163

"Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? " Job XXXVIII 2

The Witchery" in Edinburgh, just next to the Castle, serves a starter oI exquisite
locally cured salmon with Iennel sorbet and a sprinkling oI dill. The icy, savoury joy
oI the sorbet has the peculiar eIIect oI rendering the salmon hot and sweet to the
yearning, proud tastebuds. The discriminating diner will be aware oI cuisine that has
him giggling with delight - this hors d'oeuvre has such an eIIect. When a thing oI
beauty presents itselI in all its splendour and exquisitely wrought symmetry,
sometimes one can only respond with Homeric Iou rire. And 'I conIess that as the
Iollowing eIIect came together, it had me grinning like a twat.

This is not to say that I have discovered perIection, but "Reminiscence" is Ior me
something close enough Ior now. It has its origins in an eIIect by Kenton Knepper to
be Iound on the 'Wonder Words' tapes, and perhaps beyond that in Docc HillIord's
Q&A act that I had seen some time previously. I have taken the notion oI ambiguous
scripts and double-talk used in their eIIects to achieve some proIoundly disturbing
mind reading. The Iirst time I perIormed this at a magic convention, I had a good Iew
magicians and mentalists believe I was doing the real thing. Consider the Iollowing:

A genuine volunteer is taken Irom the audience (this is a parlour eIIect) and gently
hypnotised. Whilst entranced, she chooses an area oI her liIe such as 'Romance',
'Health', 'Travel', 'Finance' and so on, by selecting a tarot-like card that corresponds to
that area. She is told to build in her mind a picture associated with that area, which
may be a memory or constructed Irom her imagination. Once she has a picture, she is
told to step inside it and look around, noting as many details as possible.

Nothing is written down or drawn by the spectator, and she need only answer the
perIormer brieIly Irom her trance-state Irom this point on. The perIormer closes his
eyes too and begins to describe the picture that the spectator is seeing. She conIirms
that the details are correct. Let us imagine that she has picked the 'Romance' card and
is remembering a meal with a boyIriend Irom when she was eighteen. The perIormer
is able to tell her precisely what she is picturing, and such things as the name oI her
boyIriend and the type oI restaurant as he wishes, without using cold reading. Using
hypnotic regression he encourages her to experience the picture more vividly and is
soon able to oIIer staggering detail such as the colour oI the napkins, the music played
in the restaurant and a description oI the waiter. Some oI this inIormation he merely
states and has her conIirm. However, to ensure that the audience does not just think
that she is merely agreeing with whatever he says, he asks questions about the
memory but writes down the answers on a whiteboard or pad, in Iull view oI the
audience beIore she replies.

Once the picture has been accurately described, right down to the last detail, the
perIormer suggests Iurther tests. He asks her to think oI a two-digit number, and then
invites another member oI the audience to join him. The second volunteer is
hypnotised and given the pen and board. A demonstration oI automatic writing
ensues, where this second volunteer allows the pen to move across the board outside
oI consciousness. When the writing is Iinished, the board is turned around to show the
number. The Iirst lady then names the number oI which she was thinking - and it
matches exactly.

Finally the perIormer asks her to think oI a celebrity, and he starts sketching a
caricature on the board, again in Iull view. He Iinishes and the volunteer names the
celebrity oI her choice: the perIormer is correct again. Fin.

This may sound impossible, and indeed I hope that it does. The spectator is not
playing along or acting as a conIederate, and she is genuinely remembering the
inIormation asked Ior. The eIIect can be repeated with a diIIerent spectator who will
oI course think oI an entirely diIIerent event or image. There is no pre-show work,
and the eIIect is extremely strong in perIormance.

The eIIect was born out oI a desire to perIorm mind reading exactly as it should look,
with no compromise in handling or presentation. The means oI deception is, in
essence, rather simple, but there are layers oI secondary deception that bolster the Iirst
and make it impenetrable. Let us look at the methodology, which is almost
synonymous with the presentation.

II she is merely to think oI the inIormation and you are to know it, how can this be
done without genuine mind reading? Answer - tell her what to think. How to do this
without her being in on the trick? Answer - control two eIIects at the same time: in the
Iirst trick, perIormed Ior the audience, you are describing a memory Irom the
spectator's past as described above. In the second, simultaneous trick, perIormed Ior
the individual spectator, the audience is able to pick up correct impressions Irom her,
as she visualises some inIormation that she has been given to remember. The two
eIIects can run together due to the Iact that when hypnotised, the subject on stage has
her eyes closed, and thereIore cannot see your actions that tie in with the words you
speak. Those words will mean two very diIIerent things to the audience on one hand
and the spectator on the other.

