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ITS ALL

IN YOUR HEAD

MATT MELLO

No part of this publication may be duplicated or transmitted in any form without written
permission from the author. Television performance rights reserved by Matt Mello.
Copyright 2013
Table of Contents

Enter Stage Right...3

The Imaginary Ball............4

This Hand, That Hand.........11

People Skills..............................................16

Intermission......26

Pulse Rate.....27

The Spirit Necklace.........33

Ouija..........43

Exit Stage Left......53

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Enter Stage Right

Hello, and welcome to the show! I want to thank you so much for purchasing this manuscript.
Ive had the idea for this project for quite a while, and Im extremely happy with the final result
now making its way into your brain!

In these pages, there isnt just a collection of random effects, but two sets that can be used right
out of the box. Ive omitted particular effects and ideas here and there, some because they dont
belong to me, and others because Im not quite ready to part with them yet, but still, the basic
outline and feeling of the act is sustained.

I didnt want the effects to be your typical, mind-reading mentalism, but more about interesting
mental demonstrations, and I tell this to the audience in my opening statements. Many unique
and new effects are explored here, and all of them flow nicely together, complementing each
other beautifully. Some of the effects can be done in both close-up and stage venues, and others
are only suited for the stage. None the less, if you dont perform everything as laid out, Im
certain that you will find something in here worth the price of admission. This may be a small
book, but dont let its size fool you. Its packed to the edges with powerful mentalism, and
teaches some of my favorite stage pieces.

Enjoy the show!

Matt Mello

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THE IMAGINARY BALL

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Effect:
The performer drops an imagined ball, and a spectator catches it with their eyes closed.

Introduction:
This effect has gone through a few different transformations since the first idea came into my
head. In the beginning, I wanted it to be like a psychic game of catch, using an invisible ball that
we would throw back and forth across the stage with the spectators eyes closed. However, it
quickly became apparent that to get that perfect catch moment, I would probably have to
involve stooges in some way, which I never do if I can avoid itand it usually can be avoided.

So I decided to make the effect slightly smaller, where I would be in closer proximity to the
participant, and see if I could create a way for them to know the exact moment to catch; without
using a stooge, and I also didnt want to use invisible thread. What you have here is my bold and
simple solution, which is always the best!

Presentation and Method:


Nearly every show that I do starts with a quick group exercise of some kind. I feel its important
to engage everyone from the outset. In this routine, I have everyone in the audience look at their
palm and visualize theyre holding an imaginary ball, making it any color they want.

If you imagined a red ball, could you please stand with your hand out, and keep looking at
the ball that you see.

Feel free to choose any color that youd like, but I stick with red because its in my favor
psychologically that many people will think of it. When a good number of people are standing,
youre going to go out and look at a few of them before making your selection. Whenever
choosing someone at random, you should always have them do something, and then choose
based on your observations. Here you will be choosing a specific type of personnot a
stoogebut Ill explain in more detail at the end.

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Passing by a few spectators, I finally choose someone who will work. I think you will be
perfect. And your name is?

Jessie. She answers, and I ask for a round of applause as we make our way up to the stage. I
seat her in a chair facing the audience, with a small table in front of her.

I ask Jessie to place her invisible ball on the empty table, and then tie a legitimate blindfold over
her eyes. I ask, Can you hold your hand out for me? Perfect. In a second, Im going to drop
your red ball, and when I say now, Id like you to close your hand and catch it. Ready? I
wait a second, and then grab her ball off the table and make a releasing motion with my thumb
and first finger, saying, Now. And she closes her hand.

This part of the routine could technically be skipped, but I think its important for a couple of
reasons. Regardless of the fact that youre giving vocal instructions, it still looks interesting, and
it gives both the audience and the spectator a conditioning of whats to happen and what to look
for. It also creates a nice build-up, and makes doing it again in perfect silence that much more
powerful.

Excellent! You can drop that ball onto the floor. And now this time, Im not going to say
when Im dropping the ball, youll just have to sense it intuitively. Its important that you
dont just close your handreally wait until you feel it. It will be like a small vibration in
your palm, but you will feel it. Here we go.

To any magicians in the crowd, this will seem like suggestion, but that isnt how this works.

Standing off to the left of the spectator, I grab a second ball off the table. Without making the
slightest sound, and with my first finger and thumb pinched together above Jessies outstretched
hand for a few moments, I suddenly open my fingers. Not a second later, she shuts her hand and
catches it perfectly.

This may not read like the most powerful effect, but its quite strong, and I find it to be a perfect
opener, kicking things off with something interesting and apparently propless.

So how does it work this way every time? Its almost silly, but I promise that youll love it and
use it regularly if you try it out. The method works on the fact that you have an extremely tiny

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piece of rubber band pinched between your fingers, colored black with a sharpie marker. Figure
1, 2, and 3, shows just how small. Its important to cut it as tiny as you can, while still being able
to feel it when you drop it into your own hand.

(Figure 1)

(Figure 2)

Some of you may choose to keep the rubber band its fleshy color, but the black definitely aids in
hiding its fall through the air, and since Jessie cant see her hand through the blindfold anyway, I
focus all of my attention on hiding the piece from the audience.

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(Figure 3)

Its this little gimmick that actually gets dropped into the spectators palm, and she closes her
hand when she feels it hit. But because the gimmick is so small, and the audience is at least ten
feet away, they cant see a thing!

This may seem like an instant stooge moment, but it isnt. When you actually drop the piece of
rubber into their hand, it really does feel strange, like a vibration rather than something hitting it.
Try it yourself to feel the sensation it creates. The spectator will react to that feeling, and you get
the ideal effect every time.

I then congratulate the spectator and tell her, Drop that ball on the floor, as well, like she did
with the first imagined one. This gets rid of the rubber piece in her hand, and leaves everything
clean for the next effect.

Additional Thoughts and Ideas:


--As I mentioned earlier, your choice of spectator will be somewhat important. The main
objective is to choose a spectator wearing a dark colored shirt, or a shirt that has a lot of different
designs printed on it. This will help to aid in hiding the falling gimmick, but even on light
colored shirts its extremely difficult to see at a distance; just something to be conscious of.

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--Some of you may be wondering how I keep track of the tiny gimmick during the routine, and
the answer is that I keep a bunch of them in a small plastic baggie, and when I show up to the
venue, I just put one or two of them onto the table I know Ill be using. During the performance,
I simply pick up the gimmick, and then drop it into their hand. It doesnt get any easier.

