Book Tests in Mentalism & Spiritism

Annemann has created a wonderfully direct telephone book test where he has eliminated faked books, pads, mathematical oddities, forcing decks and the thousand and one "foreign" objects that have been used in combination. He incorporated an Al Baker idea to make this a true miracle. You also get notes added by Kanter's magic shop which further explain various details and important points.

first edition, 1932; 2 pages.

The Snip-Snip Want Ad Test is the a sensational, simplified, baffling and easy to present effect. No switching, palming, sleight of hand or advance preparation is needed. Guard the secret well. I have seen professional mentalists pay $100 and more for secrets far inferior to this. Your audience will not believe it. Neither would you if you were not in on the secret.

Effect: A single column of want ads cut from any newspaper is freely shown. It is not gimmicked or prepared in any way. Holding the strip vertically, you start to snip ads from the bottom of the strip, one at a time, until a spectator...

You will involve five spectators with various tasks. Two persons are first called up. We shall refer to them as 'A' and 'B'. A pack of cards is dropped between them. 'A' is asked to cut the pack and 'B' is told to take half for himself by actual count. 'A' retains the other half.

From this point the mentalist turns his back on the spectators and does NOT face them again until AFTER everything is over.

The two persons are told to deal together from their respective portions of the pack. A THIRD person is asked to act as umpire and to stop the dealing at any point. As an added precaution...

Perhaps the simplest and most sure-fire of all book tests, using three unprepared books. Can be performed as a one-person or two-person test.

The original manuscript sold for the equivalent of $19 when first introduced and has been out of print for years. Now available once again at a very reasonable price as ebook. The author claimed that the bold method and presentation created more favorable talk than anything else he presented. You, too, can create a "buzz" of publicity when you perform it. If working as a two-person effect, there are no codes used. Can use any girl as the medium. A great...

"The easiest and most portable book test to date!" - Erik Jansson

The iPhone has loads of apps designed to do magic in the app store but there is one problem. None of them really are organic. As soon as you performed one of these effects with the phone everyone screams: "Its an app! Very clever but its an app". So here is one of the most organic apps on the market.

You show the spectator an ebook on your phone and run through how it works (scrolling etc,) for them... You let them see that every single page is different before you have a page randomly selected. You hold the phone...

How a page is forced during a book test is the most important part of the test. Unfortunately, most page forces are sadly lacking. Most appear contrived. Dice are rolled to determine page numbers, playing cards are used or math is used to determine a random number. This not what a real mind reader would do.

Other methods involve mis-calling numbers. If the audience realizes that the mentalist knows the page number, then the effect has dropped a few levels. Many people have read in books about secret cue lists and realize if the mentalist knows the page number, then he may have memorized the...

A presentation for any book test that uses the flashback method.

Have you heard of the Bookbearer? This is a storytelling, bizarre presentation to be used with any book with the "flashback" principle. If you own such a book, you could use this.

I see many performers using such books, some presentations are good, but most are not as they merely riffle the pages, tell the subject to stop them and remember the first word on the page, and then reveal it. Bah. Here you will tell the brief story of the Bookbearer, and in the end, either subtly suggest you're the actual Bookbearer. Or that you're...

Book tests are a staple in the repertoires of mentalists and are very effective in a performance of mentalism (see David's Bookworm Act). However, for magicians the effect can be rather lack luster as nothing visual happens. There is very little or even no "magic" when it comes to a standard book test.

David Devlin's Contact is not a book test in the traditional sense. It is a book test designed for the magician. It is a book test of sorts with a séance themed presentation. It is through the book itself that the performer will make contact with the "spirits". The presentation is rather spooky; however...

This routine has been part of my act for the last 20 years. An easy and novel way of performing a magazine test without any specially printed magazines, duplicate pages, external cue lists, or memory work. All you need are two magazines that you can get in any grocery store. A spectator chooses one of them and another spectator calls out a page number. He turns to the page and notes the first word on the page. The performer then reveals the word with NO FISHING or can show it was previously predicted on a white board. No secret peeks or sleights, it's self-contained and so easy to do. You will...

Important: These are not directions for making this yourself. These are the directions that came with this trick that sold for $150. 00. This PDF is designed for collectors who may have the props, but no directions, magic historians, and those simply curious as to how this trick was done. Well worth the small price just to see how this incredible trick was accomplished. Considered by reviewers to be the best trick Devin Knight ever released.

