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Jose Prager - Goats Grimoire PDF
Jose Prager - Goats Grimoire PDF
Goat's
Grimoire
José Prager
2
I dedicate this book to my father, and to my soul mate, Mónica.
Father, you taught me the game, and you taught me how to play it right.
3
Illustrations by Gonzalo Carrera Graniel
The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the creator of this
work. All rights reserved.
4
Contents
Preface.............................. ...................................................... ..... 6
3386........................................................................................ ..... 8
This eye.................................................................................. ..... 31
Duplo............................................................................ ...... 34
This eye 2................................................................................... 45
This eye 3................................................. ................................... 51
The goat knew me.................................................................. .. 55
Heavy amnesia....................................................................... .. 70
Mind flight............................................................................. ... 77
The Scanner................................................................. ..... 81
Psychological jar.................................................................... .. 98
Mr. Green's system................................................................ .. 1 04
Goat touch.............................................................................. ... 116
Blank bank.......................................................... ....................... 1 22
Leatherface................................................................... .... 1 26
PK team.................................................................................. ..... 1 33
Cliff.............................................................................. ....... 1 37
Acknowledgements................................................................ 1 40
5
Preface
What you are holding between your hands is a collection of nine, fully
scripted, mentalism routines and five utility devices that have been
carefully developed and successfully tested by me with the help of Luke
Jermay and Peter Turner.
After each effect, you will also find what I like to call Peter Turner's
"Golden Touches," which take each effect to a level you never thought
possible. Read carefully. There are many hidden gems between the lines.
José Prager
April 201 3
7
3386
Jose Prager & Luke Jermay
3 3 8 6 E f f ect:
The performer begins, addressing a woman in the group:
“I can already sense that you are the type of person who is open to new
and unusual experiences. I get the feeling that you have a great deal of
untapped creative energy; you are the type of person who has 10
proj ects going all at once; you find it a little difficult to finish those
proj ects, but you have a really active imagination. This is good news, as
for successful demonstrations of telepathy, a strong imagination is one
of the vital elements. Would you like to try an experiment?”
“OK , I am going to try to tell you one of your most deeply protected
secrets. Already many things are coming into your mind—those things
that you would really rather I not know, the things that you really
would rather I not tell everyone here.”
The performer allows the weight of his claim to set in, and then after a
beat smiles to break the tension, and continues:
9
The performer pauses, and after a moment or two continues:
“OK , not that. Change your mind and go for something else. J ust allow
your mind to cycle through different pieces of information that a
stranger would not, could not, know about you. I will work with
whatever my imagination brings to me.”
10
and pressing the numbers, your numbers, your P in number, into the
machine, it appears fully in your mind. I t is odd, isn’t it?”
The spectator agrees that even as they were trying to not think about
their Pin number, they did. The performer continues:
11
difficult. I knew that you were the type of person with great untapped
creative potential, the type of person with great imagination, the vital
skill when it comes to successful telepathy. So I want to see if you can
read my mind. I t is only fair. I know your P in number; now it is time
for you to try to find out mine.”
The performer takes a second blank page of paper and opens it and
writes something on it, and refolds it, handing it back to the spectator
to hold. He continues:
12
the number she formed when trying to guess the performer's Pin
number. She replies: 3386.
The mentalist turns the paper around dramatically, revealing that the
participant guessed the performer's Pin number accurately.
The performer again asks the participant to say her own Pin number
aloud. Amazingly, written on the other piece of paper for all to see is the
very same number.
3 3 8 6 S etu p :
On a blank billet, in the centre, write "0000." Now scribble over these
numbers until they cannot be read. Ensure you have rendered these
numbers totally illegible by scribbling them out. This will be used later
to subtly prove that you wrote their Pin number before they told you
theirs.
3 3 8 6 M eth od:
As with much mentalism, the real secret to this routine is in the
scripting and the delivery of that scripting in performance. The
mechanical method is simple, allowing you to really focus on delivering
the performance your audience deserves. We will detail the mechanical
method for this routine in this part of the manuscript. I suggest you
13
follow along with some billets in hand to really understand how simple,
easy and smooth this routine will be in performance. When you have
fully understood the mechanical method for this routine, please go
back and read the performance script again a few times. It has been
designed to make the performance of this routine as smooth and easy
for you as possible. While it is possible to change the script to suit your
own personal style, I suggest you retain the general structure and form
of the script, as it includes many hidden linguistic deceptions that will
increase the impact of your performance.
14
wrong, you want them to try to read your mind. They will attempt to
guess your Pin number.
Take the prepared billet (the billet on which you earlier wrote 0000 and
then scribbled out), and write their Pin just below the scribbles, fold it
the same way as the first one and place it inside their fist. They now hold
their Pin and your Pin in their fist.
Tell your participant that you will concentrate on your Pin and they are
going to receive it; you will guide them since they have never done
something like this. Ask her to let go of reasoning and to allow the
numbers to come to her mind. You will make use of an adjusted
psychological force. At first glance this may appear to be the same as the
classic 37 force. However, please pay close attention to it as you read it
and you will soon see the differences. Frame the use of this
psychological force as ‘a guided process, to help them succeed as they are
new to this’ and instruct the spectator to bring the numbers to mind at
each stage of the force.
For example:
“I am going to guide you. Since this is your first time, please do not
second-guess yourself; go with your very first instinct, your true
intuitive reaction. We will work 2 digits at a time. Let's begin with the
first 2 numbers in my P in. The first two digits, together, make a
15
number lower than 50. Both digits are odd in fact; they are the same
number repeated—11 would work, but 15 would not. Already I know
there are two numbers that have come into your mind. Lock those
numbers in your mind and do not change your mind. I t is vital we work
with the very first reaction you have.”
“You are already doing remarkably well. Let's now turn our attention to
the final 2 digits.
“Together they form a number bigger than 50, and this time both are
even and different one from the other. Again I can sense you already
have numbers in mind. P lease lock those into your mind for me. Do not
change your mind. Trust your first reactions.”
You now explain that they have to mentally place the first two digits
followed by the other two digits to form a complete Pin:
16
“Great. P lease take the first numbers that came into your mind, and put
them in front of the others. You should have 4 digits in your mind, 4
digits that have come to your mind, with no real reasoning or logic.
They are j ust arriving in your mind from your own imagination, your
own intuition and instinct. I can already tell you, I am thrilled I asked
you to do this…”
You will next take the billets from the spectator's hand. Open and hold
one in each hand, making sure that the writing on them is facing you
and not visible to anyone else. Ask the participant to name out loud the
Pin they formed inside their head when trying to guess your Pin
number. Turn around the 3386 billet to reveal that they successfully
received your Pin! This is the first formal climax within the routine.
Allow the impact of this moment to really sink in, and for your
audience to show their appreciation. Do not be tempted to rush to the
final climax and in the process not give this strong moment the time is
deserves to sink in.
17
‘warm-up test’ and congratulate them for whatever success they did
achieve.
Now continue with the second formal climax of the routine. Ask the
participant to name their Pin number out loud. After a suitable
dramatic pause, turn the other billet around to reveal that you correctly
received their Pin! The subtle detail of the scribbled number convinces
everyone that that is the first billet you used, making the one-ahead
principle completely invisible.
You need to deliver the Pin force smoothly and quickly. One of the
easiest ways to do this is by memorizing the Pin force script. Here is the
complete Pin force script; read out loud and repeat, repeat, repeat, until
you are 1 00% comfortable with delivering the script each and every
time in performance:
18
concentrate on the last two digits. Together they form a number greater
than 50; this time both are even and different one from the other. Got a
number in mind? Great! N ow please place in your mind the first two
digits followed by the other two digits to form a complete P in, and
make sure you remember it.”
One such principle that has long been a problem for me and other
performers I have talked to is the one-ahead: a devastatingly simple
principle that is so easy to perform badly. It is not so much the principle
or effect of a one-ahead that is the difficulty, but a logical reason as to
why the participant should say their thought out loud at all. Here I offer
a logical reason that I have been using for a long time and perfectly fits
this type of routine (a one-phrase one-ahead).
19
C l os e u p
{I will frame this in the context of the current routine.}
“I would like to try something a little interesting with you. Can you
generate a four-digit number in your mind for me? And please, for the
purpose of this, make it as random as possible.
“For all intents and purposes, this number could be a pin code, but to
protect your privacy, I am obviously not going to reveal your actual pin
code, so this will make a nice substitute.
“Let’s take this a step further. I want you to constantly keep changing
the numbers, so even you don’t know what numbers you are going to
generate.
20
“Change your mind a few more times (pause a few seconds) and say the
four digits that are in your head right now (snap your fingers) . These
four digits are the four digits that you have committed to. Are you
entirely happy that these numbers are completely random?”
“From this point onward, I will refer to these numbers as your pin
code.”
[What is great about this approach is that there is now a logical reason as
to why the participant is saying the numbers out loud. Look at this in a
simplified sense. They are repeatedly changing their mind and only
commit to the four digits when they say them out loud. So they have to
say them out loud, which is great as it logically makes sense.
Another interesting thing to point out here is that anybody who steps
into the effect at this point will hear the four digits being called a pin
code and see a much more impressive effect!]
21
S tage
An interesting principle for stage with a one-ahead is something that is
often overlooked, but very simple, and from the audience's perspective
makes this entire thing completely impossible.