--Theres a possibility that during the drop, the small piece of rubber may stick to your finger or
thumb. Its essential to not just open your fingers during the drop, because if it sticks, it might go
flying off somewhere and miss their hand. Its better to give the rubber piece a slight roll in your
fingers and allow it to slip out. This will ensure that it drops straight down into their hand. And I
realize this seems like a stupid thing to mention, but you also need to remember to open your
fingers when it falls out. When rolling the gimmick out, youll sometimes be so focused on
making sure the piece falls straight into their hand that youll forget to open your fingers after to
show that youve dropped something. If the audience doesnt see your fingers open before the
spectators hand shuts, the effect is ruined. I hope this doesnt put you off from performing it. As
long as you practice dropping into your own hand or with a friend, youll understand the rolling
procedure, and will be able to drop it straight down without any issues.

--Even if you ask the spectator to describe what they felt, it will only confirm everything that you
said was going to happen. Being honest, the spectator will say that, It felt like a small ball hit
my hand. or It felt like something hit me in the palm. No matter how they describe it, even
if describing the vibrating feeling, it only strengthens and validates your effect.

--If you perform in a night club, bar scenario, or anywhere that the lighting is dim enough, you
can perform this effect close up, right in front of people at their table or standing. Always test it
in the venue beforehand on yourself. I wouldnt color the gimmick black here, but leave it its
flesh color so it blends with their palm color. On stage this doesnt matter, as Ive explained, but
others looking on close-up could possibly see a black dot appear on the spectators hand.

--Sometimes rather than just having the audience members imagine a ball, Ill have them pair up,
and one will try to catch the ball while the other drops it. You can do it a few times, then have
people stand that did well with the experiment and pick one of them to do it on stage.

--This is an effect that could be repeated if you wish, but I personally only perform it as
described. If youre dropping ball after ball, and then having them constantly drop them onto the

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floor, it becomes obvious that youre probably just dropping something small into their hand.
Having that one perfect moment with the silent catch is much more deceiving. You could also
use two people on stage and have them catch the balls at the same time, but its much harder to
aim over both their hands and synchronize both drops being perfect. I would suggest just
performing it as its laid out, but I figure some of you may be thinking of doing it multiple times,
and thought I should explain why I dont. Your choice.

--I also perform an effect where I appear to throw a thought into a spectators mind. I pick at the
center of my forehead, and pull away my first finger and thumb together, as if pinching my
invisible thought between my fingers. Of course, I have the gimmick between my fingers, and
when I throw this at the spectators facedont worry, their eyes are closedthey will react. I
try to aim for their forehead, so that it feels like a quick pulse, but any contact and reaction is
fine. I then have them name the first letter or number that popped into their head, and nail write it
on an index card.

--You could also use this as a method for Banacheks Psychokinetic Touches routine, or as a way
to repeat it after performing his original effect. You would just have them hold their hand out
palm down, you drop the gimmick, it bounces off their hand, and they confirm that they felt it.
To everyone in the audience, the motion you make with your hand when you drop the piece
looks like an invisible tap.

Credits:
Jerome Finley has a routine thats as close as possible to what I had originally imagined this
effect to be. In his routine, rather than throwing a ball back and forth like were playing catch, he
throws energy across the stage, and the spectator is able to sense when it reaches them. Its a
very strong, impromptu stage routine.

Credit also goes to Banacheks Psychokinetic Touches, for the idea of having a spectator feel
something that should only be in their imagination.

And finally Lior Manors Invisible Touch uses the idea of an invisible item to cause the spectator
to feel the moment of the touch; but not the same invisible item is used.

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THIS HAND,
THAT HAND

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Effect:
A twist on the classic, Which Hand? effect, with an engaging presentation, and multiple
predictions!

Introduction:
Originally, I was planning to sell this with my effect, Pulse Rate, but selfishly kept this variation
to myself, knowing I was going to write this book, and that this presentation was a perfect fit to
pulling things together.

This isnt just another which hand effect, where you have them put an object in either hand and
then you guess. Here you really involve the spectators with a fun presentation and process, and
get to surprise them with many predictions. And by using an imaginary ball, the whole thing
comes off very natural and psychological.

Pulse Rate is one of my favorite creations to date, and this effect is a tie with it. I love them both,
and they have been hidden away for too long. Its time to let them both out to play together!

Presentation and Method:


We left with Jessie just dropping the second ball onto the floor, and now I remove the blindfold
from over her eyes.

You really did incredibly, so Id actually like to use you again, but along with someone
else. Can everyone who imagined a red ball please stand again? And Jessie, Id like you to
just go out and choose any one of them. Its your choice.

She goes out into the audience and brings up a man well call, Greg.

Nice to meet you, Greg. Im sorry to ask you to do this, but could you pick up the two red
balls that Jessie rudely dropped on the floor? Thank you, youre a good guy. And just hand
one back to Jessie. I do this mainly to condition him to follow my instructions, and because it
gets a small laugh. Its also a bit of a witch doctor moment, as Banachek explains in

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Pyshcological Subtleties. Anytime a spectator is requested to do something strange, its viewed
by the audience, and the participant, as having some psychological purpose.

After Greg pretends to pick up the balls, I say, In a second, were going to play a quick game,
something that I used to play with my dad when I was a kid. Its similar to the guess which
hand game that weve all played, but a little more involved and imaginative. But to start,
well do a little practice run. I want you both to toss your invisible ball from hand to hand
as quickly as you can, counting aloud as you do so. Go ahead and practice a few tosses.

Jessie and Greg will now follow the instructions, and I watch their movements, studying their
speeds. Whoever is the faster of the two is the one that I make win at the end. I pick up a large
pad of paper, and without showing anyone, write, Jessie 31 Greg 28 because Jessie was
faster in this fictitious scenario. I then write Left Hand under Jessies name, and Right Hand
under Gregs, still not showing what Im writing. At the end, the audience should hopefully
believe that you were correct with your guesses because you calculated how fast they were
tossing during this practice session. I now place the pad writing-side down, and we can start.

Greg, were going to start with you, and Id like you to begin with the ball in your right
hand. That instruction is important. Same as you just did, I want you to toss the ball back
and forth as many times as you can in ten seconds, counting aloud so we can all keep track.
Do you understand? Then lets begin.

Greg now throws his invisible ball back and forth as fast as he can between his hands, counting
loud enough for everyone to hear, and I stare intently at my watch, as if keeping track of the ten
seconds.

Those of you familiar with my effect Pulse Rate will realize where this is going. Really Im not
paying attention to the time. All thats happening is when I hear Greg say 28 I say Stop! Its
that simple. Im not even remotely looking at the time. My eyes are a dazed blur, and all Im
focused on is saying stop the moment he gets to 28. Astute readers and thinkers will see that by
stopping him on an even number means his ball will end back in his right hand, making your
prediction of the number of tosses and which hand correct.

