r.I

ENTERTAIN ING WITH'ESP'

How do prof essional mind-readers performoutstanding feats of memory, foretell thefuture, raise spirits and demonstratetelepathy? Their working secrets havealways been closely guarded, but in thisentertaining book, 'Doc' Shiels, author offour books on magic and well known inboth Britain and the USA for his ownindividual brand of macabre magic andunnerving telepathic exploits, revealssome cf the tricks of the trade.

Drawing on his experience as aprofessional mentalist and magician,he suggests the best ways of presentingtricks r:onvincingly, and includes, too,invaluable tips on how to disarm anydisruptive and determinedly scepticalmembers of your audience. The lastchapter describes situations in whichreal extrasensory perception has a dis-concerting habit of taking control.

As r,vell as being a fascinating subjectfor serious research, ESP can be great funas a source of entertainment for family and.friends. lllustrated with twenty amusingline drawings, this book is for anyonewho enjoys the work of mentalists likeChan Canasta and Uri Geller, and iswilling to risk experimenting himseif.

@)npltsEt\to 7153 6835 4 ft

THE ART OF SPEAKINGMillett Wood

ln this book the author stresses that publicspeaking is an exten!ion of conversation;a person who can speak well in publiccancommunicate better in committees, atmeetings, in business negotiations andeven in everyday conversation. professionalspeakers suffer from nerves as much asbeginners; Millett Wood shows hownervousness can be an asset. Many differentaspects of public speaking

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from speakingon television to the answering of questionsand the use of the microphone in. after-dinner speaking

- are covered.

8% x 51/zin

The following books are distributed byDavid & Charles

DICTIONARY OF DEVILSAT\ID DEMONS

MAGIC

OCCULTISM

Printed in the UK

aTONY 'DOC' SHIELS

ffi ffiTHm.Tffi Xffi Xf!ffi ffi ITH'm$p'

Illustrations fur 'Nic'

DAVID & CHARLESNEWTON ABBOT LONDON VANCOUVER

I

ISBN O 7153 6835 4

@ Tony Shiels 1974All rightl reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retriwal system,or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, iecordingor otherwise, without the prior permission o11 David & Charles (Holdings) Limited

,' \'-l-.5i

lSet in ll on r.r _

and printed in Great Britainby John Sherratt and Son Limited

for David & Charles (Holdings) LtdSouth Devon [fouse Newton Abbot DevonPublished in Canada by Douglas David &Charles Limited 3645 McKo"hni. f)rive,

West Vancouver BC

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INTRODUCl'ION

t Pseudo-Psi2 I Told You So3 Two-way Telepathy4 Mind-Bogglersb The Practical Psychic

.|okcr6 CartomancyI Memories Arc Made of 'I'his8 Things That Go Bump9 The Real ThingBIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Pagc7

9

2t

2g

4t48

56

7o

8o

92

r()3r07

For the bewildering Chris

Do you believe in ESP? In telepathy . . . clairvoyance . . .ghosts . . . dowsing . . . fortune-telling . . . precognition?Most people do, even though many, perhaps, would prefernot to admit the fact if you asked them outright. As aprofessional mind-reader who has given many perform-ances, demonstrations, lectures and shows, I have foundthat those members of the audience who were initiallythe most loudly sceptical, have often come uP to me after-wards and 'confessed' to having had personal encounterswith the 'supernormal'- strange things had happened tothem which they simply could not explain; things whichbroke the rules of logical cause and effect.

People are, at one and the same time, both frightenedand fascinated by supernormal happenings. This has beentrue ever since stories were first told in the flickering lightof the cave-dweller's fire. Among the most popular ancientfolk-tales are ones with terrifying ogres, witches andsorcerers; and the rgTos are producing their own share ofsupernatural tales. Count Dracula, in the shape of Chris-topher Lee, lives on; science fiction keeps the wheela-turning; and serious or trivial books on any 'occult'subject, from astrology to Zoroastrian wizardry, are in greatdemand.

During the last year or two, that branch of the conjuror's

INIRODUCTION

craft known as 'mentalism' has enjoyed a tremendousrevival_ as popular entertainmenr. Artists like Kreskin,chan canasra and David Berglas have appeared on tele-vision all over the world, in ieries after series, with anev-er-increasing audience numbering many millions. Men-talism is a truly adult form of subtle conjuring, appearingas much to the intellect as to the .y., ura ,ito*i"imembers of the audience to.pray a majorrore by invorvin!them directly 'in the act'. It'is ,iro gr.rr marerial for prrr]givers and goers.

up to now, there have been very few books availableto the enthusiastic amateur which explained, in a straight_forward manner, the basic tricks or ihe mentarist's trade.This present volume is to help fill the gap.

FSffiffiffim*ps$

In the autumn of rglg, a young Israeli called uri Gellerraised a tornado of controversy in Britain by bending twospoons on television. Even scientists and journalists (mostsceptical of men) were amazed and impressed by Geller'spsychic powers. His exploits are the nearest thing toMerlinism since Daniel Dunglas Home floated in and outof upstairs windows, a cenrury ago. within hours of hisfirst appearance in this country, conjurors were callingGeller a fake. He frightened them. If, as they insisted, hiw&s a fake, then he was one of the finest they had everseen

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far too efficienr ro be allowed to ger away with it.If, on the other hand, he was genuine . . . well, that didn,tbear thinking about I

conjurors, for the most part, distrust and disrikc anyonewho claims to possess psychic powers. The reasons for thisare various and confused. Many conjurors like to believethat everything is possible only so long as it involves thetraditional techniques of trickery. This narrow attitudcof mind encourages feelin$s of professional jealousy andsour grapes whenever they are faced with something orsomebody they cannot entirely explain. Today's magiciansare scared at the idea of real magic.

PSET'DO PSI

f"I-IE I{IS'I'ORY OIT MEN'I'ALISMPseudo-psychics have been activc for hundreds, perhapsthousands, of years. some of them were only 'semi-pseudo',relying on a trick or two for those occasions when theirgenuine psi-power was running low, but most were fakesand charlatans. In ancient times they set up shop asmedicine men, as seers and oracles, or travelled the landas wandering wizards and conjure-men, selling wart-cures,love-potions and lucky charms, making rain and tellingfortunes. Both loved and hated, depending upon whomthey helped or hindered, the majority spenr a good part oftheir lives just one jump ahead of the law. If they wereIucky cnough ro avoid the ducking-stool or the hangman'srope, some became rich enough to retire in comfort, butin the dark days when almost everyone believed, absolutely,in witchcraft and the power of the devil, a conjure-manhad to tread very carefully indeed. with the dawn of the'Ag" of Reason', the darkness faded, and the wizard beganto be accepted in respectable circles as an entertainingfellow.

The eighteenth century was the period of such legendarypersonalities as count.cagliostro and Anton Mesmer, thetime when it became fashionable to go to the theatre towitness astounding demonstrations of 'supernatural vision'by Philip Breslaw or Giuseppi pinetti.

The nineteenth century was the first golden age of stagementalism. It also gave birth to psychical research, trr.spiritualist movement, and some of the finest magiciansthe world has ever known. one of these was Jean-E.rg"r.Robert, known as Robert-Houdin, 'The Father of ModernMagic'. Assisted by his twelve-year-old son, Emile, Robert-Houdin presenred a baffiing exhibition of 'second sight,.The young boy would sit, blindfolded, on a stool, inddescribe in great detail any object which was handed, from

PSEI'DO PSI

the audience, to his father. In his mernoirs, the famousFrench magician said he owed his repuration to this feat.

Followers of Robert-Houdin included such giant talentsas Alexander and Carl Herrmann, Robert Heller, andJohn Henry Anderson, 'The Great Wizard of the North,.

Modern spiritualism was born on the night of 3r Marchr 848, in Hydesville, New York, in the Fox family's farm-house. Two little girls, Katie and Margaret, suddenlydiscovered that they were in contact with an army ofspirits. In answer to questions put by the children, weiidknockings and rappings were heard, coming from thefloors and walls. Very soon, their older sister, Leah, dis-covered that she too was able to receive messages from the'great beyond'. The news spread fast and, in no time atall, the Fox sisters were conducting regular scances

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andstrictly for casht

A few years after the Fox sisrers had begun their psychiccareers, a retired policeman in Buffalo, New york, dis-covered that his two sons, Ira and william, had a similarstrange talent. The Davenport brothers toured Americaand Europe with their 'haunted' cabinet, inside which,bound hand and foot with yards of rope (in case anyoneshould suspect them of cheatingl), they would cause rhespirits to tap out messages, play musical instruments, etc.They made a fortune.

one of the telepathic titans of the ninereenth cenrurywas Scotland's Daniel Dunglas Home, 'The Medium WhoWas Never Exposed', who denounced all his rivals asthird-rate conjurors. Home could levitate, elongate hisbody [o a seemingly impossible extent, and produce strangerapping sounds from everywhere and nowhere. In hisautobiography, he mocked the critics who suggested thathe carried in his pocket 'a tamed monkey trained to assisthim', or that, when he claimed to levitate, .it is only aballoon, filled wirh gas, in the shape of a man'.

