Tim,
Just curious, How many of the above names are actually using the effect in working conditions?

Phillip

Oh dear!

All the quotes were about what they think of the effect. All of them saw it done in "real world" situations. They do not need to be doing it to recognise ho wgood it is. (Btw, Bill Malone buoght it on the spot!)

Phillip, the people who you worked for and then wrote to you for your website haven't seen you work in all conditions, so how can you use them to gauge how good *you* are? Just because you were good for them once, doesn't mean you're going to be as good in other situations. You still use them for quotes though!

I know of 7 top working professionals in London who use "Spooked" in the working repertoire; a number of top names in magic say it is excellent; I have seen Nick stun audiences on numerous ocassions with it; I have stunned people with it. That should persuade people it's good, rather than 2 magicians who happened to catch the method one day at a magic convention.

I agree with Jon 100%. These are all people who know what the heck they are talking about. Would a movie critic have to be an actor and be in the film to give his or her thoughts on it? Would an art critic have to be a working artist? Come on…!!! I can tell you Bob Kohler uses it, I can tell you Bill Malone is working on it, Marc DeSouza is working on it, etc.

I am not sure why the urge to put this down. It's a great item period. EVERYTIME I saw Nick do this for magicians he KILLED them and rightly so… it looks like REAL magic. If you don't like it or you think it is too expensive or have some other aversion to it then by all means don't buy it. But I think it's not fair to put down a creative and clever creator such as Nick.

I am surprised anyone puts out anything… you just become open game. Nick is a great guy, great magician, great thinker, etc. I was fortunate enough at FFFF to spend some time with Nick and see some of the other creations he is planning on releasing - brilliant stuff.

Tim Trono

I went back and reviewed all of the posts in this thread and I have to say I am amazed. As magicians aren’t we generally supposed to know what is going on and know secrets generally? So you see something because you know what to look for and that makes it bad?

Please! Some of these posts sound like a layman “I know how he did it, I know how he did it”. Also, haven’t you ever heard a laymen say they know how something was done and “really” have not a clue. This is a very common occurrence.

Phillip, with all due respect I think there is something else going on here and just simply don’t buy it that you hear all kinds of people talking about seeing the method on this. I saw Nick do this in Vegas and at FFFF to some of the best and most knowledgeable magicians in the world and fool them badly. I knew exactly what I was looking for but not once did I see the secret “device”.

I saw Nick do this in all kinds of conditions, in a bar, in a hotel suite, on a casino floor, etc. It constantly killed (VERY real reactions and amazing comments muttered later), it never “showed”, etc.

But again… it amazes me how much “I know, I know” that goes on on these boards. Again… I ask, are we laymen or are we magicians who are SUPPOSED to have an idea. I see this over and over… The Elevator, Silver Shifter, etc. etc. Just in case you don’t know this…. Although YOU may know the method, laymen will still be fooled if it is a competent performance.

Just because you might know how the Invisible Deck works or a thumb tip silk vanish works doesn’t make these items suck… in fact they are great items that will typically blow away a real audience.

Also, there is such a negative tendency on these boards as there is absolutely no responsibility for what one says. Like I said in my last post, creators of magic have become open targets because of these boards. Now granted, if a really bad product or a rip off is released I am all for discussion of these with DETAILS backing up ones’ point. But without providing details, with just providing a blanket statement such as
“this sucks”, etc. I find it to be irresponsible, juvenile, unprofessional, and harmful.

Just imagine you spend years working on an item and release it to the magic community. You have used it over and over to great reaction, you have ironed out every detail, etc. and you release it only to have someone instantly find “something” to bash it on. Don’t you think that would be discouraging and probably make you think twice before releasing anything else? Again, if it is a valid complaint or concern backed with FACTS and DETAILS then it is valid… if it is a blanket statement like we see 90% of the time then it is IRRESPONSIBLE period.

I spoke to one very knowledgeable and well known magician and he had very specific reasons why he preferred a different version of the Haunted Deck effect. Although I disagree with him, at least he could provide sound FACTS to back up his opinion. Not everyone has to like everything but if you are going to POST publicly you owe it to your fellow magicians to take the time, effort, etc. to do so in a careful manner with facts, with thought, and with details.

Tim Trono

In the right hands, at the right time, in the proper setting there is absolutely no doubt that Nick's handling of the haunted deck is a closer. For my money, it's the definitive handling.

Hopefully, most will not want to invest the time and money and will move onto the next great trick that surfaces.

Nick is a pro. The work is top-flight. This one's not a purchase, it's an investment.

Although I'm on the pro-Spooked side of the fence, I do think it's fair to comment on one thing. For a while now I've been working on an hour-long magic show for a festival here. It's basically a one-man story about a magician with a whole lot of magic thrown in. I do not own Spooked but I at least now the basic principle behind it. I think it is so brilliant however that I am considering purchasing it myself and using it as my final effect in the show. My fear however is that the method is revealed. Granted, if I'm performing in the same theatre every night I will be able to completely control my environment. I am still worried though because it's the type of thing that if seen will no doubt spoil the impact of the whole show.

I agree with whoever said that it shouldn't spoil anything unless your general performance was lacking, but not all audiences are as forgiving. All of the effects I have planned on using are extremely strong, and if I end on Spooked (which I feel is the strongest of them all) and the method is spotted, it will lower value of everything else I have performed, no matter how great my presentation is.