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Now I instruct Jessie to begin with the ball in her right hand, So that everything is setup the
same as Gregs attempt. I then do the same time miscall with Jessie, but let her go three more
than what Greg got to, regardless of the time. So since I stopped Greg on 28 tosses, I stop Jessie
on 31. And because 31 is an odd number, it will put the ball in her left hand, and make all of
your predictions correct!

Additional Thoughts and Ideas:


-- If I saw that both spectators were tossing slowly during the practice round, I would predict less
tosses, but keep with the same odd and even method. So if I stop him at 24, then I know I need to
let Jessie go to 27or 22 and 25, and so on. Its really easy math, and as long as the balls start in
both your spectators right hands, and you stop them on odd and even numbers, everything will
always work.

--If you think the exact prediction of the number of tosses is too specific, you could just write,
Jessie will win by 3! But this isnt nearly as strong.

--If performing for only one person, just predict their number of tosses and then which hand it
will end up in at the end. The effect is much faster, and is still strong.

--When using the stopwatch feature on your iPhone, you can stop the time at 10 seconds, close
the app, and when you open it again, it will still be set on 10.14 seconds or whatever. Then for
the next participant, just quickly tap the start and stop button as youre supposedly resetting the
timer, so it goes to something like 10.77 seconds for the next persons miscall.

--Instead of using imaginary balls, you could give them paper balls to throw back and forth, with
LEFT and RIGHT written on the inside of them. Then at the end, they can open the balls and see
that its in the correct hand, and then reveal the number of tosses on a second prediction.

--Bonus Effect: * Now I Know My ABCS *

Ive played around with this idea, but dont like it as much as Pulse Rate and This Hand, That
Hand, as Ill explain in a moment. But for the sake of completeness, I figured I should give all
the thoughts on my time miscall concept.

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The basic effect is to have a spectator say the alphabet as fast as she can once. Based on her
speed, I then write two predictions, one that reads, Youll get through the alphabet two and a
half times and another reading, ending on the letter P.

I then time them for ten seconds, but really just let them go through the alphabet twice, and
stop them on P. Thats it. And because thats it, I dont use this routine as much. I dont like that
it has no secondary distracter from the method. With This Hand, That Hand, you have the LEFT
and RIGHT hand predictions after the number of tosses is revealed to distract. And with Pulse
Rate, you have the multiplication of the time. With this, theres nothing extra. Many of you may
be fine with that, and are more than welcome to use it freely and regularly if thats the case.

The miscall really can be applied to timing anything: dealing cards and predicting the stopped on
card, or having them quickly sing a song like its on fast forward, and predicting the word they
stop on, etc. But you should always try to find ways to distract your audience from the method,
in any effect.

Credits:
This effect has the same methodological credits as Pulse Rate.

Banachekyoull see his name a lot in hereuses a totally different type of miscall with a
watch in his Psychokinetic Time routine.

David Hoy was one of the first people to miscall information on a regular basis in his shows, in
both The Hoy Book Test and The Tossed Out Deck.

As for the which hand effect, mentalists have been doing this forever, but many new ideas have
been explored with the ploy. If interested in this demonstration, I would lead the reader to Patrick
Redfords Prevaricator, Jerome Finleys Thought Channel, or Bryn Reynolds The Safwan
Papers. All will get the job done.

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PEOPLE SKILLS

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Effect:
The performer predicts two womans mental decisions upon a large crowd of spectators.

Introduction:
One of the coolest self-working card tricks I ever learned was Miraskill by Stewart James, in the
book, The Essential Stewart James. I can remember doing it over and over in my room, with
cards face-down and face-up trying to learn how it always works. Eventually I figured it out, and
it wasnt until I started performing in stand-up venues that I thought of a way to take Miraskill to
a whole other level, without the use of cards or props.

People Skills is the largest demonstration Ive ever conceived, and is one of my favorite
impromptu effects when I have a large enough crowd to use it. This single routine alone could
easily sell for more than the price of this entire manuscript, and I feel would be worth every
penny for the knowledge gained. If you enjoy Miraskilland how could you notthen youre
going to absolutely love this new application.

Presentation and Method:


Being a slightly strange child, I often made up my own games to play with other kids,
games similar to the hand toss. I didnt realize at the time that these were psychological
games, and that through playing them, I would learn and develop the skills that I use
today. This next effect features one of my favorite games that I created as a kid, and will
require a large group of you to participate.

I now go into the audience and grab fourteen people: eight women and six men.

Im not quite sure how many of you Ive selected, but there are twenty-five folded slips of
paper on that table, (figure 6) each with a number written inside between one and
twenty-five. I just want you to mix them around, take one, and put it in your pocket

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without looking at it. Everyone do this as you make your way onto the stage. Well look at
some of them a little later.

(Figure 6)

Once everyone pockets a piece of paper, I have the spectators bunch together into a large group,
I dont want you all to stand in a line, but just gather into a mob. And while you do that,
Im going to choose two more women to make a few decisions with you.

I continue out into the audience, selecting any two, intelligent looking women.

Hello, what are your names? They reply Elizabeth and Amanda, and I have the
audience wildly slap their hands together as I give each of them a large envelope to hold.
Thank you for helping. Were going to play a very simple game, where both of you will be
choosing people at random. You will think either male or female and then go grab
whichever sex youre thinking of. If you both think of men, theyll be sent to one side of the
stage. If you both think of women, theyll be sent to the opposite side of the stage. And if
you each think of a man and a woman, theyll be sent back to their seats. Do you
understand?

Yes. They both reply.

Good, and youll just keep doing this until everyone has been sent somewhere. Please
begin.

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In silence, Elizabeth and Amanda select two people at random, lets say: a man and a woman,
who are sent back to their seats without a word. Next they select two women who are sent to the
left side of the stage. Then two more women are chosen to join them. Then two men are selected
and sent to the right side of the stage, and so on until everyone has been placed by them.

After the sorting, I tally the number of people left on stage. In this case, I would say, Ah, so
four men and six women. Of course, you would choose your own sex to winhow petty.
This will typically get a laugh. But really you couldnt help yourself, and anyone else in
your positions would have made the exact same choices!

And this is something I find fascinating, predicting supposedly random actions that we all
make. Its interesting that with any physical skill, even as simple as tossing a ball from
hand to hand, we start off being absolutely horrible at it. Then we practice more and more
to get better. But its strange that we dont apply this same thinking to guessing and
intuition, and understanding that there are natural, predictable patterns that we all fall
into. And Ive played this game enough to prove it. Elizabeth, can you open the envelope I
gave you?

She opens the paper inside the envelope, which reads, Subconsciously, you wont be able to
help choosing your own sex to win

Then Amanda is asked to open her envelope, and her paper reads, by two women!

Anyone familiar with Miraskill will understand the inner workings of this effect. Its literally the
exact same effect as Miraskill, but presented with males and females rather than red and black
cards. This makes the routine much larger, and more suitable for a stage or stand-up show.