IO II

PSEUDO PSI

Washington Irving llishop, born in Ncw York on 4March 1856, was to becomc onc of ttre most startlingshowmen in the mind-reading business. He was constantlyin the news, and his performances of 'unconscious cerebra-tion' astounded the world. Bishop anragonised the 'legiti-rnate' conjurors (as did the Fox sisters, the Davenportsand Daniel Dunglas Home) by asserring that he was nota fraud and that his psi-power was completely genuine.This was the period when, alarmed at the wildfire spreadof spiritualism and disgusted by the w[rolesale exploitationof human grief which so often went with it, many con-jurors began publicly ro expose fraudulent mediums andto attack almost anyone who hinted that there was sucha thing as authentic psychic power. It should be menrionedthat a lot of magicians made a handsome profit out of these'cxposures', and Bishop

-

never slow to smell a money-rnaking angle, while continuing ro read thoughts

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did hisfair share of fake-spiritualist 'exposures' toot

In the early years of this present century, a husband-and-wife team, Julius and Alice Zancig, developed theirtwo-person telepathy to a quite fantastic degree of efficiencyand accuracy. Although they presented the act purely astheatrical entertainment, most of the people who sawthem were certain that the zancigs possessed supernormalpowers. I have a letter, which I received about eight yearsngo, from the famous illusionist, Fu Manchu (DavidBamberg) in which he says, 'When I was with JuliusZancig, as a youth, we gave an exhibition of our mind-reading act for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in Atlantic City,and he said afterwards that it was genuine.' The creatorof Sherlock Holmes was, of course, an enthusiastic followerof the spiritualist movement.

C. Alexander, 'The Man Who Knows', famous as a stagehypnotist and mind-reader in the twenties and thirties,made over a million dollars during his career as 'Dr. Q'.

PSET'DO PSI

Other rvell-known mentalists of the period precedingWorld War II were Rajah Raboid, the Ushers, Dunninger,and Theo Annemann.

Annemann was the editor and publisher of a specialistjournal for magicians and mentalists called The linx, andhe was one of the first to explain in print how to 'Hood-wink Dr Rhine' (Rhine is one of the pioneers of twentieth-centlrry psychical research. It was he who coined the termextrasensory Perception - EsP).In the forties, Dunninger became a household name inthe United States with his long-running series of radioprogrammes. Like others before him, Dunninger invokedthe wrath of 'ethical' conjurors by implying that he hadgenuine psi-power. Others making names for themselveswere Ormond McGill, Franz Polgar, Dr Jaks and de Mille.In rg4g,British radio audiences were thrilled by thepsychic feats of 'The Amazing Fogel', followed swiftly bythe telepathic transmissions of Sydney and Lesley Pidding-ton. Fogel and the Piddingtons were adored by the publicbut heavily attacked by certain sections of the press, andalso by conjurors

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for the same old reasons.The big star of the fifties was Chan Canasta, wirh his

'psychological magic'. Chan is still giving brilliant perform-ances. A British mentalist with an international reputationwas Al Koran, billed as 'The World's Greatest Mind-reader'.

In Britain, in the sixties, the marvellous Jon Tremaineappeared; and top magician, f)avid Berglas, decided rodevote himself to mentalism. In America, the Tuckersbecame the top telepathy team; David Hoy made hisreputation by predicting newspaper headlines, verbally,weeks in advance; and George Kreskin became famouswith an act based on Dunninger's.

Now, in the seventies, many of those names are stillriding high, together with Anthony Raven, Falkenstein,

t2 r3

PSEUDO PSI

Dr Nathan Stark, l)avid Douglas, OIof Jonson, RichardIreland, Uri Gellcr . and Doc Shiels, of course. 'fhereare sure to be more, many more, because public interestin ESP has never been so intense.

At this stage you are probably saying, 'Well . . wasD. D. Home a charlatan, or did he really walk on air?Did the Fox sisters and the Davenport brothers actuallymake contact with the spirit world? Can Uri Geller truth-fully claim to be able to bend a meral rod by the powerof mind alone?' As I said earlier, the majority of sel[-styled psychics go in for a fair (or unfair, depending uponyour point of view) amount of hocus-pocus, but I wouldbe the last person on earth to deny them any genuinepsi-power at all. Wait unril you reach the end of the book,then you may be in a position to answer your ownquestions.

PRESENTATION

These pages will describe how to perform a good manyapparently impossible ESP tricks and srunrs, employingpseudo psi-power or downright dishonest chicanery. Whenyou reach the stage where you have actually tried some ofthem on your friends, listen carefully to the reactions, andI think you will be agreeably asrounded at the numberof people who are prepared to believe in you as a real livetelepath.

At the start of my usual cabaret act, I always say to theaudience, 'I depend entirely on your co-operation, myfriends, because I am an absolute fakel' Now, humannature being what it is, that silly-sounding srarement helpsa great deal (and I thank Dave Hoy for advising me ro useit), because it completely disarms the sceprics who wouldotherwise be out to 'catch' me. As for the true believers,they do a ctrrious piece o['cloublethink' which goes some-

PSEUDO PSI

thing like: 'who does he think he's trying to kid, tellingus he's a fake? we know a genuine psychic when we seeonel'

The mentalist, whether he is a party trickster or aprofessional showman, must possess the imagination andtalent to be able to play his part. He must know some-thing about acring or he will surely fail. The averagehat-and-rabbit conjuror has little or no idea abour acting,he does no[ consider it to be of any importance, so hisknowledge of, and respect for the dramatic arts is virtuallynon-existent. conjurin& as a hobby, is enormously popular(so is painting by numbers), great fun for the erihosiurt,but, generally speaking, tough on the audience. Amateurconjurors tend, on the whole, to be obsessed. with themechanics of their craft-with 'false bottoms' rather thanfantasy

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and this obsession has gone a long way towardsdestroying the ancienr imaginative art of magic.

other factors have eroded this art. since the gloriousdays of the old.-time smge illusionists with their fullevening shows, magic has been taking a downward dive,as have many other branches o[ the 'ilregitimate' livetheatre, pushed into shallow mediocrity by the rapiclgrowth of a 'canned' entertainment industry. Greiterwonders were to be seen on the cinema screen than onthe stage. Magic 'in the grand manner' went out of style.Audiences dwindled and standards fell. Nowadays, manyso-called magicians resemble nothing quite so much asbad amateur ballroom dancers on an ofi night or des-perately jolly uncles on a rainy seaside ouring. These thinflavourless performances are quite unmagical, and oftenembarrassing. There are, of course, brilliant exceptions tothis rule, but 'straight' magic has lost a lot of itJ uniqueatmosphere and excitement. Mentalism, on the other hand,is in an excellent state of health.

The reason I stress the differences between mentalismt4 I5

PSEUDO PSI

and 'straight' magic is that it is so very important for thetyro to understand and appreciate the fact, that iiSP tricks,if they are to have the impact that they (and you) deserve,must NOT be presented as 'conjuring'. Mentalism succeedswhere ordinary magic fails, because it retains the elementsof mystery, suspense and drama, so essential to most thriv-ing forms of entertainment or art. The mentalist mustsee himself as an actor in the role of a mind-reader. Toreally succeed, he should try to believe in himself as atrue telepath, at least when he is performing. By this, Ido not mean that he should overdo the 'man o[ mystery'act. Your own natural personality must not be over-shadowed by the part you are playing. That 'mind-readercharacter' is YOU, but it is you with extra-special powers.The turbanned seer with the crystal ball is as outdatedas the velocipede, so avoid the old-fashioned approach(unless you want to be a comedian) and be your modern,charming, psychic self.

The actual, physical techniques and methods employedin the performance of mentalism are, generally speaking,more subtle and less complicated than those used inordinary conjuring. Flashy displays of digital dexterityhave no place in ESP entertainment. When a mind-reader,for example, shuffies a pack of cards, he must do it in thenormal, unspectacular way, otherwise his audience wouldbe quite justified in suspecting him of being a 'quicknessof the hand' merchant. His aim should be, rather, for the'art which conceals art', and his props

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cards, books,pencils and paper, etc

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must appear to be incidental tothe 'experiments', used merely for convenience. Obviously,a real, honest-to-goodness telepath would have no need forsuch impedimenta, he would simply read minds; but thepseudo-psychic is forced to make use of these things. Thisbeing so, he has to provide a. logical excuse for theiremployment. If a pack of playng cards is used, it is

PSEIJI}O PSI

because it provides a convenient collection of fifty-two,different, easily remembered, familiar symbols. Pencils andpapers are used for making notes of thoughts, as aids toconcentration, as a means of keeping records of the men-talist's degree of success or failure. Books are used in orderto make 'random' selections of words or phrases. All theseprops play an important part in scientific psychicalresearch, and most intelligent audiences will accept themas normal, so long as the mentalist handles them casuallytnd not as if they were items of coniuring appa,ratus.

The 'end', in mentalism, is much more important thanthe 'means', the 'effect' matters more than the 'method'.By this I mean that the simplest, easiest merhods areusually the best, because they allow you to concentrateon presentation and style without having to worry toomuch about the possibility of mistakes. Certain secrertechniques employed by professional mind-readers requirelong periods of hard practice and the acquisition of a highdegree of skill before they can profitably be put ro use,but such specialised and advanced technicalities have noplace in a book of this kind. None of the tricks I explainin this book is difficult; nevertheless, they all demand acertain amount of rehearsal before you inflict them on theinnocent public. Learn every rick thoroughly until itbecomes so easy and automatic in execution that you cansafely forget about 'method' and go all out for 'effect'.

The mind-reader's talk or 'patter' is of great importance.He should always speak clearly, in an unaffected manner,so that each spectator will be in no doubt as to what islrappening and be able to undersrand and follow anydirections he or she may be given. At the same time,although his language has to be plain and fairly simple,the mentalist must not give the impression that he is'talking down' to anyone. Occasionally, of course, it isquite in order to toss in a phrase or two of parapsycho-

T6 E.S"P.-B t7

PSEUDG.PSI ?

logical jargon, but always tempered with humour, andfollowed with a quick translation into basic English. Yourphraseology will, naturally, vary according to the type ofaudience you are working for. Remember, ESP is a topicwhich interests a good many people, and there is alwaysa chance that they may know more about it, than you do.So, be prepared. Read everything you can lay your handson which is related to ESP, and acquire a good, basic,working knowledge of the subject.

