Practical Mental Magic (Dover Magic Books)

Mind reading, thought transmission, prophecy, miracle slate routines, and other psychic effects are among the most impressive tricks in any magicians repertoire. Their power to amaze and dumbfound an audience is unparalleled in the domain of stage magic. In this volume, one of the greatest of all mental magicians reveals the secrets behind nearly 200 astonishing feats of mental magic.The routines encompass 12 major categories: Effects with Billets and Pellets; Envelope Necromancy; Publicity Effects; Miracle Slate Routines; Dead or Alive; Money Mentalism; Book Tests; Blindfold Reading; Thought Foretold; Mentalism with Cards; Miscellaneous Mental Masterpieces; and Psychic Codes.Theodore Annemann, through his own performances and editorship of Jinx magazine, probably did more than anyone else to popularize this branch of entertainment. Now, his extensive knowledge, experience, and knowhow are at your fingertips in this comprehensive collection. Here are the closely guarded tricks of the trade behind such astonishing effects as PseudoPsychometry, one of the greatest oneman psychic effects ever achieved; Who Killed Mr. X? a classic routine that combines both magic and mind reading with a triple mystery and a novel presentation; and The Swami Test, a demonstration of prophecy first popularized around 1920. Annemann himself came up with some 16 variations on this popular and muchpracticed effect. My Own Swami Test is one of his best.These and scores of other crowdpleasers are here, each thoroughly explained and diagrammed, with insiders tips on techniques, staging, patter, plants and confederates, diversions everything you need to make any trick a foolproof success. No special equipment is required; just traditional magic props and a willingness to learn from one of magics legendary figures. Although written for professional magicians, the stepbystep detail, clarity and inclusiveness of this collection, along with the authors intimate knowledge of the stage performers needs, make this a volume that will benefit magicians at every level of expertise.