As in Miraskill with colors, in order for the women to win by two, you just need to make sure
you have two more women than men on stage at the very start. So long as the women then follow
your selection instructionsand youll be there to assist if they dont understand the women
will always win by two; its self working. You can practice the concept with 8 red cards and 6
black cards to see the principle in action, but the same effect could be done with 10 women and 8
men, or as high as your performance space allows, and would still work. Just follow the selection
instructions and things will always go in your favor. The number of people standing on either

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side of the stage, or going back to their seats may change, but there will always be two more
women on the stage than men at the end. Its how the Miraskill principle works.

So just to recap, in the beginning, you pick eight women and six men, and have them go on
stage, grab a piece of paper, and gather into a mob. The reason for having them gather into a
group, rather than a line, is to disguise that there are more women than men at the start. You can
use cards to see the idea at work.

Assuming women are hearts, you would want to have the spectators standing around like figure
7 rather than figure 8, so its harder to count everyone. Plus, at the very start, no one knows the
effect thats about to take place, so they wont be thinking to count the number of men and
women anyways.

(Figure 7)

(Figure 8)

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Then all thats needed is to have the two women start grabbing people, hopefully not
inappropriately; feel free to include that joke depending on the crowd. If they both grab women,
theyre sent to one side of the stage. If they grab two men, theyre sent to the other side. Men and
women chosen together are sent back to their seats. And because of the Miraskill principle, the
predictions in your envelopes will be one-hundred percent correct. Thank you, Stewart James!

But the trick isnt over yet.

As the six women and four men left on stage make their exit, I have them remove their unopened
slips of paper from their pockets, and drop them into a glass bowl.

For the men and women that Elizabeth and Amanda sent back to their seats, could you
stand please? I feel bad that you just came on stage, got a little exercise walking around,
and were then just sent back to your seats. So Id like to try something extra with you. You
four should be the only ones left with papers in your pockets, yes? Could you please take
them out for me now?

I gesture to the bowl of papers and say, At no point have the other slips been opened by
anyone, so theres no way I could know which four numbers youve chosen. Right now, any
other performer might hold his hand out and try to convince you that hes about to read
your minds, but this isnt about mind reading. Its about something that I tried to plan
before coming here, and even though it seems impossible to plan. These were the numbers
that I was hoping to have come out.

I write a bunch of numbers on my large drawing pad, depending on how many people are
standing.

And now Ill cross my fingers. If you see your number here, could you please sit down.

Everyone sits, I sigh in relief, and the audience applauds and applauds, thinking its the end;
foolish audience.

Thank you, thank you! But theres more! For this ending to work out, not only did you
have to pick those specific numbers, but Elizabeth and Amanda had to send only you four
back to your seats. And Ill show you why.

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I hold the drawing pad in my hand, I had twenty-five pieces of paper, and in my mind, each
one of them was a letter instead of a number. I didnt do twenty-six because I didnt want
anyone to be thinking about the alphabet and letters; and because Z isnt important. But if
we look at the four numbers you chose, we can make a word from them.

The first number is 13, the second is 9, third is 14, and the fourth is 4. Rather than laboriously
counting out each individual letter on your fingers and toes, make a separate page with the
alphabet written in order, and number them 1 to 26, clear enough for everyone in the audience to
see. Dont leave it attached to the pad. Rip it out and place it in the back until its needed, so you
dont have to keep flipping back and forth as you write.

And when each number is converted, we get the word, MIND!!! Figure 9.

(Figure 9)

This ending, like the best of mentalism and magic, works purely on a bunch of lies and a small
amount of physical workings. The first lie is that the twenty-five pieces of paper all have
different numbers written on them. Really they only have four numbers repeated, 13, 9, 14 and 4;
or in terms of letters, M, I, N, and D. It then uses the Tossed-Out Deck principle, with the
understanding that as long as you mention those four numbers, everyone will sit because they all
have 13, 9, 14 or 4. They will then each assume that the other people have the other numbers.

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And because People Skills can end with a different number of people sent back to their seats
each time (but still keep the women winning by two) I need to have a couple of different words
to account for having more than four people standing. I use two different messages:

MIND is used if four people are sent back, with 13, 9, 14, and 4 being the numbers you write, in
that specific order.

OUR MINDS is used with eight people, with 15, 21, 18, 13, 9, 14, 4, and 19.

I would suggest making a cheat sheet by lightly writing the scenarios in the corner of the
drawing pad in pencil, so you can copy either one in marker without thinking. Because of the
mathematics, the only other amount of people sent back could be twelve, which I feel is too
much to write out all the numbers, and then go through the process of converting them all into
letters, so I personally only use MIND and OUR MINDS.

It will never just be two or six people sent back, but will always be four, eight, or twelve when
using a group of fourteen people. And I find it works out that four or eight people are sent back
far more often than not. It takes a lot to have twelve people sent back. That means they literally
sent men and women back in pairs until there were only two women left standing there to make
the prediction correct. This never happens. The moment they grab a pair of men, you know
youll be able to do the word ending.

And if twelve people did get sent back, then I would just present it like mind reading, going
completely against the original presentation. As long as you say the four numbers, and then say
any numbers between 1 and 25 for the other eight people, everyone will sit, and it will still be a
good ending.

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Additional Thoughts and Ideas:
--Rather than men and women, the effect could also be applied to a variety of things that can fall
into two categories. Hair color or shirt color works well if there are enough people, but I
personally enjoy the battle of the sexes feel of the demonstration.

--Instead of picking a bunch of men in the same row, or a bunch of women in the same row,
spread yourself out. Just grab all of one sex first, then all of the other, but make sure youre
taking them from different areas of the audience. This is so at the end of the first set, the four or
eight people sent back cant compare their slips of paper easily.

--Its optional, but I like to keep paperclips on the folded pieces of paper, to discourage anyone
from peeking at their number while standing around. It also adds to the idea that theres no way I
could see through a fold to the number, or any other crazy idea. Completely up to you, though.

--You could choose to have a few pieces of paper with different numbers written on them and
palm them out of the jar to show, but I think this is overkill. At most, I would open a few papers
and just miscall the numbers Im looking at, saying whatever number comes to mind, You
could have picked, 23, 2, whatever!

--I wont go into the details of my exact routines, but there are many mathematical card
principles that can be applied to people. I have an extremely clean living and dead test that uses
the Gilbreath principle with a large number of people. Again, I wont go into the workings and
procedures, but any creative readers should be able to take most mathematical card tricks and
apply them to men and women in some way, making the effect much grander!

Credits:
Without the genius that was Stewart James, and his Miraskill, this demonstration would never
have come to be. I highly recommend picking up his book, The Essential Stewart James.

