Daniel Love - In League With the Devil

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In League with the Devil 2004 – Daniel Love

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© Copyright 2004 by Daniel Love All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express and prior written consent of the publisher. E-Book Version. Not for resale. If you purchased a printed copy of this document, please report it [email protected]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction>>>>>>>>>>>>> 5

EFFECTS

20 Questions>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7

Prime Machine>>>>>>>>>>>>>20

Psycholibri>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>26

Magic Unriddle>>>>>>>>>>>>31

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Introduction

Firstly let me thank you for purchasing “In League with the Devil.” It’s a great honor to be able to share ones work with other performers, greater still when you are proud of your work. I’ll keep this introduction short and let the effects herein speak for themselves. Firstly however, let me just give an overview of what you can expect to find in the book… “In league with the Devil” is a collection of four effects that I have used with great success over the past years, all have been proven to work and impress in real world performance environments and therefore most of the scenarios you may face have been accounted for within these pages. That being said, I like to keep my methodology to the point, I do this with the intention that you take these effects and rework them to fit your own presentational style and tastes. Some of the effects are psychological in nature and therefore run the risk of failure, the risk I believe is worth taking – as with much in Mentalism often the real ingredient in Miracles is the chance of failure – not only does it keep you on your toes (and so being make performing all that more fun) but gives the effect an edge that sure-fire methodologies lack as the “risk” also acts as a useful red herring for the more astute audience as it makes it all that harder to reverse engineer. My goal in mentalism is to create effects that are simple and powerful – and where possible impromptu. It is with this in mind that I have chosen the following effects for this collection. When you are 5 Purchased by [email protected] from http://www.magic-notes.com

armed with effects that can be done at a moments notice, you become nearer to that place that many of aspire to, to be seen as the “real deal” maybe even “in league with the Devil.” The first three effects are almost completely impromptu when fully internalized. The fourth and final effect stands alone from the others as it involves much more effort to set up – once again I feel that despite veering from the path of the impromptu grail it’s performance potential outweighs the effort needed to prepare –in short it plays strong. It is a stage piece that APPEARS to be quite off the cuff and it is in this that the power lays. Please take your time to experiment and rework the effects as you see fit – and PLEASE spend a good deal of time practicing and preparing yourself before you decide to take these effects out into the real word – this way you will not be disappointed and shall gain the enjoyment and power of these effects that I have. For those of you that have read my previous work “Dream Signs” then thank you for coming back for more – it’s very much appreciated! those of you that have discovered my work for the first time “welcome” and I really hope you enjoy what I have to offer. As always I appreciate ANY feedback you have to offer, you can reach me via email at: [email protected] As always I will do my best to respond as quickly as possible. Now that’s enough from me, let’s have some FUN…

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20 QUESTIONS

Overview This effect came about as my attempt to use a classic psychological force in a more dynamic and engaging presentation. For a long time I’ve been experimenting with psychological forces, the criteria I set myself with these experiments were to create an effect that is:






Less easily reverse engineered. Logically structured. Flexible. Impromptu (or as near as possible.) Multiple conclusions.

Not an easy task considering the limitations that are often associated with these forces. However, I have always found even the most naked presentation of psychological forces extremely satisfying. No doubt I shall continue to experiment for many more years, this effect is however one of my favorite impromptu (well almost) psychological forces and fits all of the criteria I have set myself. As with all psychological forces there is the chance of a “miss” but with careful and confident presentation you can almost always avoid this. Perhaps you will invent a couple of nice “outs” just in case? Enjoy…

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Effect The performer lays three cards marked Animal, Vegetable and Mineral on the table. He talks a little about the game (20 questions,) explaining how it has long been used in the field of psychology to map human behavior and more importantly, communication. He continues discussing how certain psychologists have come up with a variation on this game that doesn’t involve questioning, as they wish to study non verbal communication. This is the game we will play. The performer requests the participant to choose one of the cards. After the participant has chosen a card the performer asks them to “word associate” and to think of the first word that would fit this category, but NOT to verbalize it. The performer makes it clear that the participant should go with his first impression, his first thought, as we wish to work with the more spontaneous aspects of the mind, those that have been shown to be more closely related to creative communicative areas of the mind. Once the spectator has chosen his word he is instructed to turn over his card and NOT to change his mind. On the reverse of the card is a selection of choices that fit the category, each word is numbered. The participant is asked to find his word from this list and to remember at which number this word falls. The performer gathers the cards and puts them to one side, as he does so he lays a new card upon the table. He continues, explaining that to eliminate “statistical interference” and “associative distortion” the psychologists generated a list of random words that are numerically linked to the original word lists. The participant is asked to take the card, and without giving it away, to find and remember the word that falls on the same number he has in mind.

