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Mystifying Tricks with Water and Glasses

by DALE R. VAN HORN

For entertainment at a party or after dinner you can’t beat these simple tricks, performed with water and glasses. Though they may seem extremely easy, they will sure make spectators sit up and take notice.

THE dinner was over. Talk lagged for a moment. Suddenly Dick, who was playing with his half emptied tumbler, said, “Who can float a needle on water?”
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Secrets of East Indian Magic Exposed

by Beverley Barnes

Famous tricks of Indian magicians—the well-known rope trick, the mango tree stunt, the basket illusion, the ability of fakirs to withstand pain—are not so superhuman as they seem. Science has pulled aside the veil of mystery surrounding these apparently phenomenal performances, and proved most of them , to be accomplished by natural means.
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Houdini’s Master MAGIC TRICKS EXPLAINED

By R. D. ADAMS

The Mechanic Who Made Houdinis Trick Magic Apparatus In response to numerous requests from readers who enjoyed his thrilling articles, concluded in the December Modern Mechanics, telling of the methods by which Houdini, the master magician, performed his tricks, Mr. Adams has given us another interesting “behind the scenes” story. He built much of Houdini’s apparatus.
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“CHANDU” REVEALS HIS MAGIC SECRETS

by HAROLD L. ZIMMER

Will L. Lindhorst, the original Chandu, tells you how to perform feats of magic which have amazed many millions.

THE original charter of the Society of American Magicians on Nov. 5, 1921 gave to Will L. Lindhorst the title of Chandu—a name which today has been made famous by his feats of magic on the stage and by radio broadcasts which have thrilled countless millions.

In this article, I will endeavor to acquaint you with several really worthwhile tricks as Chandu explained them to me. Whether or not you wish to become a magician, the tricks presented here will at least afford many happy hours of fun at home or at parties.
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Mental Mysteries

Why do Diving Rods, Psychic Motors, Ouija Boards, Gold Finding Bobs, Sex Detectors and similar pieces of apparatus function with remarkable results in the hands of some operatives, yet science has proven that these things are fakes?

FOR hundreds of years, people have purchased all sorts of mystic devices for the purpose of foretelling their futures, or jim-cracks intended for the location of oil, water and precious metals.

A common form of mystic locating device is a forked witch-hazel twig, commonly called a devining rod which, in the hands of an operator generally called a “bowser,” has been used for centuries for the location of water. In later years its operatives encompassed wider fields and used the divining rod for locating oil, precious minerals, lost articles, lost airplanes, and even the bodies of people drowned in lakes.
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Making Magic for Magicians

“I know it’s a trick, but who invents all of those gadgets?” you no doubt say as you watch a magician perform. This story tells you about the man who devotes his life to inventing these tricks. .

“With your kind attention, ladies and gentlemen,” says the magician as he arches his Mephistophelian brow, “I shall endeavor to perform one of the most difficult tricks of magic ever seen in this country, or anywhere else in the universe.”

A tense, silent audience is spellbound. Every eye is riveted on every move the magician makes. The dimly-lighted stage adds to the enthralling mystery.
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Magic and Mystery for Party Fun

With little practice this series of stunts can be mastered to provide party guests a delightful evening. Their presentation requires no elaborate apparatus.

SUPPOSING that some evening when invited out to a friend’s house party you were able to stand up before the crowd and hold them spellbound for an hour or more performing mystifying feats of magic. Magical illusions need not be elaborate in order to be effective as you will learn from this group of stunts. A little practice before a mirror and the effectiveness of the magic will even startle you.
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“SPIRIT TELEVISION” – Latest Trick of Fake Spiritualists

QUICK to adapt their technique to modern styles, fake spiritualists have now introduced “psychic television” to cajole money from those who have suffered bereavement. Promised a view of a loved one who has passed away, the medium’s intended victim is seated before a window in a small, ornate cabinet resembling a television receiver. He writes the name of the dead person upon a blank sheet of paper, which is handed to him on a frame and then placed in the machine. The room darkens. A humming sound is heard from the apparatus. Read the rest of this entry »

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Exposing Houdini’s Tricks of Magic

By R. D. ADAMS

The mechanic who made Houdini’s Trick Magic Apparatus

Harry Houdini, Prince of Magicians, carried with him to the grave the secrets of his extraordinary feats of illusion. Only one man, the artisan who made his magic apparatus, knows the working secrets of Houdini’s most mystifying stunts. That man, Mr. R. D. Adams, continues here his fascinating expose of the master magician’s methods.

HOUDINI was a master at the art of obtaining free publicity. No performer ever put on as many free shows for the purpose of breaking into print, and for that matter, few if any, were ever as liberal as he in the matter of entertaining lodges and other groups without charge. Many times he risked death in his publicity seeking stunts. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing says “Chinese Magic” like the Tarbell System!

Chinese Magic
Learn at Home, By Mail! Easily! Quickly!

NOW! — if you act quick!— you can learn magic, real professional magic, direct from the world-famous magic wizard, Dr. Harlan Tarbell, the man who has trained many of our most prominent magicians. He has developed a new simple course, that enables any man or woman who can read or write to learn magic—easily.and quickly, at home, by mail. Why envy others? Make them envy YOU! Learn magic!
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Popular Magic by Dunninger

Joseph Dunninger, celebrated “mentalist” and magician, whose articles appear exclusively in this publication, is the world’s foremost society entertainer, and has appeared before more celebrities than any of his contemporaries. Among those he has mystified are President Franklin D. Roosevelt, ex-Presidents William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, Herbert Hoover and Theodore Roosevelt, H. R. H. Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIM), Thomas A. Edison, etc.

THE weird and astounding effect created by the mystery here described is truly remarkable. Representing a “psychic” manifestation, the trick is far more impressive than many of the better conjuring problems.
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VOODOO DO-IT-YOURSELF

IF YOU know somebody who always beats you at croquet or who likes to swat you on the head and call you, “Old aardvark”—and who doesn’t know someone like that?— then what you need is a voodoo kit. With this you’ll spend many happy hours sticking needles into a little doll and pretending it’s your playmate. Voodoo is West Indian for black magic, which is the art of inflicting pain, sickness, death and bad luck by remote control. Read the rest of this entry »