Mentalism & Spiritism in Magic & Conjuring: page 25

A collection of twenty-six of the best Living and Dead Tests. Indispensable to the mentalist and providing a wide variety of routines suitable for performance under every possible condition.

A well performed Living and Dead Test can create intense emotions. Please use these effects responsibly. Many of the effects described can be performed one-on-one, in an intimate close-up setting or for a large audience. Several ingenious methods are described. I find the one of method 26 the most clever one. It would sell like hot cakes as a single effect miracle on a DVD for $39.50. I was even tempted...

The Bite is a very useful and subtle principle that allows you to mark billets or cards in a unique and exceedingly clever way. The cool part is that the marking is unknowingly done by the spectators themselves without them knowing what is going on. This is perfect because you can have your back turned to them or even be in another room while they are following your instructions.

This idea is not completely new, but pretty obscure and most likely you will be unfamiliar with it. It was first published by Bob Ostin in his 1974 living and dead test entitled 'Vampire'. Later, Tom Stone published...

"All the items are varied and interesting and make a good collection of strong, practical card magic" – Peter Duffie

"BSBCS is very clever" – Richard Osterlind

"What the hell is an ebook?" – his mum

If you have read Mind Blasters you will have encountered one effect by John Holt. John became gutsy and released his own ebook with a collection of close-up card and mentalism effects. He also describes two moves, an excellent full deck overhand false shuffle and a double lift.

• False Overhand Shuffle
• Twirl Double Lift
• BSBCS: A spectator shuffles a deck, which can be borrowed, the performer turns...

This is the perfect two person act to start with, if you have never performed anything like it. The performers only need to memorize 21 items. In the words of George Armstrong:

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...

Take a bit of “Miraskill,” a twist each of Mirabill and “A View To A Skill” and mix with “Minimal Miraskill.” Between Stewart James, Herb Zarrow, John Bannon and Dr. Bill, you will have one of the strongest effects possible to perform over the telephone.

The good doctor had been seeking a way to perform Mirabill over the phone ever since its release but it seemed impossible. Until now.

Telephone Bill looks and sounds different than any of the above but utilizes James’s original brilliant principle and is every bit as squeaky-clean as Mirabill. Live and in person it is mind bending. But over the phone? Your audience...

Ten wonderful mental magic effects by David Britland. Here is David in his own words:

This is the first in a series of download DVDs dedicated to tricks and routines using ESP cards. This volume 1 features routines by Nick Trost. None of the tricks require any gaffed or gimmicked cards.

Contents:

• TRIPLE ESP DIVINATION: This is a two-phase routine. First, after the deck is shuffled and divided into three packets, three spectators pick a card each. You reveal the three selections. Then, these three cards find three matching pairs.
• THE ULTIMATE CIDENTAQUIN: The deck is shuffled and a spectator picks a card. The deck is then separated into two piles. The cards are mixed according to...

This is the second in a series of download DVDs dedicated to tricks and routines using ESP cards. This volume 2 features routines by Nick Trost.

Contents:

• THE POWER OF THREE: Three predictions are placed on the table. A spectator deals the deck into three packets and the top card of each packet matches the predictions.
• ESP DO AS I DO: A deck is shuffled and cut into two. A spectator picks a card from his half and you a card from your half. They match. You repeat this two more times.
• THE ODD SET: You place six ’sets’ of ESP cards on the table. Even though the spectator has a free selection...

This is the third in a series of download DVDs dedicated to tricks and routines using ESP cards. This volume 3 features routines by Howard Adams.

Cidentaquin is one of my favorite ESP routines. In volume 4 you will find a variation that adds yet another climax. Also, remember that you do not have to use ESP cards for these effects. You could use sets of identical business cards (even possibly impromptu after a business meeting where most people have a stack of business cards with them). Or perhaps use postcards - sets of five cards from well-known cities such as Paris, New York, Sidney, Moscow, Rio -...

This is the fourth in a series of download DVDs dedicated to tricks and routines using ESP cards. This volume 4 features routines by Howard Adams.

Contents:

• PAKATRIA: A spectator picks a card and places it into an envelope. He then shuffles the cards and removes seven cards. You place the envelope on one card. It matches the selection.
• RECYCLER: You remove five cards from the deck. A spectator chooses the order of another set of five symbols. You have predicted the actions of the spectator.
• NAPKAN: Two spectators remove two symbols at random. They then cover one packet with a napkin and from it,...

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....

"ingenious ... innovative ... Probably the best thing about Michael Daniels' Speed Dating eBook is the completeness. If you've thought about learning this feat, you can learn everything you need to know from this book." - Grey Matters: Blog (Scott Cram)

Speed Dating is a refinement to Day for Any Date calculation that Michael Daniels has developed over the last thirty years, and which incorporates some new shortcuts to the mnemonic methods previously published by Bernard Zufall, Harry Lorayne, Will Dexter, and Tony Corinda. It does take quite a bit of initial training but, when mastered, it is very quick...

This is the fifth in a series of download DVDs dedicated to tricks and routines using ESP cards. This volume 5 features routines by a range of famous authors.

Contents:

• SYMBOLICLUE (Werner Miller): A spectator picks a card. The other cards are dealt in four packets and assembled randomly. When you turn over the cards in pairs only four cards match (say four Squares), the fifth symbol is the selected one (Square).
• WHITEWASH (Peter Duffie & Robin Robertson): Four cards with numbers shuffled by a spectator are used to find four symbols (say all Square), that match your prediction. At the end all the other cards are blank. This...