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The performer takes the card and instructs the participant to build a clear image of what this second word represents in his mind. He makes it clear that this image is to occupy the participants mind as fully as possible, but he is only to see the image and not to think of the verbal aspects of this word. The performer states that through the various random processes of selection, starting at the free choice of category and culminating in the image the participant has now chosen, that the participant has allowed his unconscious mechanisms a greater degree of freedom and hence has also allowed himself to become more receptive to suggestion. The performer takes the participant by the shoulders and asks him to put his full concentration into developing this image in his mind. As the participant builds this image the performer is able to slowly read the participant’s non-verbal signals and correctly pieces together, bit by bit, a clear description of what the participant is thinking. The participant cries with joy, wets his pants and is thoroughly gob-smacked. An optional addition to this revelation is as follows: An envelope has been sitting on the table throughout the performance, after the “reading” the performer allows the participant to open the envelope and read the contents. The card describes exactly the image that the participant has chosen.

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Method Simplicity is the key to this effect. The methodology can be broken down into 4 basic stages:





Card Force Psychological Force Psychological force adaptation Revelation

Firstly

you will need to create the cards. You will need 4 blank cards (both sides.) In large clear writing mark the face of these cards as follows. Card Card Card Card

1 2 3 4

– – – –

Animal Vegetable Mineral Blank (for now)

On the reverse of Cards 1, 2 and 3 write the following numbers down the left hand side (as if you were preparing to write a list – as that is what you ARE preparing for!) Card 1: numbers 1 through to 7 Card 2: numbers 8 through to 14 Card 3: numbers 15 through to 20 On card 4 write the numbers 1 through to 13 on the face and 14 through to 20 on the reverse, again down the left hand side. Now, On cards 1, 2 and 3 write words that fit under the respective categories (e.g. dog, cat etc. under the animal category) until you have filled each number

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EXCEPT for NUMBERS 13 AND 14 on CARD 2. For these numbers write: CARROT at number 13 and write POTATO at number 14.

On Card 4 write completely random words for each number EXCEPT 13 AND 14. For these numbers write: BRAIN at number 13 and write MIND at number 14.

And that’s it, the cards are finished.

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Card

force

This is simply magicians choice (I know, you hate me) I like to throw in a few psychological techniques to give me the edge… I think you’ll enjoy them. I work the force as follows: The cards are laid before the spectator in the order Mineral, Animal, Vegetable. This ensures the most popular choice of Animal is in the middle and hence more conspicuous (and less likely to be picked) it also places the force card Vegetable in an easy to choose position (for a right handed participant – obviously reverse the order if you notice they are left handed) You ask the spectator to “place your right hand OVER any card.” If they choose the force card then GREAT home and dry… Otherwise you quickly continue, without missing a beat “and with your left hand HIDE another” Now you have two options, either they have both hands on the non-force cards in which case you say “ok so you’ve chosen to hide these cards, that’s very interesting as the Animal and Mineral cards are essentially the diametric opposites, the active-living and the inactive-lifeless, you are obviously quite a balanced person as you have chosen the middle path, vegetable. That’s quite unusual” The third option is that they have one hand on the force card and the other on a non-force card in which case you remove the uncovered card and say “So these are the cards that have drawn you, what I want you to do is to just relax, and as you do so just let one of your hands rise up, don’t think

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about it just let it happen, it’s an unconscious thing…” If the hand that rises is the force card simply pull it towards you and say “it’s bizarre how we make these unconscious choices, if you could just push the hidden card away, we don’t need that any more, ah that’s interesting, most people choose that one (indicating the non-force card)” If they lift on the non-force card say “It’s strange how we are just unconsciously drawn to one thing over another, I see you have chosen the Vegetable card, that’s quite uncommon.”

