Hi Guys,

I'm not really a spooky and mysterious kind of guy, but I have an upcoming gig where I need to do something in that genre. As many of you might know I own the rights and hand-make the Bob Koch Telekentic Timbers for Palmer Magic. I think this is the perfect effect for the gig I'm doing. I tried the presentation a lot during the recent IBM convention in Scottsdale last week and it was well-received but I think it can be better. I love to story tell and I love to try to stick close to as many facts as possible while performing. I hoping some of you might have suggestions to add to the "facts" of the Winchester Mansion. With the recent release of the major motion picture, a horror film, I think this will land well with my audience. If you have a moment, perhaps you can suggest a line or two to up the tension when I present the effect. As you most likely know the block is self-working so I have all the time in the world to work on the presentation.

Heres what I have so far:

Proposed storyline:

The Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearm magnate William Wirt Winchester is located at 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, California. The Queen Anne Style Victorian mansion is renowned for its size, its architectural curiosities, and its lack of any master building plan. It is a designated California historical landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Since its construction in 1884, the property and mansion were claimed by many to be haunted by the ghosts of those killed with Winchester rifles. Sarah felt that as long as the mansion was being built, no spirits could harm her. Under Winchester’s day-to-day guidance, its “from-the-ground-up” construction proceeded around the clock. That was until September 5, 1922, when a workers disagreement led to the foreman picking up a beer, toasting Sarah, and then setting it down next to a pile of lumber and walking off the work site while telling her she could do the building herself. Sarah Winchester died September 5, 1922, just minutes after the construction ceased.

Using a bottle and one of those unused pieces of wood I will now demonstrate that the spirits still reside in and around the Winchester Mansion!

* I like the presentation so much already I have added it to the product page on my website! lol

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might offer.

-shawn

FYI:

Proof I'm not very spooky, here's my current presentation with a Star Wars theme.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gatOjN2k1M0

I saw this trailer for the Winchester Mansion horror film and knew it was a great fit.
Just watching the wood dropping in the hallways had me feeling creepy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Juc2cL26mg

-shawn

Telling a story is one way to go. And it is a good one. Personally, I would try to tie it to myself a bit more: My grandfather was a spiritualist and collected things he believed to be evidence of spirit contact. While a lot of people don’t believe in ghosts, I’m unwilling to commit to disbelief. Let me show you something he swore was part of Sarah Winchester’s uncompleted mansion...

My favorite presentation for a haunted key (I got mine at a local antique shop) is very simple. “This key has a really interesting story but I have no clue what that story is. Let me show you what I mean. Please read this paper out loud.” On the paper, you have written “let me out,” or “lock the door,” or “please don’t leave me here.” Treat the key like a mysterious treasure. This isn’t a trick, but something you cannot explain but still want to share.

I’m not sure how to get a block of wood to have a story, but there is one there.

Mark Edward used a TK Timber with a whole room full of people concentrating on moving it. It was evidence of the power of the mind when people work together.

I can really only see two approaches with the wood block. Either it is evidence of spirit contact or of telekinesis. But is it a curious demonstration or part of something larger? I would probably use it in a seance setting if I used it at all. In this way, rather than being a single trick, it is a part of building up the mood. Balance it on a bottle. Put a little psi wheel on each end. Call on the spirit to show itself by moving one of the wheels. Wait! Was the one on the left starting to move? Bam! It falls over. Continue the seance, culminating with some sort of spirit writing to get a message. Or, if you have time, use a talking board and let your participants get to know the spirit.

On its own, a block of wood falling over isn’t that amazing. But if you get people really into the premise (seance or mind potential), it acts as a clincher, rather than the main event.

I don’t have a timber, but these are my thoughts about how I would want to apply one if I did.

Patrick

Need to have a reason for having the timber. You could have obtained it from a worker when an older part of the mansion was renovated. The spirit of the mansion is embodied in the wood and it is always seeking its way back. In performance the timber always tilts toward the mansion pointing its way home.

Dr O, introducing the Timber is easy, as tons of unused lumber is piled near the back of the property. Taking a piece was easy. I LOVE the idea that the Timber always leans towards the mansion!