Contents Foreword by Jez Rose Introduction Who and where? EFFECTS -IDEAS AND EFFECTS Making Contact - Harnessing the power of touch Susceptible - The spectators eyes are covered with your fingertips. Despite them being able to feel your fingers, they feel touches on the back of their neck and head. Relax - A spectator sits down and closes their eyes; you are watched by a group of other spectators. You stand well away from the spectator on the chair and you ask them to remain quietand in a moment you will ask them a very important question. You silently stroke your shoulder a few times. You then ask the spectator ifthey felt anything, the comments that they felt you stroke their shoulder, despite you being nowhere nearthem. Distant Touch - Standing well away from the spectator, you gesture towards them and they feel you touch them. Focus - one on one, the spectator feels something pushing them from behind, despite your hands being in full view. ROUTINES Connected - An ‘experiment’ in paranormal communication that takes an unplanned turn. A lighthearted attempt at making contact with the spirits goes off ona diagonal asthings leave the performers control, The Crying Child - A disturbing performance, centered around the spirits of a young girl VISUAL OCCURRENCES - NOT EFFECTS ON THEIR OWN, BUT IDEAS TO WEAVE INTO EXISTING ROUTINES. Burn on-A dead match relights under impossible conditions Ghost Glass - A borrowed finger ring is placed inside a small glass as an impromptu spirit bell. Atany time the ring isseen to move and shake inside. Unaware - Events occurring that you are not aware of, The power of ignorance, Final WordsForeword "There is in souls a sympathy, with sound some chord is touched within us and the heart relies.” Before | became a Mind Reader professionally full-time, | worked clinically in Psychology. The ability to touch someone physically and emotionally, without actually physically touching them, has been an interest of mine fora very long time, To do it without any props takes a very unique and intrinsic understanding of the human mind. Shivers is a collection of effects that enable you to strongly connect with your audience, They will move them, touch them and probably quite literally make them shiver! | think Gary has done-a really great job in producing this unique collection of effects that addresses a subject that is in my opinion far too underused in the art of Magic, and Mentalism As Gary nods to Banachek for inspiration, | think Steve Shaw would be proud that "Psychokinetic Touches’ has inspired the effect of touching to be developed so fully and wholly as it has here in Shivers, "Upon touching sand may it turn to gold" Jez Rose www-JezRose.co.uk Introduction Sometimes, magic as a performance art needs to be taken to a new level. Sometimes sponge balls and playing cards just aren't enough to invoke the reaction that you desire. Although magic in its standard form is as popular as ever before, it is evolving to a higher plane. Sometimes as a performer, you feel the need to effect people on a different level, more than just entertaining them, you want to mentally alter their state of mind into thinking that you are more than just the guy with the tricks. In these pages, | will detail several effects that can be used to mentally and emotionally screw your spectators, These effects can bring about some VERY strong reactions and need to be handled very delicately and with the respect that they deserve. These-effects can scare, they can bring tears and they can make people stronger within themselves. It is for this reason that | ask you to read each section of this book in turn and not go Straight to the effects. I will describe herein the workings of these effects and | will detail the presentation, as well as the methodology. Although the workings are simple in execution, without serious consideration to the other factors involved in presentations of this sont, the effect will fall short and will remain a trick. None of these effects are presented as magic, they are occurrences that you play no part in, youare merely a witness to these events and a point of focus for the spectator. | hope that you find this material useful and think strongly about how and where to use it, Knowledge is power, poweris dangerous You were wamed.Who and where? Who? Magic isan artform that breaks all language barriers and can be appreciated by people of all ages, beliefs and morals. The type of performance that we are discussing here, however, requires amuch more delicate selection of spectators. Ifyou are looking at creating a REALLY strong performance tharwill REALLY affect your spectators, it is well worth finding out a little more about these people before you begin. For example, you may choose to reyolve your performance around a haunting, Now this type of performance can be very strong for the right audience, but it can also become a disaster ifnot handled right. When evaluating your spectators, there are certain peaple to be aware of, each of which will be discussed here, Young Audiences Asarule, | would never perform any of the effects herein for anyone under the age of 16. For a start, topics relating to the paranormal, death and other morbid subjects are generally unsuitable for anyone under this age without first acquiring parental consent Secondly, captivating a younger audience with these topics would be a very hard task, by their nature they want to see fun, flashy magic, not sit listening to a story about a dead girl. Thirdly, even if you could capture them with your story telling, the last thing, you want to do is frighten them. Younger audiences can be easily affected by events that they have not yet experienced, with no experience of death and the spirit world, | they can be subjected to many misconceptions.and can create a false illusion of what is | real and what is not. Fourthly, and most importantly, even if you COULD capture them and make them understand the premise on which you are based, they could not appreciate the effort that has gone into the theatrics of the effect, whereas an adult audience would be more responsive and more likely to work with you to achieve the desired results. So as a rule, it is better that you do not perform these types of effects for a younger audience, for oursake and theirs! Older Audiences At the other end of the scale we have the senior audiences, over the age of 60. My opinion here is that, to perform or not to perform is decided only by your own performing style and choice of patter. What we need to remember is that, as we walk closer to the next life, we become aware ‘of our mortality.an a much more conscious level. Ifwe as performers are talking words of death and monality, this can invoke an emational response that we may wish to avoid, depending on our presentation. Although emotion plays an immense part in our work, we need to be sensitive to those that