talkmagic.co.uk

Hey everyone,

So I joined this forum over a year ago and I have been a lurker for most of the time, searching reviews and such as my post count suggests. I've been fascinated by magic since I was 8 (about ten years now I suppose) working mostly with cards, getting caught up in the idea of street magic. I have put magic on hold for the last year while I was a levels and have now decided to take a year off before university and one of my goals is to further my study of magic.

I really hate to drag and hope I haven't lost you thus far, but without going into detail I've always been an avid fan of there paranormal and the mysterious. An atheist and skeptic by nature, I've never truly believed in many of these 'occurrences' as the result of supernatural forces, but I never underestimated people's reactions to them (and sometimes my own). It was only recently that I discovered the concept of 'Bizarre Magic' and I love the ideas behind it. I've always loved acting and speaking to people and have been told I can captivate an audience and keep them at a constant level of suspense. I would really love to explore this area of magic.

I suppose the kind of presentation I would be interested in would be, obviously, involving the paranormal and old but infamous stories of mythological beings (be it the devil, vampires, ghosts, demons, etc) but without touching too much on ancient cultures (eg Egyptian, Sumeria, etc). I've looked into the writings of John Dee and other occultists and their stories and 'findings' fascinate me. I'm yet to discover a character I could portray while doing my magic, but I feel im too young to act as an intimidating and frightening figure. Perhaps as an occultist of some kind, or a drop out of the Catholic church's priest training program who has leagued with the devil, or something similar. I have lots of time to develop this idea as I work on my act I'm sure.

I'm coming to you to help me with the idea of my character yes, but first and foremost I'm trying to find out where to start. I see many people here suggest the work of Black Hart and I have gone through his site and really like it. My question is based on some of the information I have provided, what could I pick up without investing a massive amount of money into it incase it turns out this isn't exactly up my ally? I understand the importance of setting, persona and atmosphere but any direction you could point me in would be great.

Thanks for reading all of that!
Cheers.

Ok, there are those that call themselves "skeptics" simply because they want to doubt something and then we have the more closed minded Cynics that wouldn't believe in the Boogieman if he were in the process of digesting them. However, there are those like myself that are genuine skeptics that leave the door cracked a bit for possibility and more importantly, offer a less insulting mode of perspective to the believer that kind of neuters the whole supernatural thing but not completely, I just give them a bone to chew on that frequently proves a positive thing. That said, let's get you rolling on the whole Bizarre side of things.

Depending on how "dark" you want to design your character and image, you will want to dive into the old occult books as well as the more recently published. The biggest reason for this centers on being able to speak the language of those who are involved with such things and actually come off as being a legit (at least to some degree) "authority" on things. The other thing you will want to do is take some acting courses, even get involved with your local civic theater; Bizarre Magick is highly dependent on a kind of "purity" when it comes to theater and the art of the orator (storyteller & speaker). So do yourself a huge favor and get the foundation rather than running out and thinking you know best like so many others. In short, 99.99% of Bizarre Performers STINK! They like to hear themselves talk but they do not take proper direction or seek the help of a true ball busting stage director. Those that end up getting that help and taking those classes, end up shinning.

Understand that the viable "professional" market for Bizarrists is very limited and rarely pays anything exceptional. I know of several 50 year old Vampires out there that just know they are great and yet, they can't pay their rent, so be realistic. Develop a character that can work within an existing venue (as an example), perhaps as a tour guide & storyteller or work with an area facility in developing a show that is commercially sound. You may want to take a long look at some of Docc Hilford's earlier manuscripts such as "From the Mountains of Madness", "Band of the Hand" and Rick Maue's "Book of Haunted Magick"

Here's a couple of sites for you to take a journey through as well.

http://www.blackhart.co.uk/page53.html

http://www.deceptionsunlimited.com/menu1.html

Go here and get your education on Bizarre Magick History and the Who's Who of said world.
http://www.dragonskull.co.uk/main_map.htm

There's a section about that subject on the magic cafe. You should pay a visit there.
And good bizarre magic pays more than any other kind of magic and is highly commercial (rates are between 1500 and 10000 euros for a corporate bizarre evening), contrary to some beliefs. But good bizarre magic is rarely seen and is absolutely not a beginner field.
You should first master the classics, before going bizarre.

I personally disagree with that in some paet.

I agree you should master the classics of mentalism, or rather thechniques, but learn them bizarre style.

Anyone starting out in any mentalism genre is guided towards thirteen steps and practical mental magic.

If you don't have those, start there. But with each "skill" that you learn, come up with different presentations tjat support your premise
Of the occult. Yes its not full on bizarre but will give you a taste and hopefully get the brain whirring away.

You also say you have learnt magic in the past. Look at routines you enjoy doing and give them a different feel or story behind them.

A classic example of this is ootw.

Hth

F x

Here's an article worth a read on character development.

http://www.bizarremagick.com/chardev.html

I just had a look back on your introduction and saw your from Lancaster. I went to University there. This is a superb area for bizarre magic. The history of Lancaster covers pretty much every bizarre aspect you can want. Ancient civilisations, the Romans, witch trials, mummified slaves hands, etc. Have a look round the area and find some inspiration for some stories. I've listed a few below and there barely scratching the surface.

