Al Mann - Psycho-Mentisis

POST OFFICE BOX 144 •

FREEHO LD, NEW JEFSEY 07728

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Al MANN iifd~ POST OFFICE BOX 144 •

FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

PSYCHO-MENTISI3 FORh"'WORD ':Jha t the magician does and what his audiences see is not the ~portant thing in the ereation o~ great magic. It is what tho audience 'thinks' the magician did and \-That the audience think they saw, that creates that enchanting illusion o~ real magic. Can'ou bend a horseshoe? \'lith the power o~ your thought? Can you lift a car vTith the tips of your fingers? Can you levitate yoursolf? You will only have to do it once! 'rho chap that made a cloud disappear fror,l the Florida skies is today reaping ~ harvest. Sevural articles and books have been Hriten about him. lle has been appointed to several 'psychic' committees. he does not have to make an~'1Uore clouds disappear. A sideshm~ pel'fol"rll(;r made a comfortable living just by tellin,; the same story over and over. On stage he had a eicillt blow-up of a no'tVspaper article telling the story of the time he fell asleep in a drunken stupor on a beach in the Phi1ippino Islands and \-loke up inside the stomach of a sn~~e. Luckily, he said, he had a jackknife in his backpocket to cut his "flay out! Psycho-I1entisis offers much food for thought and the off-boat magic that will create a reputation and much talk. 'rake advantage of the smallest grain of publicity connected ~dth this type of mucic and b1ow-it-up bigger than life!

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1

PSYCHO-MENTISIS

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVES THE BENDS

EF,li'ECT: An examined U.S. copper penny bends while held in the spectator's hand and continues to bend until it doubles over I

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METHOD: Fig. 1 shows three coins. For the moment we say they are U.3. copper pennies. The penny at Fig. 1A must b e , . a steel penny but looks like ~ a copper penny. These pennies are sold at the magic stores A and come ,-lith other effects. They can be picked up by a magnetl The bent pennies at B and C are regular copper pennies but look exactly like the steel penny. One coin is partially bent and the other is bent-double. All three pennies will be needed for the effect. Fig. 2 shows a secretary-type billfold held closed with a rubber band. The dash lines indicate a hidden magnet inside the wallet next to the skin.

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B Fig. 1

c

TO PREPARE: Coin "C" is palmed in right hand. Fig. 2 Coin "B" is placed out of sight bet'Neen the edges of the wallet right under the rubber band as indicated by arrow Fig. 2B. The rubber band is only used to keep the bent coin in position while the wallet is in performer's pocket. TO PRESENT: Pass coin "A" out for examination. Take CDIlt your wallet and remove the rubber band holding the hidden bent coin in place by pressure of the left thumb and fingers. After the spectator has exrumined the coin, takeit back and place it at the end of your wallet as shown in Fig. 2 "AI! Tell the spectator that you do not want to touch the coin again. Holding the wallet with your left hand, tell the spectator to stretch out his left hand as you dump the coin from the wallet into his hand. Then say, "Please close your hand as soon as the coin drops." Try the move a second time. As tho spectator closes his hand ask him if he felt anything. "When phenomena occurs, you will definitely feel a surge of energy leaving your body." Nothing has happened on the first two tries 80 you say. "Let's try it with your right hand," As you say this you naturally transfer the wallet to the right hand. The hidden bent coin will now be free to drop out when the wallet is

2

PSYOHO-MENTISIS 'rUE BENDS •••••

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE cant.