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Psychological

Force

So you’ve reached the point where the participant is now holding the force card (Vegetable,) so let’s turn to forcing the word… Those of you in the know will have already guessed that this is based on the classic psychological force, the “Carrot Force.” For those of you who haven’t encountered this force before, let me elaborate: This psychological force is by no means new; in fact it’s an old classic. The basic principle is that the large majority of people, when rushed to think of a word in a specific category will inevitably make the same choice. Certain categories are better than others for these psychological forces, Banachecks wonderful “Psychological subtleties” covers this subject in a good deal of detail, and I would recommend that anyone interested in this subject makes a beeline for this great book. The category we are dealing with here is obviously “Types of vegetable,” the standard answer for this being “Carrot” a close second being “Potato.” Give this a try, ask a friend to quickly think of the first Vegetable that comes to mind, and NOT to change his mind… you’ll be surprised by just how many people choose “Carrot.” However, there is more to it than just this; I’ve added a few psychological subtleties of my own… The secret to this is twofold, firstly don’t give the participant time to think, secondly word the request with as little emphasis as possible on the importance of this choice – you don’t want the participant to feel that they are making a decision 14 Purchased by [email protected] from http://www.magic-notes.com

that reflects their individual creativity, indeed you are trying to do quite the reverse – the choice is a rapid, spontaneous “word association.” One clever method of scripting that helps meet this end is to work with the participants’ ego, set them a challenge, something that creates a sense of competitiveness: “Look at the category written on the card, in a moment I would like you to quickly ‘word associate’ that is, to think of the first word that fits under that category – for instance with the Animal card you could choose ‘Dog.’ This part of the test was designed to discover the speed at which your mind works, obviously the faster you can ‘associate’ the faster and more astute your mind. So look at the category, in this case ‘Vegetable’, ok, now quickly think of the first vegetable that comes to mind, stick with the first impression and don’t change your mind, but don’t tell me which word you choose.” As you can see, you are priming the participants ego to work as fast as possible, of course everyone wants to think they are “Faster and more astute” than others, this cunningly takes the emphasis away from the actual choice of word and places it just where we want it – in a quick, thoughtless decision… a perfect environment for a psychological force. With a little thought you will find many uses for this little subtlety. So that’s the psychological force done with, or is it? Well yes traditionally you would leave it at that, but in this case we have a few more tricks up our psychological sleeve…

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Once the participant has made his choice (hopefully either Carrot or Potato,) you ask him to turn over this card and to see if he can find his word amongst the list on the back. This is for several reasons: Firstly, if the participant has tried to catch you out then he may not find the word on the list. If this is the case you can either try the psychological force again or take this as a hint that you have a trouble maker and move the effect into a different direction* Secondly, both force words are to be found at the bottom of the card. With a little practice you can easily judge the participants gaze and determine if he is looking at either of the force words – additionally when making the cards you could place two very obscure vegetables at positions 11 and 12, thus giving you a clear divide between bottom and top (unless you have a very obscure participant that is.) Again, if you find the participants gaze isn’t where it should be - the psychological force having failed - then this would be a good time to redirect the effect in another direction* The third and final reason for the participant finding his word on the card is to generate a number, everything having gone to plan this will either be 13 or 14. Simply ask the participant to find his word and to note at which number it falls, but not to verbalize this. You can then move onto the next stage…

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* Don’t be afraid to redirect the effect if it clearly isn’t going where you want, any genuinely psychological method may fail – all the little devious ploys woven into this effect seriously lessen the chance of this. However, be prepared for the eventuality. I have found that directing the effects conclusion into an impromptu cold reading works perfectly. This should never be seen as a failure, merely an alternative ending. Remember the participant has NO IDEA where the effect is leading, what you say goes – just remember to play the alternative ending with as much conviction as you would play the original.

Psychological

Force adaptation

Despite the fancy title this is utter simplicity. You are simply exchanging the psychological force word for something else. Once the participant has his number “in mind” you quickly take the Vegetable card away. As you do so you bring out card 4. You simply ask the participant to find the number on this card that coincides with his and to remember the word written at this number. You can either use the explanation given in “effect” (which I rather like) or use your own, it depends on your presentational angle. Either way, you have now completed the force. The participant has one of two words: either MIND or BRAIN. So lets move on to the revelation…

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Revelation So you find yourself in the happy position where you know for certain that the spectator is thinking one of two words. How you choose to reveal this is quite up to you – but – there are a few factors that need bearing in mind: You will not know which of the two words the spectator has arrived at – this is for a good reason. You will notice that BRAIN and MIND can both be described with much the same wording, a typical script I would use for the revelation would be: “I notice that you are internalizing the imagery, this makes me think that the image you see is either something personal or something physical – ah yes, I see, that’s good, keep the image clear, yes, Its something physical – but there is more to it than this, it’s not so much a physical process as an experiential process, NO, that’s not quite right is it? It’s both! – ah I SEE – that’s why I was confused a little, it’s an unusual choice and nearly had me going round in circles, very clever. You can relate to this VERY much because in away this thing is you, it’s the source of YOU. But you have done very well with your visualization, you’re a strong SENDER but lets just say that what you’re thinking is, how do you say? Yes, it’s the seat of your personality, the very thing I am reading right now! It’s in here isn’t it (performer points to the spectators head) – it’s the thing that is creating the thoughts I am reading! am I right? What is it you are thinking?” Whilst I’m not suggesting you use this script word for word, take on board what is being done here. You are not expressly giving away the exact word yet the explanation covers both words perfectly. 18 Purchased by [email protected] from http://www.magic-notes.com

