emphasise that the jar must never be opened or the fairy will escape, it’s amazing how an empty jar and a little imagination can become the greatest gift ever to some children! Ask all the children to sit on the floor in a circle. In the centre of the circle you have placed the jar. “Hands up if you believe in fairies!” No doubt most of the girls will thrust their hands in the either while the boys will fold their arms and look disgusted! “Well in this old dusty jar I have a fairy, I know you may not believe me but I caught it in the woods when I was about your age. I had gone out to catch butterflies for my insect collection; ticed it was starting to get dark even though it was only lunchtime. I also realised that I did not recognise where I was even though I knew the wood like the back of my hand. I kept walking not knowing where I was going when suddenly I came to a large oak tree standing on its own in a clearing in the wood. The tree was by far the biggest I had ever seen, its big thick trunk and huge branches towered above me. Then that’s when I saw them! 19
Amongst the branches I saw hundreds of tiny lights darting about, flitting and dancing about in the darkness. “Fire flies!” I thought, I had never seen one before and I knew I must have one for my collection! I climbed the mighty oak so I could get higher and catch one of the dancing lights. Once I was close enough I waited quietly. Suddenly a little light flew past my head and I took a mighty sweep at it with my net, I caught it! I scrambled down from the huge tree and tipped the contents of my net into the jar. I held the jar up in the darkness and looked inside at only much, much smaller. It looked back at me through the glass pressing its hands against the inside of the jar. We gazed at each other for what seemed like hours; to my amazement I had caught a fairy! Part of me wanted to keep it but I knew that I should let it go. I opened the jar lid expecting the fairy to fly away but instead it just sat there looking at me. “You have caught me; do you know what happens when you catch a fairy?” said the little creature. The fairy gave a little smile back, “Well this is your lucky day as I must grant you a wish before I can go” My heart skipped a beat! I could wish for anything I wanted! A mountain of chocolate, my own spaceship, anything! But I gazed at the fairy and I could think of only one thing, to keep it. “I wish I could keep you but I know..” “Stop!” the fairy shouted “then it is done, I am yours to keep” you but I knew that would be wrong, I was really going to wish for something else!” “Too late” the fairy signed “you have made your wish and it has been granted, I am now yours to keep” I felt so guilty that I almost cried. I took the fairy home and everyday I tried to let her go but ago and I still have her here. Who would like to see her?” He children excitedly jump around shouting “Me! Me!” “Very well then, if you could all sit in a circle on the floor holding hands and look at the jar” You unclip the jar lid and place it in the centre of the circle. The lights are turned off and the room is cast into complete darkness. the corner of the room or on top of a cabinet. Children are less suspicious than adults so you could leave it almost anywhere without creating too much attention. 20
routine or you may just wish to light the fairy straight away. air. Wait for the gasps! You are then free to make the fairy fly and dance around the room; you may wish to use music. The light slowly descends to the jar and then it is gone. Return the rod to its stowage and turn the lights back on. Clip the lid back on the jar and wait to be bombarded with comments such as “can we see it again!” and “can I look in the jar!” As mentioned previously you may like to give the jar as a gift to one of the children, it makes
Stage Performance
over the back and then over the top of the stage curtain.
The jar lid is unclipped and just rests on the cable. Do not clip the jar shut or force the lid or The accomplice is either behind the curtain, above the stage or to the side of the stage, which ever suits the venue the best. The rod will need to be much longer and you will also need a ibility will make the spook light dance more wildly with minimal movement from the accomplice. 21
London theatre and you can not see it even from the front row seats. Always use a dimly lit stage so set the scene with candle light with maybe an old gramophone record playing and with practice your routine will be pure magic to watch. The method of performance is up to you but I would suggest some short tale about a captured earth spirit or spook light like you have read previously. You an also perform to music as is often done with floating tables and zombie balls. When the music stops the light simply vanishes and then reappears when it starts again. All your accomplice backstage will require is a vocal cue to illuminate the light and start the merry dance. Command the light to go to sleep. At this command the accomplice will pull the rod back thus Once the cable is clear you are free to clip the jar shut and if you wish hand it to a member of your audience as a gift. You could warn them that it should never be opened unless you want a mischievous spirit to wreak havoc in their home!
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DIXIE NIGHTMARES
by Paul Prater PERFORMANCE “What would you do if your land was invaded?” The magician looked around the room making eye contact with each of the spectators. “What if some of your family members fought for the enemy?” The magician again looked around the room meeting the eyes of those watching. “Would you feel a duty to serve? To kill your brother?” Another pause. The audience looked uncomfortably at the magician. “These were issues that often faced people in the South during the Civil War. There were families that were was right or wrong.” “What is clear is that the Civil War cost many lives and was a sad chapter in our nation’s history. As in any type of war, being in the wrong place at the wrong time could be deadly. Such was the fate of David Dodd. David Dodd has been called the “Boy Hero of Arkansas.” While this is a dark tale, it is one that is worth telling.” “Dodd was seventeen years old when he was captured by Union soldiers behind Union lines. He was immediately accused of being a spy. While he denied this, he couldn’t explain a letter with Morse code that revealed the number and location of Union troops that was found in his diary.” “While my tale is about David O. Dodd, I cannot tell it without telling the story
The only known portrait of David O’ Dodd, boy hero of the Confederacy
of my great, great grandfather as well. His name was William Fishback and he was an attorney. Isn’t it odd sometimes that one’s entire life or changed by one event?