are experiencing the moments that we create. We want our performances to be remembered for the moments that were created for each spectator as an individual and we want these moments to bring abouta positive feeling when they are remembered, Be sensitive in your wording, words are the stepping stones on which we play. Recently Bereaved Again, | would avoid anyone that has recently experienced death in his or her life. We as performers are going to take control of the emotions of our spectators, Someone that has experienced a lot of emotional pain in recent times can be damaged by our words to the point that we are reminding them of their loss, even though they have recently come to terms with it. Again, think it over yourself, imagine haw you want your audience tofeel when they are with you. This may feel like a lot of work, deciding who to perform to / with. In magic wedecide who to perform to and who to avoid, namely the rowdy table of drunks is passed by to make way for the table of ladies having a nice evening: We know that at the drunks table, our efforts are wasted and you will leave the table feeling belitted and unsatisfied, whereas at the quieter table, we will havea nice performance that all will appreciate and remember, This is the exact thinking behind this character analysis. lf you are going to take the time to create a routine based around stories, you are going to acquire the necessary items to assist in the mechanics and you are going to work hard to make the performance memorable, then you will want the audience to be the best that they can be, to make the event much more for you and your spectators. Trust me, the time taken will be rewarded, Where? Finding a location is another very important factor in framing your performance. Just because an effect revolves around paranormal activity, doesn't mean that you need to. perform in a graveyard! Anywhere can be a suitable place to set your scene as long as you take into consideration the following factors. Lighting You will want to have contro! of the lighting in your performing area. A streetlight shining in through the curtains may be seen as.a distraction; you want the audiences suas Leg A SATSfocus to be in that room only. Typically you will want the room to be dark, perhaps lit only by candlelight. This on its own brings about an air of unease among your audience. Stereotypically, things that shouldn't happen, typically happen by candlelight. Sound You will also want to take the sound element into consideration. The power of silence plays a big par in this type of performance, so you will want the only sounds that your audience is aware of to be eminating from the room that they are in. For this reason you will not want to perform anywhere that traffic can be heard outside, as this will be an unwanted distraction, Ensure that no other external sounds is heard; this alone will add aweb of nervousness to your audience. Surrounding Items Your performing area will vary in style depending onthe type of routine that you are performing. Typically a table will be used as your stage and your audience will face you. You will need to be aware of the items within your performing area so that you can manage the that they may have on your performance. For example, you may have a clock on the wall that makes a significant ticking sound. Now this you may think as being a distraction and in your particular routine it may be, BUT it CAN be used to heighten the effect, especially ifa clock plays a significant part in the story line. On the same level, if you know that on the hour the clack chimes, you can time your presentation to fit in with this nicely to add more interaction to the performance, Other items like televisions can be used as dramatic interludes to yourstory, By having the television on standby and having the remote control in your pocket, at any pointthe television can apparently turn itself on, This of course can be very dramatic, especially ifthe volume is turned up very loud. If you are performing for a small number of people, you may consider performing | outside, especially if the performance is not something that you planned. By standing outside at night / in the evening, you can take advantage of some of natures own theatrics. For example, by standing in woodland you have so many extra subtleties working for you. Your spectators may bea little tired and therefore open to suggestion more than they may have been. Hitisa cold evening, yout spectators will feel this and this temperature will make them feel a little exposed and vulnerable, again leaving them open to suggestion. The surrounding area, assuming that you are not near any town / traffic noise, can provide a host of sounds thatcan heighten the experience for your spectators. The sound of trees, small animals scuttling around, even birds flapping their wings can startle the spectators, These moments can, and do occur at pivotal moments in your performance and can appear to be under your control. Even such things as spider webs floating actoss your skin and the smells of wet soil can make you feel uneasy and slightly scared. These are things that, if harnessed correctly, can prove useful tools sowdaing Leg in OU ATOMaking Contact - Harnessing the power of touch The power of touch is strong, | mean VERY strong. In oureveryday lives we use touch to convey a spectrum of emotions. We use touch to convey love in the form of hand holding and kissing, we use touch to convey acceptance in the form of handshakes and we use touch to convey anger in the form of physically pushing and fighting. Touch can be used positively to express trust between two people and is a tool that is used extensively by sales people to convey a message to us that we can feel at ease with them. in these effects, we will use the power of touch to emotionally warp our spectators. In these pages you will learn methods to have a spectator feel you touching them, despite the factthat you touching them would in fact be impossible. Read on. —— Susceptible Effect A spectator is asked to take a seal on a chair. They are asked to help you in a little | experiment to see how susceptible they are to suggestion. The performer states that in a moment he will ask the spectator to close their eyes. The performer points his two index fingers up and tells the spectator that he will place the tips of his two index fingers onto the spectators’ eyelids so that they know he is still there, The spectator closes their eyes as the performers fingertips are placed on their eyelids. The spectator is asked to IMAGINE that there is someone else there with them and to say if anything happens. After a few moments the spectator reacts and opens theireyes as the performer removes his fingertips. When the spectator is asked what happened, they state that they felt | somebody touching them on the back of their head /neck Method This effect is based on