Learn and practise each trick, adding and developingthe patter as you go along. It must sound natural. A tape-recorder can be helpful at this stage, so if you have one,use it. Although the trick and the talk are closely related,your patter-framework should not be too rigid. Mentalisminvolves conversation between the performer and hisaudience, so he should try to be as flexible as possible inorder to avoid awkward gaps and pauses in the proceedings.This flexibility and conversational ease will only come tothe performer who knows his material inside-out and isfree of technical worries.

The more often you perform, the more swiftly you willlearn the 'ins and outs' of mentalism. A rather obviousstatement, perhaps, but one that should be emphasised.You cannot learn euery,thing from a book and, in orderto discover what this fascinating business is really allabout, you have to get out there and do itl

Many novice entertainers are anxious about 'nerves' (ornervous about anxiety) when the prospect of performingbefore the public looms large. I, personally, am a good dealmore nervous when doing a show for a few close friends ata party than for an audience of several hundreds. Why thisshould be, I am not at all sure, but it may have somethingto do with the fact that it is more difficult to fool a friendthan a stranger, and my friends are more tikely to try andtrip me up. Your friends are probably kinder than minel

psnuno-psr?

litagc-fright, or butterflies in the tummy, are suffered byalnrost cvery 'pto', though much les so by amateurs. Theexplanation is not far to seek: the 'pro' has much morelo be nervous about; his bread and butter is at stake, andi[ the audience doesn't like him he's in serious trouble.'l'lrc amateur has no such worries. Much less is expectedol' hirn and so the pressure is eased.

Itcassured? You should be, at least slightly. After all,tlris is a book of tricks for the amateur mentalist, so relax;rnrl let the professionals do the worrying. The point I amtlying to make is that someone like myself

-one of thosest'lf-styled professional psychics we were discussing earlier--is in a much more vulnerable position, in many ways,

t lurn the man who wishes purely to amuse his guests at aprivate party. The man who reads minds for a living is, inclfcct, inviting the sceptics to shoot him down in flames.llc is constantly beset by individuals whose aim is to makelrirn look foolish and who regard his claims as a challenge.I Iis reputation and his livelihood are permanently at risk.Srn:rll wonder that he suffers from stage-frightt

'['here are two main reasons for nervousness in an enter-t:rincr. The first is a fear of things going wrong becauseo[ insufficient rehearsal. The second is a fear that he willI'rll short of the perfection he so strongly desires. The firstis undesirable, but curable. The second desirable andpr:riseworthy. A slight flutter of perfectionist's butterfliesis the sign of a healthy faculty for self-criticism; withoutit you would never make a convincing performer.

'l'he nervous performer has a natural, but unfortunate,tcnclency to get his act over and done with as quickly as;rossible. He should try and fight this tendency, otherwisehis anxiety will be transmitted to the audience (tele-pathically?) and they will feel embarrassed and uncomfort-llrle in his presence. You may feel very nervous when youlirst step out, into the limelight, in front of a crowd of

rB I9

PSEI'DO PSI

spcctat-ors, btrt you rnustr ncvcr slrrrw it. 'fakc -;t eleepbreath, put a big brave smile on your face, and go intoyour routine at a smooth and easy pace. once you getgoing, those feelings of uneasiness will usually disappear,and, when your hear that first round of spontaneousapplause, your smile will be quite genuine t

()

fiTffiLffiYffiffi ffiffi

The future, we are told, is a closed book. Don't believeitl Prophcts, seers, oracles and other assorted prognos-ticators havc been busy making predictions since Adamrvas a lad. Not every single hunch and foreboding turnedout to be true, but those that happen to hit the target arethe remembered ones.

Prediction, when it involves teacup readers or gypsycrystal-gazers, is called fortune-telling. When it involvesopinion pollsters or weather experts it is called forecasting.And when it involves parapsychologists or psychicalresearchers, it is knolvn as precognition. All this adds upto the same thing

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knowing what's going to happen beforeit does.

Mentalists seem to score a much higher number ofaccurate hits than any other sort of prediction specialist.The reason for this, of course, is that they cheatt To theinnocent layman, the problems inherent in predictivechicanery would appear to be wellnigh insurmountable.So, when what looks to him like concrete evidence of amentalist's seership is laid out before his eyes, he tends,I'm happy to sal, to accept it at its face value. In fact theproblems are few, and quite astoundingly accurate predic-tions can appear to be made by means of very simpletrickery.

2t

I TI]LD YOU SO

Allow me to illustrate what I mean with what is probablythe simplest of all ESP tricks. As with most things in thisbook, I will describe the effect as the audience sees ir,followed by the secret method employed.

Efiect A MATTER OF CHOICE

The mentalist places three white cards in a row, on thetable in front of a spectator, saying, 'Give me a number,please. One, two or three.' The number is announced andthe card which it indicates is turned over. Written on itsback are the words: 'YOU WILL CHOOSE ME!'

MethodThis trick employs one of the oldest dodges in conjuring,

the 'Magician's Choice', which, like Hobson's, is no choiceat all. Whichever number the person chooses, he will beleft with the card bearing the written predicrion.

The important card is placed, from your point of view,on the RIGHT-hand side of the other two. If rhe number

I TOLD YOU SO

'One' is chosen, you count . . one, two, three . fromthe spectatofs LEFT, which gives him the 'force' card.(The word 'force' is used by mentalists, quite ungram-matically, as a verb, a noun or an adjective, to describenot only the action of making a person take the card,number or object the mentalist wants him to, but alsothe card, number or object itself.) If he decides on 'Two',you count . one, two, three from your LEFT,saying, 'You said "Two", so I will remove the first twocards, which leaves us with this one. Turn it over please.'If 'Three' is his choice, again you count from your LEFT,to arrive at the correct one. Easy, isn't it?

You are not limited to the use of white cards, anysmall objects will do: coins, coloured counters, little wisemonkeys

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anything; and your prediction could be writtenon a piece of paper, sealed in an envelope which is handedto the spectator before you begin. I assure you that, inspite of its almost laughable simplicity, the 'Magician'sChoice' is a beautifully deceptive 'force' with manydifferent applications.

SUM.THING STRANGENow let's have a look at something slightly more com-plicated, but just as easy. Something which aPPears tobuild up the odds against the mentalist's success to animpossible degree.

EffectThe mentalist iells his audience that he intends to

conduct a little experiment in precognition. Taking a penand a small note-pad from his pocket, he stares thought-fully at everyone present, for a moment or two, thenscribbles something on the first PaSe, which he tears out,folds up and hands to a spectator, asking him to take careof it for a while.

1fiJ

J,i,ttcAoose

ne

3I(r3

I TOLD YOU SO

'I want three of you ro each think of a three-digitnumber. Anything between roo and g9g,' says the per-former. 'So I need a volunteer trio. You, you and yout'He then approaches one o[ the company and asks him towrite his chosen number on the pad without lettinganyone else see it. This is repeated with the two other'volunteers', their numbers being written underneath thefirst.

The rnentalist now goes to the person to whom hchanded the folded note, at the start of the experiment,and asks him to add up the spectators' numbers on thepad and to announce the grand total in a loud, clear voice.It is, for example, rqr8.

Finally, the folded note is opened and read aloud. Itsays: 'I predict the number r2r8.' Amazingt

Methodsimplicity itself. You must buy or rnake a small notepad,

the cover of which is exactly the same, back and front.So, no matter which side you open the thing, the audiencewill assume it is the front. Put a small, secret mark onthe front cover, so you, yourself, don't get mixed ,p.

I TOLD YOU SO

On the first back page, write three, three-figurenumbers, each in a different style, so it appears that eachhas been written by

^ different person. These numbers

rnust add up to your 'predicted' total, which you carefullymemorise and, later, write on the note which you giveto the spectator for safe-keeping. This prediction nore iswritten, of course, on the first fronf page of the notepad.

The three 'number-thinkers' secrctly jot rheir thoughtson the second front page (now the new rop page) of thepad, which, when they have finished, you take back andcasually close, turning it over as you approach the personwith the folded note (who should be, ideally, at rhcopposite side of the room to the orhers). Open the pad atthe first back page and hand over your fake figures to beadded up. When this is done, take back the pad andpocket it for safety's sake. Now you are home and dry.The total is announced and your prediction read out. Theapplause, if you have done everything properly, shouldbe deafeningt The same principle can be applied roseveral different routines.

THE MIRACLE BOOK-'TES'I"EffectThe mentalist shows his audience three thick, hard-coverbooks and asks somebody to choose one freely. He nowwrites a prediction note, which is folded up and handedto the spectator with the book. Next, as in 'Sum-thingStrange', three different people are asked to think of three,three-digit numbers which are duly added up and the rotalannounced. The reason for this, explains the mentalist, isto arrive at a page and line 'entirely by chance' (t). If thenumber is, say, 1346, the chosen volume is opened at pagerg4, and the spectator counts down to the sixth line on thatpage. He reads it aloud.

Naturally (or supernaturally) our mental marvel has25

I TOLD YOU SC)

predicted, almost exactly, the contents of the line. I say'almost exactly', because the whole thing will seem slightlymore authentic if one or two words are not quite 'spot-on'.

MethodYou must memorise the sixth line on page rg4 (or any

other 'force' number) in each of the three books. See whichone is chosen, and write your prediction note accordingly.You already know how to 'force' the magic number.

