2 Easy Magic Tricks That Anyone Can Learn
In The Magicians of Elephant County, Duncan Reyes and Emma Gilbert are two amateur magicians who discover real magic actually exists and it?s up to them to stop the forces of evil from overtaking their town. Well, I?m fresh out real magic, but here are two tricks you can learn that were inspired by my book. And the best part is you only need simple household items to do them!
Duncan?s Mashed Potato Mentalism
In this trick, you?re not only going to find your friend?s card, they?re going to help you do it without even knowing! (Author?s Note: This trick is best performed over dinner, preferably with mashed potatoes.)
Step One: Shuffle a deck of cards. You can even hand it to your friend to shuffle too. When they return the deck to you, glance at the bottom card. Remember it!
Step Two: Hold the deck in your hand, and with your pinkie finger, slide the bottom card down a bit.
Step Three: Start pulling out cards from the bottom, being careful not to grab the one you slid down earlier. Hold the deck in a way so that your friend can?t see what you?re doing. Tell them to say ?Stop? whenever they want. Sometimes they?ll make you go through half the deck, and that?s okay! When they finally say the magic word, slide out the card you glanced at earlier and give it to them. Now you know what their card is and they don?t think there is any possible way you could. This is when it starts to get fun.
Step Four: Have your friend put the card back in the deck and shuffle it again until they are sure their card is mixed in. Take the deck back and look through it. Act frustrated and confused, like you can?t find the card. Pretend that they really stumped a magician of your caliber. As you look through the cards, cut the deck so that their card is on top. Now lay the deck on the table and say you give up.
Step Five: Okay, you didn?t really give up. While they?re laughing at your magical misfortune, dip your finger in some mashed potatoes and glob it on the back of their card, which is now on top of the deck. (Author?s Note: Feel free to use tape or sticky tack if your subject wouldn?t appreciate mashed potatoes smeared on their forehead.) Tell them they are going to find their card and press the deck against their forehead.
Step Six: Now, instruct them to think about their card. Tell them to think really hard, harder than they?ve ever thought before. Carefully pull the deck away, leaving their card stuck right in the middle of their forehead, face out. Tell them to look in the mirror for a surprise.
Emma?s Teleporting Toothpick
Ask your friend if they need a toothpick, then make one magically appear in your hands and then teleport to the other hand. Any idea how this is done? I?ll give you a hint ? two toothpicks. That, plus a little bit of tape, is all you?ll need for this trick to work.
Step One: Tape a toothpick to the back of your thumb, making sure the tip doesn?t stick up past the top of your finger.
Step Two: Now, close your hand in a fist, with your thumb bent down behind your fingers. Here?s a view from the side:
And here?s a view from the front:
Practice opening your hand so the toothpick is concealed behind your thumb, and then returning to the closed position. If you do it fast enough, it will look like you?re pulling it out of thin air!
Step Three: Now, repeat the steps above with your other hand. Hold both hands out so that your friend can?t see either toothpick. From the back, it should look like this:
From the front, it should look like both hands are empty:
Step Four: Grab a toothpick out of the air and begin to hand it to them, then open your hand so it disappears. Look around you, as if the toothpick is floating around your head. With your other hand, reach out and grab it. You can make the toothpick go back and forth from hand to hand as many times as you?d like for instant teleportation!
Depending on the size of your hands, you can experiment with other items, like short pencils or lollipops. Just make sure that your friend can?t see the item from the front when your hand is open.
I hope you?ve enjoyed these magic tricks! If you have other tricks you love to perform with household objects, send me a message at adamperrybooks.com.
About the Author:
Adam Perry lives in Lancaster, PA. The son of an elementary school librarian, he discovered a love of stories at an early age. He has worked as an amateur magician, amusement park mascot, exotic fish salesman, cartoonist, creative director, and now an author. The Magicians of Elephant County is his debut novel. When he isn?t writing, Adam loves practicing new illusions on his wife and two sons, who are rarely fooled.
About the Book:
Best friends Duncan Reyes and Emma Gilbert want to be as great as Harry Houdini someday. But when they discover that their neighborhood witch is more than just a local legend, their dreams of stardom quickly turn into a nightmare. After they (accidentally) steal the witch?s magic wand, the duo uses it to put on an impossible new act ? which draws even more dangerous foes to town in search of their secret. How are these two friends supposed to defeat the powerful dark forces threatening their town? Well, it may just take some sleight-of-hand, a bit of magic?and (allegedly) a little destruction of public property. The Magicians of Elephant County is told through alternating chapters of Duncan?s and Emma?s hilarious witness testimony ? and is paired with full-page artwork of evidence ? as local police try to expose the truth about what really happened in Elephant County.
