I believe "Outside the Conventional" is the title of the DVD and, yes Mark, a LOT of the material on that DVD set could be used with a spirit bell.

Great observation! You made me revisit the DVD series.

Of course, combining this with PK Timber and Real Ghost would be great. You could have a full lights on spook show.

Greg

I like this. I see nothing wrong with the slack in the rope in fact, I would think the spirit would simply be flicking that span of rope rather than "grabbing that end" to ring the bell. Flicking the span seems like more the natural action.

And while we're making stuff up, you could also use the terms "Dead Ringer", and "Saved by the Bell" to embellish the spirit bell story.

You can put a artifact on the base. It will not affect the operation of the bell.

Nick

There are some who are not so bright in life; wouldn't they continue being dim, even after going into the light?

Not a bell, but an alarm--and an explosive one at that:

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives......arm.html

A segment of this week's episode of History Detectives (PBS) looks into the history of a peculiar artifact pertaining to the late 19th century grave robbing industry. Miss the show? The transcript is available on the site.... great back-story material there.

(p.s.: Leland, )

Good observation Leland.

Nick

I think that Tim Wisseman's Spirit Telegraph is a more logical method of communicating with the spirit world. It appears to be a device similar to some of Thomas Edison's experiments in this field. You need a backup or bailout for any electronic device. All of them can fail without warning, regardless of the precautions you take.

The other bell-type communication that I like is Ed Fowler's dinner bell. It is not electronic and 100% certain in operation (and not expensive).

Funny how people view the same thing so differently, I felt the string makes the effect even stronger it gives the bell an eerie quality. The hook up is so simple and its function is to simply keep the bell arm suspended. It’s brilliant, my hat’s off to the inventor!

The different spirit bells over the years have each added something, a different look and construction a different working method. What I like about the Wenger Bell is its method is completely unique and the construction is as innocent as it is timeless, it could easily be something from the turn of the century as it could the Renaissance.

Steve

Best to be from the time of the plague or wide spread catatonia....

[quote]On 2009-07-13 12:25, spcarlson wrote:
Funny how people view the same thing so differently, I felt the string makes the effect even stronger it gives the bell an eerie quality. The hook up is so simple and its function is to simply keep the bell arm suspended. It’s brilliant, my hat’s off to the inventor!

Steve

Thanks for the nice comment!

Nick

Not to disappoint all the Doom 'n Gloomers on this thread, but Nick is painting mine circus colors and it is going to be the opener for my flea circus. This is a brilliant construction, and while it sounds like there are some great ghost story justifications swirling around, it can also be used in cheerier environments.

Cheers.

Todd

Here is the first review of the Wenger Spirit Bell by a top pro!


runawayjag wrote:

For what it's worth, here's my review of this wonderful prop:

As I've often written, I won't review anything unless I actually own it. A couple of months ago I reviewed the Zoran Lit Candle Mystery and stated it was one of the best things I've ever seen and that it was perfectly built. Craig Filicetti's Multi Dimensional is another such item. Well, the Wenger Spirit Bell is yet another such item.

I got this and have played with it since receiving it and it is a marvel. I didn't realize the instructions were on a .pdf file, so had no idea how it worked. I emailed Bob and he took care of it right away. It seems like the really fine builders/distributors also understand how important good
customer service is and Bob's ranks right up ther with Zoran and Filicetti. But in the interim, I did discover how to "turn it on". The way the prop was shipped was very reminiscent of how items used to come from Ken Brooke back in the 70's. That is, it had little colored adhesive stickers all over it (three to be exact,) which were teaching aids. I must say, if it were not for those stickers, I would never have found it. Of course, the stickers are to be removed once you are familiar with it.

Despite knowing how to turn it on, it was STILL a mystery to me how it worked. There are no mechanical moving parts to "pull" the string to make the bell ring. And, I assembled it myself, watching Bob's video as a guide, and found nothing out of the ordinary as I did this, so I had absolutely no clue how the bell was invisibly ringing. This was definitely not a case of a hidden magnet causing a metal bell to swing as with most models of this trick. Well, when I got the .pdf file and read the real secrets, I was VERY pleasantly surprised. I have never
seen this mechanical principle before and I would imagine that unless one is an engineer most magicians haven't either. It is amazing and ingenious.

The old Anverdi model, which was the standard for a very long time, used a magnetic field to create the movement, a principle still used by most of the bells made today. This bell does not use magnetism to motivate the bell. But, what really makes this look mysterious is manner in which the bell rings. While the others usually involve a metal bell hanging on a hook of some sort and then swinging a bit to ring, this one, instead has the bell hanging on a nail in a piece of wood. That piece of wood is attached to a simple string and you
actually see that string "pulled" to ring the bell. The bell itself does not swing, the string is "pulled." There seems to be no way that any force could create that action.

The spectator, of course, can examine all the pieces and assemble the unit himself which really conveys fairness. All the parts have been "aged" to look antique and utterly ordinary. The wood parts seem to be simple pieces of wood with holes through them or nails hammered into them. Even on close examination they appear entirely ordinary. They are not, and that is a real tribute to the workmanship and the method.

I don't want to say much more because I don't want to even give a hint to the actual workings, they are that good. This is one of those items that I really hope remains a secret with only those who own one. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen much in magic any more.

I really must say that this, the Wenger Spirit Bell, along with Craig Filicetti's Multi Dimensional and the Zoran Lit Candle Mystery have really restored my faith in ingenious inventors and meticulous builders of great magic. And, to be honest, I think this item is a little underpriced.

If you can afford this, you will not be disappointed and I believe that this will not be collecting dust in your magic drawer or on a shelf as so many magic props do. You'll use this. On a scale of 1 to 10, this one gets 10's all around in every category you can imagine.

LOL ... That is one cool way of using this thing! LOL

You are really thinking outside of the box on this one!

Good job!


Best
Ray

Update: the Wenger Spirit Bell delivery is still in a backorder situation, We're estimating current orders to be delivered in 4-6 weeks.

This delay will probably get longer as I'll be showing the device around at both the LVMI and Magic Live conventions.

So today is probably a very good day to place your order and get in a much shorter line.

Hi
Where can I found the Ed Fowler's Dinner Bell?
Any link?

Thank´s
Ponch

Here is the website; http://carlyletouch.com/PageOne.html

Mike

Thank´s Mike

Ponch