Ask a member of the audience to stand. After you have repeated the
above script about changing their mind and mentioned that whatever
digits they say out loud are going to be the digits that they commit to,
you write your impressions (WRITE NOTHING) and place it
somewhere everyone can see.
Make a point of saying to the audience that you have committed to the
number on which you think they are going to settle. Say to the
participant:
“I am going to ask you what the numbers are in few seconds, but for
now let me ask you a couple of questions. ”
22
BEAUTIFUL.) Approach the participant, take his/her wrists and look
right at her and say:
Ask for a round of applause and walk the participant to the stage. Under
the round of applause, say:
The participant will sing like a canary, believing you have committed to
something. And now you have your piece of information.
[As you can see, this is beautiful, as no one else in the room knows that
you know the four digits, meaning no one else in the room could ever
even begin to work out the method.]
After you have proceeded to get the participant to make a guess at your
number, say to the participant:
“Can you tell the audience FOR TH E FI RST TI ME what your four
digits were?”
23
[This one line will psychologically imply to the audience that the digits
were never said out loud before that moment.]
{As you can see with the above two pieces, they are beautifully
constructed in a way that not only makes them logical, but also makes
the method more water tight. These principles don’t have to be applied
to just this routine, but can be applied to any routine that requires any
sort of one-ahead, making them great for flexibility purposes.}
T h e s wi tch
Another thing that always bothered me about a one-ahead (or one
behind) was the switch at the end. You can always mis-number the cards
if there is more than one phrase, but in this circumstance there is only
one phrase.
24
Now stay away from the glass and reiterate the events to the audience;
this creates a time delay. Bring everyone’s focus back to the glass and
ask the participant to tip it onto the table.
[As you can see, this technique will work in stage, parlor or close-up
scenarios.]
“I am going to guide you. Since this is your first time, please do not
second-guess yourself; go with your very first instinct, your true
intuitive reaction. We will work two digits at a time. Let's begin with
two of the numbers in my P in. For now, it doesn’t matter which two.
25
“D o you think this two-digit number is above fifty or below fifty?”
Let them answer. Give them a completely FREE CHOICE. [The reason
you give them a free choice is that they can either aim at the first two
digits or the last two.]
“The only clues that I am going to give you are that both digits are odd.
I n fact, they are the same number repeated—eleven would work, but
fifteen would not. Already I know there are two numbers that have come
into your mind. Lock those numbers in your mind and do not change
your mind. I t is vital we work with the very first reaction you have.”
If they say above fifty, great. Just have them go for the second two digits
with this force.
“The only clues I am going to give you are that both digits are even, and
they are both different from one from the other. So sixty-six would not
work, but sixty-eight would. I can sense you already have numbers in
26
mind. P lease lock those into your mind for me. Do not change your
mind. Trust your first reactions.”
I f th ey went f or bel ow f i f ty th e f i r s t ti m e
“Because you went for a number below fifty last time, let’s make it
interesting this time. Go for two digits higher than fifty, and this time
because YOU WEN T FOR ODD, make both of these digits even and
different one from the other. So sixty-six would not work, but sixty-
eight would. I can sense you already have numbers in mind. P lease lock
those into your mind for me. Do not change your mind. Trust your first
reactions.”
[You will notice the little line I slipped in that will fly right by, but will
be great when the participant creates a false memory later on. They will
think they chose odd or even the first time. The reason this flies by is
that you are giving your participant instruction, and because of the
social compliance created (with them guessing a number), they are
practically forced to stay mute until you have finished giving them
instructions. By the time you have finished giving them instructions,
they are focused on the instructions and forget the one slipped-in line.]
27
I f th ey went f or above f i f ty th e f i r s t ti m e
“Because you went for a number above fifty last time, this time go for a
number below fifty, and because YOU WEN T FOR EVEN , this time
make both digits odd. I n fact, make it the same number repeated—eleven
would work, but fifteen obviously would not. Already I know there are
two numbers that have come into your mind. Lock those numbers in
your mind and do not change your mind. I t is vital we work with the
very first reaction you have.”
In all honesty, I would not be bothered if the participant gets the four
digits in the wrong order. This can look stronger sometimes (after all, it
is their first time mind reading).
28
A noth er s u btl ety f or ens u r i ng a s tr ong f i ni s h
There is another thing I took note of when reading this routine. You
have to ensure that the routine ends on the strongest possible outcome.
With the problem of the participant missing a couple of numbers (it is
not likely but still possible), you HAVE to ensure that their guess is
opened first.
The reason is, if by some anomaly in probability they miss the numbers,
then you can still open yours and be 1 00% perfect, meaning you are
going to finish on a really high note.
The way to achieve this is to draw a black dot on the back of the first
billet (before you start the routine), and when you crumple it up, ensure
that you can see it. Don’t make the dot so big that the participant
notices it. Just to reiterate, the dot goes on the back of the billet on
which you are going to write 3386.
Now, even if the participant only gets two of the four digits, she gets a
round of applause, which is great for a first attempt, but it ensures you
29
get a more rapturous round of applause when you open the one with
their pin code.
30
T h i s ey e ef f ect:
The performer hands one spectator a pen and a blank card.
He begins:
“P lease, I would like you to write on the paper you have a place that
you would like to travel to in the future. I t can be anywhere you would
like, but it must be somewhere you have not travelled to in the past, but
somewhere you would like to travel to in the future. When you are
finished, fold it in half so the writing is on the inside and recap the
pen.”
The performer turns his back to ensure that he cannot see what is being
written. When the spectator has finished his writing, the performer
extends his hands behind his back and asks for the paper.
32
“I get the sense that this is the desire of someone who has faced many
challenges in their life, someone who finds themselves at a crossroads.
Soon a mentor figure will present themselves to you, and if you follow
their guidance you will begin to move in the direction you want to...this
has been your past. I n your present you are faced with decisions on a
personal level, decisions that you must deal with now.
“The secret is to allow the past to stay in the past so you can move
toward the future you deserve... look at this eye...”
The performer points with his left hand to his right eye.
The performer turns his back and hands the paper back to his
participant. After the participant has taken it, the performer again
faces him and says:
“I see you in the future on a beach, in a sunny place, relaxing with a
significant other, someone very special to you, that you have not yet
met. I see you in Brazil...where is it you wanted to travel?”
The spectator confirms that this is indeed where she desires to travel.
33
T h i s ey e s etu p :
My Duplo gimmick is at the core of this method, so let me please first
explain to you how to construct what I like to call an “organic
duplication system.”
I ns tr u cti ons :
1 . Open the Crayola marker from the bottom and remove its ink
cartridge.
3. Take the Sharpie and remove its ink cartridge (do not remove
the tip).
34
5. After the Sharpie has been reassembled, take a blank piece of
paper, business card, etc., and scribble on it until the remaining
Sharpie (permanent) ink is gone.
W h at does th e gi m m i ck do?
It allows you to obtain an impression from a business card. You will
need to place some saliva on the palm of your hand. Then, you will need
to apply a bit of pressure while ensuring that your palm makes direct
contact with the spectator's drawing on the unfolded card.
T h i s ey e m eth od:
The key to the routine is to ensure that the touching of the paper causes
the spectators to understand, without saying it, why the paper is being
held behind the back. This process, when performed, makes total sense.
Review the scripting for this performance piece to properly understand
the manner in which this is handled.
Hand out your Duplo gimmicked pen and instruct your spectator to
record the name of a destination they would like to travel to in their
future.
35
Here is the first major performance point: you will turn this routine
into a performance piece of predicting the spectator's future.
You can use any single piece of information the spectator can desire in
the their future. It could be the number of children they would like, an
item they would like to own, the car they would like to drive—anything
that a spectator can desire owning/attaining in the future. If you wish to
make this routine more ‘spiritual’ in nature, you could ask the spectator
to record the quality that they wish to improve in their personality. In
this manner, the routine becomes about personal growth.
“I get the sense that this is the desire of someone who has faced many
challenges in their life, someone who finds themselves at a crossroads.
Soon a mentor figure will present themselves to you, and if you follow
their guidance, you will begin to move in the direction you want to...this
36
has been your past. I n your present you are faced with decisions on a
personal level, decisions that you must deal with now.
“The secret is to allow the past to stay in the past so you can move
toward the future you deserve...”
Bring your hand with the impression to the front (hiding the
impression inside your hand), and point to your eye and continue:
Turn your back to hand the billet back to your spectator with your right
hand, and at the same time take a peek at impression in your left palm,
which will be very close to your face. This is a beautiful, invisible, fluid
peek.
37
“I see you in the future on a beach, in a sunny place, relaxing with a
significant other, someone very special to you, that you have not yet
met. I see you in Brazil...where is it you wanted to travel?”
The spectator confirms that this is indeed where she desires to travel.
The first thing about this that stood out for me was the title “The eye”;
when I think of a psychic eye, I instantly think of the center of my
forehead, and because of that I want to shape that around the core of my
presentation.
The scripts for the routine are going to stay the same. The only
difference is that I am going to use three cards instead of one, making
this a "sneak thief"-type routine (but I think you will agree that this is a
beautiful method) and not similar in any sense to sneak thief
(confused??).
38
[Here is the streamlined presentation]:
The performer places a blindfold upon his head and is verified to be
essentially blind. Three business cards are introduced and handed one
at a time to the participant. On these business cards, the participant is
instructed to write, upon two of them, places they have been and, on
one, a place she wishes to go.