So the spectator believes that she is to memorise some inIormation and transmit it to
the audience. Where does she get this inIormation Irom? The card that she removes
Irom the set oI category cards. One card is Iorced. The audience do not see the Iace oI
this card (although they do aIter you've exchanged it), and the subject does not see the
Iaces oI the rest oI the pack. Neither knows oI the discrepancy involved.

The audience sees only cards similar to this:





Whereas your subject sees a card bearing the Iollowing:

ROMANCE: The Italian Restaurant

Remember and visualise all oI this:

It is your 18th BIRTHDAY and you are having a meal with PETER The waiter is
VERY SHORT

There are RED and GREEN NAPKINS on the table. There is NO MUSIC in the
restaurant.


Peter has a BLACK shirt with a large number 22 on it.
FINALLY - Next to the table is a big picture oI WOODY ALLEN.

I Iorce the card by severely rigging the deck. Ten or so cards are made up bearing the
various category headings, and on top oI these rests IiIteen or so blanks that are strung
together through the centre. The Iace card oI the strung packet bears the legend,
"TRAVEL". Between the two sections rests the Iorce card, which is shortened and
narrowed. You must also make this card doublethickness, to avoid the problem oI the
writing showing through during perIormance. When the subject cuts the deck, she will
do so directly to the Iorce in a way that Ieels absolutely natural. On top oI the
assembled deck is placed the real Romance card, which will be top-changed Ior the
subject's one a little later. For the start oI the eIIect, place the Iorce card on the very
top oI the deck, where it must reside Ior now. There is our basic deception.

You must also use a white-board and marker, along with a cloth Ior erasing. In your
right pocket is a duplicate pen with the ink source removed and the nib also empty
and dried up. When you begin the routine, place this pen on the chair just to your
right.


Now we must look at the words used to make it elegant and appear real.

Firstly, a lady is borrowed Irom the audience and hypnotised. In my routine, I have
already hypnotised her Ior the 'LiIt' eIIect, so I can re-induce the state quite quickly. I
look her in the eyes, place my hand on her shoulder, and tell her to look at my eyes
and to Ieel the weight oI her own eyelids. I then switch my Iocus so that I am looking
though her, knowing that this will make her Ieel a
little dissociated, and then start to mirror her blinking, while relaxing myselI Iully.
She is seated and I am standing by her side, so she must look up at me. This means
that her eyes will naturally tire aIter a while. But my non-verbal suggestion given by
my blinking which becomes slow and heavy, and my accompanying encouragement
oI "That's right" and so on as her blinking becomes more laboured, will soon have her
relaxing deeply and closing her eyes. I then gently push her head Iorward and down
and gently push down on her shoulders to slump her Iurther. This will have the eIIect
oI increasing the trance-like state that she is experiencing.

I then remove the cards, which I have oIten wrapped in a handkerchieI to suggest that
they are tarot-like in nature. I use the Iollowing as a basic script as I talk, which will
suggest to the audience that the subject will invent a picture Irom one oI the headings,
while Ior the subject slumped in the chair, I could just as easily be describing cards
that show lists oI inIormation that she is to memorise and visualise.

"People who perIorm psychic readings know that the areas oI concern in people's
lives Iall into some classic and predictable categories. These cards (I begin to casually
display them, peeling oII the cards into my right hand, showing the Iaces) show such
headings, and as you can see, each heading gives you a whole list oI images, and
details that can be visualised to Iorm one picture. 'The Future', 'Finance',
'Dreams'...and so on. (I reach 'Travel' and peel the Iorce card Irom the back onto the
back oI the last oI the category cards.) For example, iI I picked Travel, I would think
oI a recent trip to Germany, the chicken that the stewardess served me Ior lunch, the
coIIee stain on the chair, the bumpy landing in FrankIurt - all these details and images
that I can put together to Iorm one picture."

I walk across to the spectator and place the pile oI cards Iace down on the table. I tell
the subject to open her eyes whilst still remaining in the trance, relaxed and heavy.
She does so, and I instruct her to reach over and cut the pack into two. She does so,
directly to the Iorce. I take the Iorce card Irom the pile and hand it to her, saying,
"Take the card and Iocus on it. Use it to Iorm a picture visualise those details and
images that come under that heading and project it onto the card as iI it were a screen.
This picture is what you will project to the audience, and we shall see how well they
pick it all up.,

A Iew points about this. By telling her to remain in the trance as she opens her eyes,
and by keeping her actions a little laboured by speaking rather slowly to her, the Iact
that she is going to apparently stare at this card will be explained to the audience as
her still sleepy response. Similarly, telling her to project the image onto it and to "not
give anything away by looking around", she will have a motivation in the audience's
eyes Ior looking at the card Ior a long time. In reality, oI course, she is spending time
reading the inIormation written on it. This will now seem perIectly natural to the
audience. However, you now stand in Iront oI her, blocking the audience's view, and
address the audience.