Some may feel it is weak not to be exact – I feel quite the opposite. How would this occur if the effect were real? If you could really read nonverbal cues? It is the very imprecision of the revelation that lends it true credibility. You have said everything but the actual word itself, no-one will doubt that you have clearly read the participants mind. In “Effect” I mentioned that you can add an additional revelation, the prediction of the word. I needn’t really explain this too much as the method is self evident – BUT – remember that you cannot specify the exact word in the written prediction, again word the prediction something along the lines of: “I predict, the word you will choose, will be held in the very thing it represents” This additional prediction, I feel is best justified logically in terms of suggestion. Remember not to mention the prediction envelope at the start of the effect, just incase the psychological force fails. Simply clearly place the envelope in the middle of the table at the start of the effect. If the psychological force does fail, why not use it as a pad with which to write your thoughts on the spectators’ personality as you perform the personality reading?

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PRIME MACHINE

Overview I discovered the methodology of this effect quite by chance, In essence it is utter simplicity and completely self working, yet the applications for the oh-so-simple method are very wide ranging. Once you have read this through you shall, I’m sure, come up with a whole range of different effects based on the shockingly simple concept that is the core of this effect. I’ll include two presentations that I have used with great success. Do not be fooled by the simplicity of the methodology, this effect is a killer. Once again, as with much in mentalism, presentation is the key to success. Enjoy…

Effect(s) 1) The performer draws an image of a watch, only without the hands. The participant signs the image. The performer places this in a wallet. The participant freely chooses a time of day and keeps this in mind. The performer places the wallet in the spectators hand and instructs him to concentrate clearly on the image of the watch in his mind – he is told to imagine the hands of the watch as if they are on fire, burning their image into the face of the watch. Without either verbalizing his choice, writing it down and without any pumping the spectator hands the wallet back to the performer, whom

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immediately and cleanly removes the image from the wallet. The image of the watch is seen to have changed. Instead of a blank face the image of the watch is now clearly seen to have been burnt, these burn marks are set at EXACTLY the time at which the participant had chosen – remember the image is signed! The participant then proceeds to spontaneously combust with admiration for the devilish performer. 2) The performer politely asks for the loan of a participants watch. The participant is then asked to freely choose a time of day. The performer then places the watch face down in the participants’ hand. The participant is instructed to concentrate intently on this chosen time and to will the watch to move to this new time. After much mental strain the participant opens his hands to reveal that the hands have indeed moved to the thought of time. A warm stream of golden liquid is seen to have gathered around the participants’ feet.

Method I’m going to leave the core aspect of this methodology until the very end. Just to be annoying. Actually, you don’t even need to know why this works as long as you follow the instructions outlined below. Don’t worry though I’ll let you in on the secret at the end (don’t peek!) if you are brave why not try it out before you know how it works? Who knows you may even impress yourself. Method for effect no.1 Preparation Firstly you are going to need a switch wallet such as the “Mind Spy.” Although any wallet that allows you to switch two objects is fine. Once you have 21 Purchased by [email protected] from http://www.magic-notes.com

acquired one of these very useful little devices do the following: Draw two identical watch faces, on two identical pieces of thick paper, do NOT draw the hands. On one of these pieces, use a lit match to draw the image of hands set at ten minutes past ten. Fold the image twice and place in one half of the switch wallet. Fold the blank faced image in the same manner and place this in the other half of the wallet. You are also going to need either several newspapers or fashion/lifestyle magazines. These can be acquired utterly impromptu as you never touch them. You could for example perform this in a news agent. Be sure to have a large selection if you are supplying your own.