Of course, this can be done rather more easily with asingle book. If you happen to be entertaining at a friend'sparty, it is a simple matter to borrow just one book andto, quickly and secretly, locate and memorise the appro-priate line before going into action.

Later, I will describe a memory trick with a telephonedirectory which also relies on the turn-over pad.

PSYCHIC CCC

One of the most impressive feats in the mind-reader's boxof ricks is the three-part prediction. It is also one of theeasiest to perform. In the following effect, the mentalist,gives the audience a chance to measure their precognitivepowers against his own.

Effect'I want you all to make your minds a complete blank,'

says the performer, 'while I write a prediction on thispiece of paper.' He writes something, then folds up thepaper and drops it into an empty cup.

'Now', he says, pointing to one of the audience, 'quickly. . . think of any city in the whole wide'world . . . anywhereyou like. Tell me . what is its name?' The spectatorsays, for example, 'New York', arrd everyone is asked toremember that f,act.

I TOLD YOU SO

Scanning the faces of his audience, the mentalist thenfixes his gaze on a second person. He writes another noteand drops this into the cup with the firsr.

'Imagine,' he says, 'that you are on holiday in New YorkCity, driving around, seeing the sights, in a brand-newrnotor car. What make of car would you like it to be?'

'A Rolls Royce,'replies the spectator, modestly.'Of course,' says the performer, knowingly.Once more he scans their faces and, again, he picks one

out of the crowd. 'Now,' he says, 'in a moment, I am goingto write something on this paper and you arc going totry and anticipate what it is. Don't say it aloud, but hangon to the first thought that comes into your head. I'mgoing to write . . . a colour . . . it's the colour of this car.'He writes the note and into the cup it goes.

'Please tell us the colour you are thinking of,' asks theperformer.

The spectator answers, 'Red'.The papers are tipped from the cup into somebody's

hand, with the request that they unfold them and readeach one aloud, beginning with the colour. The word onthat third paper is, in fact, 'Red'; the second paper bearsthe name 'Rolls Royce'; and the first, 'New York'. Every-one is utterly flabbergasted and well they should bel

MethodThis baffiing psychic blockbuster works by means of

what is known in the trade as the 'one-ahead' system. Allyou need is three slips of paper, a pen and an empty cup.

The subtle secret lies in the fact that, on your very firstpiece of paperr /ou, slowly and deliberately, write theword 'RED', making a movement or two extra, withoutthe pen touching rhe paper, to help disguise the fact. Foldthe paper and drop it into the cup. Your request thatsomebody should now name a city, implies that a city's

26 27

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AT

2,

fld*-W1

I

ffi 3name was writtcn on the first pal)cr. Rcrucnrtrer tlre nanrclrecarrse that is what you write on the second ltiece ofpaper, just before you inquire about the car. Into the cupwith that too. Finally, after choosing a person to anticipartthe colour, you cunningly scribble the name of the iur',maker on your last slip of paper. Nobody, excepr, you,knows t.he real order in which the words were written.

From now on, proceed as described under Effect.'But,' you are probably saying, 'what if they don,t think

"Red"?' Don't worry, most of the time they do, especiallywhen you tell them ro name quickly the first colour whichcomes into their head. If they happen ro say a completelydifferent colour, it doesn't mamer-. . . it simply provis thatyou are much better at making predictions than they aretAt least one or two other people in the audience will,usually, confess to having thought 'Red', so you can alwaysblame them for mentally 'crossing the wires'.

TffifiH'ffiffiVTffiLffiPffiTHV

For a good many years, the husband and wife telepathyact was a favourite on 'the halls', and, later, on radio andtelevision. Names such as the Zancigs, the ushers and thePiddingtons are world famous in this particular field.

In its most popular form, the two-person act involvedthe wife sitting, blindfolded, on stage while the husbandpassed through the audience, borrowing various articlessuch as coins, watches, pieces of jewellery, etc, which hewould hold up for the lady ro identify. Their modusoperandi consisted, usually, of a complex verbal code,which took months of hard labour to learn, practice andperfect. The Zancigs' code, covering literally thousands ofpossible situations and objects, evolved over several yearsof constant rehearsal and performance.

It is a rather sad fact that, due to a combination o[newspaper 'exposures' and inept practitioners, the publictoday is wise to the old-fashioned rype of code rourine.No matter, we can fool them without itl

Everything in this chapter is technically simpte, easy roIearn and direct in performance. I have included a fewsanrples of rnodern 'code' trickery, but nothing that wouldtake more than a few hours to master.

Get yourself a wife or girlfriend, ancl rry our thefollowing deceptions.

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t4r5

TWO-WAY TELEPATIIY

A man's necktieSame man's watchFirst 'special' objectA woman's wedding-ringA different woman's right hanclAn ash-trayThin aft . you are pointing at 'notlring'Second'special' objectLeft sleeve of man's jacketLeft lapel of same man's jacketMan's nose'fhe ceilingThe floor . 'No, it's a brown shoe, the rightone.'Third 'special' object'Me myself' (the wife)

SHE KNOWSEffectThe mentalist's assistant sits, securely blindfotded, withher back to the audience, while her husband, after askingeveryone to remain silent, walks around the room pointingat various objects. Each time he points, he says, 'Whar'sthis?'-always, simply, 'What's this?'-and she describesthe article correctly. It is obvious to the audience that noverbal code system is being employed, and yer the ladyalways seems to be right. She must, surely, be psychict

MethodThis really is a most convincing demonstration of two-

person telepathy, but the method is simple in the extreme.AII you both have to do is learn the following list of fifteenitems, by heart. This is nor at all difficult, and anyonewell versed in mnemonics (see Chapter 7) will be able toextend and elaborate the list very easily.

Of course, you can make up your own lists, a differentone for each special occasion, but this one will do ropractice with, for now, until you get the hang of it. Oncethe list of items, in correct numerical order, has beenproperly committed to memory, you are ready to go forthand bamboozle. All you have to do is point to each thing,in turn, saying, 'What's this?' and your partner-in-crime,after only a moment's dramatic hesitation, will give acorrect description every time.

The 'special' objects, at positions 3, g and 14, are threethings unique to the particular surroundings in which youare performing. They could be, for example, an unusualornament on the mantlepiece, a painting or print on thewall, and a 'specialist' magazine on the coffee-table. youmust both choose and agree upon these things, secretly,earlier in the evening, deciding on their positions in yourlist. This will only take a few minures. The 'specials' willl:e described in as much detail as the wife is able ro

30 3r

TWO_\^/AY TELEPATHY

rcmenrber. If you have had a chance to Rote the manufac-turer's name on the base of the ornament, tell the audience.If the painring conrains an interesting small d.etail or two,mention those details. If the magazine contains an inter.est-ing leading article, try and give its title and author. Thesethree 'special' items give the whore experiment a suongair of authenticity.

Your wife or girl-friend musr be able ro act her partconvincingly

-

the answers should not seem to come outtoo quickly and easily. she must appear to be concenratingdeeply, and you could ask the ,udi.nce to mentally ,will;her to name the objecrs correctly. with a routine of thiskincl, it is possible to build up a terrific atmosphere ofexpectancy and tension.

Practice and rehearsal are essential, but you will bepleased to discover that your techniqu" ,nd ,style, willimprove by leaps and bounds.

EX-TRASENSORY PERFECTION

Th. following effiect is a beauty, taking what is basicallyjust a simple card trick and turning it into a baffiingexhibition of ESP.

EffectMrs Mentalist leaves the room, and her husband hands

a pack of cards to sorneone, asking them to shuffie itthoroughly. lvhen the pack is mixed, one of the companyis asked to select a card which is shown to everyone in theroom. Ler's imagine it is the Three of clubs. This card isrcturned to the pack which is shuffied once again, thenplaced, face down, on the table. Everyone is askid to con_centrate on the chosen card.

Now the mentalist's wife is calrecl back into the roomand says, 'I think it's a black card.,

TWO-WAY TELEPATITY

'Yes,' replies her husband.'A Club?' she asks.'Right,' he replies.'I get a strong impression that it's the Three of Clubs.

Am I correct?' asks the lady . . . and she most certainly islMethod

This trick really does appear to be an example ofgenuine telepathy. Here is how you do it.

The four sides of the table toP rePresent the fourdifferent suits of the pack. From a viewing position near,say, the door, the far side of the table is Clubs and thenear side Spades. The right edge is Hearts and the leftrepresents Diamonds. If you happen to be faced with around table, look at it as a comPass or clock-face, withClubs at North or r2 o'clock, Spades at South or 6 o'clock,Hearts at East or 3 o'clock, and Diamonds at West org o'clock. You know what the chosen card is, because, infact, you take it, yourself, from the person who selectedit and show it to everyone in the room. Then you put itback in the pack, which you shuffie, and place, face down,near the side of the table which rePlesents the suit of thecarcl. The pack does not have to be put right on the edgeof the table, but it must be placed off-centre enough toclearly signal the suit. In the case of the Three o[ Clubs,it would be towards the far North.

Now, for the next part, you will both have to rememberthe following four very simple code signals:

NOYES IT IS RIGHT ANSWER

YES Ace Two Three FourIT IS Five Six Seven EightRIGHT Nine Ten Jack Queen

No answer to any question : KingYou will note that the codeword YES means four

52 E.S.P.< 33

TWO-WAY TELEPATIIY

different cards: Ace, Two, Three and Four; therefore ifyou answer 'Yes', to the lady's first statement, she knowsthe chosen card is one of these. Remember, she alreadyknows its suit. Your tecond answer gives her the actualcard. so, if you reply 'Yes' again, she knows it is the Ace.If, on the other hand, you gave no reply to her secondstatement or question, she would know it was the Four.No replies ar all clues the King.

study the chart for a few minures, then see it youunderstand what I mean by the following examples.