"The rest oI you, please put your Ieet Ilat on the Iloor and your hands on your laps.
Your task is to relax and pick up the images in S's mind. Now, there is nothing
psychic about this. We have all had the experience oI sitting in conversation with a
Iriend and suddenly knowing that they are about to look at their watch and say that
they must be going. How do we know? Because we are in strong rapport with them,
and when in that state it is common to suddenly know what they are about to say or
do. This is the same process. Let your breathing become relaxed, and just allow the
impressions to come into your mind as we do this. Sir, you may also wish to check the
pen and board that I will be using throughout this." I hand someone the pen and
board. All this has given our subject time to visualise the contents oI the list.

I retrieve the props Irom the audience member, and place them on the table. To do so,
however, I Iirst reassemble the cut pack and pick it up in my leIt hand. I take the card
Irom the subject and tell her to allow her eyes to close. In the action oI bringing my
leIt hand to her head, I top change the top card Ior her Iorce card, and leave the real
'Romance' card Iace down on the table. To Iacilitate this, I ensure that she is seated to
my right, and just back a little Irom the table. This way I can walk behind the table to
her, and take the card in my right hand as my leIt comes up to her Iace. The exchange
is done cleanly as the hands pass, with the right hand's card remaining, apparently
stationary throughout. I then drop the new card on the table, and ensure that no clutter
builds up throughout the routine, so that the audience maintains a clear view oI the
card throughout.

The rest is easy, but there are some subtleties that improve the proceedings. I Iirst tell
her that I will ask her some questions about the picture that she has in her mind, but
that I will be very speciIic when I want her to tell me what she sees - otherwise she is
just to answer 'Yes' or 'No'. I begin by asking her to think oI the environment that she
imagines.

"Can you do that Ior me?"

"Yes,

|To audience| "I would like you all to now Iorm a picture in your mind oI where S is
in this picture. I shall write this down: What... is ... the ... place".

|I write 'Italian Restaurant' on the board, pause, and then show it. Remember that you
are trying to create in your volunteer's mind the idea that the audience is picking up
her impressions. She must think that you have written something like 'Where Is The
Place?' on the board and that the audience have Iormed their own answers|

"S, can you tell me the place that you are imagining?"

"A restaurant"

"Is there a particular nationality associated with this restaurant?"

"Italian"

|II you have played this correctly, there will be a massive gasp Irom the audience at
this point, which your volunteer will interpret as their reaction to having all guessed
the location correctly themselves. Remember, she will not be too impressed iI she
thinks that you are divining the inIormation yourselI, and indeed may become
suspicious. ThereIore you must sustain through subtle use oI nonvisual cues, the
notion in her mind that the audience are, as much as possible reacting to their own
success in correctly guessing what she is about to say|

"Italian. PerIect. Thank you. Am I right in thinking that this is not a recent event, but
rather one associated with an earlier time?"

"Yes"

"Please then think oI the time associated with this. I shall write this down. Everybody,
we are now aIter the event or time. I shall write that down."

|I write '18th Birthday' on the board and continue as beIore|

Once it is established that this is an event Irom the past, I can now ask her iI she can
remember the inIormation that I am aIter. When I say, "Ah, there's a waiter in your
picture, yes? Watch him walk past - is there anything about him that you can
remember?" she will understand that I mean "Can you remember Irom the card",
while the audience obviously believe that she is remembering a real event in the past.
This business with the waiter always gets a laugh which was unplanned and
interesting. The Iact that the audience are so engaged in the process that they respond
to the sudden mention oI the waiter with laughter (suggesting, I suppose, possible
Ilirtatious thoughts on the part oI our volunteer), struck me as very positive. The
illusion that we are actually talking about the volunteer's thoughts is made much more
compelling by this bit oI by-play.

By telling her to visualise the picture brightly and vividly, you can give the
impression that you are actually regressing her into the memory. When I ask her to
think about the music, I listen with her Ior a while (moving my eyes Irom side to side
as one does when one listens Ior sounds) and then Irown. I write 'No Music' on the
board, and then ask her what was playing. When she answers the same, I act relieved.