Performance Now you’re prepared, here’s the hard (?) work. Tell the participant you want to try a little experiment. Bring out your wallet and remove the non-burnt image billet, unfold this and pretend to draw the image of the watch on this slip (you don’t need to do this; I just feel it adds a feeling of spontaneity to the effect.) Show this image to the participant and explain how psychics of old used to believe that images held intense power over the mind. Tell the participant how you believe that this works both ways, that the mind can also have great power over an image. Fold the image and place it back into the wallet. Close the wallet. The moment you have closed the wallet pretend to remember something and reopen the wallet – this time to the burnt image. Take out the folded billet and draw a pentacle (a star

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in a circle) on the outside of the folded image, as an afterthought asks the participant to place his initials in the pentacle. Give them any mystic-nonsense excuse for this. Place the billet back in the wallet and close it. Direct the participants’ attention the magazines and ask him to freely choose one (fashion or lifestyle magazines are the best.) Once he has chosen a magazine, ask him to find an image that is similar to the picture you have drawn in this magazine – an image of a watch. Once the participant has found an image, tell him to remember the time the watch is set to and to close the magazine, being sure not to let you know what he has chosen. Place the wallet in the participants’ hands and ask him to transmit this thought onto the image. After due concentration take the wallet from the spectator. Take the burn-signed billet from the wallet and place it in the participants’ hands. Confirm with the participant that there is no way you could alter this image or for that matter know the time he has freely chosen. Build the tension until the moment feels right and then ask the participant to open the billet. The image of course shows the burnt hands AT EXACTLY THE TIME THE SPECTATOR WAS THINKING! Not only this - but the billet has been signed by the participant!

Method for effect no.2 Unlike the previous presentation this is completely impromptu and requires no preparation. You will again need to have access to a large selection of magazines/newspapers. Also, DON’T WEAR A WATCH!

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Tell the participant that you would like to try an experiment into synchronicity. Ask the participant if you can borrow his watch, have him remove this and give it to you. Next make as if to remove your own watch and “discover” you have forgotten to put it on. Act a little annoyed for a moment as if disappointed that you cannot continue the experiment. Explain to the participant that it is important to have two watches, half way through your explanation (just ad lib about synchronicity and the power of the number two – any mystical gibbering will do) appear to have suddenly realized something. Direct the participants attention to the magazines and say you’d like to try the same experiment only a little differently. Ask the participant to choose any of the magazines and to find an image of a watch in one. It is important to REALLY make this feel like an impromptu revelation, something you have never done before, a clever instant solution to the problem. Once he has found the image he is to remember how the watch looked including the time it is set to. The only thing you actual need the participant to remember is the time; the rest is just to add a level of psychological misdirection. Whilst the participant is looking through the magazine turn your back so you “can’t see what he chooses” under this guise you will have plenty of time to change the time on the participants watch. Change the time to ten past ten. Once all this is done you simply have to place the watch face down in the participants hand and play the rest as in “effect.” The watch will indeed be at the time the participant has willed!!!

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The Secret If you haven’t guessed already then you will be amazed as to just how simple this really is. It’s almost embarrassing. Anyway, you may be surprised to know that almost EVERY image of a watch in advertising is set to ten past ten. Apparently this is considered the most aesthetically pleasing time, on account of it supposedly looking a little like a smiling face. Odd as this may seem it is indeed true and so works perfectly as a force. Luckily for us, this is a very little known fact and so with intelligent performance we can use this for our own deceptive arts. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this, it really is a killer. Even so, it is very important that in performance as little attention is drawn to the magazine as possible, preferably it should appear as in “effect 2” to be a spontaneous improvisation, a brainwave impromptu alternative to a real watch. With a little cunning and suggestion you can actually create a situation in which the participant will “forget” the magazine altogether – it can become psychologically invisible. This of course rests in clever scripting and psychological misdirection – the concept of “spontaneous improvisation” is a great springboard for this. Experiment and you will be amazed. This force no doubt has countless other presentational angles, page forcing for an impromptu book test, number force for an “add a number” routine… use your imagination and have fun!!

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Psycholibri

Overview It’s been a real struggle to include this effect; it’s one of my pet favorites and has been part of my repertoire for many, many years. However the time has come to share this little gem, I do hope it serves you well and that you enjoy it just as much as I have.