tipped. This time the visible penny 1s p,laced directly over the hidden magnet as shown in Fig. 2 "0'. This time when the wallet is tipped over the spectator's hand he will get the bent coin while the unbent one will remain attached to the magnet! Perfor.mer then places his right thumb over the penny on the magnet to hide it. "Keep your hand clenched and try to visualize the pennJ' bending. There! I felt something, didn't you?" Continue with a little more patter and then tell the spectator to open his hand. Most certainly he will be amazed! The spectator will take a long look at the bent coin BUT as you take it back from him switch it for the palmed coin and say, "Say! The coin is still bending," and throw coin "e" to the floor or at the spectator. The bent coins are bent with a small vise and a pair of pliers. Be sure to place a cloth in the jaws of the vise and the teeth of the pliers so as not to mark the coins. You will have to make a number of bent coins as the spectator's will surely want to keep them as good luck char.ms. The coins bend easier if they are heated a bit. Dimes and nickels or other coins can also be used provided you can get the desired steel coins. This effect can of course be presented anywhere, even on a street corner, and it is intended for close-up use. SOMe of the readers may see a similiarity in tlis effect to Bill Nord's "Bill-Ze-Bub" which was done with a writing pad. If the reader has the writing pad gimmick he can of course use it with this routine. However the wallet, coins and magician seem to go together most naturally. A PAUSE Before proceeding further into our fascinating voyage into fsycho-Mentisis it is well to stop and reflect on two important items. No doubt the mentalist and the close-up worker have discovered that magnets are their best friends. Seeming miracles can be performed by the use of magnets, so it behoves the artist to get a bushel full of masmets of all sizes and shapes. A hidden magnet usually replaces a sleight like the 'french-dropl' A PROFESSIONAL mentalist should never have to resort to the french-drop sleight which is known by every child who knows the cups and balls. In the above effect, "The Bends 'I all the moves are natural moves and the performer hardly uses his hands. The wallet is used because it is handy and so that the performer does not touch the coin. Every close up worker should own a magnetic finger ring. Emerson and West are presently selling one complete with book of routines for about $12.50. As will be seen later

PSYCHO-MENTISIS

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

A PAUSE ••••• cont. a magnetic ringer ring or any gimmick with a magnet that can be palmed will take the place or the french-drop. The second item of importance is the magician's den table. The table should be the square card table that seats 4 persons and is made of cardboard. This table should have at least two magnetic fields. One in rront of the performer's place and another one to his right. These magnetic rields are created by attaching a strong ring or horseshoe magnet to the underside or the table top where desired. The best way to do this is to cement a piece or sheet metal to the corr.ot places and then attach the magnets. The erfect that follows will show the reader the amazing erfects possible with the magician's table mentioned above HOWEVER if the reader does not care to prepare 'a table he can still perform the effects by hiding magnets under his shirt sleeve, for example OR he can ~bed a strong magnet in a writing tablet or brief case. PERMUTATION OF MATTER A SOLID THROUGH SOLID EFFECT EFF1ECT: Examined and \Ulgimmicked sai'tey pins link _ together without anyone touching them. They link in the hands of a spectator. They link into the sitters ringer ring I The ungimmick pins link slowly in mid air berore the eyes of the audience without any cover. This close-up effect is in three parts using different size of safety pins. The reader may wish to do only one of the parts or two or all three of them. If the reader does not own a linking finger ring then he may do only half or the second part, etc. Needed: 18 or more 1 inch lon§ safety pins, Fig. 3 "A 18 or more 2 inch lon~ safety pins, Fig. 3 liB 4 3-inoh long sarety pins, lIKES OF ASMODF.US

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE • • • • • cont.

the bag and some more nails drop to the floor. The plate or glass which the magician held in his lert hand is now plaoed aside and the bag of nails is placed on the table. Ma~ioian reaches into the bag and takes out abunch of straight nails plus the bent nail "A" and "0" as shown in Fig. 9. Nail "e" is palmed in left hand and nail "A" is held togethor \-li th the rest of the straight nails in the left hand. "Ladies and Gentleman, You no doubt have heard that some magioians oan bend solid steel spikes Hith their thoughts alone." As maGioian says this he hits the miorophone with one of the straight nails to show their solidity. "Thore is really nothing to it. All you have to do is wave it in the air like this.1t Na§ioian demonstrates by doing the familiar sleip)lt shown in ig. 10. The nail is taken between the thumb and first finGor and it is moved up and down and wiggled sideways at the same time. "Of oourse, this is only an optical illusion, the nail does not bend at all." Here tho magioian replaces the nail into his left hand and takes up another and says, "But you must keep on trying." r~gician again replaces the nail in his right hand and this time picks UP the partially bent mil "A" but immediately starts wigglinG the nail so that the audience is not given a chanoe to notice that it is bent. "Perseverance pays off!! says the magioian as he stops the movements and keeps the bent nail oovered by his hand Fig. 10 and begins to rub the nail and then shows it to be bentJ Magioian passes the bent nail to the audienoe for a souveneer. Next he approaches the bag again and takes up more nails so that he nOl"T holds about six or eight nails in his left hand together with the solder nail and the bent-over nail "0". 1'lagioian calls a spectator from the audienoe to come on stage and allo't-ls him to inspect some nails. Here the macician gives thH spectator about four or five nails to hold in his hand and ask him if they are solid and to try to bend them by rubbing them. l~gician lets the spectator keep one nail and the rest are placed bacle into the bag. Magician is nOH holdinG in his hands only the solder nail and the bent-double nail palmed in his left hand. The spectator is of course standing on the per1\ormer's right side of the stage wing so that the performer's baok of left hand is to audienoe. Both the magioian and the speotator now rub their nails together. "NOll you will see the nails start to bend. Mine is

