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David de Leon Elite user Sweden 418 Posts |
I have posted this little idea for a routine around death before (not death by the plague per se, but this could perhaps be adapted, or might inspire someone…):
The conversation around the dinner table eventually turns to the topic of death, as it so often seems to do in the present company. I wait and let the conversation flow around me, interjecting comments here and there, feeding the conversation when it needs to be fed. When the mood has turned sufficiently dark I bring out a small flat leather satchel from my pocket and place it on the table in front of me. ”I have something to show you that may interest you.” My friends turn my way, knowing smiles on their lips. ”A good friend gave this to me as a present a few years back.” I take out the mirror and place it on top of the satchel. ”Apparently, at the turn of the century doctors were still using small pocket mirrors, like this one, to determine whether people they found lying prone in the streets were the dead, or merely the sleeping.” ”The mirror would be held above the mouth to catch the warmth and moisture of living breath. That is, if there was living breath to catch.” I gently rub the mirror against my sleeve and then breathe on it. I pause as the condensation clears. ”As you can see I am still quite alive… but you probably knew that already”. I replace the mirror inside its satchel. ”When my friend gave me this he told me the most curious thing. As you wont believe me, I had better show you. To do so I will have to asks one of you a slightly unpleasant question. Paul, yes, Paul, do you think it possible to now the exact hour of one’s death, years before it takes place?” Paul shifts uncomfortably in his seat and mumbles something barely audible. ”Tell me a time that comes to mind, something that feels right to you, or, I should perhaps say, that feels wrong to you". Paul thinks and then tells me that three o’clock would be a fine time to die as that would leave room for both lunch and a nap. ”Three you say. Could one really know such a thing?” I pull the mirror out of its satchel again, holding it gently at my finger tips. I hold it up to Paul’s mouth and ask him to breathe on it. He does, and in the condensation that forms on the surface of the glass, writing can now be seen. It says: No Paul, not 3 o’clock. You will die at 7! The mist on the mirror clears. I replace it in its satchel and put it back in my pocket. |
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Caleb Strange Special user Manchester UK 676 Posts |
David,
I don't know about Paul shifting uncomfortably in his seat, but that certainly got me fretful . Many thanks for sharing! Re: the mirror, I haven't used that particular product, but would it be possible to n.w. it on? (Now, as it happens, I much prefer the mismatch of times in your presentation - far more unsettling and convincing than a 'Dah dah!' 'hit'. But, for future reference, is n.w. possible with that stuff? Or maybe a thimble of demister fabric - spectacles cloth - on a p**l..?) Regards, Caleb Strange.
-- QCiC --
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David de Leon Elite user Sweden 418 Posts |
Caleb, the method for this is still speculation. I was thinking along the lines of a two-sided mirror (an ordinary one prewritten with part of the message; there is a chemical that can be bought for this) and NW writing with wax (that wax might work was suggested by Kaytracy) through a w***** in the satchel/pouch.
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mrmysticmike Elite user Cleveland, Ohio 427 Posts |
I think Robert Neale has a routine in "Tricks of the Imagination" which revolves around the plague.
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Um... "conversation around the dinner table eventually turns to the topic of death..."
Not at my table. The undead and long past like to stay away from that subject. Ancient history and the quiet in the streets at those times does come up every now and then though.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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MentaThought Special user 615 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-10-01 20:57, Jonathan Townsend wrote: Actually, it's likely the streets weren't all that quiet in Europe at the time of the Black Death . . . considering the fact that people were dropping dead in such quick sucession and the fact that most paved streets/roads were made of cobblestones etc. and that the main mode of "mass transit" was the horse-drawn cart, the noise must have been pretty bad -- and especially unnerving, considering the "cargo" being moved -- at times.