For my great, great grandfather, it was when he was appointed to represent David O. Dodd at his trial.” “My entire life, I have heard the stories of David O. Dodd that were passed down through my family. It was these tales of my great great grandfather that encouraged me to be an attorney, and ironically the location of the law school in Little Rock, is the location where David O. Dodd was hung. There is small marker in the corner of the parking lot, mostly obscured by trees that mark the location of his death. I had no clue that was what the marker was for until one day my curiosity got the best of me and crawled in behind the tree to see what the little marker was for. Then, all of the stories came back to me and for I minute, I felt like I had crossed paths with destiny, like I was meant to be there.” The magician pulled a rope from his table and tied at the ends together in a knot. “Union soldiers found a mountain of evidence that looked like enough to convict him. My great, great grandfather was assigned his case. He did his best to
“Dodd was hung on a wet, cold morning. There was drizzle in the air. One the day of his hanging, thousands came to witness the execution. As they drove the wagon out from under him, the rope stretched and he was not immediately killed. He swung to and fro, choking to death. It was said that even battle hardened Union soldiers became ill at the spectacle and several pulled on his legs to end his suffering. He was convicted and hung as a spy, though he was a minor and too young to serve in the military. ” “One of the stories that was passed down from generation to generation in my family was of the nightmares that my great great grandfather had for his entire life. It was said that he often would relive the scene of the grisly death.” The magician started to put the rope around his neck. He wrapped it around several times and turned around to show the rope completely around his neck. “Sometimes, in my great, great, grandfather’s dreams, the wagon was pulled out from under Dodd and amazingly, the rope would slip right through his neck.” As the magician said this, he pulled on the rope, and the rope appeared to pass through his neck. The magician now untied the ends of the rope. “My great, great grandfather would wake up and realize that it was just a dream. He would then go back to sleep and the nightmare would continue. The soldiers would put Dodd back on the wagon and tie the rope around his neck again. Then in his dreams, he would pull out his knife and time and again, he would try to cut the rope to save Dodd from his death.” The magician doubled the rope and cut it using a large Bowie knife. “In the dream, he would cut the rope, but the soldiers would tie it back together and repeat the hanging. The outcome was always the same.” The magician tied the cut ends of the rope together and wound it around his hand. “Every time he had this dream, he would wake up in a sweat. Sometimes he was screaming, sometimes he was crying. He was never able to save the boy. Even if his dreams had turned out differently, it wouldn’t have mattered because when he awoke reality would have set in. One can never change the past.” The magician stretched the rope out showing that it was whole again. WORKING This is a combination of two very simple routines; the rope through neck and cut and restored out a rope routine. Generally I don’t care much for rope routines, but I was thinking that there was something that I could do with cut and restored ropes. Scout magic book. It is pretty simple and pretty quick once you get the moves down. It also looks really nice when you perform it.
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ROPE THROUGH NECK
First, take the rope and tie the ends together with a simple knot. Once the ends are tied, put the entire rope behind the neck, with the hands through the rope. Now, with the right hand, use the thumb to reach into the middle of left hand rope and with the left thumb, reach into the middle of the right hand rope. pieces of rope with the thumbs back to their respective positions. The rope will now be criss crossed in front of your neck. I do this move while turning around so no one sees the thumbs going into the rope. It can be done very quickly. I just do a quick rotation as if I am showing everyone the rope behind my neck. I now throw my head back so that everyone can see the rope in front of my neck as well. When you get to the proper line, curl your thumbs over the rope to hold it tightly, release with your Now continue on with the cut and restored rope routine. I am sure everyone is familiar with the cut and restored rope routine. If you are not, then I would refer you to Tarbell or any other beginner course. Please take extra care with this routine - especially when rehearsing it alone!