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11 PSYCHO-l1~·.L'ISIS

'l'lii:!; SPIKES OF ASMODEUS

AN AL MANN l!JCCLUSIV.lli

• • • • • • cint •

alroady bending. How is yours?" At this point the magioian shows that his nail is partially bent like in Fig. 9 "BII. Performer plaoes the partially bent solder nail back behind his left hand and continues to rub it and in the process he aotually bends the solder nail till it doubles up to make it easy for palming and exchanges nails. ".Any luck yet?" 'l'he spectntor of course can not bend his nail by rubbin~ it. Magician then shows his solid iron nail bent double and gives it out to the audience. 'l'he magician addresses his assistant on stage saying, liThe reason you have not suoceeaea. is beoause the nail is too big for you. You have to start learning this business with small nails. Here are some small nails." 'lb.e magician takes out three 1~ inch long f'inishing nails and shows them to the audienoe. For this experiment, make sure that you do use finishing nails. Any other type of nail will not do. Youhave before hand seoreted three bent finishing nails between the edges of your magnetic billfold. These three nails are bent in different shapes. One is bent double, a second one is bent in a "Vii shape and the third is bent like a pretzel. The illusion is perfeot in this presentation. First, the magician bends a large metal nail sliGhtly and passes it out to the audienoe • Next he bends another large nail till it doubles and lastly he is foroed to switoh to tiny nails beoause his assistant is a novice at the art. The magician then hands the three small nails to his assistant. "Please examine these nails but do not bent them with your fingers. I am going to teach you to bend nails with the power of your thought alone." "Have you and I ever mot before? Aren't you glad? etc. as magician takes out his wallet and removes the rubber band. "Plaoe the nails on my wallet. I do not \-lant to touch them. Please olose your fist as soon as I drop the nails in your hand and olose your eyes and concentrate in bending metal." 'rhe magician continues as in ff'i'he Bends" effect. For this effect you 1-1ill have to Hark with your right side to the audience. After the presentation some bent nails and spikes are strelm about the stage, dressing room and theatre seats. ,:)omeonc VIill pick them up. rrake them home and say they saw you bend them. Some will sell th~. It is good publicity Some rusty bent nails and spikes Hhould be on display in a Glass case in the lobby.

PSYCHO-HEllfTISIS

12

AH AL MANN EXCLUSIVE ~HE PRA.NKENS~EIN

APPAIR In whic h we cosid er the rege nera tion of dead bodi es! Noth ing new, of cour se I Mag ician 's, the dawn of civi lizat ion, have been prod ucing live bird s from out of thin air, rabb its out of empt y hats and rejoi ning deca pitat ed head s on thei r victi ms. In the Fr~enstein Affa ir, we do the work in the magi cian' s den and show the spec tator s some close -up posi tive resu lts!

The magi cian state s that he has succe eded in bring ing dead bodi es back to life . "I have alrea dy succe eded with micr pic lii'e (mag ician poin ts to his micr osco pe on the shel f).osco I have reviv ed dead micr obes ana bact eria and have now prog d to wher e I can reviv e dead inse cts as large as ants and resse flies . I have discove rea what is, to the inse cts, the elix ir of rege tion (here the magi cian shows the spec tator s a test tube nera with crys tals )." "11' you are inter este d I woul d like to demo nstra te some of my expe rime nts to you. " ".Here is a jar full of the dead bodi es of ants . Plea se watc h me care fully . I will place a few of these ants into a clean glas s. Sprin kle some of my magi c crys talsdead and stir the lot." Sure enou gh as every one watc hes some of the ants come to life and craw l out of the glas s and unto the table . "I find this rela tive ly easy . What is givin g me trou ble are the larg er inse cts like the hous e fly. Here more dead fly that I ,viII try to reviv e righ t now but I have is a no guar anty that it ,.,ill work ." The magi cian sprin kles the fly lofi th his magi c crys tals and soon the fly comes to life! That is the effe ct of the "Fra nken stein Affa ir" as prese nted in the magi cian IS d0n. ~'he micr obes come to life in the mind of the spec tator . The ants come to life righ t befo re his eyes , but the fly some times comes to life and some times not. What you need : 1 jar half full of dead ants . abou t 6 live ants , smal l 1 live hous e fly, fat, in a mmall glas s bott le with hole s in the cap 1 test tube with salt crys tals 1 chem ists beak er or drink ing glas s 1 Cori ndals Bill et penc il 1 micr osco pe (chea p) sitti ng on shel f, optio nal.