a party trick that! have known for many years, | did not think that the full potential was being reached, so | structured the mechanics of it to make it into | more of a pfesentation piece The effect is totally impromptu and relies solely on your patter and timing. If it is performed as a one-on-one effect it can be very powerful, if it is performed in front of others, it will be more of a light hearted effect as the rest of the spectators will be aware of the methodology. This is therefore suitable as.an introduction effect. As described, you will need to select a spectator to take part in this. Have them take a seat, or even better, bring their own seat forward to remove the likeliness of any trickery involved. Explain to them | that you will place your twa fingers forward and ask them to close their eyes. As they close their eyes you will touch their eyelids very gently (make sure you say this). This way they will know that they do not need to worry about you coming close to their eyes. As you are | explaining this, do the same thing to yourself, placing your index fingers on your eyelids as they close.SHIWERS oy Gory Sumner Establish the fact that the spectator will know that you are still there, as they will feel yourfingertips. Ask the spectator to slowly close their eyes and you will place your index fingertips on their eyelids as described. Bring your index fingers forward to touch their eyes as they close. The moment that your spectators’ eyes are definitely closed, you will pull back one hand and stick out the MIDDLE finger of the remaining hand In this position, you can still touch the spectator with two fingers, but you now have a free hand. Due to a retention of vision, you have a VERY convincing effect. The spectator sees the two index fingertips coming towards their eyes as they clase and as they close they feel the finger tips touch them. You will need to ensure that there is no hesitation to keep the whole action as smooth as possible. The next part of the effect is down to you. With your free hand you can stroke the spectators’ neck or gently flick their hair. You will want the spectator ta be able to feel SOMETHING but to not be able to distinguish what itis, so be gentle. Ask the spectator to tell you if anything happens, the 'touching' part of the effect should not last any more than 7 of 8 seconds and in this time you will need to watch the spectator carefully to ensure that they don't attempt to open their eyes tao soon, This * generally doesn't happen due to the light touch of your fingertips on them. Once they have commented that they felt something, you are going to reverse the fingertip switch process that acts.as.a real convincer Place your free hands index finger out again and place it next to the other hands index finger, now ask the spectator to open their eyes and as they do, you will retract the middle finger and separate the two hands slightly as you move backwards, To the spectator you have just removed your two index finger tips from their eyes, try this yourself to see how convincing itis! As mentioned, this can be extremely powerful as a one-on-one effect that can have a real impact on your spectator. Perfarming it in front of a larger audience however will require a little thought. Although the workings would still be the same, the audience would be aware of the workings. Therefore | would say to use this-effect as an opener to explain how easily the mind can be fooled. The spectator will be amazed, whereas everyone else will be amused! You can then move on to another effect where the method is not obvious and the overall effect is much more confusing.Relax Effect A spectator is asked to take a seat. You tell them that you are going to try something strange and that they shauld just relax, Tell the spectator that in a moment you will ask them to close their eyes and sit absolutely silently. Tell them that if anything happens when their eyes are closed, that they should not react in any way, not evena smile, just relax. The spectator closes their eyes and the performer walks well away from the spectator. The performer fifts his right arm and strokes his left shoulder three times. A few moments later the performer asks the spectator if they felt anything. The spectator states that they felt someone stroke their left shoulder three times. Method This effect is based on the work of Steve 'Banachek' Shaw in his manuscript 'PK Touches’. | liked his approach to this effect but | wanted a way to perform it with just one spectator. The whole effect relies on the spectator and the audience being in two different time zones. | Have the spectator seated and explain the premise of the experiment to them. Ensure that they know not to react to anything that may happen but to just relay; this is very important, as their reactions would give the method away. Once they are comfortable and relaxed, have them close their eyes and ask for everyone to be silent. Wait fora few seconds for the silence to settle, At this point you are standing left of the seated spectator with your hand on the back of theirseat You are now acting for your audience as your seated spectator has their eyes closed. With your left hand, slowly raise it in front of the spectators’ face and gesture in a hypnotic manneras if you are placing the spectator into some form of altered state, | As this is happening, you will execute the pivotal move. As your hand gestures, your right thumb will make contact with the spectators left shoulder and will stroke it three times, making sure it is firm enough for the spectator to feel it. This gesture and stroking willall be over ina matter of afew seconds. You will now slowly walk away from the spectator. To the audience, all that has happened is that you have done something in front of the spectators’ face and then walked away. | Stop about six feet or so away from the spectator and attract the audiences’ attention without saying anything. You will now strake your own left shoulder three times. After each stroke, glance aver to the spectator as if to check for their react After you have done this, wait for another five seconds or sa and then ask the spectator to slowly open their eyes. Ask the spectator if anything happened and if so, what happened? They will of course state that they felt somebody touch them, them may remember how many times they may not. You can then ask where they were touched, their response will be their left shoulder, 99% of the time they will just say “my left shoulder" as it is easier justto say that than to try to point to where they were touched, The audience will assume that the spectator felt these touches at the same time as you touched your own shoulder and will therefare create the effect in their own minds, You can then ask the audience if you went anywhere near the spectator, they will of course say no. You can ask the spectator if they definitely felt