There are a good few routines out there on the Pendle Witch trials. This would give you a good basis for a routine that is locally known. I've linked to two below.


http://www.ravenmagic.co.uk/effects.html
Theomancy by Roger Curzon has another tale of the trials available from
http://www.martinbreese.com/page1.htm

If you don't know the maritime history take a trip to the museum and read up on the slave trade. At one point Lancaster was the fourth busiest slave trade port in England. There is an interesting tale in the slave trade trail about a slave brought to work in Lancaster. When the slave died the hand was cut off and mummified. Certainly a good routine there.

There is no shortage of ghosts and ghoulies in the area. They used to do haunted walks along the witch road to the Uni. I don't know if they still run, but you can find plenty online. Charles Dickens used to come to Lancaster to write. Some stories say he found a lot of inspiration there. I've never decided if that's a good thing or not. There are plenty of suitable locations for reliving Victorian Spiritualist evenings

http://www.northern-ghost-investigation ... astle.html

One more thing. The fact that you're an atheist, a christian, a buddhist, a member of a Cthulhu cult or other doesn't have any importance. Bizarre magic isn't about religion but about mystery entertainment. It's about the pleasure of bringing the atmosphere of fantasy/fantastic movies/theater and litterature into the real world.
That's why I think that studying of to create suspension of disbelieve is one of the most important tool for a bizarrist
Bizarre Magic can be adapted to mentalism, kid magic, cheating, close-up, stage magic ...
Bizarre magic offers almost unlimited possibilities of effects, because BM redifines what an effect is.
In classical illusionnism, you can create tricks about time travel (but they will be tricks), within the context of BM you can create the effect that Time Travel is possible. The same for every possible theme (vampires, werewolves, curses...) all part of stories.
BM offers new concepts like Textual and Object misdirection, but that's another story.
And don't think that I'm just speaking about theoritical possibilities; I make a living with Bizarre Magick.

Thanks everyone for your replies, I really appreciate them.

Just to clear a couple of things up; I don't intend to bring magic into a full time career or even a dominant part time one - I've always loved the ability to preform and entertain strangers and friends alike. The bringing of the suspension of disbelief to an evening is my main motivating force (this does not mean that I don't want to be good because I'm not going professional, just trying to put it in the right context.) While I know that religion plays no role in one's entertainment, I just wanted to give you a bit of background. By skeptic, I mean that I critically analyze all situations and events and attempt to derive from them their causes which are all, from hat I've seen, a scientifically explainable nature. Are there things we cannot explain with science as of yet? Yes. I leave the door open for possible future pieces of evidence to sway my judgment.

Your information has all been really helpful, and I did forget to add that I have been a member of an acting guild in the last two years, received vocal training from a speech therapist and regularly do public speaking and acting for members of my (former) school as well as other places. I will look into furthering my study however. From everything you've thrown at me I am starting to think buying an effect would be putting the wrong book forward, and perhaps a few definitive books on the subject of Bizarre Magick would be better, something like Spirit Theatre by Eugene Burger? Are there any other books (perhaps with a higher priority) you could recommend?

And thanks Jobasha, I will read more into local legends, but hopefully if my plan is right I won't have to live here or too long!!
Cheers.

I have a small doubt. Can one classify Eugene Burger's magic as Bizarre Magick ?

Eugene has written a good few books on the bizarre. Strange ceremonies probably being the best intro one of his to the bizarre in my opinion. The dvd of his on spirit magic I've seen cheap a few times recently. Rick Maue's book of haunted magick would probably be the best place to start.

If by the dvd on spirit magic, you mean, Eugene Burger's Magical Voyages 3 Disc set, yes I do have them and it's one of the best DVD sets i have !! One of my favs !

hardik988 wrote:If by the dvd on spirit magic, you mean, Eugene Burger's Magical Voyages 3 Disc set, yes I do have them and it's one of the best DVD sets i have !! One of my favs !

No, different one covering several different ways to present a few haunted tricks. It uses mainly basic props people will probably have in the magic draw.

http://www.bradsmagicshop.com/volume-24 ... -326-p.asp

Would Black Hart's BIG Black Book (http://www.blackhart.co.uk/books.html) be a better place?

Can I also put forward that you check out Tony Shiels' works as well, "Bizarre Magic" and "The Shiels Effect" being particularly useful.

I agree with Boss Browning that you need to create a persona - look at Uri Gellar! and also take acting lessons. If you are able to keep your cool under intense scrutiny then it will pay off for you.

I totally agree about Bizarre Magic being the money earner. Sector 8, a league of mentalists and bizarre magicians, probably earn more money than the rest of the forum members. Welcome to the club.

Simon

I personally think Burgers Spirit Magic is one of his worst DVD's to date.

hardik988 wrote:I have a small doubt. Can one classify Eugene Burger's magic as Bizarre Magick ?

Why does anyone need to classify people into categories ?
In bizarre magic, categories are simple: performers and armchairs.