Book Tests in Mentalism & Spiritism

[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.

A Head Full of Books has actually replaced the Hoy book test as my go-to casual mind-reading effect.

Whilst visiting someone's home (or in a bar or coffee shop that has books on the shelves) you ask someone to select any book from their library or off the shelf. He opens the book to any page and reads the first few lines to himself while you look away.

Without touching the book you immediately reveal what he just read! It's that clean.

• Zero memory work.
• Use almost any book, in any language.
• Nothing is written down by the participant or the performer.
• No sleights, finger breaks or other...

Not for those who already have Telepathy Once Removed.

This is the "Concept, Theory and Method" companion for the stand-alone ebooks Thrifty, ABAT and Steroid Telempathy, designed for those competent in one or more of these applications who wants a "Graduate Course" in presentation methods.

(All author proceeds support the woodHenge Wildlife Sanctuary.)

1st edition 2021, PDF 91 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...

Any book - any time

This is a 'stand-alone' application for a completely impromptu demonstration using any novel found at the site or provided by a spectator. This has less potential astonishment impact than Thrifty or Basic but gains in the completely "free choice" area. It features the "Teach Posture" and Beta Framing. This approach is an ideal back-up for the other applications and essential for the completely prepared mystic performer.

(All author proceeds support the woodHenge Wildlife Sanctuary.)

1st edition 2021, PDF 18 pages.

Advancing Mother is a 'progressive' advancement in the revelation of the famous effect, Mother Of All Book Tests (MOABT) by Ted Karmilovich. If you already own a copy of MOABT then Advancing Mother is for you. If you don't, then hopefully this will inspire you to get one for yourself.

Tommy Burnett's thinking will take you down a short but winding road towards the goal of revealing a thought of word. By using Tommy's well thought out system you no longer need to secretly discover the first letter of the word. You can get an immediate hit without asking anything and in most cases get hit after...

"A brilliant and versatile principle that has stood the test of time." Ian Rowland

This is an unbelievable book test. Just imagine taking a modern book; perhaps a best seller in the bookshops right now. The book is genuine and is completely unfaked in any way. You can even ask a member of the audience or perhaps someone on a radio show that you will be talking to, to bring along a copy of the Da Vinci Code or whatever you choose to use. Or you could do this impromptu with any book as long as you have a couple of minutes private time with the book.

You have the book examined and you...

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.

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...

Here is the act exactly as the audience sees it:

The performer asks for the loan of three paperback novels, a piece of paper, and a pen or pencil. The performer says, "I have a feeling about one of you, and I think I have a pretty good idea about something that is going to be significant to you a little later on." The performer then writes something on the paper, folds it up, and hands it to one of the audience members.

Three audience members are now selected to participate in the tests. Participant #1 selects a book, opens it up to a random page and remembers a word. The other participants,...

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...

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...

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...

"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...

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 'stand-alone' application featuring the basic application suitable for a home or business impromptu demonstration. It requires performing competence and experience with either Thrift or ABAT Telempathy and those ebooks for reference. This approach allows for the highest degree of audience engagement and impactful experience.

A Novel Thought ebook is also recommended.

(All author proceeds support the woodHenge Wildlife Sanctuary.)

1st edition 2021, PDF 64 pages.

Like a book test on a postcard.

Epitome is like a book test on a postcard. The theme here is "Greatest Books of All Time". The card supplied to you contains a list of some of the world's greatest books and other related content. The card supplied is about postcard size and can be comfortably carried in your pocket.

You can perform about 15 different effects using the card. And the effects use various combinations of different principles. You do not need any physical books to perform these effects. In fact, you do not need any other props except the card supplied. But this is not for rank...

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...

The Freestyle Book Test is a powerful book test that you can make at home, with practically any book.

"This book test is unlike any other I have seen." - David Regal (review in Genii magazine)

"Wow, very, very impressive. I like the way so much information can be divulged, this info on the mnemonics certainly applies to many, many effects. I am guessing that even if someone does not use the book test, they will walk away with something from this. Good stuff." - Banachek

You display a book that you say you've had for a long time and have even written and doodled inside of it. Throughout the...

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...

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....

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...

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...

The Magazine Memory effect is a highly entertaining, high energy, astounding feat of mental prowess that audiences love. It has been a feature effect for many high profile performers, yet little has been written about the effect until now.

Timothy Hyde has used the routine to close his show for many years. Performing on luxury cruise ships, corporate events and at theatre shows around the world he has explored the routine in great depth.

In the classic form of the effect, pages from a current issue magazine or newspaper are distributed into the audience. Audience members randomly call...

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...

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....

An improvised book-test with a borrowed newspaper.

There are dozens of newspaper tests or predictions, but this one is different, improvised, and will be remembered as hands-off.

• There are no newspaper tears or cuts, no center tear, no peek, no counting, no secret writing, no sleights, no weird procedure, no complex maths or logic or convoluted stuff, etc.
• All you need is a normal borrowed newspaper. No gimmicks, no other props, cards, swami, pens, etc. Nothing else, except ...you... and the secret.

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.

• 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

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...

"Dee shared with me this concept and I must say that is really something smart and revolutionary. Being able to spark your own creativity and let the book fit your persona as performer and not in reverse. I did this years ago with my own book tests (in Spanish) but in here Dee is giving you all that work and much more. I recommend without a doubt this great release." - Pablo Amira (Mentalism Author)

"You should be charging WAY more for this!!" - Alan Rorrison (Consultant for Dynamo & Troy TV shows)

The book test is a classic in mentalism and mental magic. Every professional show demonstrating the power...

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...

This is a 'stand-alone' application as a variation of Thrifty Telempathy for use in a "no-touch" or social distancing environment, to include senior centers and venues with physical disabilities. It features several mechanical forces in place of Beta Framing including the "Manna Concept" that will be new to many performers.

(All author proceeds support the woodHenge Wildlife Sanctuary.)

1st edition 2021, PDF 18 pages.

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...

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...