TWO is YES, IT ISNINE is RIGHT, YES IEIGHT is IT IS, NO ANSWERQUEEN is RIGHT, NO ANSWERKING is NO ANSWERS AT ALLNot too complicated, is it? Let me give you just one

more demonstration to make the whole thing perfectlyclear.

The lady returns to the room and casually notes thatthe pack is placed towards the edge of the table nearestthe door through which she has just enrered. This tellsher that the chosen card is a spade. she then appears toconcentrate for a moment, and says, 'I think it is-a blackcard.'

Her husband, who knows that the card is the seven ofSpades, says, 'It is'.

Now she knows it is either the Five, Six, Seven or Eightof Spades, and asks, 'Is it, perhaps, a Spade?,

'Righr,' is the reply, which gives the final clue.The lady finally astounds everyone by announcing .I

seem to be receiving an impression of the seven of spades.'Learn this trick well and you wil possess a powerful

piece of entertainment.

'1*

TWO-WAY ""t*nttr i'I

wHAT',S IN A NA,lt4ff,;i

I really think I should include a twGPerson trick designedcspeciatly fior those of you who aldfiys go to parties alone.I ion't mean the ones who leave their wife behind to lookafter the kids

-

I wouldn't dare to gncourage that sort o[behaviourt In giving the impression of long-distance ESP,this seems a baffiing example of telephonic telepathy.Effect

The performer asks several gentlemen to empty theirlmckets on to the table-top and, from each grouP of posses-iior,r, an object or two is borrowed. These objects areplaced in the centre of tho table, until there is a collectionof

"borrt eight or nine different things, for example a

pen-knife, a pocket diary, a box of matches, a key-ring withior.,r keys, r fountain pD, a packet of cigarettes and aleather wallet.

A lady specraror is now asked to look at the pile ofpersonal-prtp..ty, to select mentally an individual item,and, unless she wishes to change her mind, to pick it up.Let us say, for example, that she chooses the box ofmatches. The other things are returned to their resPectiveowners.

The perfiormer now tells his audience that he wouldlike to ionduct an exPeriment in the advanced science oflong-distance ESP. He explains that he has a telepathicffena, by the name of Dr Baxter, whose telephone numberis written on a piece of paper which the mentalist gives tothe lady, asking her to dial the number and to ask if DrBaxter is at home. The lady follows these insructions,and this is what she hears over the telephone:

.Yes, madam, this is the doctor speaking. I was exPectingyou to call . . something to do with an exPeriment inielepathy, no doubt. Let me see, you have something inyori hand . . . something which, up to just a few minutes

!l+ 35

TWO-WAY TELEPATIIY

ago, was hiclden frorp everyone's sight. It coulcl be almostanything . . . think'hard, but don't say anything. Thinkabout whatever it is you are holding. I get the feeling thatit has something to do with fire . . . I hope it isn't too hotto handle . it certainly has a hot feeling about it. Ahyes, now I see . it's a box of matches, not a new box,several of the matches have been used. Am I right,madam?'

MethodVery simple it's another code, an easy one.You memorise a list o[ ten objects . . . things which are

to be found in almost every man's pocket. Each objecthas a code name, a doctor's name. Look at the list belowand the whole thing will be obvious ro you.

Box of matches or lighter: Dr BaxterCigarettes, cigars or pipe: Dr BensonCoin: Dr BiggsComb: Dr BosworthHandkerchief : Dr BuhnerKey(s): Dr DaviesKnife: Dr DesmondNotebook or diary: Dr DicksonPen or pencil: Dr DoyleWallet or paper money: I)r Dunston

To make things a little bit easier, the doctors' names arelisted in order, according to the vowel which occurs afterthe initial B or D. Your friend, the fake docror, with thetelephone, has no need to memorise anything; he cansimply have the list written on a card which he keeps nearhis telephone. You, on the other hand, must learn the listby heart.

At the start of the routine, when the men empty theirpockets, pick out as many of the objects on yolrr list as

TWO-WAY TELEPATI{Y

are available, casually ignoring anything else. T'he selec'tion must seem to be a random, informal business. Yourvill be offered at le,ast a couple of handfuls of small change.'fake a coin, of a value previously agreed with your friend,saying, 'Let's have a coin,' implying that it could be anysort. Most people make a point of carrying coins that canbe used in telephone call-boxes. If you live in Britain,here is an added snippet of information for your bogusphysician to relate: at the time of writing, the vast majorityof ep pieces bear the date 1971.

You will notice that several of the doctors' names rePre-sent more than one article. For instance, Dr Bensonmeans cigarettes, cigars or a pipe. In cases of this kind,your friend starts off by saying that the lady holds some-thing connected with smoking . . . perhaps cigarettes orcigars. If she tells him he's not quite right, then it mustbe a pipe. The fact that he did not hit the bull's-eyeimmediately, gives the experiment an atmosphere ofauthenticity.

Afterwards, most people will remember the lady's choiceas being a good deal wider than it actually was. They willtell their friends that dozeru of different things weredumped on the table, and that the lady freely picked one. . . the one which the doctor describedt

PSI.POP

-fhe following routine could also be adapted for use overthe telephone wires, but here I have described it as astraightforward husband-and-wife trick.Effect

You are at home, entertaining a grouP of friends and,at some point in the evening, your wife disappears intothe kitchen to put together some sandwiches and a pot ofcoffee. You turn the conversation towards music and its

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to

3756

TWC-WAY TELEDATI{Y

relation to ESP, mentioning how, quite ofiten, one can bethinking of a tune when, suddenly, someone else beginsto whistle the thing. Or you switch on rhe radio, and rhepiece of music in your mind is being played.

You suggest an experiment in musical mentalism, pickup a handful of records (singles) and pass rhem ro one ofyour guests, with the request that he or she should selectany one they fancy and put it on the record-player, which-ever side they prefer, ready to play. The machine is not

TWO-WAY TELEPATITY

switched on yet, but its lid is closed by the guest, and theremaining records put away, out of sight.

Your wife returns from the kitchen, with the goodies,and you ask her, casually, if she would like to hear somemusic. She replies that she would, indeed, enjoy listeningto something by, say, the Beatles. You ask her which song,in particular, she would like, and she decides on 'Straw-berry Fields'. The record-player is switched on, and every-one hears John, Paul, Ringo and George, playing andsinging 'strawberry Fields'. What else did you expect?

Method, 'This trick is an updated version of a routine by Cy

Keller, which appeared in the famous American magicmagazine, The Phoenix, about a quarter of a century ago.

You will need half a dozen forty-fives, each one by adifierent band or singer, produced by a difierent recordcompany, bearing a different-coloured label, inside adifferent-coloured sleeve. The 'A' side of each disc shouldhave a small price-sticker on the label. The records arementally numbered from one to six. You and your wifeshould be familiar with each record and memorise itsgiven number.

The mentalist hands the stack of records to one of hisguests, then stands where he can easily see which recordis selected without being too obvious about it. Because ofthe difiering sleeves and labels, he can hardly go wrong.The price-sticker clues which side of the record is to beplayed.

The guest is asked not to mention the title he selected.When everything is ready, the mentalist calls his wife

back into the room, and cues whichever record is chosenby one of the following phrases:

Record No r : How about some music?

rsrar\a>

Nf,

TWO-WAY TELEPATIIY

Record No z: Whai about some music?Record No 3: Shall we have some music?Record No 4: Shall we play some music?Record No i: Would yo,, tit

"

ro hear some music? +Record No 6: Would you like to listen ro some music?When she hears the question, rhe lady knows which disc

has been selected. she answers yes, and her husband thencues the chosen side by one of the following two sentences:

Side 'A': What would you like?Side 'B': What should I play?so, now she knows the side and the title of the chosen

piece of music. She names it and pretends to besurprised when she hears it played.

fq[ffiffi-ffiffiffiffiLffims

Not so very long ago, I obtained and enjoyed a useftrlamount of publicity through the appearance, in a weeklynewspaper, of a series of 'mind-bogglers', in which Iseemed, in print, to read the readers' thoughts. Of courseI cheated (I often do), but the public enjoyed being hood-winked, and proved it by coming to see my 'live' shows inever-increasing numbers.

In this chapter, I would like to try and do the samething that I did in the paper and read your mind. I knowit sounds impossible, but let's do it anyway.

THE [,{AGIC CIRCLERead every word carefully and follow my directionsexactly.

Think of any number between ten and fifty. Got it?You may change your mind if you like. Now look at themagic circle of symbols below and put your index fingeron the black arrow.

Say to yourself the number 'one'. Now gently tap yourfinger on the arrow underneath, thinking 'two'. Carry onto the right and the next arrorv, and the next, tappingand counting with each tap. When you reach the symbolof the eye, tap it and carry on up, and widdershins to the

4t

Ieft around the circle as many times as you need, ignoringthe arrows, until you arrive at your chosen number. Stopfor a second, now begin tapping again, starting with thesymbol you just finished on. Now you must proceed in aclockwise direction, still ignoring the arrows. Count thetaps until you reach the number you thought of onceagain. Look hard at the symbol your finger rested on . . .concentrate on that symbol.

Well now, let me see . ys, I think you must havestopped on the five-pointed star.

MIND_BOGGLERS

I'ELEKINESIS

Have you ever heard of telekinesis? Mind-ovcti-matter?Certain professional gamblers believe that it is possiblc,through mind-power alone, to influence the way dice willfall, or the way certain cards will turn up in the deal. Ibelieve in it too.