Two participants secretly choose words from a "real vocabulary book" containing hundreds of words. There are no duplicate words in the book's word list....

The real secrets on how to become the greatest magician in the world. Dedicated to the discerning conjurors, the cheaters, the liars, and all other lost souls - whatever age, who want to impress, manipulate, and magish other people for profit, fun, or just entertainment.

Included is a very clever and creative book test, for all of you who require a strong effect to justify the purchase.

The truth is delivered as a satire, which makes it a fun read, but at the same time delivers a profoundly deep and true message.

• About the Author
• Part One
  • Introduction
  • The Basic Principles
  • The...

No prizes for guessing who it was that did more to popularize mentalism than anyone else. Certainly, a steady stream of impressive performers and writers have kept the kettle boiling over the years, but it was Theo Annemann who, beginning in the first half of the twentieth century, set the pace with ingenious methods and presentations that still influence material today.

He wrote: "It is my theory that any effect to be successful must first be founded upon a simple method, and then be performed with a direct, to-the-point presentation." Hard to disagree with a compelling narrative such as this.

Australia's...

A seemingly "impossible" book test.

George Arrowsmith wrote:

• The Ghost of the Unborn
• The Master of the Word
• The Adonis Book Test
• Adonis, Aphrodite and Zeus
• Fifth Row Center Aisle
• The Shades of Thought
• The Uninvited
• Forcing the Word
• Forcing Three Words
• The Book Mark

23 pages

A unique and popular subject like the Book Test is analyzed here in 20 routines by such great contributors as: Ian Adair, Howard Adams, Len Belcher, Tan Hock Chuan, Rachel Colombini, Tom Craven, Maurice Fogel, Karrell Fox, Karl Fulves, Richard Himber, Arthur Setterington, Walter Sleight and Nick Trost.

In the standard effect (sometimes done as a prediction) a spectator opens a book to a page and concentrates on a word (or three words or a full line). The mentalist, standing some distance away, is able to reveal the word the spectator is thinking of. Of course, as per many classics, variations abound and Rachel has tried to keep this variety...

CONTRIBUTORS:

• MAGAZINE TEST (Someeran)
• FORCED SIGNAL (Rachel Colombini)
• ASTRO BOOK TEST (Rex Taylor)
• NEWSPAPER MIRACLE (Arthur Carter)
• EVERY WORD-EVERY PAGE BOOK TEST (Ian Adair)
• SIMPLAMENTAL BOOK TEST (Karrell Fox)
• BOOK - BELL - CANDLE (Floyd Shotts)
• ONE-HANDED BOOK TEST PREDICTION (Ian Adair)
• BOOKMARK MENTALISM (Graham Reed)
• THE ROVI BOOK TEST (Ivor Parry)
• PAGE 98 - 14TH LINE (Werner Miller)
• THE TURN-OVER BOOK TEST (Stephen Tucker)
• THE S.R.R. BOOK TEST (Arthur Setterington)
• SIX-SELECTION (Paul Daniels)
• PSYCHO BOOK TEST (Bob Gill)
• TWO-FIGURE BOOK TEST (Rex Taylor)
• DIRECT BOOK TEST (Arthur Carter)
• THREE-DICE BOOK DIVINATION (John Bragoli) ...

Genesis: In the beginning there was Mick Ayres' award winning RhymeTime.

In 2002, Mick Ayre's won a Linking Ring Award for Mentalism from the International Brotherhood of Magicians for his effect RhymeTime:

At the end (of his wonderful manuscript), Mick wrote: "I feel...

Trinities is a two-phase mind-reading routine. In the first phase, the mentalist correctly divines attributes (colour, suit, value) of playing cards which the spectator has shuffled, dealt and covered with his hands while the mentalist has turned away. In the second phase, which can be performed alone, the spectator forms a page number by combining the values of freely selected cards from the deck. Without the mentalist seeing, the spectator then opens up and freely examines an eBook (standard PDF) from a collection of classic literary works stored on a computer, eBook reader or smartphone....

A spectator is handed a theatrical review sheet and is asked to choose one of the hundreds of words that make up the various articles. There is no restriction of choice and the word is not written down. It is merely thought of by the spectator.

When the spectator is ready the mentalist begins to concentrate and slowly, letter by letter, reveals the mentally chosen word. It is that direct. A spectator things of a word and you reveal it. The spectator can choose a different word and you can repeat the effect right away.

