The Fox Files • The Impossiword Book Test

Method • by Karrell Fox

Submission by Abb Dickson
The late Karrell Fox served as the 48th International
President of the I.B.M. (1986-7). He was (and still is) a
true ‘Legend in Magic.' He could take any effect in
Magic and improve upon it by simplification. To quote
another magic legend, Harry Blackstone Jr. "… The
strongest possible effects achieved with the simplest
possible methods has always been the Fox formula."
That's what this column will focus on. I was Karrell's
‘Partner in Fun' for more than 25 years... performing
on stage with him at magic conventions all over the
world. I was the Second Banana (a true show biz
term), assisting him in his lectures, acting as stooge,
confidante, and general flunky. In this column I will
try to pass along to you some of the best of Karrell's
effects, thoughts and ideas. Get ready for The
Impossiword Book Test...

Karrell was off to do an interview with a newspaper

reporter to promote his college mentalist show
Journey to The Center of The Mind, and asked me to
tag along. Now, I'll let you tag along as well....and I
will describe the effect to you exactly how it unfolded
before my very eyes. Imagine this...

You and a reporter walk into a local book store, and

you ask the reporter to point to any person standing
around to assist the three of you with a bit of magic.
The reporter will act as the ‘audience' because, after
all, he IS writing the story! You give the reporter a
sealed envelope to hold in his pocket for safe keeping.
You then ask the spectator to go anywhere in the
library and select a book from any shelf, and bring it to
you. ANY BOOK, NO FORCE. Spectator is then directed
to open the selected book to ANY PAGE.

With the opened book in hand, The Great Mentalist

(that's you) says, "Look over the page... ONE WORD
WILL STAND OUT among all the rest, remember it."
Then wrinkling his brow, the mentalist slowly, letter
by letter, SPELLS OUT THE SELECTED WORD. The
mentalist may give the book to the spectator as a
souvenir if he so desires. The mentalist and the
reporter walk out of the store, and the reporter is
asked to open the sealed envelope that contains the
bio of The Great Mentalist. At the top of the page IS
THE PREDICTION that matches exactly the word that
the spectator chose. Now, that's strong magic!

Magicians and mentalists have worked for years and

years to develop what is generally known as ‘a book
test.' There are many good ones, and expensive
ones.... some costing hundreds of dollars, but you will
never find a stronger effect. It's as easy as pie, and
you can make the necessary gimmick (yes, there is
one) for less than a dollar.

Take a moment a re-read the effect, and see if you can

figure it out.

What follows is the real work... proceed as outlined in

the effect up until the time that the page is selected.
With your hands behind your back, you secretly reach
up your right sleeve and pull down a round, two inch in
diameter, coin tag, which is fastened to a rubber band
and pinned in your sleeve so that it hangs down about
two inches from your cuff. On both sides of this tag is
boldly printed any word you wish "your assistant" to
remember.

You take the book

from the spectator,
and turning your head
away, you hold the
book directly in front
of the spectator's face.
Your right hand holds
the printed tag (by the
way, put the word on
both sides of the disk)
tightly against the
page. After the
spectator sees the word by your confirmation "have
you got a word in mind?" You then release the disk
and it goes up your sleeve, leaving you with just an
unprepared book in your hands and nothing else.

This test has been audience tested hundreds of times,

and believe me- it's effective. Give it a try. This is from
from Karrell's 1981 lecture notes. Also published in
"GOODIES" published by Supreme 1982