Blacks Magic Shop

The Man Who Knew Too Much
by Alexander Black and Troy Cherry

The Man Who Knew Too Much collection of mysteries was written by Chesterton in 1922. The eight adventures feature the activities of British sleuth Horne Fisher, the man who knew too much, and his best and most trusted friend Harold March.

Imagine this: you pick up The Man Who Knew Too Much and hand it out to be examined. You have an audience member thumb through the pages, tell you how many are in the book, and perhaps even hand it out to others to look out too as you explain that one of the moral dilemmas of having the ability to read minds is that you simply “know too much” about people. But rather than reading her mind directly, you’ve found it is safer to just have her read a book and then project it to you. (more…)

This professionally made book test is designed to surpass all of the book tests we have made thus far in terms of functionality and utility. It is another recognizable classic book that can adore your book shelves and sit innocently in plain sight to be used to create a magical mind reading effect that will leave people gasping in disbelief.

Imagine this: you pick up The War of the Worlds and hand it out to be examined. You have an audience member thumb through the pages, tell you how many are in the book, and perhaps even hand it out to others to look out too as you explain that one of the moral dilemmas of having the ability to read minds is that you simply “know too much” about people. But rather than reading her mind directly, you’ve found it is safer to just have her read a book and then project it to you. (more…)

Any two books are freely chosen. You never see or handle them until the participant puts one in your hand. This can be done anywhere, anytime, with anyone. In fact, it has been! When IBT was first being developed, one of our friends performed it in a book store for someone. The result was so powerful, being able to pick any two books from anywhere in the store, that the participant was visibly shaken!

There is no pre-work, no set-up, no instant stooges, no gaffed books, you don’t have to be a speed reader, she gets to make a totally free choice and after a suitable build up, you instantly reveal the word!

Additional Routines & Suggestions By:
Andrew Gerard, Dr. Bill Cushman, Greg Arce and Richard Osterlind (more…)

Christmas Carol Test
by A. Black and T. Cherry

It is that time of the year again!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of the all-time best selling classic books about the holiday season ever written and now, for the first time ever, it is also a professionally designed book test! Here’s the best part… it is TOTALLY readable from front to back; you’ll NEVER find the gaff. Yet, there it is, right in the text, on ever single page; powerful, simple, and immediately useable by novice and expert alike.

A spectator freely selects any page and you know the first word on the page. It’s that simple and direct. No questions asked and nothing is written down. There are no page forces and you never know the page number.

This is the perfect book test for walk around performances because there are only two steps; the spectator chooses the page and you divine the first word without hesitation. There is nothing to memorize and you don’t need any information from the spectator! There is no pumping, no forces, nothing. (more…)

Sherlock Holmes Inductive Test
by A. Black and T. Cherry

This wonderful looking book, a classic of English literature recognized and enjoyed all over the world, can now be a part of your library of specially made books that help you perform wonders for friends, colleagues, or any audience you’re performing for. It can be anyone! Though you can perform with this book on its own, the genius of the gaff enables you to use this book in conjunction with any other book of your choice, gaffed or not!

Here’s how it works: the mentalist or magician talks about how Sherlock Holmes was one of the all-time best detectives in history. The performer explains how this Victorian age CSI expert would use his five senses to discover clues and induce facts that would ultimately lead him to solve crimes that stumped the famous Scotland Yard and stopped them dead in their tracks.

This person is then asked to look through the book and tell the audience how many pages there are. With nearly 300 pages to choose from, this participant is asked to choose one at random and WITHOUT LOOKING. It is a totally free choice! (more…)

X3 ~ Hoy Book Test Revisited

David Hoy (who performed as Dr. Faust) was a wonderful man who started out wanting to be an evangelist but turned to the world of magic and mentalism instead. Hoy believed that the best effects could be achieved by the most simple and direct methods, and we agree with him. In fact, many of today’s top mentalists have been greatly influenced by Hoy’s bold approach to the art; his contributions are legend.

So, we wanted to pay homage to the late David Hoy by revisiting his work-enter our newest creation for the magic community, X3. Similar to two of his time-honored creations, X3’s genius lays in its simplicity too; it is so simple that you’ll have a blast coming up with wonderful ways to use it in your act; it is that powerful. (more…)

Dracula Book Test
by Black’s Magic

The unsurpassable stage, parlor, and yes, even close-up impromptu book test!

Not all book tests are created equal. Unlike other so called book tests, this is a real book; it even has an ISBN. This is the actual 1897 version of Dracula by Bram Stoker, except for the devilishly cleaver gaff woven into its 440 pages of text. Everybody knows Dracula, which means they will never suspect it. (more…)