you touch them, they will say yes! In this effect you are playing the audience against each other in a cheeky but very clever way. The time delay between you ACTUALLY touching the spectator and the time the audience think you WOULD have will not be noticed. You have not asked the spectator to say WHEN they felt the touch and so they will natmentian when! lfthe spectator was to speak with other audience members after the performance, they will not remember the exact times and as they confer, they will pair up their own information and decide that what appeared to happen, really did happen!Distant Touch | Effect A spectator is asked to take a seat on a chair, or stand, whichever they prefer. They are asked to face you and to relax and enjoy the performance. The spectator is asked to make eye contact with the performer and to remain in contact throughout the experiment. The performer states that he will try to make the spectator feel what be is feeling, (ust by looking at them, but that the spectator should not feel nervous in any way The performer stands around 10 feet away from the spectator and stares at them intently. The performer slowly raises his right hand and gently scratches his neck, The spectator announces that they can feel their neck also being setatched. This can bring ona variety of different reactions. Method This effect is a VERY powerful one as both the audience AND the spectator have their eyes open and you are clearly nowhere near the spectator when they feel the tingles on theirneck. This effect utilises an invisible thread ree! and is very simple in execution. You will want to have the thread ree! at a high level'on your body, the best place being inside a shirt with the thread attached to a button with wax. You will ask the spectator to. join you and ask if they want to stand or sit Ifthey want to sitdown, simply offer them the seat and bring it forward as they sitdown. As they’ are sitting down, acquire the ball of wax that the thread is attached to and anchor it to the back of the seat. Now if you walk away from the spectator, the thread should be pulled over their shoulder. If the spectator chooses to stand, simply ask them to stand in front of a wall and as you assist them to the wall, anchor the wax to the wall behind them, The mechanics from now on are much the same although a slight variation in movement may be required, You will want te slowly bring your right hand upwards and as you do, you will catch the invisible thread in the crotch of your thumb. Now as you bring your hand up to your neck, you will ensure that the thread is running at such an angle that it DOESN'T touch the spectatar. ‘SHIVERS ay tory summerSHIWERS iy cory semeer You will now want to gently scratch / stroke your neck with your fingertips. As you do this turn slightly, maintaining your eye contact. Now as you move your hand up and down, the thread will also be pulled up and down as it makes contact with the spectators’ neck. As your hand moves up, they will feel a tingle move up and as your hand moves dawn, they will feel a downward movement. This in itself is VERY convincing. Due to the fact that you have asked the spectator to keep eye contact with you, they probably won't want to look to the side, but even if they do they won't see anything. If they DO decide to look you will want to step to the side slightly to pull the thread away from the spectator. To finish the routine you can either snap the thread at your end, or unstick the wax and let itretract into the reel This is of course downto you. Focus Effect You ask a spectator to stand in front of you, facing you. You place your hands on the spectators’ shoulders and gently massage them as you ask the spectator to relax and imagine that they can feel another presence in the room. Nothing happens for a few moments, then suddenly the spectator reacts. They feel someone or something touching them on the back of their head. Slowly the touches move down their neck until they pull away, out of fear or curiosity Method This effect is something that | have played with on and off for a few years now, | originally intended for this to be a constructed gimmick that would do the ‘work’ for you, however the effect has remained and evolved as an impromptu piece. The method lies in.a moments preparation and a welll thought out patter, without which the effect becomes a puzzle. There are several ways to achieve this effect, firstly you will need to be wearing either a ring or a watch. | have always used a ring as | find it gives me more contro! over the effect. You will now need to obtain a rod of some sort. | originally used a cut down coat hanger with a bead attached to one end. | also curled ‘one end for ease of application. The rod that | use fs around 22cm in length, you will need to experiment to. see which length works best for you. Push the curled end of the rod underneath your finger ting and hook it under so that it sits securely, but comfortably, obscured from vision as it runs paralle! with your arm, Mf you clench your fist however, you will see that the rod then points away from your hand, this is the basis of the effect. $0, to perform, obtain and connect your gimmick. You will then want to position your spectator in front of you, facing you. The next sequence is very important. If you open your hand wide, you will see that the rod is |i As you explain to yourspectator that you need them toTelax, you wil] stroke your hands up your spectators arms, to their shoulders. As you hands are moving upwards, your arm will cover the gimmick. When your hands reach the shoulders, your hands Will turn face down to gently massage your spectators shoulders to aid in their relaxatieh. As your hands turn face | down, the rod gimmick will then point upwards. | It is for this reason that this effect is only suitable for one of One presentations. At this point in the performance, you will ask your spectalor to maintain eye contact | with you, while still relaxing, Not only will this encourage jhe spectator to relax, it will also encourage them to remain still, so as not to tur and lock to eitherside. Continue to gently (GENTLY) massage the spectators shoulders. You da NOT want too | much focus on the massaging as you want the feeling Of someone touching them to | prevail over the massaging. As you are talking you will maintain eye contact with th spectator. Despite this eye contact you can sill see the rad, just past the spectators head. As you are gently massaging, tilt your hands in slightly, pointing the rod towards the spectator. You are now ina positian to be able to pivot the rod ta make contact with the spectators head and neck. Practice and performance will tell you how much pivot and pressure is needed at this stage. Depending on your height, hand size etc, you will need varying amounts of pressu/ and pivot. When you are Pivoting your hands inwards DO NOT look at what you