(The performer can be out of the room at this point if the participant so
wishes.)
The cards are mixed up into ANY order; they are examined to ensure
that there are no bumps in the cards and no way to feel that they are
different. (That’s right, no nail nicks or visible differences.)
The performer states that he is going to identify the card that has the
place that the participant wants to visit by his skills of intuition.
The cards are then brought one at a time up to the performer’s third eye
(his forehead), and after a little deliberating he says to the participant:
39
The participant freaks out and makes her way to her seat while the
audience applauds rapturously.
The performer removes his blindfold and stops the applause. He calls
for the participant to stop and looks right into her eyes for a few
seconds and says:
“I s the place you want to go Brazil?”
B r eak down
First I will tackle how to identify the card and then get into the
subtleties.
Take a business card, spray it with perfume from a distance and let it
dry out. Now take two identical cards and place them behind the
perfumed card.
40
I n p er f or m ance
Hand the card with the perfume on it to the participant to write the
destination they want to travel to first. Then have them write
destinations they have been to on the other two.
All you have to do when you bring the cards up to your forehead is to
smell them, and whichever one kicks off the smell of perfume is the
right card!
[This part of the routine is all about theatrics; pretend you are having
trouble divining the exact card, and in close-up performance always
reveal the destination card last. By saying, "I don’t think this is it… or
this… I think this is it! "
A quick note: the only difference between close up and stage is the
blindfold; when close up you can close your eyes. It is just the same.]
T h e p eek
Performing the routine this way also gives us a massive amount of time
to peek and a disconnection from the billet, which makes the thing
seem even more impressive from the audience and participant's
perspective.
41
Not only that, it gives us two ways to gain the information. The first way
is simple and requires no gimmicks, as you say to the participant:
All you have to do is hold the card below your nose, face up, so the
participant is looking down, giving you all the time in the world to
employ a downward peek from the blindfold, and the misdirection
creates itself logically.
[For those new to blindfold work, tie a blindfold around your head and
you will notice you can clearly see straight down the sides of your nose!]
What is great about this is that you have set up your participant to take
the card and to head straight back to their seat, to a round of applause.
This is your cue to remove your blindfold.
42
I would create a time delay here and hand her the card to fold and to
place away and then move into another routine. During the dead time
in the next routine, I would turn and reveal the place.
[This is great, as it not only kills dead time in another routine, meaning
you don’t have to make up “filler,” but it also ties the two routines
together and is so disjointed from the participant placing the card into
their pocket that it is impossible to backtrack, making the reaction
larger.]
You could also take this piece of information and place it into your
confabulation at the end, or use it as part of an ultra-clean mental epic.
The point I am trying to express (forgive me for my tangent) is that you
can use this information for much, much more later.
43
Describe the feelings you get from this place. If you know what it looks
like, describe a few things from there and go on a remote viewing
journey with your participant.
Doing this, you can apply something so wonderful; after revealing the
place, after having them feel and mentally travel with you, you can
nonchalantly say, “You can now tick this off of your to-go list.”
If you say that line with conviction, I promise you it will make your
audience/participant feel amazed. What’s even more amazing is how
they describe the effect afterward to their friends!
44
T h i s ey e 2 ef f ect:
The performer hands two spectators a pen and a blank business card
each. He begins:
“P lease, I would like each of you to write on the paper you have a place
that you would like to travel to in the future. I t can be anywhere you
would like, but it must be somewhere you have not travelled to in the
past, but somewhere you would like to travel to in the future.
“When you are finished, fold it in half so the writing is on the inside.
When you are finished, please hand them to me.”
The performer turns his back and extends his hands behind his back, to
ensure that he cannot see what is being written. When the spectators
have finished their writing and handed the papers to the performer, he
openly mixes the papers as he continues:
45
The performer continues to mix the papers behind his back as he turns
around to face the spectators again. He then brings one of the papers
from behind his back in each hand and instantly hands them to the
spectators for which he is performing. He continues:
“I will work with the paper I feel drawn to the most, the paper from
which I feel the most vibration.”
The performer places his hands above the papers, and then after a
moment of focus, he continues by reaching forward, grabbing one of
the papers, closing it in his hand and closing his eyes.
“I get the sense that this is the desire of someone who has faced many
challenges in their life, someone who finds themselves at a crossroads.
Soon a mentor figure will present themselves to you, and if you follow
their guidance, you will begin to move in the direction you want to.”
The performer opens his eyes and locks his gaze with one of the
assisting spectators and continues:
“I am talking to you, aren’t I ? This is you; this has been your past. I n
your present you are faced with decisions on a personal level, decisions
46
that you must deal with now. The secret is to allow the past to stay in
the past, so you can move toward the future you deserve. I have good
news for you. I see you in the future on a beach, in a sunny place,
relaxing with a significant other, someone very special to you, that you
have not yet met. I see you in Brazil…where is it you wanted to travel?”
The spectator confirms that this is indeed where she desires to travel.
The performer then continues addressing the second spectator:
“I can feel that you are a little disappointed. I can try to work with you
if you want.”
The spectator confirms they would like a reading, and the performer
continues:
“I see you in a cold place, a place that you have considered visiting
many times in the past, but for some reason or another it has not
happened. H owever, I do see within the next year or two, you sitting in
an ice bar, in Finland. Does this make sense to you?”
47
T h i s ey e 2 m eth od:
Duplo is at the core of this method. It will allow you to get ‘one-ahead’
with great ease. The key to the routine is to ensure that the mixing of
the papers as well as the ‘target selection’ causes the spectators to
understand, without saying it, why the papers are being held behind the
back. This process, when performed, makes total sense.
To perform the effect, you will hand one spectator a marked billet with
a small ‘nick’ in the outside corner. This nick will be felt by running
your thumb along the outside edge of the billet, along with the
gimmicked pen and an ungimmicked paper. The second spectator is
handed an unmarked billet, ungimmicked pen and ungimmicked
paper.
When the spectators hand the papers back to you, instruct the
spectators to record the name of a destination they would like to travel
to in their futures. Here is the first major performance point: you will
turn this routine into a performance piece of predicting the spectators'
futures. You can use any single piece of information the spectator can
desire in the their future. It could be the number of children they would
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like, an item they would like to own, the car they would like to drive—
anything that a spectator can desire owning/attaining in the future. If
you wish to make this routine more ‘spiritual’ in nature, you could ask
the spectator to record the quality that they wish to improve in their
personality. In this manner, the routine becomes about personal
growth.
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Next, bring your ‘non-impression’ hand close to the papers and pause.
Screw up the non-marked billet. You will pretend that this is the billet
that belongs to the spectator who really wrote with the gimmicked pen
on the marked billet. Review the effect description/script to see how
you will reveal the information. When you have confirmed that you
have accurately guessed the correct desired destination, you will,
without calling attention to it, open the screwed up paper as if to
‘confirm’ to yourself you were correct. In this moment, you will read
and remember the destination chosen by your second spectator.
“I sense you are a little disappointed that I did not work with you. We
can try if you want.”
In this way, the second revelation seems totally off the cuff, and at this
point, all papers are out of play and you reveal the information you just
learned when reading the paper.
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T h i s ey e 3 ef f ect (by M i k e V ance):
“I would like to try an experiment of a specific skill. This skill is
known as psychometry. I t is the idea that an obj ect handled by someone
somehow is imbued with information from that person, even their
thoughts or intentions. To do this, we need some ‘target’ information.
“I need you to draw a quick simple picture on this card. I will turn
away so that I cannot see what you are drawing. ”
Once they are done, and with your back toward them and your right
hand held behind your back, tell them:
“P lease fold the card into fourths, and place it into my right hand.”
When you have the card, turn around, leaving your hands behind your
back. Bring out your left hand, point at you left eye and continue:
“I 'm getting an image, but it is not clear. I 'm getting the impression of a
house. I s that correct?”
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The spectator replies that it is not. Continue:
“I 'm sorry, but the image I was getting was too fuzzy. I 'm going to need
physical contact to get a clearer picture.”
Move your right fist in front of you. Ask her to hold out her right hand
under yours. Stare directly into her eyes (or turn your head to the left)
as you put the card on her palm-up hand and then grasp her hand with
yours as if shaking hands, with the folded business card in-between the
hands. Pointing at your left eye with your left hand, again ask:
“Once again, look into this eye. Ah, yes. The house was j ust the surface
of the picture. We need to walk through the front door and into the
kitchen. There, in a bowl on the counter, is an apple. Did you draw a
picture of an apple?”
The spectator acknowledges that she did, and you get your well-
deserved applause.
T h i s ey e 3 m eth od:
This is an alternative handling of the Duplo effect. Ask the spectator to
draw a picture. Turn around with your back facing the spectator and
take the folded card into your right hand while licking your left hand.
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Turn back around, facing the spectator, while transferring your left
hand behind you as well. While you patter, get your impression on your
left hand.
If not, then bring your left hand forward and gesture with your left
hand as you talk. Quick, sweeping movements with your palm toward
the spectator should not flash the transferred impression. You can also
look at your left palm in front of you, either openly during an open-
hand gesture, or by putting your left fingers to your forehead to
concentrate, etc.
Then, suggest that you need contact with the spectator to clarify your
vision. Turn your head to the left as you bring out your right hand with
the folded card and drop your left hand to your side. Ask them to hold
out their right hand under yours. Put the card on their palm-up hand
and then grasp their hand with yours as if shaking hands. Look into
their eyes.