Mystery
A Human Curiosity
by Freddie Valentine Human beings, by their very nature, have a fascination with the mysterious. People also like to believe there is something more to the world than what is seen. Many people would like to think that magick really does exist. Whether it is the Victorian fascination with spiritualism or the obsessive interest in TV shows such as ‘The X-Files’ in the 1990’s, the need for something mysterious – and a bit spooky – will always be there. When performing occult or mystery entertainment, you need to play upon that common human interest in the mysterious and macabre. People have read about odd things and seen them one”. Your job is to make the mysterious happen and at the very most leaving them believing in the unknown, or at the very least, leave them questioning things in a way they have never done before. That is why in bizarre magick, odd looking props create the atmosphere and pique the interest. These things prime people up for what is about to happen and put them clearly into the mindset chap with a tuxedo who approaches a restaurant table with the immortal phrase “Wanna see a card trick?” can attest. The thirty second rule does apply within entertainment and you need that hook to get them intrigued in what you are doing. What intrigues, disgusts or delights people more than the production of ‘genuine’ human shrunken head? These things make it easier for the mystery entertainer to a degree, as the prop can do the attention grabbing for you. You need to attach to each item a story that is bizarre, creepy and believable. The prop has to but the story of how you obtained the item needs to be one that the audience will not doubt. For this, you need to create a character for yourself. Who are you, what do you do and why do you own such things? Who gets hold of them for you? Where did they come from? If they are so rare, why aren’t they in a museum? By creating a story for yourself, and practically living this character, you will be able to answer any question thrown at you. One rule, even after your performance – never slip out of character or lead people to believe that you have made all these things up. People want to believe and certainly don’t want to feel like they have been conned or are foolish enough to believe anything. When someone makes a card rise to the top of a pack and claims “It’s magic”, no one truly believes this to be the case and know it’s a jokey way of protecting the real secret, leaving them amazed. If someone has a thought read, or receives an accurate tarot reading, they really don’t want to hear that it has all been a “trick”. Don’t get me wrong, these things are not there to cheat people, in fact by having them believe you bought that shrunken head off of one of the victims descendants who wanted it out of the house as it has brought “nothing but bad luck”, you are doing them more of a service than revealing afterwards that it was all fake and just “entertainment”. They are left with something much more than the experience of watching someone clever and being fooled by their stories. The word entertainment should be mentioned, but only briefly. Never state either way, but the intention is to get them to believe that they are being shown these things and told these stories as an experience. But they are real!
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Magic and Magick- some thoughts....
by Freddie Valentine So how did I get to be this holder of dark secrets and collector of sinister objects that many Whilst doing some card tricks and the like which were intended as a bit of good solid entertainment, I was consistently asked some unusual questions such as “Do you do tarot readings?”; “Can you hypnotise me?”; “Can you read minds?” and best of all “Can you exorcise my wife?” The funny thing is, that I did perform tarot readings, hypnosis and some darker stuff, but didn’t feel that during a set of such traditional fare, the audience would be interested in such stuff or even seen any kind of connection between sponge balls appearing in their hands and freeing know’, but these things made me realise a few things: joying themselves. 2Many people believe in these kinds of things. see the two as going hand in hand. I then thought, how would I align the two? Why would someone who had such powers bother to make a penknife change colour or a signed card appear in their pocket? How could I reframe the presentational aspects of other effects to give them a believable spin? claim whilst talking to the participant and then going on to prove it. The preamble or tall story nation is one of the most powerful faculties the human mind possesses. If you can inspire the participant to use this, then the avenues you lead them down will be all the more vivid in their mind and far more memorable than just being shown something. They are now investing in the scenario emotionally and it is now your job to ensure that their investment pays off.
See You Next Time...
Well, my ghoulish chums, here ends another instalment of the bizzarist world of The Mystic Menagerie. My huge thanks to all the contributors and a massive ‘cheers’ to all of you that have expressed your support, whether it be by your comments on various forums, your emails to me or general encouragement. It is these comments that encourage me to continue compiling, editing and producing this organ for your delight. Coming up in the next issue: Bruce Graham provides a superb routine using tarot cards. Paul Prater tells you how to age your Haunted Key The very wonderful Jim Magus provides an excerpt from his forthcoming biography of bizarre magic legend Tony Andruzzi and a rather special routine featuring everyone’s favourite Transylvanian Count. Plus many more spooky suprises... Exited yet?
Freddie Valentine 2010
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The Bit in the Back By Bertoneski A veritable grab-bag of esoterica this issue from the beast in the basement.... Films Worth disenterring are the extrodinarily terrifying Japanese Ring lywood remakes and plum for the subtitled originals directed by Hideo Nakata. The vengeful spirit of a witch is unleashed by the playing of a strange videotape which a week after viewing you will die!
Proceed to Guy’s Hospital at Tower Bridge and ask discreetly - looking like a student doctor helps admission... A museum of medicine with strange pickled oddities! If you can’t visit in person then visit:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com and inhale the whiff of virtual formaldehyde. Art Again a couple of virtual delights for the curious lurk at: www.travislouie.com and http://www.kristianhammerstad.com photography to create portraits of monsters: think Adams Family meets Photoshop whilst the second artist is gloriously gruesome pop artist using cartoon imagery ala Tales from the Crypt.
Books The philosopher Jung once remarked that the As Autumn, (or Fall as our American cousins call it), uncanny is far more impressive in art than real life and no more so than here. An original with the delightfully eerie Woman in Black by Susan Hill. This evocative haunting has thematic links with Ring - proving the universality of the notion of the vengeful spirit. If you’d rather the tale where read to, you buy Theatre the audio book, where the dulcet tones of reader Ghost Stories from the pens of Andy Nyman, (Mentalist, Actor and Derren Brown Collaborator) and Jeremy Dyson, (writer of UK macabre comedy The League of Gentlemen) is Advertisement haunting the Duke of York Theatre until 11th February 2011. A portmanteau horror with plenty of misdirection awaits. www.ghoststoriestheshow.co.uk
Museum When in London, and you have the stomach for it try the Gordon Museum. This museum is not strictly open to the pubic but is accessible by those “in the know”. Final Page
Serious enquiries only to bertoneski @yahoo.co.uk
