Note From The Editor:

A big fat thank you to Dr. Lawrence Hass.

-Jeff Stone

. . . and now . . .

Showtime

What follows is a true story-a story about events that took place in 1848 in a very small town in upstate New York.

Mr. John Fox was working in his kitchen late one night when he heard a sound [rap]. How strange. . .who could it be at this time of the night? Grabbing a lantern he went to the front door and opened it. It was dark and the wind was blowing through the trees. . .but there was no one. As he stepped outside to look around, he heard it again [rap]. Now it was coming from inside the house!

Grabbing a club by the front door, John Fox rushed through the house [rap]. The sound was upstairs! He ran up the steps and at the end of the hall one of the bedroom doors was wide open-the room of little Katie, who was six years old.

As he moved down the hall he heard the sound of. . . giggling? He looked inside and there in the middle of the floor was little Katie in her night gown. She reached out and snapped her fingers [snap]. It received a reply [rap]. She did it again, [snap, snap, snap]. In reply, rap, rap. . .RAP]. At that, John Fox burst into the room to see who was here with his daughter. But there was no one at all.

Then, little Katie Fox, six years old, looked up with blazing red eyes and said: “Mr. Splitfoot is here! Mr. Splitfoot!”

Tell me: Have you ever been touched by spirits? Good! They love beginners. Please join me. Name a number between five and ten. Seven? Fine: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Look at your card; I’ll turn away. Examine it thoroughly, and show everyone. Are you done? Place it on top of the deck. Cut the deck and place the bottom half on top.

Little Katie Fox grew up to become one of the leading spirit mediums of her day. This is true. People from all over the country and Europe made pilgrimage to the Fox house in Hydesville, New York. They would pay a nickel to go up to Katie’s room where she had a cabinet into which the spirits would come. This will be our spirit cabinet. The deck is placed into it. . .along with the crayon. Are you ready?

The spirits are called by the flicker of flame and a wish. Spirits are you here?[The candle is lit, the match blown out, followed by the matchbook exploding in flames.]Whoah! I take that as a yes.

Spirits. . .come to us. Spirits. . .leave us a sign. [The spirit cabinet wriggles as though the crayon was picked up and used.]

I think it is done! Look at the cards. Do you see your card in the deck? Point to it. The Five of Clubs! Tell me, do you see another Five of Clubs anywhere in the deck? I want you to be sure of that. Are you sure? I want you to be sure because otherwise you might not believe that. . .the spirits have spoken! [The back of the card is turned over to reveal a spirit word written on it.]

What is Happening

“The Spirits Have Spoken!” had its fledging birth over fifteen years ago when I was exploring different applications for using magician’s wax to make a selected card vanish from the deck. Stephen Minch informs me that this concept probably dates back centuries. After showing Eugene Burger one of these applications, he commented that the vanish and handling would be perfect for a Spirit Writing routine. Eugene also recommended changing the force from the rather Byzantine one I was using at the time. I remember being amazed by the penetration of these suggestions: in seconds Eugene had seen through “the mess” to the kernel and offered excellent theatrical improvements. This ability is one of his many remarkable talents.

Later I had the idea to create a mini-séance out of the piece, incorporating Eugene’s “Spirit Scarf” prop and Jay Inglee’s terrific effect, “Strange Wish” (in Eugene Burger, Strange Ceremonies, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1991). My opening story is a loose, dramatized re-telling of the Fox visitation as recounted in Eugene’s book, Spirit Theater (Kaufman and Greenberg, 1986). While the technical elements for this piece come from diverse sources-my own work, Eugene, and Jay Inglee-I remain pleased with the way the combination of the elements yields a rather powerful piece of close-up theater.

For this piece, the stage must be appropriately set. I use a black tablecloth on the table. The “Spirit Scarf” and crayon are placed on the table, stage left side. A small candle is on the table, downstage center. The deck of cards is face down in the center of the table. A book of matches is set to the left of the scarf. In venues where it is possible, I dim some of the lights for this piece.

Two other bits of advance preparation are required. The matchbook has a small piece of flash paper wrapped around the heads of all the matches, except for one. This flash paper is both locked in place and hidden by the closed matchbook cover; the one lone match is left attached, but placed outside the cover.

Also, the deck of cards is pre-set in the following way. On the duplicate of a non-obvious card in the deck, I use a crayon to write a one-word spirit message on the back. The message I use depends on the occasion and venue. For a heavier final moment, appropriate at, say, a Halloween party, I use “beware,” or Jay Inglee’s “repent.” For a lighter occasion, I often use “BOO!” This message card is placed twelve or thirteen cards up from the bottom of the deck. The duplicate of the message card is placed seven down from the top. One last thing: an indifferent card with a small dab of wax in the middle of the back is placed about fifteen cards from the bottom of the deck. This card has a corner-shorted joker directly above it. I know all this sounds rather involved, but in fact these preparations are easily made. When the time is right to perform the piece, I begin the presentation standing.

“Mr. John Fox was working in his kitchen late one night when he heard a sound [rap].” Here and later, my knuckles rap on the table. The raps, the snaps, and their repetition, add an important theatrical element to the proceedings.