Effect This is ideally performed for a small group or for a stage performance; you could however potentially adapt this for a one-on-one situation – food for thought! You will require: A random selection of books (ANY books will do) A note pad and pen, Nerves of steel. A participant is asked to choose any book from the available selection – these can be ANY books whatsoever, you genuinely need have never seen them before. Once the book is chosen you explain how there is no way you could possibly have memorized the contents of this book, you explain how there are perhaps hundreds of pages in the book each with several hundred words on each page. You then pass the book to the participant and ask them to be sure you do not come near it for the rest of the experiment. You then turn to the audience and ask them to each call out random 4 digit numbers, you explain how you will write several of these down as they are called. Once perhaps 10 or so numbers have been

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called you pass this written list of numbers to the participant. You then ask the participant to freely choose any one of these numbers, clearly demonstrating that this is a totally fair and free choice. Once the participant has chosen his number you ask them to split this number in two, the first two digits being a page number and the last two being the line number – this is all done silently in the participants mind. You then request the participant to turn to this particular page and remember the text at the chosen line. The participant is then requested to close the book and to clearly visualize this line of text. The performer then proceeds (in his own unique style) to reveal this impossible-to-know line of text. The audience, participant and any small mammals in the vicinity all instantly fall in love with this wondrous miracle worker.

Method This is all very easy but does require a good deal of nerve. Once a suitable book has been chosen you simply turn to page 37 and read line 2. This is done under the guise of “working out” just how many pages are in the book and roughly how many lines of text there are on each of these pages. You have plenty of time to gather this information under this pretense, you are to all concerned simply flicking through the book; after all, the concept of a chosen page or word etc. is yet to have been introduced into the proceedings. Once you have gathered the all important information you pass the book to the participant. You now turn your attention to the audience. You request the audience to shout out random 4 digit 27 Purchased by [email protected] from http://www.magic-notes.com

numbers and explain that you will write a selection of these upon your notepad – the emphasis should be on quick rapid fire number calling. Allow the audience to continue to shout out these numbers until enough have been named to make recalling all of these numbers quite impossible – perhaps 10 to 20. *** It is an interesting psychological fact that the human mind finds it almost impossible to remember strings of numbers that exceed 12 digits, use this to your advantage!*** As the audience is shouting write the following four numbers on your pad – obviously make it look as if you are writing the numbers that are being named…

8814 5298 3702 9928 Make sure these numbers are written in this order. Remember the proceedings so far have firmly implanted the suggestion (in the eyes of the audience) that the list contains many more numbers than are actually written. You now pass this pad to the participant. The participant is asked to clear his mind and to not allow himself to be influenced by you in any way whatsoever. You ask the participant to look through the list and to simply select a number that they feel most comfortable with. This is a psychological force; you may or may not be aware that not only are the numbers 3 and 7 perfect for the traditional psychological force but they are also psychologically “sticky” 28 Purchased by [email protected] from http://www.magic-notes.com

this meaning that they feel both comfortable and familiar to a participant and hence are very likely to be chosen. I have experimented extensively with psychological force number combinations and find this to be (as of yet) the most effective “sticky” force selection. Additionally placing the force number at position three in the list is also a more traditional psychological forcing method (as on the whole items placed in such a position are also more likely to be picked.) The participant will almost undoubtedly choose the force number, but don’t worry if they don’t as you will have a method for discerning a "miss". Once the force has been executed you then ask the participant to split this number into two halves, the first two digits representing the page number and the second two digits the line number. You ask them to turn to this page and to remember the line of text written and the corresponding line. You now have your chance to see if your force has been successful: You will notice that the force number would direct the participant to turn to the first half of the book and to look upon the second line of text (obviously located at the top of the page.) All the other numbers in the list would either direct the participant to latter pages in the book and/or lower lines upon the page. It is a simple matter to approximate which section and upon which line the participant is looking, thus giving you the chance to test your success. Once you have discerned your success it is a simple matter to reveal in whatever way you choose the line of text you have memorized at the beginning of the effect – the text that obviously matches the participant (and audiences) “freely” chosen selection - gaining yourself much respect and adoration from all concerned.

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So what do you do in the event of a miss? Don’t worry there are plenty of “outs” in this unlikely scenario. A simple answer would be to have the spectator choose a word from this unknown line of text and write this down, giving you a whole array of different options for gathering this information (such as a peek (see “Peek Performances by Busch), or the zillion other methods we use as mentalists.) However, I see this as a last resort. Another and more interesting “out” would be that upon discovering the failure of the force, you can simply ask the participant to remember the first word on this non force line. Then repeat the whole process and have him choose another number from the list – thus giving you a second opportunity to execute the psychological force. You can then play the routine again and have him memorize the entire line from this new (the force) page. Upon revelation you can easily allow yourself to fail when attempting the first unknown word (you’re just warming up – and who knows you may even guess right!!!) because you can be certain that the next revelation will be spot on. Of course if the force fails twice (and this has NEVER happened for me) you should simply fall back on a Peek or similar method – With a little thought… why not adapt the routine and use the one ahead principle as an out? You will find the need for an “out” very rare indeed – practice this routine on friends and you will soon see just how powerful and reliable this force is. The secret to successful psychological work is CONFIDENCE – you cannot fail – simply believe in your powers and be master of the performance. Remember the risk of failure is more often than not the essential ingredient in true miracles….