are doing, ALWAYS maintain eye contact with your spectator. You WaNt it to seem as if neither you NOR the Spéctator knows what will happen. You will also learn as you perform this effect, that the whole effect is based on reaction. You will need to start with a very light touch to the back of the head, just enough to move their hair slightly, This usually invokes a reaction, ustially of uncertainty. They felt SOMETHING, they just don't know what. Mave on toa slightly firmer pressure, they can now feel something definitely touching, them. Sometimes you can work off the light touching for a little longer and build up to the more obvious contact. Sometimes you will want to go straight in for the kill, all depending on your performance. When you feel that the effect has come to its climax, OR if the spectator DOES choose to look to the side, the following move will act as.a real convincer. As you remove your hands from the spectators shoulders, your hands will again pivot out slightly, hiding the rod behind your arm again, The action of hiding the rod is lightning fast. Be aware though of your attire; cufflinks and watches can prove an issue, as they will make a noise when the rod contacts with them. This of course makes you look VERY clean, despite the fact that you're not! You can also have your sleeves rolled up which will add to the effect. This effect can be a very strong piece if performed correctly. A strong build up before the effect can work wonders. As a presentation idea, why not contact the spirits and ask them for a number (that you need for the next effect). The spectator will of course feel something move their hair. Ask again far the number and the spectator will then fee! distinct taps, you of course have complete control of the number that is being ‘forced’ ‘onto them by the spirits. Inuins G29 OU ye TES —SHIVERS wy sory sammene Connected This routine is. a: combination of ideas, brought together to create a short performance piece designed to be used as'an apparently impromptu seance. Itis ideally suited forthe times when you need to scare close friends and associates. The ideal scenario for this is to perform after a party, when only a select number of guests remain. As your conversation moves across rent areas, you will want to gently guide it towards the supernatural. You are going to want to suggest a séance, without actually suggesting a séance! This is easier than it sounds. As the topic of the supernatural is in the air, you will listen to the comments that are being made. Atany opportune moment, | you will raise the topic of seances and Ouija boards. Most often the topic would arise af its own accord anyway, but sometimes a little gentle persuasion is necessary. When the topic is being discussed, you can suggest that you all have a go at the Ouija board that you just happen to have, Being a close group of friends, you will know how to play them to ensure that they are ‘up for it’ You will want te play the whole affair as ‘a bitof a laugh’, remain sceptical, taking it all with a pinch of salt. You want your guests to believe that the topic of Ouija boards just came up and that everyone decided to have a go, just fora laugh. The more you can take the whole thing away from yourself, the better. Requirements for the performance A Quija board or similar Athin stemmed wineglass AnInvisible Thread Reel This performance will be very short, but will not be forgotten. What the spectators see. All the guests sit at the hosts table and one of the guests is asked to think of someone that they would like to contact and to write their name on a small piece of paper, the paper is screwed up and placed inside the wine glass, The Ouija board is opened up and the wineglass is placed on the centre of the board and the guests are asked to each place two fingers on the bottom of the glass. As all eyes fall on the boards, the glass begins to move, slowly at first, then quicker. The glass spells the name of the person that was written down, All hands are removed from the glass as the guests take a moment to settle down. Without warning the glass falls, cracking, spilling out the piece of paper. All remains silent, everyone agrees that the party is over. Performing The above description is the bare bones of this routine. It is open to many possibilities of adding and removing ideas. The workings are simple, the real beauty lies in the informal setting in which the performance takes place. Begin by attaching the invisible thread reel to your belt, hidden of course. The first stage of the routine is to have someone write down the name of someone on a piece of paper and to have them screw the paper into a tight ball. You will need to obtain the name of the person via your preferred peek / impression device, this | shall leave upto you. Have the spectator screw the paper into a ball and place the ball into the wineglass, which is in turn, placed on your Ouija board, Your guests are invited to join you in placing two fingers on the bottom of the glass. You will now, unbeknown to your guests, take full control of the glass. You wan't want to do ANYTHING straight away, both yourself and your guests are not (apparently) expecting anything to happen, so by having something happen instantly implies trickery, Alter a suitable pause, you will push or pull the glass (up to you) just a little. | would recommend pulling the glass towards you slightly. What happens next is very important.Initially you will remove your fingers, pulling back quickly as if you are surprised at what happened. You will then relax and laugh / smile as you casually ask who moved the glass, Whatever the reaction, you just shrug it off and ask if your guests want to.carry on. You will want your guests to see that you are uneasy, as this feeling will transfer through to them, Again, two fingers are placed on the glass and concentration is made. After a suitable pause you will want to move the glass to the first letter of the name that has been written down, that you alreacly know. Stap on this letter for a while, with all fingers remaining onthe glass. Turn to the guest that wrote the name and ask them if this persons name has an 'X' in it? Atthe exact moment they begin to reply, you will slide the glass, much faster this time, overto the second letter, then the third, then any subsequent letters, This. all happens in a rapid, aggressive movement. You will want to appear scared, and yet compelled to continue. You want your guests to feel scared, but you also wantthem to remain touching the glass, to see the final outcome. When the'glass comes to rest, ask your guests to remove their fingers and as they d you obtain the end of your invisible thread. Ask the guest that wrote the name if ‘Marianne’ (or whichever name is written}, was the person that they wished to contact. This moment is very important, as it is a climax for your guests and a crucial moment