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Explain that the house was the key, but that you didn't/couldn't delve
deeply enough without physical contact. Now, travel through the
picture in whatever way you need to arrive at the drawn object. If it is an
animal, find a stuffed animal. Food will be in the kitchen. A car will be
in the garage. Vegetation can be out in the yard. The sun and stars and
clouds lie overhead. Pictures of just about anything could hang on the
walls. Just about anything can be found in the house picture.
D u p l o cl ean-u p :
The impression can be removed openly as well. Before you do the trick,
establish the visual habit of holding your hands in front of you while
talking and rubbing your right thumb in the left palm. After the trick,
use the established behavior to clean up.
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The goat knew me
Jose Prager & Peter Turner
T h e goat k new m e ef f ect:
The mentalist places his phone, his keys and a coin onto the table.
“I n front of you on the table are three obj ects. These three obj ects right
now mean nothing. What's interesting is that sometimes the greatest
things in life can be right underneath our own nose and we don’t even
know it."
“I f you were to instinctively choose one of these three obj ects right now,
which would it be? Go ahead and grab it.”
“The choice you made speaks volumes about you. The interesting thing
is, you didn’t j ust randomly choose the phone, no matter what you
believe. Subconsciously your mind told you to select the phone. A good
representation of this is every time you move your arm, you don’t
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consciously think MOVE. A phone is a metaphorical bridge that
connects people from all demographics in seconds. I t is faster than a
plane; it’s an obj ect that is depended upon by most people j ust to get
through their day in an organised fashion. The sort of person that might
choose a phone would be someone who is a mediator, the glue that holds
everything together in social situations; a person that is relied
upon for organisation; someone who actually makes plans happen and a
person that people turn to in times of despair.
"I k new you were that kind of person bef or e you even came over here.
I k now you are thinking, right now, that there is no way I could...
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Open the audio, and make sure to place the volume bar as low as you can
go without it being completely off—just enough sound so that when you
place the phone near your ear, you can hear the recording.
You can have the phone ready in your pocket; the recording will be
playing over and over as long as you want.
You also need a plastic keychain. There you will write, with small letters,
“You will pick the keys.”
Finally, write with a black marker on a bill: “You will pick the money!”
Fold the bill so the writing is hidden inside.
You will only make the setup once, and you will be ready to perform this
effect as long as you are carrying your Phone and your keys (the coin
can be easily borrowed).
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T h e goat k new m e m eth od:
We are simply making use of multiple outs and a little reading.
Using these scripts below, they will believe you knew them and knew
the choices that they would make.
I f th ey p i ck th e p h one:
“The choice you made speaks volumes about you. The interesting thing
is, you didn’t j ust randomly choose the phone, no matter what you
believe. Subconsciously your mind told you to select the phone. A good
representation of this is every time you move your arm, you don’t
consciously think MOVE. A phone is a metaphorical bridge that
connects people from all demographics in seconds. I t is faster than a
plane; it’s an obj ect that is depended upon by most people j ust to get
through their day in an organised fashion. The sort of person that might
choose a phone would be someone who is a mediator, the glue that holds
everything together in social situations; a person that is relied upon for
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organization; someone who actually makes plans happen and a person
that people turn to in times of despair. I knew you were that kind of
person before you even came over here. I know you are thinking right
now that there is no way I could... place the phone close to your ear.”
*Make sure to place the phone volume as low as possible using the
volume bar. It does not matter if you are in a quiet place; the voice
coming from the phone will not be noticed by your spectator until they
place it near their ear or they turn it up so everyone can hear.
I f th ey p i ck th e k ey s :
“The choice you made speaks volumes about you. The interesting thing
is, you didn’t j ust randomly choose the keys, no matter what you
believe. Subconsciously your mind told you to select the K eys. A good
representation of this is every time you move your arm, you don’t
consciously think MOVE.
“The sort of person that might choose the keys is someone that is
constantly thinking forward and investing in new ideas for a better
future. They are more often than not very private people that keep
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things bottled up, and at the best of times keep people at arm’s reach.
They are the sort of person that is trusted with secrets because of their
private nature. I knew you were that kind of person before you even
came over here. I know you are thinking right now that there is no way
I could... take a closer look at the keys.”
I f th ey p i ck th e coi n:
“The choice you made speaks volumes about you. The interesting thing
is, you didn’t j ust randomly choose the money, no matter
what you believe. Subconsciously your mind told you to select the
money. A good representation of this is every time you move your arm,
you don’t consciously think MOVE. Richness, to gain richness, is
something that all mankind seeks, but more often than not is unachieved.
I t doesn’t represent greediness. Quite the opposite, it represents visual
progression. The sort of person that chooses the money might be the sort
of person who constantly aims to strive through adversity; often a
thinker, constantly refining his or her thoughts in order to ensure that
their life is the best it can be within their own circumstances; successful
and life enriched. I had a feeling you were that kind of person before
you even came over here. I know you are thinking right now that there
is no way I could...I placed this bill right here since the beginning… I n
reality my money never was at risk…”
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A ddi ti onal th ou gh ts by P eter T u r ner :
This is my favorite effect in the book. I love this effect for the premise
and the fact that you get to give a reading. I am about to share with you a
way to do this without multiple outs. These methods will take some
practice, but genuinely work.
You will also notice that I have altered the script very subtly. Please do
not overlook the power that this piece has. It will blow your participant's
mind.
The mentalist places his phone, his keys and a coin onto the table.
“I n front of you on the table are three obj ects. These three obj ects right
now mean nothing; they seem insignificant. What's interesting is that
sometimes the greatest things in life can be right underneath our own
nose and we don’t even know it.
“Take these three obj ects. When we look at them in their simplest form,
they are j ust a phone, keys and a coin, but look beyond the title and see
what these things really are.
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obj ect that is depended upon by most people j ust to get through their
day in an organized fashion.
“I want you to think about these obj ects. I nstinctively in your mind be
drawn toward one of these obj ects; focus on it and concentrate on holding
that obj ect.”
(This is where you have one of four options to gain the information of
which the participant is merely thinking.)
M eth od #1
Look directly into the participant’s eyes as you are telling them to
concentrate on holding the object and feeling it in their hands. You will
notice they look directly at the object!
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When you think you have a feel for which object the participant is
looking at, close your eyes and ask them to look at you and to see you
holding the object.
[This is great, as when the participant looks up, you have your eyes
closed. This means that there is no way for them to backtrack a method,
as they will believe you had your eyes closed the entire time.]
M eth od #2
If the above method fails, I would then proceed into this method. If you
are not comfortable with the above method, you can just move straight
into this.
This method is very old but underused. Take the participant's wrist.
This is where you need to make a quick decision: do you believe your
participant is compliant or non-compliant?
Hold the participant's wrist above each object. There will be one of two
tells here which should give the game away very easily.
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One tell is that they will pull you toward another object, rapidly
eliminating that object and making it 50/50, and then you find which
object they subtly pull you away from, leading you to the object.
The second tell is that they will pull you away from the object instantly,
and you know it is that object.
(Sounds easy, right? That’s because it is, but it does require practice.)
I f y ou r p ar ti ci p ant i s com p l i an t
This is the scenario you will find yourself in more often than not.
Ask the participant to guide you with their mind to the object and to
imagine being drawn toward it.
Hold their hand above the objects, and whichever object they pull you
back toward is the object of which they are thinking!
[The secret here is the framing; even though the principle is old, I
believe framing them like this is new. I took into account their natural
actions and framed them in a way that pulls the muscle reading in your
favor (mind the pun).]
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M eth od #3
This is the boldest of the methods I have found, but works in a tight
spot. Address the participant:
“Can you please pick up the obj ect and show everyone else of what
obj ect you are thinking?”
At this point just apply a gypsy peek. [To perform a gypsy peek, cover
your eyes with your hand and peek through the space between the little
and fourth fingers.]
M eth od #4
This is the simplest of the four. If I was going to perform this method, I
would ensure that there was only one key on the table as opposed to
many (but I will explain a subtlety should you want to keep the many
outs).
Ask the participant to pick up the object that appealed to them and to
show the audience.
All you have to do is place your palms face down onto the table and
listen/feel from where they pick up the object. Ensure your eyes are
tightly closed at this point.
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[As an added subtlety, if you say “make sure you don’t make any noise”
and you leave the keys in a bunch on the table, what will happen is that
you will make the participant avoid taking the keys, because they will
take into account the noise factor, which is great for the reading you are
about to give.]
T h e r eadi ng
Instead of revealing the object at this point, you are going to give a small
reading based on the object you believe the participant has chosen. It
really doesn’t matter how long winded the reading is (the less the better,
of course), as when you reveal the object from an audience’s point of
view, you confirm the reading.
I f y ou th i nk th ey ch os e th e m oney :
“I get a nice feeling from you; I believe you are the sort of person who
constantly aims to strive through adversity; often a thinker, constantly
refining your thoughts in order to ensure that your life is the best it can
be no matter what the circumstance. You will always be successful and
life-enriched in any venture or path you take, and because of that the
choice you made speaks volumes about you. I believe, based on
everything I am feeling, that you went for the COI N .”
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I f y ou th i nk th ey ch os e th e p h one :
“I get a nice feeling from you. I believe you are the sort of person who is
a mediator; the glue that holds everything together in social situations; a
person that is relied upon for organization; someone who actually makes
plans happen and a person that people turn to in times of despair, and
because of this there is only one obj ect you could have chosen: the
P H ON E.”