.p SYC nO-HEN'!' ISIS

THE

FRANKill'lSTEIN AFFAIR

AU AL I1ANN EXCLUSIVE

..... . cont •

TH~ PREPARATION: ~i1ith a pair of twiz ers, abou t 6 live ants into the Corin da Bill et penc il chamdrop ber and it ~rith a !"ubb er e!"as or cap. Place the penc il in yOll!" cove r coat pock et. The jar with dead ~ts, the test tube withinsid e crys tals and the drink ing glass are all in sigh t on the salt The live fly in it's bott le are in Y0ll!" pant s pock et.tabl e. 'tHE PRl!;S EN'"fA'l' ION : Patte r abou t your expe rime nts l-Ii th dead bodi~s, micr obes , bact eria, etc. Offe r to demo nstra te. ~how the jar l-li th the dead ants and pour some on the table to prov e that they are dead . You may wwnt to give spec tator s a magn ifyin g glass to look at the dead antsthe . Ask some one to POll!" some of the dead into the olean glas s or beak er. Show the 'mag ic' crys talsants in the test tube and aprin kle some crys tals into the glas s. Secr etly remove the rubb er eras or from bille t penc il and innne diate ly stick the penc il amon gst thethedead ants and sti!" the mess . NOTE: 'l'11e bille t penc il has a plun ger that drops by grav ity so that all you have to do is to inve and the plun ger will drop and push out the antsrt. the peno il Next just sit and \>latch for move ments amon gst the dead ants ana soon the live ants will came to the sll!"f ace. "They do not all come to life" says tho magi cian, "But I am happ y llith the part ial succ ess. Imag ine being able to do that with human bodi es!"

With the fly, the act is a bit diffe rent Let the spec tators play l'lith the live ants , whil e you excu se. your self to wash your hand s for the next expe rime nt. Caut the spec tator s not to allot " tho ants to escap e as you l-Jant to ion :::tud y them to see how long they live . "hile in the bath roam you must subm erge the bott le H'ith the live fly l.U1der lvate r unti l it stop s movi ng. Then take out the 1'1'1 and bring it into yotU' den and drop it on the table . Sprin kle some Imag i c ' crys tals (salt ) over it and itsho soon came back to life . If' the fly comes alive it mean uld not dead but just wate r-log ged. l~e salt crys tals abso s it was wate r out of the fly. If the fly does not came to life rb the mean s you held it unde r \-Tater too long and is now dead it . The u.se of the bill et penc il to stir the mess seem s ratio nal since the dead ants and the salt are dry. But there must be many othe r Hays to intro duce the live ants into the glas s. If the read er does not mm a bill et penc il and desi res one they are avai lable at ~p4.50 from Al Mann Excl usive s. Othe r inse cts recom mend ed for this expe rime nt inste ad of ants are lady bugs , the smal l ones .