of misdirection for you | You are going to, with suitable misdirection and cause, wrap the invisible thread around the stem of the glass. This all happens as the spectators remove their fingers, you are apparently just moving the glass away, The invisible thread is now running from your thread reel, round the glass and back down to your other hand, This hand will want to hold on tightly to the thread while the other hand will wrap two fingers around the thread so that it too is secure By now pulling on the invisible thread, you can move the glass without being anywhere near it. This is whal you are going to do, pull the thread, causing the glass to | topple over. To cause the glass to topple, you will want the thread to pull on the glass higherthan itactually is. To accomplish this, | recommend the following actions. Leave one hand, depending on your presentation, in your lap. The other hand is brought upwards, either to gesture or to touch / scratch your chin. This will raise the angle that the thread contacts the glass. Now by moving the hand that is held up, or the hand that is in your lap, you can cause the glass to topple unexpectedly. By combining movement of both hands you can make the whole event seem totally unconnected to you, Experimentation will tell you the best posture and movement for you to ensure that your actions do not raise suspicion, You will want to be talkingto at least one of your guests when the action takes place, do not even look at the glass, but react when it topples. You can use a hand gesture to start the topple, which will take a moment to actually topple over, again separating the action from you. For this effect you will want the glass to be as light and fragile as possible (but not expensive!) The lightness will allow the glass to be toppled without too much strain being placed on the thread. Also, the delicate nature of the glass will mean that on many occasions, when the glass topples, it will also crack, break or shatter when the lip ‘of the glass makes contact with your performance surface, adding to the drama of the effect. This presentation requires practice to work out the best positions to use. Those familiar with thread work will already know the importance of establishing just how much: i Hi @ = a strain can be placed on the thread without breakage. You may wish to use an alternative thread hook-up and maybe double the thickness of the thread for added security. Again, experimentation will tell you the best way for you. The whole performance relies on the fact that YOU are as affected by these events as your guests. Leading by example will create a memorable experience that will be talked about for years to come! The Crying Child What the spectators see. A story is told about a young girl that once lived in this performing venue. Her mother was killed and her father was convicted of the murder. The young girl however, vanished. She was never found. People have said that over time, cries have been heard in these rooms, cries of a young girl. Maybe it’s just imagination but some even swear that they have seen a young girl sitting by herself, crying Those in the room are asked if they would like to attempt to contact her. One spectator is selected and shown a handful of photographs. They are asked to close their eyes and imagine that they see a small girl sitting here with us, They open their eyes and move their hands slowly over the cards until they are drawn to one photo. This photo is shown and attention is drawn to a newspaper clipping that has been in a photo frame in view. The photo chosen is the same girl as. on the newspaper. Suddenly the frame slams down on the table and the spectator feels someone touch them. Not forthe faint hearted. Requirements for the performance 6 old looking photographs of young looking girls One newspaper clipping with matching face of one of the photographs One photograph frame, upright standing style. One Invisible thread ree! Fishing line One small hook You can obtain these photographs just by looking through your own old family photographs. You will want six photographs of young girls, all around the same age (depending on your story line) but with very different appearances. You will also need to make a fake newspaper article. The title of the article should be 'MISSING' or "MURDERED?" or something similar. Undemeath this title should be a clear photograph of the young girls face, this face should be the same girl as in one of the photographs. smuuns U8 AO CHATSSHIVERS wy cory saree Performing This routine takes a little set up but is well worth the time spent. You will need to perform oma large table so that the photo frame can be placed at one end, facing away from the group, so that nobody can see the newspaper article. Place the article inside the photograph frame and place it on the table, facing away from where your guests will be seated. Take your fishing line and attach it to the bottom of the photo frame, at the back. Usually there will be some kind of hale or hook that you can attach to, The next thing to do is take your small hook ane! attach it to the wall behind the photograph. The fishing line is then fed over the hook and then back to you. A loap is tied in the end of the thread that can be slipped over your shoe while you are sitting. the illustration fora detailed view of the set-up. | Invite your guests to be seated with you, obviously ensuting that they remain on one side of the table, not attempting to cross where the thread runs. As you take @ seat, slip the loop at the end of the fishing line over the foot that is closest to the frame, you will also need to attach the end of your invisible thread to the back of the chair of the spectator opposite you. This can be achieved by walking round the table to turn off a light ete. You can then | anchor the thread to the chair with wax and return to your seat, ensuring that the thread runsacross their shoulder. You will begin your story and present your audience with your photographs You will need to be able to tell which photograph matches the one on the newspaper clipping just by looking at the back. This can be accomplished witha small dot, a tear or just adifference in shape of the photograph. Show the photographs of the young girls to your audience and then lie them face down on the table, Ask for a volunteer and ask this persarvta close their eyes and imagine that there isa young girl in the room. She is crying, imagine she is crying for her mummy. Imagine you can talk to her, imagine she can hear you. The above should be spoken lightly and calmly, Ask your spectator to open their eyes and hold out their hands, Tell them to imagine thatthe little girl is talking to them and holding their hands. Ask the spectator move their hands over the photographs as the little girl tries to show: them what she looked like. Tell the spectator they can stop on any photographs that