I f y ou th i nk th ey ch os e th e k ey :
“The feeling I get from you is that you are the sort of person that is a
thinker. You are constantly thinking forward and investing in new ideas
for a better future. You are more often than not a very private person
that keeps things bottled up, and at the best of times keeps people at
arm’s reach. You are the sort of person that is trusted with secrets
because of your private and introverted nature. You often hold the weight
of other people's stress on your shoulders, don’t you?”
[A really cool thing to do here, if you did leave a bunch of keys and were
going to ask them to pick up an object, is to throw it into the reading. It
is an added hit.
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“I think you are also the sort of person that second-guesses yourself; you
often think of what you are going to do or say, build yourself up and at
the last second talk yourself out of it. For that reason, I believe you
thought of one obj ect and changed your mind at the last moment.”
You can now not only point out what object they thought of first (the
keys), but also point out the object that they changed their mind to!]
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H eavy am nes i a ef f ect:
“By a show of hands, how many people in this room have ever walked
into a room and completely forgotten what you went in there for? This
mental phenomenon interested me so intensely, for years I tried to work
out what it was that triggered a state of temporal amnesia to the point I
almost forgot myself why I was doing it. “
“Each one of these cards has a different word upon it. I want you to
randomly select one of them.”
The mentalist asks his spectator to extend his left hand in front of him.
The mentalist begins to deal the cards one by one and asks his spectator
to call out STOP at any moment.
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The mentalist cleanly takes the card he was stopped at and continues:
“Stare at the word for a few seconds, concentrate, and you will
notice for a few seconds everything apart from my voice becomes very
difficult to focus on.”
The mentalist holds the card facing his spectator, and he rips a corner
from the card.
“Focus on the connection between yourself and the word that you selected
as it j ust seems to fade out as though you never actually saw a thing,
and the more you try to focus on things that seem important, the less
important these things become.”
The mentalist now places the ripped card onto his spectator's empty
hand.
“The more you focus on how unimportant these things become, the more
irrelevant they seem...What word do you TH I N K you saw?”
“Great.”
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The mentalists smiles.
“As I mentioned earlier, I searched long and hard to answer the question
of why we forgot things when we walked into a room, and the answer
was so simple I overlooked it...Distraction. I t seems so obvious; surely it
can’t be that simple.. but it is! I will prove it. This has not been about
remembering a word on a card. What it did was give me enough time to
distract your mind in a way that I guarantee you won’t have noticed...
See the corner in my hand? I t's no longer here.”
The mentalist slowly and cleanly opens his fingers, which were in full
view the entire time, to show that his hand is now completely empty.
“D o you remember me going to the other side of the room and placing
the corner under that cup of wine? N o? Really?”
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“D oes anyone actually remember me going there and placing the corner
under the cup?”
The mentalist points with his hand to a cup of wine and directs the
spectator to go for it.
The spectator grabs the corner and sees that it matches perfectly with
the torn card in his hands.
He addresses the whole audience:
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1 . Bring the stack of word cards into a vertical (necktie) position so
that the torn corner of the top card is not exposed.
2. Deal the cards singly until the spectator tells you to stop. As you
deal, you are leaving the force card in the topmost position. In
effect, you are performing a second deal. However, given that
the top card has a missing corner, it becomes a simple task to
perform this simplified second deal.
3. Once the spectator calls “stop,” take the top word card (force
card) and slide it to the right, making sure to cover the torn
corner with the same hand you are using to remove the card
from the stack. When you take the card in your hand, use your
index/middle fingers and thumb, respectively, to conceal the
missing corner from your audience.
The performer now holds the “chosen” word card in front of him,
covering the torn corner with his fingers. Next, the performer takes the
card and pretends to tear it. The illusion is simple, yet deceiving.
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A ddi ti onal th ou gh ts by P eter T u r ner :
What José has ultimately offered here is an out, should the amnesia
effect not work. I would focus primarily on making the first phase of
the routine come off. I perform this type of routine all the time and can
vouch for the fact that if you are confident and come across as credible,
people will honestly forget the word that they saw on the card.
If they forget the word on the card, I would then forget the second half
of the routine, and know that I had an ultimately compliant subject and
proceed to make them forget their name. Remember about social
compliance when someone is in a group of people and you are going to
perform something like this a lot of the time; the participant is forced
via the pressure from everyone looking at them to comply.
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Mind Flight
Jose Prager & Luke Jermay
M i nd f l i gh t ef f ect:
The performer is introduced and walks onstage. He reaches the
microphone stand and begins:
“H ave you ever heard the expression 'flights of fantasy'? I like it. I t
reminds me that with our imagination, our minds are capable of
achieving the most fantastic things. When I was a child I dreamed about
traveling the world, seeing the exotic mysteries of far-off lands. These
days I do get to travel a fair amount, but no j ourney I have ever made
has lived up to the fantasy destinations my imagination created as a
child.”
“I would like you to make a fantasy j ourney right here and right now.
For a moment, I would like you to close your eyes and bring to your
mind a number of places you would like to travel. These can be any
places in the world. They don’t even have to be real, they can be purely
fictional places—somewhere from a movie, a book, or even of your own
imagination. The choice of your fantasy destination is left entirely up
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to you. Begin by bringing into your mind a few different places you
would like to visit in this imaginary j ourney. I will give you a few
moments to bring those places to mind.”
“D o not tell me any of those places you have in mind, but a simple yes
or no answer. Do you have a few different places in mind?”
“I would like you to decide on one final destination: a place you would
like to visit, a fantasy location. P ick one, j ust one of the places you
have in mind for me now.”
The spectator nods her head, confirming they have a single destination
in place. The performer continues:
“The interesting thing about all the fantasy j ourneys I have taken in
my own imagination, is that they have never been taken alone. This
will sound hard to believe, but you were al way s with me. J ust last
night, we took a j ourney together in my imagination, and I can p r ove
i t. I did not know your name then. So I had to identify you in a
different way...”
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The performer opens the envelope and removes a folded sheet of paper
from within. He then continues:
“You have been holding this envelope from the beginning, from before
you even picked which place from the many in your mind you would
take a fantasy j ourney to, and you could have brought any number of
fantasy destinations to your mind. Which place did you end up
traveling to?”
“Yes ! That is perfect. That final choice was made right here and right
now, correct? You had other destinations in mind, but it was H ogwarts
that you settled on right here and right now?”
“Like I said, in our fantasy j ourney I did not know your name, so I had
to describe you. P lease read what I wrote on the paper last night.”
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The spectator reads aloud what is written on the paper. It is a perfect
description of her psychical appearance. It then reads:
The prediction is written in bold, large ink on a large sheet of paper. The
spectator is thanked offstage, and the performer accepts the applause.
M i nd f l i gh t s etu p :
My impression pad called Scanner is at the core of this method, so let
me please first explain to you how to construct what I like to call “an
examinable impression pad.”
I ns tr u cti ons :
1 . Take one of the covers from one of the sides of the pad, and
open it up. You should now be looking at the inside cover.
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2. Take your contact paper, and measure 2 squares about the same
size as the covers, and cut them out using the scissors.
Upon examining the pad, you will see that it resembles a normal pad,
even with the contact paper stuck to one side of both covers. It looks
very ordinary like it should. It even looks normal after an impression
has been made.
A bou t th e p en/m ar k er :
Cheaper pens are better than expensive ones as you need to apply some
pressure to get them to write, I personally use an HB#2 pencil and it
works perfectly.
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So in essence, if you are now looking down at the pad, you should see
one sheet, followed by another sheet, followed by a cover. Hand the pad
to your spectator and have them write down their thought. Tell them to
tear off the paper and fold it up and place it in their pocket. The pad is
now in this position after they tear off their sheet: There is one visible
sheet of paper that is blank, followed by a cover. Have the spectator
hand you back the pad.
To see the impression you will find a lonely place and will remove the
contact paper from the pad then. You can calmly look at the impression.
M i nd f l i gh t m eth od:
This routine will blend the simple with the sophisticated in a really
elegant manner. It will make use of preshow work to achieve a
surprising and uncommon outcome. Normally preshow work is limited
to the harvesting and revelation of information. In this demonstration,
we are harvesting and revealing information, but we are disguising it as
a prediction. We are also able to eliminate the notion of preshow work
by having the spectator make their final choice in real-time onstage.
With your Scanner Pad ready to go, you will look at the audience before
the show begins and pick a spectator that has something interesting or
unique about their appearance; this might be a bright or odd-colored
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piece of clothing, hair color or some other element. The important
thing is that the spectator can be described in a few lines of text, and
later be instantly recognized by the audience. A quick scan of your
audience will instantly locate your spectator.
You will approach this spectator with your Scanner Pad. You will
address them:
“Later in the show I would like to try a special experiment with you. I t
is all about creative thought and imagination, and I do not want to put
you on the spot in the show, so I want to get the hard work done now. I t
will make things much easier for you later.”
The spectator thinks for a moment and then confirms there is. You
then offer them the pad and ask them to record this place, on the pad. It
is important that you offer the spectator the restriction in language, by
asking them to think about their favorite book, and a place connected to
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it. They will have no problems in creating the thought or m or e
i m p or tantl y remembering it later onstage. This is something they
al r eady k new, and therefore they will have no problem recalling it
later onstage. You will continue with this approach, asking the spectator
to think about their favorite movie and finally their favorite childhood
movie. Have all three pieces of information written on the pad and have
the spectator retain the paper. Be clear that you have not, and will not,
read the paper. I suggest turning your back on the spectator as they
write on the pad.