This is the sixth in a series of download DVDs dedicated to tricks and routines using ESP cards. This volume 6 features routines by a range of famous authors.

Contents:

• QUINTUPLICATE COINCIDENCE (Arthur Carter): The deck is shuffled and dealt into five packets. Five cards are placed as predictions. Five spectators shuffle each packet and pick a card each: They match the prediction.
• MENTAL TEKEL (Max Maven): A spectator freely picks a card from a red-backed deck. Your blue-backed card matches the selection.
• A CUT ABOVE (Marcello Truzzi): A 'paper sleeve' containing a piece of paper with...

This is the seventh in a series of download DVDs dedicated to tricks and routines using ESP cards. This volume 7 features routines by Nick Trost.

Contents:

• FACE-TO-FACE COINCIDENCE: You place three cards on the table and these are inserted into the deck by spectators. They find the same symbols.
• ESP SWINDLE: A spectator shuffles the deck at random, yet he’s able to pair all the cards (two Circles, two Squares, etc. all the way through).
• THREE ODD COUPLES: The cards are dealt on the table in pairs and a spectator picks three pairs by placing three coins on them (free choice). These are the only...

Devin Knight's Impossible Devination has the Mentalism community up in arms. It is, quite simply, one of magic's greatest secrets finally revealed after 15 years! A trick that has fooled almost every magician who saw it performed.

Introducing Impossible DEVINation! With it you can reveal a playing card or duplicate a drawing on a business card hidden completely under an opaque plate under test conditions. A spectator selects a card while your back is turned and it is concealed under a plate. You are still able to divine it simply by placing your hands over the plate. There is nothing concealed...

The performer calls attention to three face-down envelopes that are on a table in full view. He says these contain three predictions. The performer then has a playing card freely selected and signed while he looks away; there is no force of any kind. The selected card is then lost in the deck. The deck is given to the participant, who cuts the deck at random and deals three cards face down onto the table. The performer then shows three more envelopes. He places the three dealt cards into these three envelopes, without looking at them. Neither the performer nor the participant knows the identity...

Three Easy Pieces is a collection of three self-working mentalism effects for close-up, especially one-to-one, presentation.

The first effect, The Prisoner, is a variation on a trick and principle first published by Howard Adams. Two sets of five ESP symbols are shuffled and dealt into two face-down piles. The spectator successively eliminates pairs of symbols by spelling out a key phrase as cards are moved from the top to the bottom of either pile – switching piles whenever, and as often, as the spectator wishes. The last pair of symbols is found to be a match. The other four eliminated...

The performer says prior to the show, he jotted down some "Random Thoughts" and place them inside an envelope. He shows the audience this envelope and places it in full view before the effect begins. Any spectator is invited to help. No stooges or pre-show work.

The participant is then shown an ungimmicked sheet of newspaper. The performer then tears that newspaper sheet in half four times resulting in a stack of torn papers. This stack is placed on a table. The spectator then counts down into the packet, using a number that was arrived at by throwing a pair of ungimmicked dice. The number...

To significantly improve on an effect by Max Maven is a hard thing to do for anybody. But David has achieved this feat here with his Coincidence and Fate. One could even say that he has "out-maxed Maven!" - Chris Wasshuber

A shuffled ESP deck is placed on the table. A spectator rolls a pair of dice until satisfied. Using the total on the dice, the spectator deals down into the deck, and places the card at that number off to the side unseen. The deck is reassembled, and a second spectator repeats the process. When the two randomly selected cards are turned over, they match. The performer explains...

All these routines are self-working with no sleight-of-hand whatsoever. The were originally created by Howard Adams.

CONTENTS:

• DUFOBESP: From a packet of cards two symbols are selected. The matching symbols appear face up in another packet.
• ESP 15: You reveal symbol cards selected by two spectators totally at random.
• FOURTEENTOLD: A person selects a symbol. A prediction envelope containing some coins leads to the discovery of a duplicate design.
• VOGNERIAN: Four matching pairs are found by a spectator from a shuffled deck; plus another selected symbol is revealed at the end of the routine.
• PENCOIN:...

Werner Miller is one of the most prolific creators with regards to ESP cards. All these routines are self-working with no sleight-of-hand whatsoever.

CONTENTS:

• ESP TWIZZLER: A symbol is selected and you find a duplicate in a packet of cards.
• MEETING ONE’S MATCH: A card is selected. Two packets of cards are dealt at the same time and only two symbols match and they also match the selection.
• QUAD-CUT VARIATIONS: A beautiful routine (totally impromptu) where you and the spectator find five matching symbols from a shuffled deck.
• AEOLIS PRELUDE: Using a compass you find five different symbols in...

All these routines are performed with a regular deck of ESP cards and with no sleight of hand whatsoever. All tricks explained here were created by Howard Adams.

Contents:

• ELIMINEIGHT: From a deck you predict the selections of four ESP symbols.
• COMPUTERA: A spectator selects three cards. You pick three cards under a napkin. These three cards prove to be duplicates of the spectator’s selected cards.
• PACKETEN ONE: You locate a duplicate of a selected ESP design from a pile covered by a napkin.
• NO OBJECTS: You predict several symbol cards that spectators select.
• ESP NAME 6: Using the name of a...