they feel drawn to and any that you will eliminate the photographs until there is just ane left. You are now going to use the standard magicians force to ensure that the spectator selects the required photograph. Obviously you will make it seem as if the spectator is being influenced by the young girl and that you play no part in the selection process. To work this, have your spectator lay their hands down, placing a hand on each photograph, If one of the photographs is the force photograph, clear all the other photographs away, leaving just two. Now ask your spectator to raise one of their hands. Ifthey raise the hand above the force photograph, slide it away into full view stating that this is the spectators choice. If the spectator lifts the other hand, they are left with their hand on the force photograph, which is even better. If in the first instance the performer doesn't put their hands on the force photograph, just take away the two selected photographs. Using this method you are able to ‘whittle’ down the cards until only one remains. ...the force photograph. Once the photographs have been eliminated and there is just one left, ask the spectator to place their hand on the photograph. Casually show the remaining photographs'and place them to one side, Draw attention to the photo frame that has been in full view and tum its face to the spectators. Explain to them that this is the young girl that was never found.i i 5 At a suitable moment, ask your spectator to turn over the photograph that they felt drawn to, it will of course be the same girl as in the newspaper. Although the spectators fee! that this is the end of the events that then have been witness to, you are now about to embed your performance in theirmemory. Tell the spectators that you are sure that the noises and sightings within the house are false and than the story is probably made up. As you say this you will do two things. Firstly, your foot that is NOT attached to the thread will come over the top of the other foot and hook under the thread. This foot can then tug / pull the thread withouttoo much body movement. You will pull the thread as you are speaking, which will pull the bottom of the frame and cause it to flip face down. This will be visually very scary, as well as causing a loud slamming sound and possibly cracking the glass. As soon as this happens, react, as you would want your spectators to react. The sounds created in this otherwise quiet moment should be enough on its own to tip your guests over the edge. At this point you need to judge the best time to create the next mini climax. At an opportune moment, you will execute a version of 'Distant Touch’ to the spectator opposite, As you are reacting to the recent event, your hand will come up, maybe to cover your mouth or run your hand over your hair. You will need! to judge the angle | needed to brush the thread across your spectators neck imagine being that poor spectator. First your friend communicates with a dead girl, finding her photograph among many others. Then a photograph frame containing her picture violently slams on the table. As if that wasn't enough, you then feel something brush your neck, It is best to find someone that is likely to react well to these occurrences to sit opposite you. Their reaction to the Distant Touch can spur an even bigger reaction from the rest of the group! Allow your spectators to express their emotions and reactions and then gently bring them back to reality. What you do now is upto you, ... | recommend coffee, STRONG coffee!Burnon Effect The performer tells of how life is short, sometimes it burns aut on its own, sometimes it is taken from us. As he does so, he strikes several matches and extinguishes them, dropping them into a small tray. One of the dead matches in then picked up and displayed as the performer states that although life comes to an end, there is always the next life to explore. As this is said, the match js struck against the matchbox again and lights perfectly! Method This is an old principle that has been moved from a simple bar stunt to something that will stick in your spectators’ mind. You will need to begin by preparing a match in the following way. Take a match from your box and a black marker pen. Use the markerpen to colour in the head ofthe match and about 1.5cm from the top. This will make the match look as if it has been previously litand extinguished, Place this match in your container (ashtray etc) with a couple of matches that have actually been bumed and extinguished. To present, you will create a patter such as detailed in the effect above. As you speak, you will remove matches and light them. Allow each one to bum for a few seconds, then blow it out and drop it into the tray. Ensure that you remember which match is your gimmicked match. When you are ready to reincamate your match, simply reach into the tray and pull out the special match. You will want to make the chaice of match seem totally random. Simply strike the match onthe matchbox and your apparently spent match will spur into a second life. Ghost Glass Effect The performer tells of how, through time, mediums have used certain objects as means of communication to the spirit world. One such item is a bell, which would ring if a spirit was present. As the performer does not have such an item, a finger ring is borrowed from a spectator. This item is dropped into a glass, which is placed away from the spectators and the performer. Everyone bearing witness are invited to form a circle around the table and to maintain eye contact with the glass throughout the experiment. As all eyes gaze upon the glass, the borrowed finger ring begins to mave inside the glass. First it begins to twitch and slide around, then it begins to be shaken around in an overly aggressive manner. Suddenly, everything stops and the room falls silent. The spectator is asked to remove their ring from the glass and is thanked for their co-operation. Method When performed properly, this effect can cause a real stir amongst your spectators. To perform this effect you will need an invisible thread reel and a small glass. Have your spectators seated at a table, where possible you will want the spectators to be more in front of you than tothe sides. ‘You will need to anchor the end of the invisible thread toa small piece of magicians wax. Have this wax held between the index finger and middle finger of your right hand. Set your scene, using whichever story line you choose. Have a spectator remove a finger ring for you to borrow, As you take the ring from the spectator, you will wantto comment on how personal items are always best as they have an aura of personal emotion and experience that the spirit world can connect with. This is in fact, made up patter that is used as misdirection to set up the animation of the ring. As you are stating the above (or something similar), you will be