Bill Cushman also has a great manuscript titled, Mirabill, which teaches Dr. Bills routine and
ideas applied to the concept.

24
The Tossed Out Deck by David Hoy is one of the strongest and most versatile word-play
methods thats been discovered in mentalism, and the end of this effect is nothing more than the
tossed out deck with papers, to which I claim no originality. I just find it makes a perfect ending
to the first set, especially with the free word reveal.

People Skills is a natural evolution of the Miraskill principle, and I really hope you guys get the
opportunity to use it!

25
INTERMISSION
Feel free to have a drink and a snack before moving on.

26
PULSE RATE

27
Effect:
By merely looking at a spectator, no contact ever involved, you can predict their pulse-rate with
100% accuracy!

Introduction:
Aside from this single sentence, the rest of Pulse Rate is exactly as I transcribed it in its original
release.

Our pulse is something that we always have on us, and being a huge fan of always-ready effects,
I wanted to use it in some way. It is our direct link to life, so messing around with it can be a bit
scary for some spectators, but this is why it gets such great reactions!

I should clarify that this demonstration is in no way dangerous for you or your participantas
some pulse effects can beand once learned, can be performed anywhere with no setup!

Usually Ill use this as a lead-in to a variety of mind-reading routines, as it really helps to build a
connection between yourself and the spectator.

Presentation and Method:


Many psychics believe that our pulse is directly connected to our auraour life force.
This suggests that by tapping into your pulse, I can cause a brief link between the two of
us, I say, turning to my chosen spectator with a smile, hopefully allowing for some fun
things to happen. I just need one piece of information for this to work, something to help us
both visualize. Do you have a favorite color? I ask.

Well assume the spectator, hereafter called Julie, answers, Blue.

Perfect, can you find your pulse for me? I say, gesturing with two fingers on my wrist.
Now I know this will sound strange, but every time you feel your pulse beat, I want you to
imagine a blue liquid pulsing out of your body, starting in your center and then flowing out

28
of your skin into the air surrounding you, over and over. Dont move, or give anything
away while you do this, just imagine it. Okay?

Julie nods her head in understanding, closing her eyes as she focuses on the unusual task, her
fingers pressed into her wrist. I take a step towards her, my eyes not focused on her but the space
around her, as if really searching for the invisible, pulsing aura. After a few more seconds of
watching, I scribble 72 B.P.M. on an index card and place it writing-side down on the table
next to Julie.

When I say, Now, Id like you to start counting your pulse aloud, continuing until I tell
you to stop. Just give me a moment, please. I stare at my watch, and after a couple of
seconds, call out, Now!

She begins counting her pulse aloud. 123.

And now were in a predicament. For me to get Julies pulse rate to match my prediction (72), I
have to force things in my favor. This is done very simply and deceptively through a time
miscall, used in a way thats never been applied before.

Nearly everyone knows that to take a pulse rate, you find the pulse, count it for fifteen seconds,
and then multiply the number of beats by four to get the count for a full minute.

All you have to do here is look at your watch and pretend to keep track of fifteen seconds, but
really you just let the spectator count until they get to eighteen, regardless of the actual timing!
Eighteen times four ALWAYS equals seventy-two, which always matches the prediction!

So Julies sitting there holding her wrist, counting aloud, and when she finally says, Eighteen I
instruct her to stop. Looking up from my watch, Ill usually ask her to repeat the number as if Id
been too focused on the time to pay attention to what number she was on.

When she repeats, Eighteen, I smile and nod, Thats a healthy pulse. So in fifteen seconds,
it beat eighteen times. And if we multiply eighteen by four, well get your pulse rate for a
full sixty seconds. Eighteen plus eighteen is thirty-six. And thirty-six and thirty-six is
seventy-two. Seventy-two beats per minute. Take a look at what I wrote. I point to the

29
index card lying next to her and she turns it over, instantly reacting to the perfect 72 B.P.M.
match!

With a connection now established to her pulse/aura, you can move on to any type of mind-
reading you can do, knowing that they will be much more involved and engaged after this
process. I usually just do a simple billet/center tear after, but any mind-reading will suffice!

Additional Thoughts and Ideas:


--The 72 B.P.M. prediction can be altered; you just have to adjust how long you let the
spectator count for. For instance, if you wanted your prediction to be 80 B.P.M. rather than
stopping the spectator at Eighteen, you stop them at Twenty, regardless of how many seconds
it takes to get there.

All the while you just stare at your watch, waiting for them to get to the number. Just dont get
too extreme with the rate. Stay between 68 and 80which would mean you interrupt their count
on 17, 18, 19, or 20, depending on your prediction.

--As an interesting side note, this pulse prediction was actually in consideration for one of David
Blaines shows, around the time of his Drowned Alive special.

The routine I submitted involved having a spectator hold their breath for as long as they could,
and then take their pulse after and see how holding their breath affected it. I would then flip over
my two index cards to show my predictions of both to be accurate.

It was just a simple one-ahead, using the pulse force (72 B.P.M.) as the ahead. I would write 72
B.P.M. while the spectator held their breath, then write the number of seconds they held their
breath (42 secetc) while apparently predicting the pulse rate.

The presentation made sense after David held his breathe to challenge the world record. But, the
effect never made the showI think it was submitted a bit late. Fate must have wanted you to
have it all to yourself, without it having to be that David Blaine trick!

30
--Ive also predicted the color they choose for their aura and their pulse rate using the one ahead
in the same way as above. Have them think of their favorite color and write 72 B.P.M. on a
card. Then when they name the color, write it down before the spectator counts out their pulse.

I would then end by doing a color reading based on their color choice, using stock cold readings.

--You could also pretend to take your pulse, write down 72 B.P.M., then force the spectators
pulse to match yours. This way it seems like your pulses are synchronizing and beating at the
same time.

--Alternatively, rather than sync your pulse with a spectators, you could sync the pulses of two
spectators, pretending to take the pulse rate of spectator one, then forcing the pulse rate on
spectator two.

You could then go on to perform a two-person telepathy effect with the connection established
between the two of them instead.

--Should you, for some reason, absolutely despise wearing watches, you could use the stop watch
function on your phone instead, pretending to stop and close the application at the necessary
number.

--Sometimes Ill perform a liar/truth teller effect after this routine, apparently seeing their
pulse, acting as if Im reading the pulse rate to tell if theyre lying or telling the truth. This is a
very fun and interesting take on the plot.

--Ill end with a warning note. There is, as with everything, a possible downside to this effect.
That is if someone in the audience keeps track of the time and calls you out on it.

I anticipated this being a possible problem, but in all the years Ive used itnearly tenI
havent run into it once. I assume its because most people are more caught up in the effect rather
than trying to figure it out, but there are other factors as well. It could be that they arent a
hundred percent sure of whats happening and when, so that makes it hard to keep track of.