Go and get a pair o[ dice and a pack of cards. I'm goingto try and bend the laws of chance like one of brotherUri's spoonst Do exactly what I tell you.

Shake -and roll the dice two or three times to Prove

they're not loaded . . . I haven't started working on themyet. Now do it for real. Good. Let them lie there for aminute while you count uP the spots on the two upper-most surfaces. Add them together. The two lower surfacesare completely in the dark, secretly kising the table'top,

.11.'.;'."""rft.q

42

MIhID*BOGGLERS

aren't they? Pick up the dice, now, and count up all thespots on the two lower sides. Add them to the topsidenumber. I)one that? Excellent jusr think of thatnumber for a few seconds . it's fourteen, isn't it?

So far, so good, I've managed to control the fall of thedice.'Let's see if You can control the cards. Pick up thepack and give it a good shuffle, thinking all the while ofthe number fourteen as a one and a four. Cut the pack,then cut again. Now start to deal out the cards, one byone, in a face-up pile. If you're really willing it to happen,an ace and a four will turn up together, one right afterthe other. Fantastic.

WHICH.CRAFT

Let's try anottrer experiment with the cards. Pick up thepack and take from it the Ace of Flearts, the Four of Clubsand the Five of Clubs. Put them on a table in front of you,the ace on your left, the four in tlre middle and the five onyour right.

I want you to select mentally one of those cards, butwithout letting me influence your choice in any way. Whenyou have chosen a card, say its name aloud. I repeat, donot let me influence you or try and force any one of themon you. Read on when you've decided. Done it? Now ifyou are the sort of person I think you are, you will havechosen the black card and I reckon it's the five.

Five is a magical number, and I think ir would beinteresting to try a similar experiment with five cards.This time, take from the pack the King of Hearrs, theSeven of Clubs, the Ace of Diamonds, the Four of Hearts

. and the Nine of Diamonds. Lay out those five cards, inthat order from left to right, in front o[ you.

Again, I want you to select mentally one of the cards,and, as before, you must not let me influence you in any

44 +5

MIND-BOGGLERS

rvay. For example, you may think that the Ace of Diarnond.sis placed in the centre of the row, whcre, being somewhatconspicuous, you would be tempted to select it. Or,perh'aps, you may suspect that the Seven of Clubs wasdeliberately placed in the group to catch your eye, becauseit is the only black card. You have an absolutely free choiceand you can change your mind as often as you like.

Have you chosen a card? Fine, now say its name aloud.Did I hear you say the Four of Hearts? Yes, I think that'syour card, even though, for a moment or two, you mayhave considered the Nine of Diamonds.

THE NUMBERS RACKET

Would you like me to try and guess your lucky number?Go and get a pencil and a piece of paper, then we'Il seewhat we can do.

Look at the numbers below. I want you to coPy themexactly on your piece of paper.

4IAt23Bb67C g lo llDrgt4rb

t2r6

Now, choose any of the numbers in row A, draw a circlearound it, then cross out the three numbers immediatelybelow the one you have chosen. Next, pick one of thethree undeleted numbers in row B, draw a circle aroundthat, and cross out the two numbers underneath it.Encircle one of the two numbers remaining in row C andstrike out the one below it. Finally, Put a circle aroundthe surviving number in row D. Add up the numbers withcircles around them, the r.esult will be your personal luckynumber. Say it aloud.

Very interesting. Out of all the possible additions and

MIND-BOGGLERS

penllutations, you are the only reader to have arrived atthe number thirty-fourt

I am sure that it will have dawned on you, by now, tllatall of those ricks involved a 'force' of some kind.

The first one, 'The Magic Circle', was mathematical.Examine it for a few minutes and it will become obviousthat, if my directions are followed exactly, you will alwaysend up on the five-pointed star whichever number youchoose. If you copy my circle of symbols on a piece ofpaper and keep it in your wallet, you will never be at aloss when anyone asks you to demonstrate your ESP. Iwould suggest that you also carry a d.rawing of the star,sealed in an envelope, ready to present to your 'victim' asproof of your amazing precognitive psi-power.

The second trick is based on the useful fact that thespots on the opposite sides of a dice always add up to seven(one and six, two and five, three and four). It follows, then,that the spots on the tops and bottoms of two separate dicewill invariably total fourteen. You can apply this fact inmany ways. F-or example, in order to force the song-titlewhich happens to be at number fourteen (or numberseven) in the current record hit-parade. If you havepreviously set up your stereo with that particular disc onthe turntable, you are in the position to astound the partyguests with an amazing pop-prediction.

An ace and a four or, for that matter, any two different 'values, stand a pretty good chance of turning up in thepack together go per cent of the time. If not actuallyadjacent, there will, at the most, be only one other cardbetween them.

Experiment number three was purely psychological. Itcannot be relied upon to work every single time, but thechances of success are very high. It is important to stressthe business of the reader's (or spectator's) choice being a

aG

MIND-BOGGLERS

completely free one -

important, because they will neverentirely believe you, and that is why the thing workslPeople will, usually, tend to select the card that they thinkyou are least likely to want them to, so the trick is basedon a sort of psychological double-cross. Remember theprinciple, and you will always have a convincing ESPtrick 'up your sleeve' (as they say).

The 'Lucky Number' trick was a very simple piece ofmathematical magic. Naturally, thirty-four will always bethe result of that particular sum of additions. You coulduse it to force a page number in a book on fortune-telling,having previously memorised the contents of the firstparagraph on page thirty-four. But, for added effect, tryusing it on someone who has been married for thirty-fouryears, or someone whose age you know to be thirty-four,or who lives at a house numbered thirty-four. Efiects whichare personalised in this way go down very well indeed, inmy experience; a few tries, and I'm sure you will agree.

The more 'forces'you learn and remember, the strongeryour position as an entertaining mentalist will be. Theycan be applied in many difterent directions with terrificeffect. Just sit and think, for half an hour or so, of thevarious ways you could use the 'forces' in this chapter.I'm certain you will come up with some interesting andenjoyable ideas.

5YHH pm.mffiYrffiffiLP$VffiHTffiJffiKMM

This chapter is concerned with the cruel business ofmaking people look and feel rather foolish. Actually, thestunts contained in it are not really so terribly wickedwhen used against that particular breed of spectator whoalways tries to make things difficult for you during yourdemonstrations of ESP.

The professional mentalist is constantly on his guard,ready to meet the challenge of the 'awkward' individualwho, in turn, is usually ready and willing to meet thechallenge of the mentalist. If the entertainer knows hisjob properly, he can, without really hurting anyone'sfeelings, provide a bit of fun at the exPense of the loud-mouthed sceptic.

Make no mistake about it and be warned -

when youbegin to perform ESP tricks regularly, sooner or later youare bound to come up against somebody in the audiencewho will try his very best to make a mess of your act. Donot let it worry you. The symPathy of the large majorityof spectators will be with you. Most people will want youto succeed, and, if somebody is attemPting to sabotage theirenjoyment, they witl be firmly on your side, suPPorting youin anything you do to make a monkey out of the smart-alec sabqteur. Naturally, whatever you do, it must bepresented in a good-humoured manner. Handled properly,

?O

48E.S.P.-D

THE PRACTTCAL PSYCHTC IOKBR

a potentially awkward situation can be turned to youradvantage. Ask any real 'pro', and he will inform you that'the sceptic is a gift'.

THE POWER OF SUGGESTION

'I bet you can't influence my thoughts or actions,' says anawkward customer to our mentalist-hero, 'You may be ableto fool all the others, but you can't fool met'

The mentalist picks up a pencil, which he was using ina previous experiment and, very seriously, says: 'Perhapsyou are right, but I am prepared to wager that I couldput this pencil on the floor and you would be unable toj,r*p over it. Call it hypnotisnr . . . or the power of mentalsuggestion . . call it what you will, but you would findyourself utterly incapable of jumping over this pencil.'

The spectator scofts at this ridiculous suggestion, step-ping forward to test the performer's claims. The mentalisrputs the pencil on the floor and, sure enough, the spectatorfinds that he really cannot jr*p over it.

Why not? Because the peneil was placed right up againstthe skirting-board of the walll

Do you see what I mean? The troublesome sceptic ispainlessly and amusingly put in his place. You haven'rworked a miracle, bur you have mer his challenge withone of your own and, at the same time, provided an enter-taining bit of 'business'.

TACTOR H

Here is another stunt of a similar kind.'What about this metal-bending nonsense?' says the

troublesome spectator. 'I bet you can't make this door-keybend in my handt '

'Well,' replies the mentalist, 'I don't mind having 4 go,

THE PRACTTCAL PSYCIIIC JOKER

but it will require a great deal of concentration on yourpart. Do you think you could Inanage to concentratesufficiently?'

'Of courset ' says the spectator.'Then we'll try,' says the performer. 'You must hold the

key tightly in your hand and, in a few minutes, if yourpowers of concentration are strong enough, it willundoubtedly bend . . . but you must not, even for onemoment, ttrink of the word "hippopofamus".'

Nobody's powers of concentration are that goodl

THE PRACTTCAL PSYCHTC JOKER

MASTER-MINt)This next trick is an ideal stunt for a party situation. Anoisy sceptic denies the existence of a sixth sense, andannounces to the assembled company that 'It's all non-sense'. The mentalist invites him to prove his point byinviting him to leave the room, for a few moments, whilethe entire group concentrates on some object inside.

When the sceptic is called back, he is asked to name theone object he thinks the group is thinking of. He namesan object, and is astounded when everyone congratulateshim on his amazing psychic skill and tells him how wonder-ful he is. Out he goes for another try. This time, however,he misses a couple before naming the correct object. Outof the roorn he goes, for a third try, and, on his return,gets the chosen object right away.