BeIore coming to the colour oI the napkins, I draw another spectator Irom the
audience. I may perIorm the Three oI Diamonds verbal Iorce described elsewhere as a
test with him. II it Iails, I ask Ior someone who did think oI the Three. This is done
very sincerely, as iI I need a responsive type Ior the experiments that lay ahead. I
hypnotise him in a chair to my leIt. He is instructed to imagine a channel between his
mind and the subject's. I tell her to visualise the colour oI the napkins, and aIter some
consideration I ask her iI she has in Iact two colours in her mind. She agrees. I tell the
chap to the leIt to allow the picture oI the napkins to Iorm in his mind, and then I hand
him the pen and board. I tell him to write down the colours that he senses to be
correct. The colours on the card - red and green are the most obvious choices, and
generally he will write those colours on the board. I also ask the audience to allow
their minds to settle on two colours as well, knowing that many oI them will choose
the Iorce colours.

Show what he has written. II he is wrong, I express doubt as to his choice, and say,
"Well, I was getting these colours very strongly. Was anyone else?", while writing
'Red' and 'Green' on the board myselI. Invariably there is a strong aIIirmative response
Irom the audience. Then I ask the subject to name the colours. The audience will now
respond to their own accuracy, Iorgetting the Iact that the recipient volunteer was
wrong. In Iact, this Iailure on his part will increase the audience response to his
correct writing oI the number, which Iollows a little later.

At this point I casually turn to the Iirst subject and say, "I deIinitely Ieel that this is a
romantic meal. Did you pick the Romance card?" (She answers with a 'Yes') "Who
else thought this too?", I ask, as I pick up the card Irom the table and casually wave its
Iace in a gesture. This is a vital convincer. I give them just enough time to begin to
ask procedural questions and then blow the only possible solution out oI the water by
showing the card.

Finally, to the number and celebrity picture. Here, the audience believe that we move
away Irom the Italian Restaurant memory and start working with random ideas. This
is accomplished by the Iollowing. The last item to be written by me is the colour oI
Peter's shirt:

"Can you concentrate on the colour oI Peter's shirt? It's got something on it I believe,
but please think oI the colour."

|I write 'Black' on the board and show the audience. She then names it and I erase it,
with the board Iacing me. My hand with the cloth also holds the pen, and I secretly,
but casually, scribble '22' on the board during the moment oI relaxed attention as the
audience respond to the revelation oI the colour. I then place the board Iace down on
the table and sit down|

"Let's try something diIIerent. S, can you see a 2-digit number in Iront oI you? A 2-
digit number."

|With each '2' I tap her on the shoulder. This may or may not remind her oI the
number, but it will oIIer a very subtle red herring to audience members that are
watching careIully. Obviously, the number 'in Iront oI her is the number on the shirt,
which was mentioned last Ior that reason|


I stand up with the board, and leave my pen on the chair, picking up the empty pen in
its place. I approach the spectator to my leIt and ask him iI he is right- or leIt-handed.
He, remember, is also slumped with his eyes closed. I give him the pen in writing
position, telling him to mind his Iingers on the nib. I give him the board in his other
hand, being obviously careIul not to Ilash the number at the audience. I place his
hands so that the board is upright, steady, and with the nib against it, just below the
number written. I then talk to the audience about automatic writing, explaining that
the trick is to allow the hand to move out oI consciousness. To allow him to do this, I
have him count out loud backwards Irom Iive hundred, and to allow the pen to move
as he does so. Many will Iind this task diIIicult, and may need encouragement. OI
course the point oI this is to deliberately stop them Irom knowing what they have
written. This part oI the routine brought an extra smile to my Iace as I walked around
Bristol planning it.

II I notice that he is perIorming the task well, I tell him that I will click my Iingers and
he will stop counting and Iind that his hand will Ireeze with the pen. This is a nice
touch - suddenly he cannot write. Then I click again, telling him that his hand and
counting will automatically continue.

When I Ieel that enough time has passed, I take the pen Irom him in my right hand,
and the board in my leIt. I sit down, and turn the board around, as my right hand dips
to the chair and exchanges the pen again. I suggest that his writing may not be very
clear, and to clariIy what he has written, I write '22' in brackets underneath the
number. This provides me with an excuse to immediately use the pen, which will
remove any suspicion Irom it should anyone try and backtrack.

The subject names her number as twenty-two and the audience is deeply impressed.
There is always a response oI real awe at this point.