You will now head to the backstage area and access the information
obtained with the pad. You will prepare three predictions, each with the
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description of the spectator and one of the destinations you have
acquired from your preshow work.
“A woman, with blonde hair wearing a ________ top and _______ shoes.
She has _______ eyes.
Together we will travel in our imaginations to_______.”
I simply fill out the blanks to fit the spectator and add one additional
line of more-detailed information to the second line of text. Once these
predictions have been filled out, you will load them into one side of a
standard double envelope. You will use the double envelope as an open
index, with the ability to show it empty after the prediction has been
removed. In performance you will open the index side of the envelope,
remove the correct prediction, and then display the envelope empty by
showing the empty side of the separation. Handled smoothly and with
confidence, this is a very confounding combination of deceptions.
I fold all three papers slightly smaller than the last, creating a set of
staggered predictions, and place them into the envelope in the order I
preshow the information: Book, Movie, Childhood Movie. This means
that I am never confused as to which paper to remove.
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Your preparation is now complete. You preshow work has been
completed. Now it is show time. Please review the effect description for
the staging and scripting I use.
Walk onstage carrying the envelope. Invite the spectator onto the stage
with you. You will then have them imagine a number of fantasy
destinations. The scripting here is important. You will ask them:
“I would like you to make a fantasy j ourney right here and right now.
For a moment, I would like you to close your eyes and bring to your
mind a number of places you would like to travel to. These places don’t
even have to be real; they can be purely fictional places—somewhere
from a movie, a book, from your childhood dreams. The choice of your
fantasy destination is left entirely up to you. Begin by bringing into
your mind a few different places you would like to visit in this
imaginary j ourney. I will give you a few moments to bring those places
to mind.”
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“Good. N ow, I would like you to make the final choice. From the places
in your mind, I want you to settle on one of them as your final
destination.”
Here you are repeating the exact scripting you used with the spectator
before the show, when you explained she would pick one of the
destinations as her final destination onstage. Using this language acts as
a trigger or anchor, and she will instantly be guided to think about the
three destinations you acquired in your preshow work. She will not
settle on one of these destinations as her final choice.
This means you can then underline the impossibility of the situation by
having her confirm that this choice, this final destination, is a choice
she has made right there and then, a choice she has made after you
handed her the envelope. Do not underestimate the power of having the
spectator orally confirm these facts. It eliminates the possibility (in the
minds of the audience) of any prior preparation.
After the spectator has confirmed these facts, ges tu r e for the
envelope. Her natural response will be to gi ve the envelope to you,
without the need to ask for it. Have the spectator announce the
destination she has in mind, open the index side of the double envelope
and remove the accurate prediction. Then display the empty side of the
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envelope to the spectator, asking her to confirm there is nothing else
inside the envelope.
Here is what I had in mind (as a variation) when I read this piece.
I would approach someone I knew would be sitting at the front of the
audience. I would then ask them to think of someone they have seen
that stood out to them from within that room, someone that if you were
to say the description out loud we could instantly recognize (someone
they do not know). Ask that member of the audience to write that
person’s description down and to keep it hidden away at all times.
Explain that later you will ask the person to point to a random member
of the audience, and as they randomly went for that person, point them
out.
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Leave the audience member with that and go preshow the member that
they have written down!
Later, when you are performing, all you have to do is point to the first
person you pre-showed and ask them to point to a random member of
the audience. You know they are going to point to the person that you
have pre-showed in order to make this work.
S tage
As the above is great for parlor (as they are pointing out a person), with a
minor adjustment you can work this on stage. Instead of asking the first
participant to point to someone, ask them to simply call out the
description of someone that stood out to them. Then ask anyone in the
audience that thinks they match that description to stand.
This is where you have two choices: if the second pre-showed person is
in eye-shot of the first, you can have them point to the person, OR if
they are not, you can just point to the person that you pre-showed.
[Don’t be afraid if the person doesn’t point to the right person; just
proceed into a different routine. Not the end of the world! What is great
about setting up an additional pre-show is that, when it comes to the
revelation of the description in the variation I am about to share,
because you didn’t choose the participant, it makes the whole thing
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seems so much more impossible and the reactions will be a lot greater as
a whole.]
“Later in the show, I would like to try a special experiment with you.
I t is all about creative thought and imagination, and I do not want to
put you on the spot in the show, so I want to get the hard work done
now. I t will make things much easier for you later.”
“I want you to think of a place you have been to and absolutely loved,
(wait for their confirmation) and now I want you to think of a place
you would absolutely love to visit.”
[The participant has two destinations in mind now; this is where things
get a little sneaky.]
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Ask them to commit to the two places and to write them down. Ensure
that they write the destination they want to travel to at the top and the
destination they loved underneath (it is essential).
“As you went for these places, you could have chosen any place. H ell,
you could have even made the places up; as far as I am concerned, these
could be made up places—somewhere from a movie, a book, from your
childhood dreams. What is ultimately essential is that there is no way I
could know these places!
“When I ask you to change your mind, I want you to j ump from one of
these places to the other. I f I tell you at any point to keep changing
your mind, j ust keep cycling between these two places. I f you do all of
this for me, I am going to try and guess at least one of these places.”
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[Now you have done something wonderful. You have set up the
participant to change their mind as many times as you want, and they
will only ever change between two pieces of information.]
Write down the participant’s description (on its own) and seal it into an
envelope. Now when you go on stage later, you hand out the envelope to
a random member of the audience (of course, that random member is
the member we have asked to choose someone for us in preshow).
Ask that member to stand and point to someone in the room. They do.
“Wonderful.”
You can either invite the participant onto the stage or deal with that
participant at their seat (for this effect it doesn’t matter).
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“I would like you to make a fantasy j ourney right here and right now.
For a moment, I would like you to close your eyes and to think of a few
places; these could be places you have been to or would like to travel to.
These could be made up places—somewhere from a movie, a book, from
your childhood dreams. The choice of your fantasy destination is left
entirely up to you. I n a few moments, I am going to send you in your
mind to one of these places.”
[You have just employed what is known as a call-back line (the lines
about the movie, the book); they will remember you mentioning this in
the pre-show and therefore will not even pay it any attention. If you had
not mentioned these in the pre-show in the way you did, they could at
this point potentially let their minds just wander somewhere else. This
prevents that.]
T h i s i s agai n wh er e we di f f er f r om th e or i gi nal :
“I want you to keep changing your mind for me.”
“N ow, honestly, there is not j ust one destination you were thinking of,
correct?”
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“You have now changed your mind a few times.”
“I want you to focus on one of the destinations. You changed your mind
from any one of them. I n fact, make it interesting, and go for a
destination you would love to travel to.”
[Lovely use of dual reality here: to the audience, you are telling them to
go for any of the destinations that they changed their mind from; to the
participant, you are directing them to go for the destination they would
like to travel to.
This is where you let your participant travel in their mind to that place. I
would make an effort to Google the place before the show starts, so I
could point out a few bits and pieces before the final revelation. For
instance with landmarks, I would not reveal the actual landmark, but I
would reveal it in a totally ambiguous way that only the participant
would understand. I would finish by revealing the place real time.
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Get your round of applause and then ask the participant to take a seat.
As the participant is taking a seat, cut the applause short.
Scribble the place they loved to visit on the pad (keeping it hidden from
the audience and the participant) and say to the participant:
“At the last second, you changed your mind from another destination. I
j ust saw this as you were taking a seat, and I got a sense this was a
place you loved to visit.”
Let them answer and turn your pad around for an even larger round of
applause. Let them take a seat now and start to talk to your audience.
Then stop mid-sentence.
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This is where you can fill in a script about how you made a journey the
night before and saw yourself in that very room. The details were a little
hazy, but you wrote down what you saw.
Now when the envelope gets opened, it devastates people, especially the
person holding the envelope who chose the participant. It really
solidifies the fact (from the audience’s perception) that they did in fact
select the person at random!
[As you can see in this routine, the many layers that are placed together
make this an impossible piece of what appears to be real mind reading.
Pay attention to all the little nuances and scripts, and think about how
you could utilize this layering process in your own routines. It is a little
bit of extra work, but on stage it gives you all the room you need to be
playful!]
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Psychological jar
Jose Prager & Peter Turner
P s y ch ol ogi cal j ar ef f ect:
A spectator is called onstage and asked to think of a random word. Once
they have a word in mind, the performer asks them to change their
mind several times. The performer then asks the spectator to confirm
that there is nothing written down and the word only exists in their
mind. After going through a strong process of mind reading, the
thought is finally revealed.
"Last week I was performing something similar and the lady really
messed me up.
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"You know what? You are a really genuine person... I don't think you’re
the sort to mess me up."
"Ok, we don't need that then. Tear it up and get rid of it, SO TH ERE
I S N OTH I N G WRI TTEN DOWN AN D I T ON LY EXI STS I N
YOUR MI N D .
"Also, please make sure that there is no ink or anything left on the pad."
The Scanner allows for a full examination and nothing will be found.