13

PSYCHO-HEWfISIS

14 AN AL MANN l!XCLUSIVE

A discussion on the Abnormal Lift. The phenomena of the 'Abnormal Lift' is something we seldon read about, very rarely see and no one can explain. A fe ..v months ago, YOU1" author was entertaining a nice group of friends and net-[ acquaintences. I did O'Daneven's Secret and Out-of-This-'iJorld with a borrowed and shuffled deck. The card trick made the ladies quite nervous as they questioned what forces had been at play since they had mysteriouly separated the red cards from the black. Next I did the ,glight of the Psycards. Everyone in the audience new 'some' card tricks, yet the Flight of the Psycards baffled eV0ry one so completely that they wrote letters to each other days later saying that the effect had no rational explanation. However, they were unaware that I had been just as impressed by an old gentleman who was a retired civil servant. He had travelled much and knew a few tricks of magic that he had done many times. One of the tricks was the 'abnormal lift.' I encouraged him to demonstrate it. I had read a lot about it and knew 'Hhat it "las but had never taken the time to investigate it. The test Has repeated sev·)ral times with different people. Your author who Heighs 212 pounds was lifted effortlessly by four persons using only their index fingersi It did not feel like being lifted but rather I felt I "vas floating up in a soft cushion. 'l'here was no strain at all at the four places Hhere the four persons had placed their fingers to lift me. It was an amazing exporience. This demonstration took place before I performed my card tricks. Amazingly enough the persons present were not at all impressed by the abnormal lift demonstration because it was overshadowed ,.11th my feats of unexplainable magic, the card tricks. Actually the abnormal lift does not look too impressive until someone analyses 'uhat actuall;v happened. Have you ev c) (:> c!> (t> the top of the table, stare at the pendulum and liill it to move and s'tving. Soon the pendulum began to swing until it stroke the side of the bottle While the pendulura continued to strike the bottle the sitter ,·ras told )':;0 takf; t, ouieL. looice at the other pendultuns Hhich Here motionless. ~ The sitter refused to believe that she "las causing the movements of the pendulum and accused the operator of being resposible for them. ?~O atmosphere of the seance room and the presence and reputation of the magician help to deepen the mystery. No one has yet noticed or commented on the fact that the stpings on the pendulums are all of different lengths. The apparatus shown in l"i:;, 12 shows the pendulums to be of equal length yet that is not the case at all. There is no doubt that the box shown l-Tould make the pendulum effect more mystorious. 'l'he apparatus is of simple construction so that the performer can dismantle it to show that there are no hidden motors, clockl-1orks or strings. It is made of four piece of transparant plexiglass, which make tho sides and front and back panels. The top L~ or 5 inches of those panels are Dainted black (A) to hide the fact that the inside board is laying diagonally. The pendulums are suspended from tho inside board about 3 inches apart. The box measures 3 by 12 by 19inches. 'rhe longer pendulum is 10 inches long and the shortest about six inches long. 'rhe l~igh.t s are ~ade from fish line Heights and painted in diffe:--'ent colors. 'lbe whole structure can be held together by top and bottom frrumes.

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1'SYC HO-M EliTIS IS

AN AL NAl'lN EXCLUSIVE

• • • • • cont • The idea o:C the appa ratus pictu l""ed in .f ig • 12 is that the pend ulum s appe ar to be all of equa l len(~~th. It is ques tionable lvhet her this is an impro veme nt over the pendu lums seale d in bott les. ~vhen the appa ratus is dism antle d the boar d vlith the pendu lums is held in tho same relat ive posi tion or more to the vertic~1.l. Sinc e the spec tator s do not know what to look :Cor they Hill not notic e anyth ing dif:C erent with the pend ulum s. For the pres enta tion the sitte r sits in :Cron t o:C the pendu lums and place s his fing er tips an the top of the_ and wills anyo ne o:C the pendu lums to move . The pendu~umtable l-Till ed to move back and forth unti l it strik es the glas is s and make s a bell -like soun d. '.L'his is one ef:Ce ct l1her e the magi c is in the mind o:C the sitte r and it amaz es them l HERL IN'S MAGIC

MARION~'rT~S

With Merl in's Mari onet tes, the oper ator is able to prov e his telek ineti c powe rs. The dolls move on the cor.1mand of thei r mast er, the magi cian. Herl in's dolls do not walk or danc e, but they do l-rigg le and move thei r head s and hand s. Nobody else can make them move unle ss they know the secr et. l~e Secr et: Figu re 1h gives the secr et away . Rine magn ets on a stick . When the ring mar;n ets are place d on a stick vrith thei r pole s reve rsed they become floa ting magn ets. If anoth er magn et is passe d close to it, like below the table , the rings become attpa cted by the bigg er magn et and they move . irhe extre me sides or ends of the ring magn ets will move up and down by movi ng the larg er magn et back and force unde r the table top. I:C the hand is passe d close d to the :Cloai~g magn ets with a magn et conc ealed in a ring or palm , the :Cloa ting magn ets will move . Put a dres s and hat on the ring ets 4 and you have a doll . The dres s is not magn in one Fig. 1 piece but each ring magn et is cove red \-lith a sepa rate piece of diffe rent colo r pape r to malee the dres s. The large magn et is strap ped to the leg or attac hed to the shoe . The hand s of the dolls are made from pipe clean ing wire .