In a Michael Ammar lecture video he makes a similar comment. If you are performing effects using ###### (did I spell that correctly?) and somebody spots it, it's all over for you. It is extremely hard to win your audience's respect back when they think "Oh, he's just using ######". This is why for me, the thought of using something like this as a _closer_ is a little scary.

Still, I have no doubt I will wind up buying it and testing it thoroughly before actually performing it. I just wanted to explain that although I do disagree with P.B. Jones' comments, I do understand where he's coming from.

We only have Philip's second hand comments from the family to go on. I'm just theorising but maybe because they had previously seen Nick before, they knew the effect of Spooked so spent less time looking at the trick and more time trying to work out how it could be done, did they catch Nick the first time they saw Spooked? And maybe they did spot the gimmick, but how can we be sure that other groups present did?

I can say that Nick performed this for me at the IBM in Eastbourne last year, and even though I know the method and what to look for I couldn't see it, and it still makes me tingle when that deck cuts itself I have also seen Nick demo this back when I think I am right in saying he wasn't even using the Michael Close hookup, and it still looked really cool...

Also would I be right in saying that the improved and upgraded gimmick would possibly go some way to limiting the exposure due to the improved #####?

I'm staying outa this one! All I know is I have Spooked and am extremely pleased with it. (As I've mentioned once or twice on this board! Oh, and by the way, this may sadden some magicians, but every trick has its limitations!!) I just have a question directly to Mr. Einhorn. I have the original Spooked which I purchased from you. I just wanted to know if it is worth my re-purchasing it for the new gimmick? PM me on this one if you get the time please.

Oh, and one more thing. I'd prefer to have 50 people jump out of their seats and scream and 2 people spot what I was doing and hate me, more then I'd prefer to have 52 people fooled but only mildly impressed with my next foolproof but mundane magic effect.

Where can I see a demo of this? I would like to see it before buying.


Ian

Based on Jon's reputation and the products of his I have, I ordered SPOOKED and it's fantastic. I'd have paid more for it. It's a reputation maker!!!

Thanks Jon, for a working pro's take on the effect!!

Chris

Yes... it was me to say it difficult... but... after reading all the posts above, I am thinking... Did I buy SPOOKED?

Many years ago, I read it from a magazine, actually it's just some papers... I can remember the name Spooked, and Nick, I also can remember the price is like 40 pounds. So are they the same thing??

Could anyone PM me and tell me about it? Thanks a lot.

Michael Lam

I couldn't agree more with you Jon.....
I just add something, I have been doing a haunted deck with 'loops' for a long time and got great reactions. When I saw Luke Jermay perform this it fooled me, I thought it must be some new gimmick in the deck. It was only later when thinking about his handling I figured it out. I DID NOT 'SEE' ANYTHING even though I was about one foot away, and I do loads of ###### work. I think 'Spooked' will be my next purchase when I feel like buying.

My belief is that using this method demands you control either the "where" or the environment you decide to perform it.

There is one simple rule you simply must understand. Your main enemy is reflection. The angle the light source hits the gaff is exactly the same angle the light will reflect away from the gaff.

Generally, just make sure that there isn't a light source behind you and you'll be OK.

An effect as strong as this will certainly drive the audience crazy and force them to try and discover the secret. You need to control the spectators, keep them in the "safe" viewing area and of course, present a miracle of this magnitude with a well though out presentation.

I carry very few items manufactured by others on my web site at http://www.bobkohlemagic.com. Spooked will be one of the exceptions.

That's an excellent piece of advice, Bob. I'll be keeping that in mind.

Two stories from the real world here:

I once found myself booked in a discotheque (aaaargh!) Since patter was not an option here I only performed 3 tricks: CMH, U3F and you guessed it, Spooked. All extremely visual!
After a couple of nights my haunted deck became something of a buzz, so I found myself performing it on the dancefloor one night, (on request mind you) surrounded by some very nice ladies...When the card jumped out of the deck it flew between the foot and the sole of the sandal of a young girl. She screamed like hell and lifted her foot in the air where the card, of course, still hung, visible for everybody. I performed there for 5 weeks and never had to introduce me for groups because I was always introduced by someone who jumped around on one leg, pointing at me...

The other story is that I performed the trick to Dean Dill, in his shoppe. He called it the best card trick he'd seen for a long time and made me do it for every visitor who came in, including his dad. Now one moment, the daughter of one of his closest friends came in and he asked me to show it to her. I could see by the look on her face she had seen a little too much magic in her life but I obliged. When the card flew out and i let her pick up the card and the deck she was silent for a while. Than she giggled and said that magic shurely had evolved since she had last seen a trick...

So, don't buy it. It sucks.

And my nose just became 30 inches taller...

So... I am confused now...
Should I buy it... again?

I have never seen the real performance. Could you please tell me that is it worth to see the performance?

Michael Lam

Two questions...

1. How long will the set-up take?
2. Is it instantly reset-able?

Thanks!

Sounds like a standard method for Haunted Deck but with a Hot Shot Cut at the end??

Unless Daryl has created a new version of the Hot Shot Cut that can be performed with the deck on the floor and you backed far away from it, I think you're mistaken.

He must not have seen the video or read the description.

Actually it's more like a Devano-Deck horizontally with an added Lennart Green Top-Shot only with your thumb two feet from the deck.