THE PRACTICAL PSYCHIC JOKER

By this time, he will be convinced that he is possessedof a strange supernormal power. He doesn't realise that,when he was outside the room, the m,entalist told thccrowd that whatever object he named would be the oncthey would agree they were thinking of I He was allowcdto miss at the beginning of his second try to makc thcwhole thing seem more authentic.

It is up to you -

and your guests * whether you let themonkey into the secret or not. Personally, I think it isbetter for everyone concerned to withhold the awful truthfor as long as possible.

rHE GHOS'I LY TOUCH

Flerc's a slightly spooky one. Unlike the last trick, thisrequires you to ask all of your guests, but one, to leave theroom. The one you are left with is the awkward individual-

the man who doesn't believe in ghosts. Ask him tostand facing you, as you point both your forefingers towardshis eyes. Move your hands towards his head and, just beforethe fingers touch them, ask him to close his eyes. Yourfingers now rest, gently, on his eyelids as you ask him ifhe can feel the presence of an invisible spirit. No soonerhas he answered, in the negative, than he feels a sharptap on the back of his head. He opens his eyes, as youremove your hands, and looks round to try and see who orrvhat gave him the ghostly touch. There is no one else inthe room t

It's an old trick, but a good one. As soon as his eyesclose, you touch the lids with the index and middle fingersof your right hand, tapping the back of his head with yourleft. Immediately, bring your left hand to its originalposition in front, extending its forefinger and, slowly,move your pointing hands away as he opens his eyes. Theillusion is perfect.

I

THE INVISIBLE MANI'his is a nice follow-up to the previous stunt. you arcstill alone with that srubborn scepric, who is still insistingthat he doesn't believe in 'unseen entities', in spite of thefact that one has, apparenrly, just patted him on the head.

'What if I caused You to become invisible?' you say.'Impossiblel' he says.So you point a finger at him and mumble a few strange-

sounding words. 'There,' you say, 'you're invisible .

now don't breathe a word for a moment or two.'Then you call the other guests back into the room.

'Where's Jacko?' they say . . if Jacko is the monkey'sname staring right through him. The poor fellowreally does seem to have become quite invisible. You telleveryone that he decided to leave as he didn't seem to beenjoying your entertainmenr. Several of the guests makerather pointed remarks about Jacko's foolishness . . . justas if he wasn't theret

After no more than a minute or so, you suddenly clapyour hands, and everyone notices that Jacko is back 'in theflesh'. 'Hello,' they say, 'we thought you'd gone homet ,

THE PRACTTCAL PSYCHTC JOKER

Of course your guests are play-acting, but the 'invisible'spectator has no idea how you managed to cue them to doso. In fact, in ever-ready anticipation of the need for sucha stunt, you had, earlier that evening, primed a trustworthyfriend to instruct the others, while they were outside theroom, as to how they were to act when faced with the'invisible'Jacko. Most people are good at this kind of thingand will respond well to it, enjoying the business ofdeliberately ignoring the poor victim, and, at the samctime, making rather rude remarks about him. Be carefulnot to overdo it: a minute is quite enough.

WONDERI

Finally, here's a silly one. To the spectator who has yawnedthrough your most startling tricks, you say, 'I bet I canshow you something which you have never seen before andwill never, ever, see again.' He is unlikely to believe You,of course, and, being the type who has 'seen everything',may even go so far as to bet a pound that you cannotpossibly do what you claim. He rvould lose his money,however, because you demonstrate the truth of your state-ment by taking a walnut from your pocket, removing itsshell and showing him the nut. .. just before you eat it!

edei*

,.*;,i

CARTOMAI{GY

with cards, and a good many of them can be presented asdemonstrations of psi-power. This chapter contains just afew.

fu in other areas of the field, card mentalism makesmuch use of various forcing techniques. Let's begin thissection with a couple of samples.

COUN]'-DOWNEffectA member of the audience shuffies a pack o[ cards then,when he is satisfied that they are thoroughly mixed, handsthem to the mentalist, who shows them to the rest of thecompany, saying, 'Fifty-two cards, all different and allmixed-up together.' FIe then places the pack, face down,on the table, and writes a secret note on a piece of paper,which he seals in an envelope and hands to a secondspectator for safe-keeping.

Now the first spectator is asked to pick up the pack andto think of any number between one and fifty-two. Havingdecided on his number, he is then asked to deal that manycards, in a pile, face down, on the table-top. The remainderof the pack is put to one side.

The mentalist picks up the stack of cards just dealt,saying, 'Let's see if you've done this properly . . . Whatwas the number you thought of?'

The spectator replies, for example, 'Seventeen', and theperformer, counting aloud, deals the cards, one by one, onto the table, stopping at the seventeenth and last, whichhe holds up for everyone to see. Let's say it's the Jack off)iamonds.

Whoever holds the envelope is asked to open it, removethe note and read aloud whatever is written. It says: 'YOUWILL DECIDE ON A NUMBER WHICH INDICATESA RED CARD . . . I THINK IT'S A DIAMOND . . .PROBABLY THE JACK.' Well now, fancy thatl

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ffiffiffiTfi3mffiffiffiY

Playing-cards -

the 'devil's invention'- have always beenassociated with magic and mentalism, their origins andhistory being closely intertwined. The pack has servedevery conceivable kind of conjure-man in innumerabledirections

-

the juggler, the fortune-teller, the crookedgambler, etc have a1l made full and profitable use of thecards in the day-to-day persuance of their respective trades.

Cards have also played a major role in the guessinggames of psychical research, either in their familiar formor in the shape of the specially designed Zener pack, madefamous by Dr Rhine in his experiments at Duke Univer-sity, North Carolina, US.

Because of their strong connections with ordinary con-juring, many mentalists avoid using playing-cards. In myopinion, they are being a trifle over-cautious. As I men-tioned in the first chapter, as long as the pack is handledin a normal rnanner, withou t any fancy moves, the audiencewill accept it as a convenient and quite ordinary rhing. Ihave always used playing-cards in my acr, as have suchwell-known performers as Chan Canasta, Al Koran andDunninger. Those mentalists who choo'se to avoid cardsare denying themselves some yery good tricks and a lot offun.

There are, literally, thousands upon thousands of tricks

56 57

CARTOMAAISY

MethodIt's a bare-faced swindle that even a bewhiskered

mentalist, such as myself, can get away with!The audience is misdirected by two facrs. The first being

that the first spectator is seen to shuffie and handle thepack right from the start, thus helping ro disarm anysuspicious-minded characters who were looking out for.sleight of hand. The second is that you do nor rell themwhat you are going to attempt, either before or duringthe routine, so nobody knows what is going to happenuntil the very end, when it comes as a surprise.

After the first spectator has shuffied the pack, you takeit from him and casually spread the cards, showing rhefaces to the rest of your audience as you make the remarksabout there being fifty-two, all different, etc. As you runthrough the pack, take a quick peek ar the bottom card

. meaning the one which will be top when they areplaced, face down, on the table. Remember it. That is thecard you name in your secret note. Don't let anyone seeyour writing at this stage, shield it carefully, then fold upthe paper, pop it in the envelope and hand it over rospectator number two.

The first spectator picks up the pack, with your 'forcecard'on top, and deals his chosen number on to the table,face down. The rest of the pack is put away to one sideand you pick up the pile, which now has the 'force card'at the bottom as it was the first card to be dealt. Now, ifyou re-deal the stack, that bottom card will be forced atthe thought-of number. Display it. Let everyone see ir.

Finally, knock the crowd sideways by geming the secondspectator to read your note aloud. Written in the way Ihave suggested, it will seem to your audience that you havedone more than simply guess the name of a card.

I must tell you that people seldom remember tricks orevents afterwards as they actually happened. This is a very

CAR,TOMAT.ICY

irnportant aspect of mental rnagic. (lt is also a majorproblem in police work

-

ask any policeman who has hadto cope with the differing stories of half a dozen honestwitnesses.) With the routine just described, simple as itis, when your guests think and talk about it later to theirfriends, their memories will play tricks and they willimagine that you wrote a prediction which, not only,named the correct colour, suit and value of the card, btrtalso the number which the spectator thought of, and thatthe spectator shuffied and handled the pack throughorrt.In short, they will usually give you far morc credit thanyou really deserve.

.TAKE YOUR CU'I'

Here is a second useful card fot'ce.Effe ct

A spectator shuffies a pack of cards until he is satisfied.The pack is placed on the table and our bold psychic writesa note which, as in our previous deceit, is sealed in anenvelope and given to a second spectator who guards itwith his life. The shuffier is now asked to cut the cardsinto two piles. One stack is placed crossways upon theother, to 'mark the cut'.'

The performer briefly recaps what has just occurred,ie that the spectator freely shuffied and cut the pack, whichnow sits on the table with its top section at right anglesto the bottom. The spectator is asked to take that topsection and to turn it face up, showing the face card tothe entire audience. Let us imagine it to be the Three ofHearts. The pack is then reassembled and put aside.

Now for the climax. The envelope is torn open, thenote removed and read aloud. It says: 'I PREDICTTHAT YOU WILL CUT THE PACK AT A REDCARD . . . A HEART . . . PROBABLY THE THREE.' Iti

lrI

I58

MethodThis time, when you take the shuffied pack, face down,

from your first helper, hold it at a slight angle, tilteddownwards away from you, and glimpse the bottom card.It only takes a split second. That is the one you will force.Put the pack on the table, then write your note.