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Magic Unriddle.

Overview This is one of those risky effects that only the brave are going to try, Those of you with the guts to try this out are going to blow people away. It’s a stage effect that relies on a little preshow work. If you’re not into preshow or taking risks then this isn’t for you. If on the other hand you think that strong mentalism relies on risks, preparation and skillful presentation then you’ll love this…

Effect Two participants are asked on stage. The first is asked to think of something personal, something the other could not possibly guess. The second participant is then instructed to look into the eyes of the first and begins to get mental images that appear to relate to the thought. As the second participant talks she suddenly gets a flash of insight and names the very thought of the first participant. Clean and simple.

Method As I’ve already said, this method relies on preshow work. You are also going to need a few props… Purchase yourself a set of blank faced playing cards. On half of these cards draw various random images, anything you like but make them complex with varying details (do read the whole methodology

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before you do this and you’ll see the kind of images you’ll need.) Leave the final cards blank as you’ll need these later. I’m not going to go into much detail on the basics of preshow work – if you haven’t done it before do some research – there are plenty of good books on the subject and to be frank if you are inexperienced with preshow then this effect isn’t for you. You will need to find yourself the two participants that are going to be involved later. The single most important factor in this is that THEY DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER. Before the show find yourself the first participant and discuss how you would like to involve them in the show later. Once you have been through the small talk and reassured yourself that your participant is suitable, you will need to gather your information. For this effect I have found that birthdates, Street names or computer passwords are perfect. Assuming you are experienced in preshow information gathering then this will be easy as pie. I’ve always preferred the use of impression devices – but use whatever you are used to. It is imperative (and obvious) that the participant should have no idea that you know his information. Explain that you want him to make his choice now so as he can have time to truly visualize and feel comfortable with this thought. Perhaps add that by him choosing his private thought now he will avoid any possible mental blocks or stage fright later. Either way, get the relevant birthday, street name or password- and please, REMEMBER what the participant looks like!! Then leave. For the sake of explanation we will assume that you asked the participant to think of his birth date and have secretly obtained this information – let’s say the 3rd of July.

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Find yourself somewhere secluded to do some dirty work… Now here’s the tricky part. Do you remember those visual games- the ones in which you have to piece together the information in a picture to get a phrase or familiar saying? I’m sure you do. Well, whatever the information is that you have gathered (in our case the 3rd of July) you are going to create one of these pictures! This is not as difficult as you would imagine, but it does take a little practice. The image you can see here, is a simple demonstration of how the 3rd of July would be illustrated in this fashion. You will notice that there is more information on this image than is strictly needed to hint at the 3rd of July - Obviously the VITAL information is held in the word “JEWEL”, “LIE” and the clock pointing to 3. The additional sunshine image and the word “holiday” are however just as important to the method. All will become clear once we reach the presentation…

Once you have made your image card (and I will give a few more pointers later.) Place it amongst the other image cards you have created (simply throw together random images that are in the same drawing style. They do not have to have hidden meanings they just need to appear to be in the same simple

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style.) Keep the force card at the bottom of the deck (or somewhere that you’ll not loose it!) Now it’s time to find your next participant. Choosing the next participant takes a little more effort. You are essentially looking for someone with a good visual memory, someone also of a decent level of intelligence. I personally find that middle aged women make the best participants for this effect. This again is up to you as you will have to exercise a level of judgment as to whether your participant is up to the task. This will come with practice and experience. Once you have approached the 2nd participant explain how you feel they would be good for a task later in the show, use flattery such as “I can tell you have an innate psychic ability.” or “you seem unusually perceptive.” Once they are on your side bring out the cards, explain that they are cards used by psychics to help focus psychic abilities, much like the tarot. Using whatever card force suits you (and I wont patronize you with how to force a card, if you’re planning to do this effect you should already know a good card force!) ask the participant to choose a card and to be completely certain that you have no idea which card they have chosen (of course you do it’s your force card!) Make it very clear that it is VITAL that they remember the image of the card in every detail, tell them to “meditate on the card, to focus and let the images and words sink in so they are a vivid, living part of your mind. Allow your psychic energy to become linked to this card.”