17

PSYC~fO-H&~TISIS

AN Ai. rr}lB . SJ;!;CI!B."l' OF

THJ~

l\l1A.m~

EXCLUSIVE

ANCIENTS

IN wh ich we co ns ide r: LEVITATIONS! ••• •• Ayy! Th ere is a tho ug ht co nju re wi th. The me nti on it ma kes the sc ep tic s sc to th ei r he ad s. Ho ud ini att emo£ rat ch fe ats bu t hi s ex pla na tio ns pte d to debumk Hamers lev ita tio n fe ll on ~ ea rs. \-/i tne sse s sa id th at llome dea flo ate d in a ho riz on tal po sit ion rig ht ou t a window an d ba ck thr ou gh an oth er win in to sp ac e, 70 fe et abo ve gro un d dow in th;;: ne xt roomJ Lo nd 18 68 . on , In 18 82 (Ja n. 17 ) ma gic ian Ke lla r att en de d a sea nc e giv en by ~glinton, the ~glish medium who He nry Sla de in ~ope. Du rin suc cee de d Eg lin ton rs le ft ha nd when theg the sea nc e, Ke lla r was ho ldi ng medium sta rte d to flo at up hig h th at he pu lle d Ke lla r so up wi th him . Ke lla r ha d to cli mb on to the tab le to keo p a ho ld ~glinton's ha nd ! Ke lla r sta ted , "I we nt on as a sc ep tic , bu t I mu st own th at I c8IIle au ay ut ter ly un ab le to ex pla in, by na tu the phenomena th at I wi tne sse d on 'l'u esd ay ev en ing ." ra l me ans No do ub t th at la te r Ke lla r lea rn the se cre t of levit~tion as he pu t ou t a ch all en ge to ed du pli ca te an yth ing done by a medium. Sa int s an d ch ata ns ha ve lev ita ted an d tel ep or ted the ms elv es int o tho paarl ge s of hi sto ry . An cie nt pro ph ets we ll as some mo der n on es ola the y ha ve lValked on wa ter a3 im . Pr ese nt da y wo nd ai r 70 fe et abo ve gro un der toHo rke rs do no t ha ve to flo at on die nc es . Al l the y ne ed do is sa tis fy th eir so ph ist ica ted au The av "ra ge lev ita tio n to oflif t the ms elv es a £ew inc he s I 20 0 sa in ts in his tor y is 20 inc he s. Some ha ve flm m qu ite hig h '\-Ihile oth ers ha ve on ly ho ve red 2 inc he s abo ve gro un d. A no n-m ag ici an en d and rac on teu r of biz za to ld the au tho r the folfri re tal es lm 'Ji ng : "The gi ft o~ lev ita tio n do es no t come ov ern igh t. I sp en t man.' ye ars in pro fou nd me dit ati on in the ho pe s of ma ste rin g the de vin e ar t. It too k me a lon g tim e ju st to knoH wh at I 1Vanted. It too k me a lon g tim e ju st to ge t the fee lin g of wh at it Ha s al l ab ou t. On e do es no t op po se the est~lblished law s of gra vit J- ut te rly . I fes ted and fol a rie :or ou s se lf- di cip lm and ed de ni al. Pi na lly I rea chlow sta ':;e kn01m as t:_J.e "on e"e wi ed the ing of pu re ec sta sy . The "onth the cr ea ter . Th is is a ~eel­ br ill ia nt en el' gy . The as tra e II be ing vib rat es in a wo rld of l bo dy pr oje cts its el f int o oth er

18

19 AN' AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

l'SYCHO-fI"iEl'l'l'LlIS

LEVI'f A'fIONS ••••• cont.

worlds and other dimensions. After a number of out-or-body experiences I noticed that my physical body also commenced to take 'tving." flI then approached a close friend and confided in him my great secret. I told him I had mastered the art of levitation. That I could demonstrate it to him but although he may not be able to see it I could prove it to him." "I told him to try to pass a newspaper under my shoes, slowly and carefully, while I stood in the oenter of the roam in a trance. I asked him to proceed very slowly, an inch at a time." "It took him a few minutes just to bo able to push the newspaper sheet under half my shoes. Then with a,superhuman mental effort I completely cleared the floor and my friend Has able to pull the newspaper sheet clear through under my shoes." The reader must admit that is some patter story and a good presentation theme even though my anonymous friend may be suspected or being "on;t something. ~ .ILLUSI_ON