"Later I am going to ask you to focus on your word and to change your
mind... When I ask you to change your mind, you will j ar
psychologically, and in that moment you will give away the
information… When I tell you to change your mind, YOU MUST
STI CK H ARD ER to the word you have committed to."
Then reiterate:
"We have nothing set up, there is nothing written down, it j ust exists in
your mind, and when I ask you to change, stick harder and harder on to
what you committed to."
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NOW, when in performance, say, “Can you think of a random word for
me?” She will say “yes.” You will say, “CH AN GE YOUR MI N D .”
“Change it again.”
Then ask her, "This is not written down anywhere, and it j ust exists in
your mind?"
She changed her mind several times and claimed nothing was ever
written down. There is no way you can know what she is thinking.
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“You know, what you are is a very genuine person. I don’t think you are
going to mess me up at all.”
[The reason for this is that now you know her a little more; there is a
reason for her tearing up the paper. Don’t overlook the power of this
method; I will personally preshow two pieces of information.
You can always preshow a pin number. That way if you wanted to tie
this type of preshow into one of the other effects such as 3386 , you
never have to ask them to say anything out loud. The ultimate value
from work like this is learning how to correctly utilize the information
you receive. Think about the other effects in this book or in your own
work and how can you weave them into already existing premises.
Another thing to think about when getting two pieces of pre-show
information: go for some actual real mind reading and readings, as you
always have two pieces of information to fall back on. If they write
down a name, see if the name is male or female. Reveal that as a piece of
information (that is one hit), the length of the name (two hits), think of
a letter in the name (three hits), and then the reveal. Essentially, take as
many hits from one piece of information as possible. What is great
about this sort of thing is that you also get more of a process when it
comes to your mind reading without having to think.]
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Another little subtlety I am going to share here is something that I have
used in the past and also answers a question that everybody worries
about: “What happens if the participant mentions the paper on stage?”
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Mr. Green
system
C oncep t:
Mr. Green’s system allows for a very clean and impressive prediction
using no pocket writing, nail writing, one ahead, pre-show work or
assistants. In its most basic form, some influencing takes place, and
then a participant calls out a thought. The mentalist finishes by cleanly
removing a folded envelope with his completely empty hands from an
inside jacket pocket that has not been touched at any point. The folded
envelope contains a written prediction that perfectly matches the
participant’s thoughts. Everything can be examined.
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M r . G r een s etu p :
Sound like a lot of materials? Don’t worry, it’s a gimmick you make once
in less than 30 seconds, and then all you have to do is reset your
prediction each time. You will only really hold on to a gimmick, a pad
and a pen. This easy setup will allow you to perform an extremely clean
prediction with no illogical moves.
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and place a pen clipped to the inside jacket pocket. To check your setup,
slightly open your jacket to display the left inside pocket; your gimmick
should be completely hidden.
107
Whatever premise you use, tell the spectator that you’re going to take
some notes as you try to influence their thoughts. Ask them some
questions and jot down what they say, perhaps even try some
psychological forces. You can show them the notes you take down later
on, so there’s no need to worry. Casually ask them to name a thought—
be it a name, number or word—one that is clearly very different from
the rest of the questions you’ve been asking and could not possibly
know. Whatever they say, just smile and jot down a few more notes,
perhaps some that include a bit of cold reading to explain that you’re
pleased with what they’ve just said. Right before jotting down those
final words, write their thought on the window of the folded envelope.
You are now ready to retract the reel inside your jacket. The notepad
covers everything, so nothing will be seen. All that is needed is a bit of
misdirection as you talk, so casually bring the notepad a little closer to
your body and let go of the gimmick with your left thumb, where it will
retract back to the safety pin.
The dirty work is now done. Before you reach for the prediction, allow
more time to pass as you openly talk and hand them the pen and pad.
Let them see your empty hands; you truly are clean at this point and
have never gone near the pocket or even placed your hands inside the
jacket. Be subtle with this. Don’t say, “Look, I have nothing in my
hands,” as that is too much; just let your attitude and body language
clearly imply it. Some may feel differently about this and opt to do a
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clear display of empty hands for a more “test conditions” approach.
Whatever you decide to do is up to your personality and character.
Now, reach inside your jacket with your right hand and remove the
envelope from the clip, displaying it with the window side facing you.
As you can see, you don’t actually show your pocket when you remove
it, but it’s clearly implied. Some may opt to show the inside jacket
pocket as empty at this point. In that case, remove the folded envelope
from inside and immediately open the jacket with your left hand, as you
hold the envelope in your right hand and tell participants to check that
pocket. Slowly and carefully unfold the coin envelope, open the flap and
remove the prediction. The folded nature of the billet will even lead
many to think later on that the prediction was completely folded up and
closed inside, making any tampering with it impossible. As they stare at
the prediction, casually crumple up the window envelope and put it
away. Let the moment sink in.
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not as smooth or lock the envelope into place by allowing it to
be stuck against both short rounded ends of the clip.
With some clever handling and using a jacket that’s the same
color as the reel, you can cover the gimmick with your hand and
let the reel rest against the arm of your jacket, so you can
casually display the writing on the pad as you talk.
Remember not to retract the reel too far for less noise. The
noise will not be noticed with normal ambient sounds, but
talking and moving the pad with your hands as you talk will
cover this. All reels work differently, so play around with yours
and see if you need to add a piece of felt near the safety pin to
decrease the sound. I don’t find any of this necessary, but I do
find it worth mentioning.
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your writing on the window neat and uniform with the other
things written on the billet. While you’re free to use double
writing, it’s much more logical to use this “jotting notes”
approach, and you can relax and concentrate on your
presentation.
Besides being great for close up, many will love doing this on
stage. Use a large clipboard and you’ll have twice as much cover!
Simply switch to a marker for this approach. A normal fine-tip
Sharpie will work fine and be logical on both the prediction and
clipboard.
With some clever tweaking, the notes can be in one color and
the prediction in another. Think about that…
In the beginning, you may want to clip the pen to hang on the
outside of the inner jacket pocket for less fumbling as you grab
the gimmick.
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Using misdirection to cover the moment you retract the reel is
always a good idea even if it’s already covered. Make sure it’s
close to your body. A nice idea to play around with is to tell the
spectator to breathe in (move the pad closer to your body a little
and let go of the folded envelope) and breathe out. As you say
breathe in, your hands move toward your body as you explain
this to your participant.
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Any prediction theme is possible—dreams, lottery numbers,
names, countries, phobias, emotions, etc.… You have a very
strong thing here; don’t turn it into a trivial “guessing a word”
trick. Use a bit of cold reading while jotting down the notes to
make this a more profound experience.
Make a couple of notes about them and their persona and then finish by
asking them what they thought of. Apply the move and let the envelope
go inside the jacket. Now when you retrieve the envelope a moment or
so later, the participant will believe that it is the one you placed in there
right at the start of the routine!
113
This is only a small, small subtlety, but it takes it away from the
psychological illusion-type effect and makes it more about reading
someone.
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Mr. Green system exp os ed !
5
G oat tou ch ef f ect:
“H ave you ever found that you have finished a friend's or a partner's
sentence without even knowing what subj ect your partner was going to
talk about?
“There is a connection that we are often not aware of and goes beyond
mere thought and words.”
“Can I try something with both of you? P erfect! From this point
onward, I want both of you to stay completely silent, and not to say a
word until I say so.”
The mentalist asks the man to relax, to close his eyes and to be aware of
any sensations that he might feel from this point onward.
“And you, Miss, please keep your eyes open the entire time, and stand
right here.”
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The performer now positions the woman right in front of the man. The
man is now right behind the woman. The performer extends his index
finger and slowly slides it across the woman’s chest.
The man replies that he did, right in his chest , like someone slid a finger
across his chest.
“You can now open your eyes… N o one touched you… I j ust touched
her, and she was standing right there in front of you the whole time
with her eyes completely open.”
“H old on tight and don't let go, because connections such as this do not
happen all the time.”
118
You verbally ask them to stand in front of you, the woman positioned
on your left side and the man on your right side.
You ask them to remain silent from this point onward, until you ask
them to speak.
After asking the woman to keep her eyes open and to move "right here,"
move her slowly and silently one step to the front by placing your left
hand on her right shoulder and your right hand on the right side of her
upper back.
However, your hand on the woman’s back is not flat, but perpendicular,
with your fingers extended and only the base of the wrist making
contact with the woman's back.
This allows your hand to stick out and for your index and middle
fingertips to make contact with the man behind by swiping your
fingertips on his chest as you move the woman into the final position,
right in front of the man. Imagine this movement as an "L." You take the
woman one step to the front and then to the right, just in front of the
man.
Dramatically and slowly swipe your index finger from left to right on
the woman’s chest, above her breasts.
119
Now both the man and the woman man have felt the same touch.
An easy way to avoid this is to place your extended hand in the lower
back of the front spectator instead of placing it on the upper back. This
way you will touch her stomach.
Now just swipe your finger on the stomach of the spectator in front.
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The goat touch exp os ed!
121
Blank Bank
Peter Turner & Jose Prager
1 22
B l ank bank ef f ect:
"Being a mind reader means that everyone is always sitting there
thinking: 'I hope he doesn’t tell everyone my secrets,' or, 'I hope he
doesn’t tell everyone my credit card information.' N ow I could do that,
but honestly I don’t want to cause problems for you. So instead we will
play a game, a game of imagination. This means we don’t have to worry
about your real credit card data. I nstead, using your imagination you
will create a new card at a new bank..."
