Some say that Haunted key has an obvious solution, and will not fool anyone, and that spectators are just being polite, and not amazed, when they see it.

If anyone has actually used the haunted key with proper buildup, and correct method, then there is no explanation for it.

Of course, as Veron and Tamariz say, that once the spectator has "a explanation" then they will think that's the correct solution, and we must work hard to eliminate all possible explanations from the tricks we do, and that applies to Haunted Key too.

What do you think about it? Does Haunted Key have an obvious solution?

Thanks!

In the hands of a good performer, no one cares about the method, the trick should never be the effect. Acting and staging routines and tricks is what makes the difference between a poor schmock and an artist. If the audience looks for the solution of the trick, well, you have a problem.

I perform the Haunted Key in the service of a narrative, often as a parlor show closer. The audience is always fully on board.

Or course, method matters. If a wannabe performer lets gravity do the work, it will be obvious to many people in the audience. But if one employs the I-------M----R method (I use the Carlyle positioning) and the performance is interesting enough to make it about the effect, people don't even think about method. They often was to see if the key will turn on their palm.

George

This. Just this.
BC

IF, indeed, the key turns as explained by the mid-nineteenth theory posited by Carpenter, the audience would NOT suspect it because . . . they never heard of it. The purported explanation is not widely known at all.

George

My routine "The Key From The Past" is still working since the late 1970s. The whole thing is in The Bigger Book of BOO! available from Lulu.
https://www.lulu.com/shop/lary-kuehn/the......geSize=4

I'm not a particularly good performer but can absolutely guarantee that 99% of participants who have experienced my Prof BC RCGC were not being polite - the words they sometimes say when it moves are definitely not polite especially when it moves in their hand.

When that key moves in the spectator's own hand...

That's pretty darn close to real magic as far as they're concerned!

“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Absolutely. I use the HK to open a seance. Not as an effect, but as part of a ritual and symbolism. That being said, the reactions have always been very strong.

Wow, so glad people are talking about this. First let me say that clearly I agree with others here that it's about the performer and performance, not the effect, etc.

Now let me offer my own blunt, personal take, which is exclusively from my own point of view...I think haunted key is an overrated effect. It's a curiosity which in the hands of a great performer can be a miracle -- but the same could be said for any effect. Truthfully, I think far more spectators than we realize are essentially able to "figure it out."

The best haunted key performance of my life so far was on a date in an old antique shop. I saw a perfect haunted key, picked it up, and started 'feeling its vibrations' and all. When my date looked up at me, I did the effect, and it turned out to be the most perfectly balanced key I'd ever used...the effect was stunning. Unfortunately my date got a bit scared after that as she didn't know I was a magician...

Why was that performance so good though? To me, the answer is context. She was not expecting a magic trick, and it was with an object that we came across organically in an old antique store. Also, as I mentioned, she did not know I was a magician.

This echoes the responses of others above -- it comes down to the individual performance and connection between the performer, the effect, and the spectator. However, I do think that if I were at the bar and pulled this key out of my pocket to show someone magic, a LOT of people would figure it out. It's 2024 and people are more aware about science, illusions, and other various phenomena that baffled audiences 100 years ago. A good magician can make any effect great, and the classics still play, but my own personal opinion about haunted key is that the method is far more transparent today than most magicians would care to admit.

By switching out the key used for an unbalanced one and casually dropping it on the table, if any participant suspects they know the method, they will quickly cancel their suspicions once they try for themselves.

The Resurrection Cemetery Gate Key by Prof BC comes with an identical looking key that does exactly this! If any of you are able to find yourselves a copy, I highly recommend it

The resurrection key is great for control too. The key is best in combination with other effects like Prof's other key effects with the haunted pubs. It adds extra layers.
Was rewatching Docc Hilford's haunted key on the new Alakazam streaming platform. Gave me that reminder of just turning the key around to put the handle in the palm so it can't turn.

For me, the beauty of all magic is it really doesn't need an explanation. It's magic....