But one other consideration when performing this effect close-up is to borrow a watch from a
spectator, and only use your own should you need to. Usually if Im at a table, there will be three
or four people seated. Id say on average, at least one of them will have a watch on. With the

31
increase of cell-phones over the years, very few people need to wear watches anymore. But, if
someone is wearing one, you might as well get it out of play if you can, and remove the chance
of them keeping track of the time themselves.

If anyone asks why you arent using your own, just tell them you want everything to be as fair as
possible, so that theyre certain you arent using some type of gimmicked watch. This type of
excuse always flies when youre supposedly thinking of the spectator. I love these types of
excuses!

Credits:
Luke Jermay, Docc Hilford, Tony Andruzzi, Paolo Cavalli, Andrew Gerard, Kenton Knepper,
Wayne Houchin, Bill Cushman, Bill Montana, Jerome Finley and Im sure many others have, in
some way, utilized the control of a pulse in a mentalism/magic routine. Their work is something
that should definitely be looked into should you enjoy and wish to learn all you can about this
kind of effect. Type any of their names and pulse into Google, and youll find more info on
pulse control then youll ever need in your lifetime.

Aside from his pulse work, it should be side-noted that Jerome Finley also utilizes the idea of
connecting auras, which is a very powerful concept. His methods are different than mine, but are
very out-of-the box and clever.

I know that Keith Barry specifically synchronizes his pulse-rate with a spectator too, to allow a
connection to occur for mind-reading, but our methods are different as well.

Further influence comes from Banacheks, Psychokinetic Time in which he also uses a miscall
with a watch, but in a completely different way, with a completely different purpose. I wont go
into details due to exposure.

In regards to miscalls in general, I would think David Hoy deserves a huge nod again, as the
miscall technique has surely garnered most of its popularity due to David, and is actually where I
was introduced to the idea of miscalling, in The Hoy Book Test and The Tossed Out Deck.

32
THE SPIRIT NECKLACE

33
Effect:
A spectator causes a necklace to move in circles, and when the performer and spectator both hold
it, it acts even more bizarrely!

Introduction:
Although I mentioned performing a mind-reading effect after Pulse Rate, any type of psychic
demonstration plays well with the aura presentation. After having the spectator imagine energy
pulsing out of her body, its a natural and clean transition to have that person move the necklace
or a pendulum with that same energy.

What youll be learning here is how to make a gimmicked pendulum or necklace that Ive been
making for years. I didnt want it to be magnetically operated like most, or use invisible threads,
and I wanted full control over the motion at all times. This was the most practical, self-contained
gimmick I could think of, and theyve worked out very well.

Presentation and Method:


When the applause settles, I suggest trying another test using Julies energy, and remove an
earthy looking necklace from a wooden box in my case, figure 10.

(Figure 10)

34
I have her grip the knot at the top, with the quartz crystal acting as a weight, figure 11.

(Figure 11)

I want you to imagine your blue energy swirling down your arm, all the way down into
the crystal. Visualize it moving around and around in circles. Good. Now, imagine it getting
bigger, spinning in larger circles. Excellent, and now you can slow it down just as easily.
How did that feel?

Julie will typically answer with something like, Blahblah.

What you just witnessed is very basic pendulum work, and we all have the ability to do
this. But there was a man that I met once, who travelled the world watching and learning
from witch doctors and voodoo practitioners as they performed their work. He had a
necklace very similar to this one, but it was made from supposedly real spiritual artifacts.
And he did something with that necklace that took me a long time to figure out how to
replicate, and thats what Id like to show you now.

This whole dialog sets up the idea that what everyone has just witnessed is something normal,
and anyone can do it. And it suggests that what theyre about to witness is going beyond the
regular, and will seem very real and congruent with what powerful pendulum work would look
like.

35
So I have Julie grab the left string of the necklace in her left hand, and I grab the right string in
my right hand, with the cords draped over the backs of our hands, figure 12.

(Figure 12)

I then have Julie place her empty right hand palm out towards the crystal. I have her imagine the
blue energy is swirling in her open palm, and have her focus on drawing the crystal towards her
hand. After a moment, the crystal begins to twitch in the air, and then stretches and reaches for
her hand (figure 13), until her hand is moved away and the connection is broken, and the crystal
swings back to normal.

(Figure 13)

Before getting into the method, the first thing Ill teach is how to make the pendulum or
necklace, and then show you the very simple way its gimmicked. Ill start with the cord

36
material, which is made of round, brown shoelaces. These can be bought at Walmart, Target, or
anywhere shoes are sold. This type of cord is important.

The next thing youll need is a weight to be tied at the bottom. I like to make my pendulums and
necklaces as earthy as possible, so I use quartz crystals; but nicely shaped, clean rocks will do
the same job and cost you nothing. Tie the shoelace as tight as you possibly can around the rock,
and then add a second loose knot, sticking a feather in before pulling it tight to secure it in place,
figures 14 and 15.

(Figure 14)

(Figure 15)

37
Now youre going to want to take about six inches of cord on each side of the crystal or rock,
and tie a knot on both sides, figure 16.

(Figure 16)

Then youll need to go to Michaels or any arts and crafts store, and go to their beads section.
You can decorate your necklace or pendulum any way you want, but I alternate between large,
round wooden beads, and cylindrical, wooden break beads in between, figure 17.

(Figure 17)

38
When youve got all the beads on both sides, youll be tying another knot above them to keep
them from sliding. Again, I tie the knot loose at first, and put a feather in each side before pulling
them tight. This gives me a little triangle of feathers, which can also be purchased at most arts
and craft stores. All thats left is to tie a double knot in the top and you have your completed
necklace!

To gimmick it will take one more purchase. I know it seems like a lot, but compared to some of
the gimmicked pendulums out there, this is a steal!

I believe I got my gimmick at JoAnn Fabrics, but if you google, Dritz Doll Needle, its the five
inch needle, and comes in a two pack for $5. Any thin and perfectly straight object can be fed
into the hollow lace, but I find the sharp needle to be the easiest. You want to start five inches
above the crystal, like figure 18, so the entire needle can fit inside.

(Figure 18)

Once its hidden in the lace, it can be worn like a normal necklace, or kept in a nice box. And as
long as the spectator holds it by the top knot, it looks, and can be used like a completely normal
pendulum. After they get it to move in circles, we then each grab an end, and you can easily
manipulate the crystal with the gimmick on your side, using light pressure from your middle

39
finger, back to figure 13. Only a small movement is needed with your finger to make the crystal
or rock move. Apply slow, even pressure, and it will look as if the crystal is stretching and
reaching for their invisible energy.

