The Devil's Torture Chamber is a magic stage illusion of the classic type involving a female magician's assistant in a large box and is probably best categorised as a penetration or restoration-type illusion.
The Devil's Torture Chamber is a magic stage illusion of the classic type involving a female magician's assistant in a large box and is probably best categorised as a penetration or restoration-type illusion.
The magician presents an upright cabinet that is just big enough to hold a person with a little space above their head. The magician then presents a rack of metal spikes. Spectators are offered the chance to tap the spikes with a metal implement to prove they are real and solid. The spikes are fitted into the top of the cabinet pointing downwards. An assistant is introduced and steps into the cabinet. The door is closed and the spikes are forced downwards using handles that protrude through slots in the side of the cabinet. The implication is that the assistant must have been impaled by the spikes. However the door is opened to reveal the assistant alive and unharmed.
There are several slight variations. Sometimes the assistant carries a string of inflated balloons when he or she steps into the cabinet. These are burst as the spikes descend to give an added audible dimension to the illusion. Another description has a small door opened to show the assistant alive when the spikes are at the bottom of the cabinet; the small door is then closed again and the spikes lifted to the top before the assistant is finally fully revealed. [1]
French magician Don José de Murcia performs a version of this illusion under the title "La Herse Infernal". [2]
The illusion is thought to be the creation of Floyd Thayer, founder of the Thayer Magic Company. Blueprints for it appeared in the Thayer catalog #7 supplement, which dates it to the early 1930s.
Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and other perils, often in combination.
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces.
Harry Bouton Blackstone was a famed stage magician and illusionist of the 20th century. Blackstone was born Harry Bouton in Chicago, Illinois. He began his career as a magician in his teens and was popular through World War II as a USO entertainer. He was often billed as The Great Blackstone. His son Harry Blackstone Jr. also became a famous magician. Blackstone Sr. was aided by his younger brother, Pete Bouton, who was the stage manager in all his shows. Blackstone Sr. was married three times. Blackstone Jr. was his son by his second wife.
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. He is often referred to as one of the world's most successful illusionists, generating in excess of $150 million in tourism revenue for Las Vegas in one year.
The Mismade Girl is a stage illusion, designed by American magician Chuck Jones. It is a variation of the sawing a woman in half illusion.
The Zig-Zag Girl illusion is a stage illusion akin to the more famous sawing a woman in half illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides an assistant into thirds, only to have them emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance completely unharmed.
Jim Steinmeyer is an American author, inventor, and designer of magical illusions and theatrical special effects. He holds four US patents in the field of illusion apparatus, including a modern version of the Pepper's Ghost illusion. Steinmeyer has consulted for many famous magicians, including David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Siegfried and Roy, and Lance Burton.
Scott Penrose is an English magician and magic consultant and is the son of magician John Penrose.
The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mid-air from his ankles with a restraint brace; finally, he is lowered into a glass tank overflowing with water and the restraint is locked to the top of the cell.
The Aztec Lady is a stage illusion designed by British magician Robert Harbin. It is a classic "big box" illusion that involves an assistant in a cabinet and is probably best categorised as a restoration-type illusion.
The Radium Girl is a stage illusion of the classic type involving a female assistant in a large box and is probably best categorised as a penetration or restoration-type illusion. Its origins and history are much less well documented than those of many other "big box" illusions, but some sources indicate it might be one of the earliest examples of that type of trick. References and picture captions indicate it was the creation of British magician and designer Val Walker.
The table of death is a predicament escape that may be regarded as a magic trick or an act of escapology.
A magician's assistant is a performer in a magic act who is not billed as the magician or principal name in the act.
Carter Beats The Devil is a historical mystery thriller novel by Glen David Gold centred on the American stage magician Charles Joseph Carter (1874–1936).
The World's Most Dangerous Magic was the title of two American television specials showcasing illusion and escapology acts, which were made for the NBC network. The first was originally broadcast on 27 April 1998 and the second, titled The World's Most Dangerous Magic 2, was initially aired on 2 May 1999.
Impaled is a classic stage illusion in which a performer appears to be impaled on or by a sword or pole. The name is most commonly associated with an illusion that was created by designer Ken Whitaker in the 1970s and which is sometimes also referred to as "Beyond Belief" or "Impaled Beyond Belief". This version has become part of the stage magic repertoire and has been performed by many of the world's most famous magic acts.
Stage illusions are large-scale magic tricks. As the name implies, stage illusions are distinct from all other types of magic in that they are performed a considerable distance away from the audience, usually on a stage, in order to maintain the illusion. Stage illusions usually use large props and may involve the use of assistants or large animals. Examples of stage illusions include sawing a woman in half and Lady-to-Tiger.
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
The Vanishing Lady is an 1896 French silent trick film directed by Georges Méliès. It features Méliès and Jehanne d'Alcy performing a trick in the manner of a stage illusion, in which D'Alcy disappears into thin air. A skeleton appears in her place before she finally returns for a curtain call.
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