The mentalist removes his wallet and a blank business card, and at the
top of the blank card writes: "Blank Bank." He then hands this card to
the spectator and continues:
"I t's called the Blank Bank, and it’s so new and exclusive that you get to
choose the last 3 numbers of the card. So I want you to take a moment
and to think of a three-digit number."
"You can also you choose the owner...a good chance to get creative! I t
could be a fake name or even a favorite celebrity. Really anyone."
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The performer adds a second line onto the card for the spectator to
write a name on.
"Take the new card and P RI N T the information on it, both the 3 last
digits and the owner.”
"Let’s place the new card in a secure place, and let's place the card back
into the wallet… H and it to me face down… Make sure I don’t see the
information…”
The performer hands the wallet to the spectator and asks him to hold it
between his hands.
"What is interesting about general members of society is, when they are
asked to focus on a digit in a series of digits, the mind tends to flit; the
mind thinks of one thing and j umps to something else...That's exactly
what you did."
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The spectator smiles.
"N ow focus on the name of the owner...j ust the first letter...A! "
"Angelina...Angelina...Angelina."
125
B l ank bank s etu p /m eth od :
The core method of this effect is as you expect: a peek wallet. Any peek
wallet should do the job, but not as good my peek wallet Leatherface.
4. Fold the left section inward, so that it now touches the middle
section.
5. From the outside of the left section, cut out a window about the
size of a business card. You will need to cut through all of the
layers of material until you reach the credit card you inserted
into the wallet in step three.
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6. It is now a simple matter of having a spectator write down a
thought on a business card, and placing that business card
behind the credit card we inserted into the left side of the
wallet.
To get the business card into position for the peek as noted in step six,
simply place it behind the credit card in the left ("hot"/peek) section of
the wallet.
127
I m p l i cati on:
In the words of Peter Turner: "Implication is a wonderful tool."
Fail when revealing the first digit to lead them to think that you did not
read their information. If you had read it, you would not be wrong at
any point!
“We will set this up as a little challenge; inside here there is (count an
amount of money into the wallet) 20 pounds. I f I don’t manage to
correctly read you, I will give you the money inside this wallet. Because
this is a challenge, naturally your instincts will be to do whatever you
can in order to win the money.
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insurance for me, and at the same time people don’t j ust think you are
agreeing with me.”
[In the sense of a challenge, paint the writing process red. Again, this is
an invaluable touch you can apply to other pieces already in your
working repertoire.]
“I want you to place the card into the wallet, so it is in there with the
money, and someone else can hold it and act as the j udge. This prevents
you from swapping the card at any point and really ensures that the
money is going to get handed to you if I don’t successfully manage to
read you.”
[It logically makes sense now why the card is going into the wallet. It
couldn’t be more logical from the audience/participant's perspective.
Make sure you set a few rules in place; that is, they print the letters and
numbers so people can easily read them after the challenge has taken
place. Make the challenge light-hearted and not aggressive and people
will naturally love the fact that it is a little challenge. You may want to
be cheeky and set this up as a proposition bet and get yourself a drink if
you are in a bar scenario.]
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I would ask them to focus on four digits as in a bank card scenario; a pin
code is taboo. You could even ask them to write their actual pin code,
and if they refuse, say:
“A couple of moments ago, this guy was the biggest skeptic on the
planet. There must be an amount of doubt in his own mind for him to
worry about writing down his actual pin code.”
[Again, this is just a throwaway line and a little bit of fun; this is a
perfect routine as an ice breaker.]
"What is interesting about general members of society is, when they are
asked to focus on a digit in a series of digits, the mind tends to flit; the
mind thinks of one thing and j umps to something else...”
Wait for a smile or a little tell (it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t come, but it
usually will) and proceed.
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would have to determine what you would consider a boring enough digit
to move to something more intricate.”
[With use of the words general and specific, what you do there is
separate the participant from everyone else, making it seem like they
are the only person that would make the choice they have made.]
“What I feel with you is that you are an outgoing person. I can tell that
by the fact that you instantly rose to this challenge. I think you are also
the sort of person that is fairly stubborn and will often cut off your own
nose to spite your face. (The participant’s friends will confirm this at
this point.) Based on all of this, I believe you would definitely be the
sort of person that would find rounded shapes more boring than intricate
sharp ones.”
[Cutting off your nose to spite your face is a British expression. I am not
sure how universal it is.]
Reveal the information any way that you see fit from this point.
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[The reason I make no guess as to the digits in the middle in this
variation is that you have set up a challenge and you cannot afford to
miss.
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PK Team
Jose Prager & Luke Jermay
P K team e f f ect:
“The term ‘Telekinesis’ was coined in 1890 by Russian psychical
researcher Alexander N . Aksakof; it has been demonstrated in more
recent years by the likes of Uri Geller and featured in many films. At
its most simple, it is the ability to cause obj ects to move with the power
of your mind. I t was later adopted and slightly modified by American
parapsychologist J . B. Rhine in 1934, in connection with experiments
to determine if a person could influence the outcome of falling dice.
Often referred to as mind over matter, telekinesis is used to refer to
affecting of obj ects such as metal by mere thought alone. P opular culture
such as movies, television, and literature have provided us with scores of
examples of people with the ability to cause obj ects to move, bend, warp
and even break using apparently nothing more the power of the mind. I
do not claim any supernatural abilities, but rather wish to present to
you now my own findings with experiments in Telekinesis.
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“N ow, even though it is balanced, you can see that if we were to blow on
the key or even knock the table slightly, it will not fall off the edge.
The balance point is much too far forward for the key to fall off the
edge by mere accident.”
The mentalist removes the key from the table and continues:
“N ow, what you're about to see is something that will seem very small.
H owever, in principle, this obj ect could be a mountain; we might need
more people working together to harness enough mind power, but
nonetheless together we could attempt to move mountains. After all,
there are over 100 of you in this room right now. H owever, if we can do
this, it will open the door to further interesting demonstrations. Miss, I
want you to focus with me. I want you to concentrate all of your
conscious energy and thought on a specific point in this room. You
might pick to focus your attention on the clock at the back of the room,
or maybe on a friendly face in the audience. H owever, it is important
that your conscious mind is busy focusing on something else while your
subconscious mind is focused on one idea. That idea is: you can move
obj ects with the power of your subconscious mind. I know that sounds
crazy, however I want you to enter into this test with a spirit of open-
mindedness and genuine belief in the fact that you can cause obj ects to
move with nothing more than the power of your mind.
135
“I , too, will play this game, and hopefully together we can cause
something small, but nonetheless impossible, to happen. I would like
everyone to remain silent while we both focus.”
After a few moments, the key falls and the performer finishes:
“N ow, that is what is possible if j ust two minds focus on one outcome.
I magine what we could do if we were to all focus on one common goal
and worked together to achieve the outcome we desired. The common
focus and desire combine to create miracles. The next time you find
yourself in a situation that seems impossible to deal with, j ust remember
that the power of the mind can literally move mountains.”
As you will learn, the secret is self-contained and it’s just a matter of
waiting before the object falls. The first time you place the object on the
edge of the table, it will not fall because you will simply not allow
enough time for it to fall.
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C l i f f r equ i r es :
Zots brand clear adhesive dots, which can be obtained at most art-
supply stores or online.
I ns tr u cti ons :
1 . Remove one of the Zots from its plastic strip.
3. Once you have torn off a small piece of adhesive, place the adhesive
on the l i gh ter end of the object you wish to use for your
demonstration.
4. Place the object onto the edge of a table. Be sure to place plenty of
pressure onto the end of the object where the adhesive resides. This will
allow the gimmick to stick to the surface.
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6. Once the object has fallen, pick it up and remove the
gimmick/adhesive in the action of picking it up. It’s a completely
invisible movement.
C ar d B ox S etu p :
1 . Using a box cutter or knife, cut a tiny flap/opening on one corner of
the bottom of the card box.
3. Stand the card box on a flat surface. It will fall after the adhesive
releases sufficiently.
Notes :
Not all keys and spoons are the same. You will need to
experiment to see which types work better than others. While
experimenting, you will need to determine the correct gimmick
size and amount of pressure to use.
If you want the object to fall more quickly, use a smaller piece of
adhesive and apply less pressure. If you want to make the object
fall after a long period of time, use a larger gimmick and apply
more pressure.
1 38
The illusion provided by "Cliff" is excellent, especially given
that the larger (lighter) portion of the object is on the table. A
spectator would assume that the majority of the object's weight
is on the table when, in fact, the opposite is true.
If you have the entire audience chanting and the object moves, they all
feel a part of the process, which makes the feat a lot more impossible, as
you were chanting at the same time, and the only logical method is that
you all did what you set out to do.
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Acknowledgments
3386 This routine was inspired by Bill Cushman’s The Fource.
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M i nd f l i gh t This routine was inspired by Luke Jermay’s "PPP
Prediction" and his "Inkblot Test," in which the notion of multiple outs
and preshow work reframed as a prediction were first published. The
techniques in this routine were created by Luke and appear here with
his express permission. The "PPP Prediction" was circulated in a private
manuscript as early as 1 999, and the "Inkblot Test" appeared in a
privately published manuscript, The I nk Blot Test, published in 2004.
1 42
Cliff Banachek told me that he played with a similar idea of
sticking an object to a surface and waiting for it to let go, but he never
published his results.
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