looking at the ring closely as if to admire | involved in its creation, In fact you are doing no such thing. | the workmanshiWhat you are doing is dropping the small ball of wax through the ring and again holding it between the index and middle finger of your right hand. This will of course feed the ring onto the invisible thread. Hold the ring with your left hand and with your right hand, pick up the small glass that should be sitting on the table. As your right hand picks up the glass, you will want to stick the small ball of wax to the underside of the glass. Ensuring that you have a little slack available on the reel, your left hand will place the ring inside the glass. The best way to ensure you have slack elcis follows. Reach over to the glass to bring it towards you, at the same time sticking the wax to the bottom, Onee it has been stuck, divert the spectators back to the ring. Your right hand should naturally fall to your lap where it can pinch the invisible thread and pull out a little slack. Your right hand will want to keep hold of the thread in your lap. Your left hand can now drop the ring inside the glass and due to the slack that has been Created, it will jingle about inside and will not arouse any suspicion. Move the glass forward now so that it is away from any apparent interaction with anyone present, Depending on how much you move it, you may need to pull the thread outa little more. Ask your spectators to sit with their hands in their laps and to watch the glass. Let them know that something MAY happen but quite often itdoesn't. This will raise their curiosity and will be more of a surprise when something DOES | happen. Also, by sitting with their hands on their laps, there is less chance that someone will grab the glass and you will not raise suspicion by having your hands in your lap. To begin the animation, you will want to SLOWLY pull on the thread, Depending on how the thread lies, it may cause the ring to slide, jump slightly or turn, all of which should create a good reaction. The key to the animation sequence |s ‘less is best’; | typically make the ring move several times, but only slight twitches. | then cause the ring to jump once, which is startling to the spectators, nat only on a visual level, but the jumping also creates a high pitched sound in an otherwise silentenvironment, You don't want the ring jumping here, there and everywhere in the glass as this type of animation suggests an element of fun. In the experiment you are conducting, fun isn't the feeling you want perceived. When you feel that you have brought the experiment to a successful conclusion, break the thread in your lap, This will wind the excess thread into the reel. You can naw either ask your spectator to remove the ring from the glass, or you can tip the ring out. In both cases the ting will come away freely, as it isn't actually attached to the wax! Assuming that the ball of wax is very small, you can either just show the glass around or you can steal the wax away with your nail and leave everything for inspection souls eg OU AISUnaware As performers we are expected to create and demonstrate. People watch us in expectance, the wonderful events that happen around us are credited as our doing, which issomething we thrive on. However, in certain areas of our performance, primarily anything relating to the spirit world, ignorance can prevail. For example, imagine if you will, a small table of close friends being treated to a paranormal experiment like nothing they have experienced. As these events occur, there will always be daubt amongst your audience of the realism of these occurrences. So why not take this into your hands and use it to your advantage? Imagine that you are performing a version of the previously mentioned ghost glass. The effect comes to a close and your spectators attention focuses back on you. As you begin your transition between effects, something happens behind you, Maybe a book moves, agiass falls over ora curtain moves. These ‘occurrences’ are seen by your spectators, but not you. By playing up the fact that you were unaware of anything happening, this separates the effect from you, making it seem like you played no part init. Although this idea is-simple to suggest and simple in execution, just by adding a small convincer such as this into your repertoire, you will be creating another level of doubt inthe mind of your audience, Similarly, by working a version of ‘Distant Touch’ into your routine at a completely irrelevant moment in your performance, this will throw your whole performance off, but for good reason. Your performance will be disrupted by a scream or similar reaction, all focus then be placed on the spectator that is causing the disturbance. Due to the fact that, at that moment, the performer was not TRYING to evoke any events or reactions, it isasurprise that something did in fact happen, This is a great convincer as it will cause your other spectators to all feel uneasy, knowing that these events COULD also happen to them and knowing that the | performer may not, infact, have complete control of the situation, Definitely worth thinking about. Final Words I hope that you have enjoyed the material within this book. There has been a lot of hype recently regarding effects and ideas that simply couldn't work, pipe dreams is a popularly used term! The ideas within this book WILL work, but they aren't just tricks, or effects, they are ideas to incorporate into your routines. Believe me, without careful thought and good acting skills, any ideas like these are useless, Try different themes, different combinations and different methods. You need to force yourself to believe that what is happening, really is happening. With your reaction, there will be nothing. LEARN TO REACT! I sincerely believe that the material within this book has a wealth of potential among magicians looking to develop their performance style. Just take the time to think things through before jumping in at the deep end. Remember, you are playing with fire here, you don’t want to get bumt, just lightly toasted. Good luck in your performance and remember, knowledge is dangerous! Gary Sumpter £ = P § iq a a ome aed bt Peco a ae ete eM MM ta ro Data zaT all generally keep it to Deed ee PY ¥ « A Mie Ra aed ll os Ne ge ca ¢ eM ae aa r et og a Sey tM ok Ee alld m a og Land Cl he Mas a! a shiver clewn the spine of anyone whe witnesses a performance. ea Lalia Beg clevelopeol performance pieces for Ca a A ag ee ea ee takes the idea of remotely oy oe FE toe a aad Ne andes CN eet ts ee gale A ea material that will allew pao oma! spooky element te your Pasi lt nll ia) sahlition, hare tad several bonus ioleas that can be incerperated into your existing routines to previele an aololitional moment of weirdness. Dt Ee eel es ee ae caro CM oa) Ce aac an experience that berolers on the A aa Se taay Ce es a ee ea www.alakazom.co.ul 63 EEO