Simple to learn, simple to perform, devastating in effect. What more...

An easy-to-make and easy to perform version of a book reading test. You can not only tell them the word they're thinking of, but you can even tell them how many characters are in the word - and it's all easy. No forcing.

One of the more difficult tasks facing magicians is coming up with scripts - of any sort. And explaining why someone is picking a word from a dictionary so that you can read their mind is - at best - difficult.

Well, the author of How To Write A Script used his methodology to write a script that successfully explains - and conceals the secret - to perform the dictionary test. He even explains...

Effect: The book of love poems may be given for examination, opened at any page by a spectator, and whatever the number of the page is selected, spectator counts the words of this number and remembers same. Performer then picks up a paper and pencil, and predicts the word selected. This can be repeated with a different word.

Note: You will receive the force book (Anthology of Love Poems by S. Wynne Burne) as PDF. The easiest way to use it is to load it onto a phone, tablet or eReader and present it that way in electronic form to the spectators. Alternatively you can print and bind it at a...

A super baffling book test that can be done with books in any language.

The effect is that the mentalist shows a copy of a recent ungimmicked New York Times bestseller and hands this to any spectator (no stooge). Another person, (again, no stooge) decides on the page to be used. The first spectator secretly underlines with a pencil a word on the page, closes the book and retains it.

Without touching the book or asking a single question, the mentalist circles the identical word in an ungimmicked dictionary and hands it to a member of the audience for verification. The dictionary is handed...

This is a digital reproduction of a progressive anagram based book test. It includes a handwritten letter by Stanley Collins to a Will, the instructions, and the force book titled A Holiday in Morocco by S. Martin.

Effect: Spectator chooses three cards from a deck of cards. The first card determines the page, the second the line number, and the third the word. Spectator looks up the word in A Holiday in Morroco book. You are able to determine the chosen word letter by letter. Stanley Collins uses an alphabet deck to reveal each letter.

1st edition ~1920; PDF 21 pages.

Here are 12 more unique, mind-blowing Bob Hummer stunts for magicians and mentalists. Includes four separate effects and manuscripts, edited into a single compilation.

From the brilliant mind of Bob Hummer comes this tasty second helping of mental and magic effects using cards, coins, a magazine and even an ungimmicked Bible. These offerings were originally sold in manuscript form and are now out of print. Now you can get them all in this updated and corrected compilation. Each of these miracles seems utterly impossible, yet they work every time.

CONTENTS

• Foreword (B. W. McCarron) ...

Blockbuster Book Test is a movie theme book test that can be performed close-up, table hopping, in a children's show or on stage. There are several live performances followed by a full explanation of the variation principles used. There are three stages to my routine including a quick flashback revelation, a first letter type reveal, and a prediction ending.

The book can be purchased from most book shops including Amazon and can be fully examined. Furthermore, the movie title is in an extremely large font making it easy to read without glasses and from a distance. The movie revelation allows...

A book test, a 3-card trick, and a 5-envelope impossible selection routine - all self-working.

A prediction envelope is placed on the table, along with the performer's favorite novel. The spectator is handed a magazine that has had the staples removed and is asked to select any one of the double pages she likes. It's a free choice. She is then asked to add all the page numbers together. Let's say the number totals 170. She turns to page 170 in the novel ... and the prediction reveals which city is mentioned, the make of car which is talked about, and the unusual word on line 4! In fact,...

Two for the price of one here as with Credit Transfer you get a mental effect and a piece of magic together. A borrowed credit card is slipped into a small envelope. Two paperback books are shown and the pages are riffled of one of the books until a spectator calls 'stop'. The credit card in the envelope is dropped into the book to mark the place. The second book is now opened to reveal an envelope is already inside it, and the page it rests on turns out to match the page just selected in the first book. Then the credit card vanishes from the envelope in the first book and arrives inside the...

Make It Yourself with this PDF.

Mentalist tells the audience that before the show, he gave a lady a dictionary, a red crayon and an envelope. He asked her to secretly circle a word and to seal the dictionary in the envelope. She was instructed to tell nobody the word, nor let anyone tamper with the envelope. He says this envelope is still in the audience.

When it's time to perform this effect, the Mentalist calls two people on stage.

The sealed envelope with dictionary is then retrieved by one of the spectators who holds on to it in full view. The Mentalist picks up a 300 page book...