If you dont like the idea of the necklace and want to stick with a classic pendulum approach, I
make twelve inch ones that look like these, figure 19.

(Figure 19)

Two of them are normal, and one has the needle in it. In order to have them examined, I give
the spectator a normal pendulum, then take it back and give them the second normal pendulum.
And then instead of handing them the third, gimmicked pendulum, I just hand them the first
pendulum again. Trust me, no one notices. You can then use them like normal pendulums, with
you using the gimmicked one, which will still work as a completely normal pendulum.

Then, when you want to demonstrate the advanced stuff, grip the cord just above the needle,
with your middle finger pressing against the side of it, figure 20. A very slight pressure is all
thats needed to make the crystal move towards your hand, figure 21.

40
(Figure 20)

(Figure 21)

Dont be quick with it. Allow it to be a slow, smooth movement out towards your hand. Then
move your left hand away and release with your right middle finger to allow the crystal to swing
back and forth, like it would even if it didnt have a needle inside it. To be honest, I present this
more often with the pendulums than the necklace, but wanted to offer both options. I just find the
pendulums to feel more natural.

41
Additional Thoughts and Ideas:
--On the necklace, its a good idea to have the bottom feather pointing to the side with the needle
in it, so you can easily keep track.

--I also suggest making a second, ungimmicked necklace and keeping it in your case. Keep it in a
separate area so you dont confuse them and grab the wrong one. Its good to have one, should
audience members after the show want to play with it and try to make it move themselves.
Alternatively, you could always remove the needle when taking it out of the case. But its a pain
to keep putting it back in, and the more you do it, the more youll fray the shoelace.

Credits:
The roots of this effect stem from the classic Zombie Ball illusion, except with no apparent
cover, because its hidden in plain sight.

You cant really mention the Zombie gimmick without throwing Losanders name into the
credits. The man has done more with the Zombie concept than just about anyone. He has applied
it to many different items, but Ive never seen anyone apply the idea to a pendulum.

And for classic pendulum work, I would guide you towards Banacheks Psychophysiological
Thought Reading.

42
OUIJA

43
Effect:
A spectator moves a black and white photograph across a Ouija board, and all of the information
it gives is shown to be written on the back of the picture.

Introduction:
This is one of the most powerful effects that I do. Nothing beats seeing the spectators reaction
when they feel the photograph physically stop on specific letters and numbers. Then, when they
turn over the picture theyve been using the entire time and see that the details match, its very
creepy.

Ive always loved using Ouija boards and occult objects, but wasnt a fan of most of the
gimmicked boards available; at least for the effect that I wanted to present. I have a beautiful
Dark Board made by Outlaw Effects, and while it does whats advertized, I find I use my own
gimmicked board more, and believe it to be a stronger demonstration.

After reading this, youll be able to make your own boards for a fraction of the price of the ones
on the market, and the impact will be greater because of the natural items being used, all of
which are completely examined.

Presentation and Method:


The lights are dimmed slightly, and a candle is lit near the board.

The pendulum was, and still is, used as a physical channel to communicate with the
spirits. But many other ways were created, the most well known being the Ouija board.
What I have here is the old Parker Brothers board, that some of you may have used as
kids.

I take it out of the old, original box it comes in, adding authenticity to the fact that its not
gimmicked, and is the same board people have used for over forty years, figure 22. I suggest you
purchase this same board. It can be found online for about twenty dollars.

44
(Figure 22)

Used more often today, another tool for communicating with the spirits are tarot cards.
Feel free to use any tarot deck, but I use the Carnie Tarot from Outlaw Effects, not for the
markings on the back, but because like their Dark Board, its a work of art. I force The Magician
card on Julie, and prefer the turnover force in this situation. Having put The Magician on the
top of the pack, and standing well away from Julie, I ask her to flip the top quarter of the deck
over and place it back on top. Tell her to disregard the card shes looking at, and to pick up half
of the deck this time, and flip that over and replace it on top again. With these two actions, you
can now have Julie spread to the first face down card she gets to, and it will be The Magician; I
prefer the hands off approach here, but you can use any force. Without allowing her to see what
shes selected, I ask her to completely cover the card under the Ouija board. When thats done, I
remove a black and white picture from my pocket.

Well come back to your tarot card at the end, but Id like you to now focus your attention
on the board. I lost the pointer that originally came with it, so instead well be using this
photograph. Pictured is the man that created the necklace you just used, and we will be
attempting to connect your energy with his for a moment. Are you okay with that? I
promise everything will be fine.

I ask Julie to run her hand along the board and make sure theres nothing sticky or out of the
ordinary, and she will confirm there is nothing. I then have her run her fingers along the back of
the photo without looking at it, and make sure there is nothing sticky or strange there, which will
again be confirmed as normal. But they arent.

45
The Ouija board has been prepared by isolating specific letters and numbers through holes cut in
a newspaper or construction paper, and spraying them with a clear roughing fluid, figure 23.

(Figure 23)

The stuff that I use comes in a large spray paint can, and can be found at most art supply stores
or online for about ten dollars. Its called Krylon Matte Finish Spray, figure 24, and youll
probably never have to buy another bottle once youve got one. Ive had the can I use for over
six years, and it still feels pretty full.

(Figure 24)

46
Be sure to spray at least a foot and a half above the board, so it goes on even and not too thick.
Youll also be spraying the back of the photograph, but you want to put an even lighter coat on
the photo, so back away to about two feet. The last thing you want is a spectator that cant even
move the picture off the letter A because theres too thick of a coat on it. Better to spray heavier
on the letters on the board instead of too heavy on the picture.

Once both have been given a coat and are fully dryit doesnt take longtheyre ready for use.
Youll notice that you can now run your hand along the board and along the back of the photo,
and nothing feels sticky or different than anything else. But when the two rough surfaces are
pushed together, they stop the picture from moving instantly!

So after the spectator has had a chance to check that everything is normal, I place the small
photograph onto the board and run it all over the surface, showing it doesnt stop anywhere in
particular. This works because the card wont stick if you arent pressing down on it. Holding it
very lightly with a couple of fingers, you can run the card over the entire surface, even the
roughed spots, and it wont stick. But your specific instructions to the spectator will get it to stop
wherever youve sprayed when they do it.

Could you just stand on the left side of the board? Because of the way theyll be putting
their fingers on the picture, its easier for them to stand on the side rather than facing straight on
with the board. And can I have you blow into both of your hands and rub them together?
Really get the blood in them so you can get a solid connection.

This instruction is important because it gets their hands slightly moist. If the person has really
dry, cold hands, youll find that they have a hard time pushing the picture because their dry
fingers slide off of it. You really dont want this to happen, and having people blow into their
hands is a natural behavior that remedies the dry hand dilemma.