Explain how later, when they come on stage that they will use this image to help them focus their psychic abilities, that they are going to have to combine the elements of the image as you instruct

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to help solve a psychic puzzle they will be presented with. IT IS VITAL THAT YOU GIVE THE PARTICIPANT TIME TO TRULY REMEMBER THE IMAGE – UTTERLY VITAL!!!

Once you are finished you are all ready to perform a top notch miracle.

Method

– ON STAGE

With all the hard work done, on stage you are set to really amaze. At a suitable moment in the performance bring the two participants on (this effect is perfect for Television performances by the way.) Explain how you would like to try an experiment into mind reading, only this time you would like to act as the catalyst rather than the mind reader yourself. A good bit of psychological misdirection is to flip a coin at the beginning of the performance, as if to choose who plays which role, whatever the outcome manipulate the situation so that participant 1 is the sender and the second the receiver – this simply acts to create an image of spontaneity to the audience and make the who proceedings a whole lot harder to reverse engineer. Now it is a simple matter to have the 1st participant think of his or her predetermined thought; Depending on your own philosophy on preshow you can give as little or as much away as you feel comfortable with as to what happened off stage, I personally opt for giving as little away as I can, a little double speak does wonders… To the 1st participant: “I’d like you to think of a personal thought, earlier today you were thinking of something personal, as we all do often, now I could not know what that thought was and it is not 35 Purchased by [email protected] from http://www.magic-notes.com

for me to find out, but whatever that thought is, be it something such as a personal date, maybe a password for your PC or whatever it is, I would like you to lock that in your mind and focus on that and nothing else.” Direct the 2nd participant to stare directly into the eyes of the 1st and continue… “I could tell when I first saw you that you are the kind of person that is very intuitive, now we all have ways of increasing our psychic abilities and I am aware that you have learnt a little about this. What I would like you to do is to simply stare into X’s (participant 1) eyes and to let your intuition take hold. You have a powerful mind and a strong visual sense, let that play, the image will come into your mind, play with it, but focus – almost as if you are playing some kind of mental game, just be playful, it’s like a riddle” Pause for a second and let the tension build as the participants stare into each others eyes. Then continue… To participant 2: “Now you can feel yourself sinking into an unusual state, a little sleepy perhaps, but don’t let that bother you, just let the image come clearly into your mind, as it does, slowly, very slowly, name what you see… play with connections, but don’t be shy just work it out, like a puzzle – what do these images mean? just talk me through what you are seeing…” At this point the second participant will start to talk, you must keep a firm hold on what is said, at first ask simple questions that are clearly (to the participant) related to her image, as you feel more comfortable that no preshow work shall be revealed let the participant talk more and more…

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The following is a transcript from one of my performances: Performer: “now what do you see?” Participant 2: “I see the sun” Performer: “that’s very good, and what else?” Participant 2: “A clock, it’s pointing to 3…” Performer: “That’s good what words do you see?” Participant 2: “I’m getting Lie, and Jewel” Performer: “Let your mind play, mess with the words, can you find a connection” Participant 2: “I’m seeing holiday and…” Performer: “So it’s a holiday, the sun is shining, so summer yes?” Participant 2: “yes” Performer: “So the words Jewel and lie, and the summer, and this mysterious number 3… what do you think this can mean?” Participant 2: “I suppose it’s the summer, maybe something like august, AH NO! it’s July isn’t it Jewel, Lie… (laughs) so maybe the 3rd of July?” Performer: “That’s great” (turns to the first participant who is grinning wildly, “is she close?” Participant 1 “Oh my god, that’s it, my mothers birthday, how the hell did she do that? My God!!” This is exactly as the effect played, as you can see very little guidance is required, just a good deal of participant control. Often you will have less specific results, but on the whole it is always VERY clear that if not a complete “hit” that the second participant was clearly “picking up” elements of the thought. From here on you can dismiss and thank the participants as you please.

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Final thoughts. You will really wow people with this, the only “loose end” after the effect is participant 2, whom if chosen correctly and treated with respect (and a good deal of flattery) will be none the wiser. It may take you time to get used to developing the force card images with ease and speed, but as with everything in our art all you need is to PRACTICE!! The real key is to add elements to the image that whilst not vital to the riddle, will give the impression of related “hits.” Enjoy this little gem and I hope you get as much joy and many powerful performances from this as I have. Good luck!!

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