"A good mentalist ... will teach you a miracle because he understands the subtleties ..." -- Banachek
"If this works it'll be BEAUTIFUL!" - The Amazing Kreskin on a stunning effect he performed on his 1970s television series (PS: it worked) |
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Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
WR,
Actually, a card effect DOES fit -- or, at least, I think it does. Check out the e-zine Visions (www.online-visions.com) for my monthly Bizarre Bazaar. Go back a few months to a card effect titled The Black Death; the routine is based on Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. It may be what you are looking for. cheers, Peter Marucci |
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Nyama Possessor Veteran user Under the Shade Tree 322 Posts |
WR, I just got David Parr's "A Game Of Life & Death" (link Below) I would HIGHLY recommend it to you! It is one out of only two card tricks I have in my repetoire. You could easily "personalize" this effect (patter wise) to suit your needs, around the Black Plague/Death
-- Krossbearer A Game Of Life & Death http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/pr......p;page=1
The Honorable NYAMA POSSESSOR
Co-Founder & Co-Creator of MAGICAL REALISM, Owner of ANCESTRAL REALM PRODUCTIONS * 17 Year Member of the Shadow Network * ICBM Alumnus * Creator/Author of SUMMONING RUMI and numerous other underground proprietary releases... Books, routines and tools coming soon, available only and exclusively at www.AlchemyMoon.com |
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Lee Darrow V.I.P. Chicago, IL USA 3588 Posts |
One would think that the Blister effect could be modified th the creation of a plague buboe...
Now THAT'S sick! Sorry. As to the "ashes, ashes,"line - it has also been credited to the ashes of the bodies and properties that were burned to cleanse them of the plague. Lee Darrow, C.H.
http://www.leedarrow.com
<BR>"Because NICE Matters!" |
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Caleb Strange Special user Manchester UK 676 Posts |
One more medieval morsel:
For centuries, the cause of the Plague was attributed to 'miasma' - bad air, in this instance. This led to a few interesting things: 1) 'Smelly' industries, such as tanning, were often closed for the duration of the plague. In a city such as Chester, where leather work was integral to the economy, this was disastrous. 2) Paradoxically, middens and cess pits were opened up, the belief being that the smell of the doo-dah would overcome the smell of the plague. 3) If that wasn't enough, noxious fires would be lit that burnt for days. 4) As mentioned previously, beaked plague masks were worn by doctors and other plague workers, containing herbs and spices. 5) In the early years of the plague, the belief went about that much of the disease was caused by the fetid dead walking the streets at night - rotting corpses were rising from the grave, so went the tale, and trailing their miasmic stench about the town. Consequently, bodies were exhumed and mutilated, then often burnt, just to be on the safe side. Guards were also posted about the town. One sobering thought. In near enough every plague book I've read, the final paragraph says something like 'It's happened before, and it (or something worse than it) will happen again'. Atishoo, Cleb Strange.
-- QCiC --
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MentaThought Special user 615 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-10-03 08:25, Caleb Strange wrote: In respect to the 1st and 2nd paragraphs above, and also quite tragically ironically, due to widespread Black Plague Era belief that cats were related to witchcraft who-knows-how-many streetcats were killed which, had they been left alone if not actually encouraged to breed, might have put a dent in the spread of the Plague by killing the rats which harbored the disease-ridden fleas. (On the other hand, presumably it's entirely possible that the fleas could have found a new home on the cats themselves.) As to the 3rd paragraph, a book by a Dr. Leonard Horowitz ("Emerging Viruses," I believe) would tend to support the claims therein. Things such as outbreaks of ebola are arguably more scary than even the bubonic plague.
"A good mentalist ... will teach you a miracle because he understands the subtleties ..." -- Banachek
"If this works it'll be BEAUTIFUL!" - The Amazing Kreskin on a stunning effect he performed on his 1970s television series (PS: it worked) |
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Is the plague when doctors wore those strange leather masks and hats? The beaky ones that look almost like gasmasks in the Bosch painting.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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MentaThought Special user 615 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-10-03 16:43, Jonathan Townsend wrote: Yes it is. Whenever I see drawings of people wearing them I'm kind of reminded of the characters in the old "Spy vs. Spy" series from Mad magazine.
"A good mentalist ... will teach you a miracle because he understands the subtleties ..." -- Banachek
"If this works it'll be BEAUTIFUL!" - The Amazing Kreskin on a stunning effect he performed on his 1970s television series (PS: it worked) |
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