Now I want you to press down on the photo with your index and middle fingers of both
hands, like this. I place the photograph over the letter A, and teach Julie the classic
planchette finger position, figures 25 and 26.

47
(Figure 25)

(Figure 26)

And I want you to follow straight over each letter very slowly, focusing on the feeling of the
board and the picture under your fingers. Feel when he wants you to stop. It will almost
feel as if hes grabbing the photo to stop it.

48
By having them use both hands, and instructing them to move the card slowly across each letter,
it forces more pressure on the card, making it easy for it to stick and stop on the correct areas. On
this board, I sprayed G and T for letters, and 3 and 7 for the numbers.

Now either yourself, or preferably another spectator from the audience, needs to press down on
the opposite side of the board to counteract the pushing Julies doing with the picture. Otherwise,
when she gets to the rough spot, it will stick, but the board will slide around on the table. With
someone holding the other side of the board down, it will feel like the card is being grabbed, and
will be a very strange feeling for your spectator when they cant move it further.

With the picture being slowly pushed over the letters, it will stop on G (figure 27) and when it
does, I write the selection on my drawing pad for everyone to see. I then move the picture to the
next line, starting on N, which is pushed until it stops her on T, which is written down. This is
then repeated with the number 3, and then I put it on 4 to have her move it again until it finally
stops on the 7. Some of you may choose to only do the initials, which is still a strong moment,
and keeps things simpler.

(Figure 27)

49
At the end, on my drawing pad, I have written, G.T. 37. After a little build-up, the photograph
is turned over to show a name written, George Tarbell, and the date 1937. The spectator
clearly established a connection with his spirit, and received the information perfectly!

When the spectator and the audience calms down from this moment, you can then reveal the
tarot card under the Ouija board, which more than likely has been forgotten about because
everyone now believes you to be a demon-child.

Because I know its The Magician, I can reveal the card any way that I wish. I usually have her
hold the photograph in her fingers, and then take her by the wrist and guide her hand over each
letter on the board. I then stop on the first three letters of the card, so MAG for The
Magician, and then quickly write, MAGICIAN on the drawing pad, before having her take the
card out from under the board to confirm and finish the show.

I dont mention anything about the selection of The Magician. I think its obvious that people
will walk out of the show remembering MAGICIAN. I then hope that they think further, seeing
how well the psychic stuff can be made to look real, and will second-guess any psychics they see
in the future.

With that last piece of the show cemented in their heads, take a long, well deserved bow!

Additional Thoughts and Ideas:


--I know its awful, but this trick really isnt something that you should practice over and over.
The rough and smooth spray lasts a while on an invisible deck, but when youre consistently
rubbing the roughing fluid off while practicing with the Ouija board, it wont work as well
during your performance. And the more fluid that you have to apply, the more discolored it
becomes. Eventually, after continuous use, it gets dirty on those specific letters and numbers and
is obvious. So at most, test it the morning of your show, and if it seems to stick well, just leave it.
If it doesnt seem to work, spray another layer on. Keep doing this until your judgment tells you
its time to throw it away and purchase another; it will last a good while if you keep it in its box
and dont overuse it. And for twenty bucks, its well worth the price, and will pay for itself in all
the shows youll use it in.

50
--For those of you that cant contain yourselves with playing with it, you can make a version of
this out of a piece of white poster board. As long as it has a slight gloss to it, it will work, but not
as well as the Parker Brothers Ouija board. I personally would never perform with just paperas
it isnt as nice aestheticallybut it has its own perk in the sense that it comes off completely
ungimmicked.

--Although the Ouija board will feel completely normal, because of the matte spray, it will take
away some of the gloss on the letters that are sprayed. This cant be seen unless there are lights
blaring directly down on it, so just be aware. On a stage, you can control the lighting, but if
youre just doing a stand-up venue with lights above, take the board out and do a check to see if
you can use it. For the most part, youre pretty much safe, but always do a check.

--Instead of going straight into the described effect, you could attempt to do some real Ouija
work by using the YES and NO to answer questions for the spectator. Have them think of a yes
or no question, and then imagine the picture moving and answering it. This will use normal
ideomotor movements, and they will simply be answering their own questions. If you find it isnt
working for her, just move directly into the normal sequence.

--If for some reason the picture does become stuck for the spectator from the beginning, and they
somehow cant move it, you can make that the effect. Make it seem like the spirit is being
playful, then have them blow into their hands a few more times and try again, until they finally
get it going and stopped where its supposed to be.

--A good strategy for getting more use out of your Ouija board is to start with spraying the letters
on the right side of the board, and then once those are getting dirty, move to the next letter to the
left of it. Since the spectators will be stopped before they can get to the letters beyond, you can
still use the same board for a few more rounds until you feel its time to toss it. So I typically
start with H, then once that starts to look dirty, I would spray the G, then F, and so on. You
would then just need to change the persons name depending on whatever letters you spray. Here
are a few names to get you going: Harold Tarbell, George Sanders, Fred Rodgers will get you
through at least three uses. Use any variety that you wish.

--For those of you who dont have a small black and white photograph, Ive provided a page of
pictures at the end of the book. Go to an office supply store, purchase a slightly glossy paper, and

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you can print them up in your normal printer. Thats how I made mine, and they look good and
work very well.

Credits:
As I mentioned, I have a gimmicked, hand-aged Dark Board that I purchased from Outlaw
Effects for $600. If you have the money to spend, and do a lot of occult magic, I would still get
one, along with their Carnie Tarot. Each one is its own work of art, and all of their material is
quality. But as I also mentioned, I use my own gimmicked board more, and the effect is
definitely stronger.

Peter Loughran and Sean Bogunia also have their Witchboard which can be purchased for the
price of a decent used car, and produces an effect closer to this one.

Derren Brown, during his Sance show, was able to get audience members to move a glass to
spell out a mans name, which is similar in effect to what I have here, but certainly uses different
methods.

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Exit Stage Left

I want to thank you again for purchasing this book. I hope that you enjoyed reading it, and found
something of value within it.

I would like to think that most of you will tailor your own acts to your own styles, and will only
pick and choose a couple of routines from these pages to put into your own shows. But for those
of you who study this manuscript and perform everything exactly as is, then go for it! Both sets
are great, and were always met with good reception when I performed them.

Though personally, I would encourage you to do your own thing, and create your own routines.
Or you could even separate my two sets rather than performing them together, and use each one
as a scaffold to build a larger show from, fitting in your own effects and ideas where you see fit.
Even if you think that you cant, you should try. And if you arent happy with the results, try
again, tweak, and try again! Dont ever think that you cant do something!

Remember, its all in your head.

And now the time has come for me to make my exit from your warm, squishy left brain.

Thats the show! Goodnight!

Matt Mello

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Photographs for Ouija:

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