For the Iinale, I say to her, "Finally, can you see a picture oI a celebrity?". To the rest
oI the audience she appears to be thinking oI someone at random, but in reality she is
remembering the Iinal piece oI inIormation Irom the card. Now, I wish her to think
that someone in the audience is going to draw her celebrity - again, this would be
more impressive in her mind than me getting the inIormation. Here's how I do it. I
take the board and pen and stand near the Iront row oI the audience. I tell the group to
allow the image oI a celebrity to Iloat into their minds. I ask, "Have you got a
picture?", but do so in such a way that could mean I was talking to one person. I then
close my eyes and make to draw, but hesitate. I then say to myselI, "Take the pen, and
draw what you see", as iI I am giving myselI instructions to Iocus. My volunteer will
hear this and begin to imagine that I have given the board to someone else. I then start
sketching, but because I am standing so Iar Iorward, she will hear the pen squeaking
Irom the audience and the illusion is conIirmed. Eventually I Iinish the sketch, which
is a caricature oI Woody Allen, presuming I am using the card given above as an
illustration. When I am done, I say, "Well I think I can tell who that is." Handing the
board and pen to someone in the Iront row, I add, "Keep hold oI the board Ior a
minute". I then return to the volunteer.

I say to her, "In a moment I shall awaken you. I would like you to keep the image oI
the celebrity Iirmly in your mind Ior when you are awake. But Iirst I want to thank
you Ior joining in, and to add something very important. When you awaken, a lot oI
people will ask you exactly what you remember Irom all oI this, and they will try and
Iind nut what was going on. Now you'll Iind that you've Iorgotten pretty much
everything, and that anything else is very hazy - but don't be alarmed, this is perIectly
normal. It is standard and normal and comIortable to Iorget all the stuII that we did up
here - to remember to Iorget everything on awakening. 1 just want to tell you that now
so that when people try and make you talk about it, you understand why you've
Iorgotten". This is all said comIortingly, and then I count her awake, ensuring that she
Ieels bright and alert. The business oI waking a subject Iully is extremely important,
and worth spending some time over. Any subject coming out oI a hypnotic experience
should be leIt Ieeling alert and happy.

Now, she will awaken and see the audience member with the pen and board. Clearly
she will believe that he has drawn whatever is upon it. It only remains Ior me to
instruct her to say in a clear voice, the name oI the celebrity on her mind. The
audience responds wildly, as I retrieve the picture Irom the chap at the Iront and show
it all around.

II the subject has responded to the suggestion to Iorget everything, then the miracle
will never be undone. The one person who could alert the audience to the deception
can't remember a thing. The important points in wording the suggestion to Iorget
revolve around the Iirstly that I am not telling her directly to Iorget: the issue is
whether or not it should worry her that she has Iorgotten. The presupposition is that
the inIormation is not remembered. Secondly, I say that people may 'try' to 'make' her
explain what happened. The subtle presupposition here is that they will Iail in doing
so.

One oI the joys oI this routine is that I never know exactly how much she will
remember correctly, or exactly how things will go. I have changed the card many
times to make it as easy as possible Ior her to recall the inIormation upon it, but
occasionally an unIoreseen situation will occur. However, the nature oI the deception
gives me a great escape route. For example, at a recent show, I drew the picture oI
Woody Allen and aIter much build up told the subject to name the celebrity. This was
to be the climax oI the evening. She named Princess Diana. OI course this was a
highly comic moment, as the tension was released Ior everyone. I laughed with the
group, genuinely enjoying the joke, then held up my hand. "Be honest," I said. "Does
Woody Allen ring a bell? Did you have him Iirst and change your mind?" I showed
her the picture. She looked at it and then looked at me with a conIused expression.
"Yeah, 'she replied, "... there was a picture oI Woody Allen in the restaurant next to
the table."

I couldn't have engineered a better climax.

It is important when perIorming this that I believe that I am doing what the audience
believes. That is, I must act it out convincingly, and take the hypnosis seriously. At
the same time, however, I must be careIul not to suggest to the subject that the
audience believes this to be a genuine memory, Ior then she will realise the deception
and Ieel that she is supposed to play along. While this does not damage the eIIect, I
Ieel as a point oI elegance, the subject must be leIt with no idea oI the ambiguity oI
the proceedings. The joy oI perIorming this comes Irom maintaining the two separate
eIIects in a way that is seamless. Some oI the time, the subject will respond well to
the hypnosis and will clearly be experiencing the memory as iI it were real. This is
extremely convincing to the audience. She will smile as I ask her iI the meal is a
romantic one, and talk as iI it were a real memory. This I will milk Ior all it is worth,
and I can encourage her response by telling her to step into the picture and make it
large and vivid around her. The more she Ieels herselI in the picture, the more she will
communicate its reality to the audience.

I have prepared a Iew cards bearing diIIerent inIormation so that I can repeat the
eIIect on a diIIerent date without giving away the method to those that may have seen
it beIore.

This is an extremely strong routine. With it I Iinish my current set, and also this book.