Now we are going to oreate the illusion of levitation by oombining my friends patter story and newspaper sheet idea with an idea in U.F. Grant's booklet "Bodies in Orbit." U. F. Grant's mss is on levitation ideas and is highly reoommended. EFFEC'r: Hagidan paters about levitations and his latest achievements along that line. A sheet of nevrspaper is placed ov()r a foot stool and then tho ma;;ician stands on the newspaper avo!' the stool and calls on tv-IO members of the audience to come on stage and pull on the neHspape:n sheet. 'l'he shoet oomes thrOU?P. Next the magician levitates his ,.;holo body off the stool for about 2 or 3 inches. '1';!E Mb;THOD: You need: 1 stool, 10 inches high. 'rhe seat piece should be about 3 inohes thick. '1'he stool must be strong enough to support the magician standing on two feet or one foot without toppling over. Painted a shiny silve~ color. 1 cloth curtain, about L~ by 6 feet depending on the size of the ma~;;ician. Opaque white color fitted with an extension arm and a top rod to hold the curtain square. 1 shopping bag, speoially construoted. Size 12 inches

AN ilL MAliN EXCLUSIVE L~VI'.rATIONS

• • • • • cont •

wide , 14 inch es long and 20 inch es high . 'fhe bag is re-en force d on the insid e with cardb oard so that it rema ins open like a box. 'fhe bag is pain ted a brig ht colo r on the rron t only and black on the othe r three side s. 1 shee t or nel-1 Spape r, and one assis tant (opt iona l). 1 pair dummy shoe s with pant legs (opti onal ) Tim PREsm\~ATION: Durin g the patt er the assis tant come s out with the shopp inG bag (brig ht colo r side to audie nce) and take s out th~ stoo l and plac es it b0hin d the magi ci~. Then he unro lls the cloth curt ain to insp ect it and unde the curt ain turns the shop ping bag aroun d so that r cove r of the black colo r from the sides and rock of the bag meld ldth bac>:: drop (stag e curt am). 'rhe shop ping bag is plaoethe black d just a few inch es, say four , behin d the stoo l. Nagi cian next place s the ne'\-J' spape r shee t over the stoo l and stand s on it. He then calls on tHO volu~ b3rs of the audie nce ( one shou ld be a conr eder ate teer men.. othe r a lady ) and instr ucts them on hOH to pull the and the pape r. H,agi cir..Il cove rs hims elf Hi th the curta in and then steps back and into the shop ping bag Hhil e the news pape r shee t is pulle d away Hith a lot or myst ic 1'anf are • .i.''''ag ician steps back onto the ~) tool and raise s the cloth , thank s the assit ants and dism isses the lady . Next tho magi cian sta tes he is [oing to try for n fe,\-I more inche s as the time seem s to be apro pos. :CIe cove rs hirnselr '\1illJTIJIS

NOTES TIlE BENDS: A small key can be used instead of a coin.

The

}~gician's

Table: Some close-up table performers have their own custom built table. These tables are just a few inches hir,her than the regular table. ~be extra inches gives the magician a confortable room for moving their legs and hands under it. Permutation of Matter: In Part II it is assumed that the performer Hill first do the Jerry Andrus routine \-li th the sa.fety pins. The Nail Act: The nail-up-the-nose bit was mentioned only for the sake of completeness. 'llhe novice must proceed wi th this stunt at his ovm risk. 'I'he nail enters into the haad only .for about 3 inches. Care must be taken against injury and infection. TIP: lo/hen a bent nail like the one shown in Fig. 9"B" is held \-lith the curved Plain parallel to the line of sight of the audience, the bend can not be seen. If the magician then ver~,r slowly rotates the nail with the tips of his first finger and thumb, the nail will appear to bend visibly! Nerlin's Harionettes: Throw a hankerchief over the doll first for a spooky start and then uncover the dolls. The folloHing items are available fror.l Al Mann Exclusives: Emerson and West magnetic finger ring and book $12.50 Corinda's billet pencil 4.50 The Linking Pins with tho Jerry .Andrus routine L~.25 "Psi-Flexion" the nail act by Doc Dougherty 4.00

The

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..i:'~ankentein Ai'fair: Have some test tubes or glass boxes with some lar~5e insects like a prayine; mantis and say that you rovived it two weeks ago and it is still living! l:.l~ID5:

l"igure out how to bend a horseshoe by psi power and then make sure the news media hears about it. A changing tray is a good start.