Now, ask the spectator to cut the pack into two sections,placing the original bottom one at right angles across theother, 'to mark the cut'. This may seem very bold, in print,but it appears to be perfectly fair in practice. Talk for a fewrnoments, simply pointing out what has so far, apparently,taken place, before directing the spectator to lift the topportion of the pack and to display its face (force) card.

-fhe other spectator reads your prediction and you takeyour bow.

CARTOMANCY

THE LIE DETEC'TOR

Having mastered those forcing techniques, you shouldlearn a method for locating a freely chosen card after ithas been returned to the pack. Flere is one.

EffectThe performer holds and spreads a shuffied pack for one

of the spectators to select freely, and remember, a carcl.This is returned to the pack which is cut several times.The mentalist explains that he intends to conduct a lie-detector test on the spectator, and that he wants a negativeanswer each and every time he asks: 'Is this your card?'He starts to deal the cards, one by one, on to the table,showing each one to the spectator who answers 'No', to allthe performer's enquiries. After a time, the mentaliststops, stares hard at the heap of cards, goes back throughtwo or three, then picks up one. 'I think,' he says, 'this isyours.'And it is.

MethodVery simple. When you ask for the card to be returned,

you separate the pack into two sections and get a quickpeek at the face of the right-hand half; the chosen cardbeing put on the left portion. The right portion is replaced,the card you have secretly peeked at landing right on topof the spectator's.

Let the spectator cut the pack as many times as he likes.This does not change its sequential arrangernent, his cardlvill always turn up in the deal right after the one youglimpsed, unless, of course, he happens to have cut it tothe top. This is unlikely to happen very often, but rvhenit does, you will know because, rvhen you pick up the packfor the deal, it is a simple matter to casually take a peekat the bottom card and, if it's the sarne one you peeked at

6o 6r

t

CARTOMAI{CY

earlier, his must l:e on the top. If it is, you are in theposition to turn the trick into a quickfire miracle; tappingthe back of his card with your forefinger, saying, 'Youseem, unconsciously, to have cut your card to the top.'Turn it face up . . . applausel

You will appreciate the fact that these force and locationtricks can be dressed up and presented in many differentways. For example, in 'Count-down', instead of thinkingof a number, your volunteer could spell out his own name,dealing a card for each letter; and 'The Lie Detector'could be varied by pretending to feel the spectator's pulseas he, without saying a word, holds his hand over eachcard as it is dealt on to the table.

YOUR TURN?

Now for a subtle little mystery of a different kind.

EffectA number o[ cards are placed, face up, in a row on the

table. The mentalist turns his back or leaves the roomwhile one, or more, of the cards is turned end-for-end bya member of the audience. The performer comes back andcorrectly names the 'turned' carcls.

MethodHave a look at the Three, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and

Nine of Hearts, Spades and Clubs, and the Seven ofDiamonds.'You will notice that most of the 'pips' on eachof these cards are pointing towards one end. Thus, if yourrow is made up of a selection of cards from this group,each one has a 'top' and 'tail', noticeable to you alone.

When you lay them out (seven or eight will do), makesure that they are all pointing in the same direction, withthe majority of pips either away from or towards you, as

CARTOMANCY

you prefer. If any of these are turlred end-for-end in yourabsence, you will be able to identify them easily later,even from several feet away.

BLACKOU'T

This one is a good party stunt.

EffectAry member of the audience holds a rhoroughly shuffied

pack. The lights are switched off and, in complete dark-ness, one of the cards is handed to the performer who, aftera moment's hesitation, names it. Another card is passedto the mentalist, again, he calls out its nam,e. A third cardis identified before the lights are turned on again, and thementalist is proved to have been right each time.

MethodEarly in the evening, when nobody is looking, remove

any three cards from the pack, memorise them and slipthem into your pocket.

Stand near to the spectator with the pack so, when heor she hands you the cards in the dark, it can be donewithout the risk of dropping them and spoiling the trick.

Of course, you name the cards in your pocket, exchangingthem for the others just before you ask for the lights to bePut on.

A useful variation on the above is this.Have memorised three cards in your side pocket,

remember their order too. Ask someone to shuffie the packand hand it to you. Announcing that you intend to conductan experiment in dermo-optical perception ('seeing wirhthe fingertips'), you place bhe pack in your pocket. Showyour hand to be empty, then dip it inrc the pocket, naminga (memorised) card after a seconcl or two. Withdraw that

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CARTOMANCY

very carcl and display it. Repeat these actions with theother two cards then, having proved your point, take outthe rest of the pack, saying, 'Of course it gets easier as thepack gets smaller.'

BREAKTHROUGH

If, after performing 'Blackout', you are stuck with threeodd cards in your pocket, try this.

EffectThe rnentalist tells his audience that certain cards have

strange properties. 'For instance,' he says, 'the Five ofClubs, Ace of Hearts and King of Diamonds. Those threecards have great occult significance. I'll prove it, if youlike.'

He borrows the shuffied pack and explains that he isgoing to throw it up to the ceiling, claiming that the threecards he named will stick there, held by some mysteriousforce, until he commands them to fall. He tosses the packinto the air, it hits the ceiling and the cards shower dolvn,none of them stuckl

'I clon't understand,' says the mentalist, greatly dis-appointed, 'those three cards have alway,s behaved oddlybefore. Let's have a look at them . . .'

Two or three helpful spectators search among the scat-tered pasteboards for the Five of Clubs, the Ace of Heartsancl the King of Diamonds, but they are missingvanishedl

'I must have thrown them too hard,'says the performer,'they've probably slipped through the fourth spatial dimen-sion. By the way, what's on the other side of that ceiling?'

Somebody rushes upstairs, into the room above, andtliscovers the three missing cards on the carpetl

64

E.S.P.-E

CARTOMANCY

MethodI know it's far-fetched, but it's funny and very effective.

Here's how it happened.After 'Blackout', you excused yourself and nipped

upstairs, 'to the bathroom'. In fact, once up there, /ou tookthe cards from your pocket, committed them to memory,then slipped quietly into the room above the party andtossed the cards on to the floor. We will assume that theywere the Five of ' Clubs, Ace of Hearts and King ofDiamonds.

Quite a while after you returned to the party down-stairs (giving them time to forget your brief absence), |ouwent into the patter about the weird card-trio, and casuallyasked if you could borrow the pack again to illustrate yourstory.

If you think that routine is too silly for words, I wouldjust mention that the famous Chicago psychic, OlofJonsson, built his considerable reputation on effects of thiskind.

THINX

My next trick is a strong sample of pseudo-psi.

EffectAs he shufles the pack, a spectator is asked to think of

a card, any card, taking as long as he pleases. When he hasmade up his mind, he must stick to the one he has chosenand concentrate on it. The mentalist now hands him a penand a piece of white card with four lines drawn acros.s,dividing it into five spaces, asking him to write down thenames of four other cards, and his own, in any orderwhatsoever.

This being done, the performer takes the pack and list.He glances at the list for a second, then hands it back to

CARTOItAI.ICY

the spectator. Then he runs through the pack, removes onecard and drops it, face down, on the table. The spectatoris asked to cross out the indifferent cards on his list, leavingjust the one he thought of, which he names, aloud. Thecard on the table is turned face up. That's it, bravol

Method'Iricks of this kind require a certain amount of perform-

ing experience before you can get the right card every time.But don't let that put you off; remember, in mentalism, rfew failures won't hurt.

When you hand over the piece of white card with thefive spaces, you say: 'Write down the cards in any orderyou fancy. The card you are thinking of can be written inany of the spaces. Put it at the top or bottom . . . or in themiddle . . . it doesn't matter, but don't let me influenceyou, the choice is yours entirely.'

Nine times out of ten, they will write their chosen cardin the second space; the tenth time will usually put it inthe third space, but you don't have to rely entirely on this.Just watch the way they write. The selected card is alwayswritten more rapidly than the others, as the spectator hasto think for a moment while he decides which fourindifferent cards to name.

Try it a few times, you will improve witfr each perform-ance and, eventually, you will be successful every time.

This is another of those tricks which the audience mis-remembers in a somewhat larger-than-life form. They tendto imagine that you divined the one card out of all fifty-two, rather than a mere five. Clever old you I

COINCIDENCE

No expense sparecl, here's a trick with tzrrr packs.

67

CARTOMANCY

EflectTwo packs of playing cards are or1 the table. A volunteer

from the audience is given the choice of eittrer one, whichhe picks up and shuffies while the mentalist shuffies theocher. The spectator, then, is asked to hold his pack onthe palm of his right hand, ro rake one card from themiddle of the pack, to look at and remember it, and toplace it on top. The mentalist does the same wittr his pack,looking at a card taken from the middle and saying, 'Hmm. . . that's a coincidence,' before laying it on the top of thepack. He now gives his pack a complete cut, instructingthe spectator to do exactly the same, and again.

Then the performer hands his pack to rhe spectator,taking the other pack in exchange. 'Ihe spectator is askedto find his chosen card while the performer does the same.Both cards are placed, face down, on the table. The volun-teer names his card and turns it over; the performer turnshis over, also, and both cards are the same. What acoincidencet

MethodWhen the spectator has finished shuffiing the pack of

his choice, you put down your own and take his, for amoment, while you show him how to place it on the palmof his right hand. During this apparently innocenr acrion,you tilt the pack slightly (as described in 'Your Cut') andsteal a glimpse of the bottom card that is the 'key'. Afterhe selects a card and puts it on the top of his pack, thecards are cut and the 'k.y' amives on top of the one hechose. After the two packs are exchanged, look for the'key', take out the card immediately below and put it onthe table

I think I have given you enough card effects to keep youhrppy for the time being. I deliberately kept them as

CARTOMA}ICY

simpl