“Tell me: Have you ever been touched by spirits? Good! They love beginners. Please join me. Name a number between five and ten.” At this juncture, after a dramatic pause, the piece shifts from history to the present. If the participant indicates that she has been touched by spirits, I simply leave out the line about beginners. Eugene is well-known for this kind of presentational line: asking an engaging question that moves the presentation forward, no matter what answer is given. As the participant approaches the table, I warmly greet her, and ask for her name and her chosen number. Then she is seated stage right and I sit down as well.

All this activity here helps obscure the force I am in the middle of performing. In Spirit Theater, Eugene refers to it as “A Simple Card Force.” I need the participant to name either six, seven, eight, or nine. One of those numbers will be named nearly every time and it is rather magical just how often seven is selected. When one of those numbers is named, I proceed in the following way to force the seventh card. Six or seven: I count six cards to the table and hand her the seventh. Eight: I count eight cards to the table, two at a time, “two, four, six, eight!”, and give her the top card of the tabled pile. Nine: I repeat the actions for eight, except I count to nine by threes. What happens if she names five or ten? In that case, I use Eugene’s strategy of saying something like, “That’s too easy, between five and ten.” Please trust me when I say that this flies right by and then I get one of my desired numbers. In this context, amidst all the activity, with little presentational emphasis, the force is extremely deceptive for laypeople.

“. . .and show everyone. Are you done? Place it on top of the deck. Cut the deck and place the bottom half on top.” As I turn my back to let the participant freely examine and display her card, the deck is held in right-hand Biddle Grip and my left thumb runs down the inner left corner. At some point my thumb passes the corner short and I stop: the card with the wax on the back is now on top of the bottom portion and the top portion is cut to the bottom of the deck. This leaves the waxed card on top of the deck. After the participant announces she is ready, I turn back-placing the deck on the table-and have her put her card on top of it. The force card is now on top of the waxed card. She cuts the deck once. Because of the location of the message card, three or four below the waxed card, it will not be exposed by her cut.

“This will be our spirit cabinet. The deck is placed into it. . .along with the crayon.” Delivering the first line, the deck is moved to the right side and I relocate the “Spirit Scarf” into the middle of the table. Three corners of the scarf are folded into the middle so that there is one opening left. For precise details of this folding action, see Eugene’s instructions that come with the scarf. The deck is picked up with the right hand and the edges are lightly tapped to square the cards. Then I press on the middle of the deck to make sure the force card adheres to the waxed card and the deck is placed into the scarf. The last corner of the scarf is then folded into the middle. Through practice and precise handling, I know exactly where the wire in the scarf is for later.

“The spirits are called by the flicker of flame and a wish. Spirits are you here?” I now perform Jay Inglee’s “Strange Wish.” That is, on the first line I tear off the exposed match and light it dramatically. I light the candle, pause, and lightly blow out the match. Then, while delivering the second line, I secretly apply the still-hot match head to the flash paper in the matchbook. Performing this action smoothly and without looking takes some practice. But done correctly, after a short pause, the matchbook will burst into flames in my hand. I look surprised, let it burn a moment and say, “Whoah! I take that as a yes.” This brings a good laugh and a moment of relaxation. Then I blow the matchbook out.

“Spirits. . .come to us. Spirits. . .leave us a sign.” Closing my eyes as in a trance-state, I animate the scarf using the technique described by Eugene in his instructions. I am careful to not overdo it; as a general rule animation becomes less magical the longer it goes.

“I think it is done! Let us see. Look at the cards. Do you see your card in the deck? Point to it. The Five of Clubs! Tell me, do you see another Five of Clubs anywhere in the deck? I want you to be sure of that. Are you sure?” The scarf is unfolded and the crayon removed. I look intently at the deck and pick it up, sliding the scarf to the side. It is nothing! Irrelevant! Forgotten! All my attention is on the deck. I spread the deck face up on the table so that the index of every card can be seen. I am slow and fair here: tension and attention are high and one cannot allow the barest hint of false handling. After the participant points to her card, I slide the card out of the deck and place it on her face-up palm. This controls her temptation to grab it, which would ruin the timing. As I ask “Are you sure?”?, I use my fingers to make certain she can see every card on the table. The force card will be stuck to the back of the indifferent card; it will not be noticed. I wait for her to announce she is sure; I want her verbal commitment to confirm the absence of her card for the rest of the audience.

“I want you to be sure because otherwise you might not believe that. . .the spirits have spoken!” Dramatically I reach out and turn over the card on the participant’s palm. I show it to her first so her reaction is in the spotlight, then I display it to the audience as I say the message. Applause cue.

Backstage

For extra touches on Eugene Burger’s “A Simple Card Force,” see Spirit Theater, pages 143-144. For Jay Inglee’s handling of “Strange Wish” see Eugene’s Strange Ceremonies, pages 65-68.

Eugene’s “Spirit Scarf” is a product of exceptional quality and has many uses. On top of that, it comes in plain black and burgundy-finally no paisley!-and it is authorized by Bill Madden, one of the creators of Glorpy. Eugene’s “Spirit Scarf” is available through his website at Magic Beard.