The Vampire Cards
Effect: The magician shows a deck of cards and a small white pen knife. After demonstrating how he would like a card selected, he hands the knife to a spectator and asks him to stab the deck. This is done and the card lying below the blade, say the Ace of Hearts, is duly noted and placed face down on the table. The magician then proceeds to tell a tale of evil -- the tale of the deadly Vampire Cards. Suddenly the deck grows fangs and springs at the card lying face down on the table. When the card is turned face up, all the color has been drained from it: only black outlines of the pips are seen on the pale pasteboard. The card is turned face down once again. The magician stabs the deck with the pen knife in hopes of killing the deck. The fangs recede, and as he withdraws the blade, we see that the handle is now a brilliant red. Like a blotter: it has soaked up the "blood." This knife is waved gently over the face down card, and the handle changes back to white. When the card is turned face up once again, we see that the red color has passed from the handle and returned to the face of the card.Effect: The magician shows a deck of cards and a small white pen knife. After demonstrating how he would like a card selected, he hands the knife to a spectator and asks him to stab the deck. This is done and the card lying below the blade, say the Ace of Hearts, is duly noted and placed face down on the table. The magician then proceeds to tell a tale of evil -- the tale of the deadly Vampire Cards. Suddenly the deck grows fangs and springs at the card lying face down on the table. When the card is turned face up, all the color has been drained from it: only black outlines of the pips are seen on the pale pasteboard. The card is turned face down once again. The magician stabs the deck with the pen knife in hopes of killing the deck. The fangs recede, and as he withdraws the blade, we see that the handle is now a brilliant red. Like a blotter: it has soaked up the "blood." This knife is waved gently over the face down card, and the handle changes back to white. When the card is turned face up once again, we see that the red color has passed from the handle and returned to the face of the card.
Items: A regular deck, a color changing knife (red/white), a special colorless card. an extra Ace of Hearts, and a set of specially-constructed fangs. Items: A regular deck, a color changing knife (red/white), a special colorless card. an extra Ace of Hearts, and a set of specially-constructed fangs.
The colorless card is made the following way: cover an Ace of Hearts with white contact paper. Trim the edges, and then carefully, in thin black permanent ink, outline the pips and indices of the card. Place this card on top of the deck.
The fangs are most easily made by gluing two playing cards together (face to back) and then tracing and cutting out fangs in the lower half. If you so desire, you may cover the face of this gimmick with white contact paper and add a touch of red on the tips of the fangs for blood.
Place the fanged card about ten cards from the bottom. You will notice that this card can be easily gripped when the deck is held in the left hand, four fingers on one side, thumb on the other side (hold the deck the way you would while performing a glide). With some practice. you can slide the fangs halfway down out of the deck. Try placing the left index finger on the top edge of the deck and pushing the deck down while allowing the tips of your fingers to slide down the outer sides of the deck. This engages the fanged card, and the teeth will slide into view from the bottom of the deck. Place the Ace of Hearts in the middle of the deck, and maintain a break above it.
Performance: Hold the deck in the left hand and exhibit the blade of the gimmicked knife: be extra careful not to flash the red side. Have the spectator stab the deck (horizontally not vertically or they'll impale you) by sliding the blade between the left index and middle fingers.Performance: Hold the deck in the left hand and exhibit the blade of the gimmicked knife: be extra careful not to flash the red side. Have the spectator stab the deck (horizontally not vertically or they'll impale you) by sliding the blade between the left index and middle fingers.
You are now going to perform a rather standard card stab force which can be found lurking in one of the early volumes of Tarbell. Depending upon whether they stabbed above or below the break. you are going to make it appear that they stabbed at the break.
If they stab above, the left index and middle finger firmly curl around the handle as the right hand cuts away or slides away the cards above the break. It will appear that the cards are being lifted from above the blade. Show the card below it.
If they stab below, the right hand holds the deck from above (like in a Hamman), and this time the right index and middle fingers clip the handle. The right hand now cuts and slides upward, taking the cards above the break and the blade in the same action. The result will once again appear that you are merely lifting the cards above the blade. Show the card on top of the left hand's portion.
Deal this card onto the table. Square the deck, and place the Ace face down on top of the deck. Now depending upon your preference, either top change or second deal to substitute the colorless card for the regular Ace. Now patter about the vampire cards. Hold the deck in the left hand and make the fangs appear. Slam the bottom edge of the deck against the face down card on the table: as you do so, let the fangs slide back into the deck. Now turn over the card to show that the "blood" has been drawn from the Hearts. Top change it once again for the ungimmicked Ace, and place it face down on the table.
Now stab the deck yourself. and make the knife handle change red. Place the deck aside, wave the knife over the card, change it back to white, then display the card to show that the color has returned.
Of course, this is less of a trick and more of a bizarre, magical vignette. I must tell you that even I had qualms about performing this at first; I did not know how my audiences would react. However, it is easily one of the most amusing effects I now perform. When those fangs appear, the audience goes nuts.
Ruminations:Ruminations:
1. To set the mood, I always begin this effect with background music playing on a portable cassette: Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor; this music is almost always associated with horror stories, and helps inform the audience that they are going to witness something "most horrible."
2. Patter: I do something rather unique. I always tell the audience that I am going to recreate the scene from my favorite horror movie. I start with an opening monologue from Tennesse William's "The Glass Menagerie." In this play, the narrator, Tom, tells the audience how he is like a magician. It's a nifty dramatic passage which I recite in a very straight-forward and serious manner. Then I swiftly change moods and describe a mock scene from a vampire movie. Later, to help create humor, I use sound effects of wolves howling on tape. I even go so far as to use the latter half of a sound effects tape where the actors carry out the driving of a stake through a "blood banshee's heart." I mouth the words deliberately out-of-sink as I atrociously overact. The net result is quite funny.
3. Have an ungimmicked white knife available and switch it in as you allow your spectator to turn over the card at the end. Then casually place the knife on the table. Due to the bizarre nature of this effect, the misdirection is good enough here for even magicians.
4. If anyone out there can work with metal, I would love to see fangs made out of aluminum, and then painted white and red. Such a gimmick would last a lifetime, and it could turn the entire effect into something new and exciting. Imagine changing the effect into a card stab with a fanged deck: a card is selected, returned and half the deck is spread face down on the table. Suddenly, the remaining half grows fangs and these fangs (like a knife) are used to stab the cards on the table. The selected card is discovered to be impaled on the fangs, but its color has left its face.