This is a wonderful collection of some of the best mental magic published in The Gen.

CONTENTS:

Section One - Predictions

• The 100% Prediction (Punx)
• Total Prediction (Gerald Kosky)
• The Direct Prediction (John Rice)
• Note and the Jar (Tom Sellers)
• Phenomenal Forecast (Jack Cook)
• The One-man Full-Vu Prediction (Ken De Courcy)
• Mental Flashes (Dr. Stanley Jaks)
• The Patient Telepath (Peter Warlock)
• Novelty Dice Prediction (Tom Sellers)
• Predicted From the Papers (Tom Sellers)
• Super Forethought (Cyro)

• Unique Book Test (Harry Stanley)
• Magazine Test (Ali Bongo)
• Danson's Book Test (Ted Danson)
• A Telephone Directory Test (Eric...

Book tests comprise some of the most stunning effects in the mentalist's arsenal. Here, completely explained, are many of the cleverest, most transparent mental demonstrations ever assembled.

Selling for the equivalent of over $50 in today's buying power when it was first released, this manuscript contains some of the most jealously guarded secrets ever developed for apparently reading the minds of your spectators in a clear, convincing manner.

Not just bare bones descriptions, Hull provides complete patter and the thought behind the workings for several outstanding tests using books...

This is one of the most amazing things you will ever see. Looks like real mind-reading. A spectator is given a copy of a newspaper. It can be your local paper. The paper is not gimmicked in any way. The spectator chooses a paragraph from the front page. No force. He reads the first few words and spells each word to himself. The magician instantly reveals the words the person read. This is a little-known principle that Al Mann developed in 1979 that will fool magicians.

It's a show-stopper. Use any newspaper. No pre-show, done on the spot with any person. Can be done long-distance over zoom calls....

Here you will find the history, method, and routine of the famous Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine book test developed by Richard Himber and staged to perfection by Stanley Jaks.

This Ellery Queen booklet from 1951 can occasionally still be found second-hand in its original edition. This means that nothing stands in the way of a faithful re-enactment of this effect.

1st edition 2024, PDF 20 pages.

This is a totally impromptu book test. It requires no gimmicks and can be done with virtually any book (hard cover or soft cover). There is also no setup. You do not need to have access to the book beforehand. And still you can reveal Any Word on Any Page.

Picture somebody choosing any book, from their own bookshelf. Then they open their book to any page they please and freely select any word. There are no forces and the choice of page and word is entirely free. That's what A.W.A.P. stands for. Any word any page.

You amaze them by revealing the word one letter at a time! This is a very...

This is an ebook test. Yes, not a book test done with actual paper copies, but rather a book test done with ebooks, PDF ebooks that is. The advantage here is that you can perform it wherever you have your smartphone, tablet or iPad with you. (For another ebook test see Dracula Ebook Test.)

Effect: A spectator selects any one of seven ebooks, turns to the page of his/her choice as you look away. The spectator concentrates on one word and you name it, even though you don't know the page and there is no fishing.

You will get the following ebooks:

• "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
• "Around the World...

What Happens:

The mentalist displays four or five current popular magazines. They are handed out and freely examined. One is chosen by an audience member and he or she is asked to peruse the magazine. Next they are asked to decide on a page with lots of text, they do so and proceed to remove the page from the magazine. This is repeated with the other magazines until there are four or five random pages from each magazine.

Next the audience member's with their respective pages are instructed to turn them landscape and tear them in half. Place the two pieces together and repeat, and repeat...

[Note: This book test uses adult material.]

Nic Holson brings you a comedy book test unlike any other based upon the literary success of EL James 50 Shades of Grey and the soon to be released film of the same title.

A thought reading demonstration seems to have gone hilariously wrong - yet despite the odds being against you, all comes good when you show the very same prediction to your spectator with no switching!

• Method can be adapted to other book tests
• Close up, Parlor, Stage
• Comedy script included
• Un-gimmicked books used

1st edition 2015, 37 pages.

Canastos is one of these few book test predictions, which you can perform anytime, anywhere and with anyone. Once you have learned Canastos, you can perform an impromptu miracle wherever you go.

The performer invites a spectator to take part in his experiment. The performer hands a spectator an envelope and asks them to make sure it is never touched by the performer again. The spectator is also given a book to inspect and to make sure that every page is different with nothing else written down except the text itself.

The performer takes the book back and riffles through the pages until...