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The Effect
From MagicTao's product page:

The deck goes face down on the table or on the floor. The deck can be cut by the spectator before the Haunting begins. There is nothing attached between you and the deck or the table. The deck can also be covered with a large glass bowl, to proof, that no connection to the deck is possible. You walk away from the table as far as you like and concentrate, after a few seconds and a magical gesture the upper half of the deck slowly starts to move, so SLOWLY and SPOOKY, that the spectators propably will believe in ghosts or in your magical powers. The two halves seperates so perfect, smooth and directly to the chosen card. But that's not the end! The card finally moves out from the deck and the spectator can immediatly grab for the card. It is his chosen card! The spectator can immediatly examine the cards. There is nothingto find! Just the cards and a mindblowing magical and spooky moment that they will never, never forget!

Keypoints to remember:

-Instant Reset
-No Loops or IT
-Easy to do
-Works Every Time
-Examinable
-Use it under any light conditions
-Highly Visual
-Multiple handling ideas and tips
-Perfect for close-up or walkaround
-Use any deck
-Bonus Rising Card effect
-You receive gimmicks that last for lifetime



Cost
£25.99 from http://www.magictao.co.uk/Rasmus-Haunted-Deck

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

1 - The most difficult thing to do is hold a break.

Review
When I first opened the box for this, I thought there must be something missing, later I realised it's because it's just so darn simple. Along with the instructional DVD there are two things included to make your own gimmick (in this respect the "Use any deck" claim is slightly innaccurate as you need to have a gimmick in whatever deck you use - you couldn't use a borrowed deck). Making the gimmick takes a couple of minutes and is very easy, if a little fiddly. Once it's prepared you're ready to go and the effect is superb. With a bit of practise it's possible to vary the time between laying the deck down and the cut happening. I've been presenting it as a demonstration of group telekenesis, getting the spectators to concentrate as a group on the chosen card, rather than me doing some magical hand waving.

The effect of the card moving is brilliant, it starts so slowly you almost question whether it is actually moving or if you're just staring too hard at the deck. Then it becomes more apparent that it IS moving as the cut happens in front of your eyes. If all goes well, the cut portion will slide gracefully off the top of the deck and the chosen card will swing out where it can be taken and examined. Even if the gimmick is in plain sight it will be almost impossible to spot, when I prepared mine I had it on the desk in front of me and even from that distance, knowing there was something to look for, it was still all but invisible.

The included DVD is well shot in HD and shows everything in good detail, from the setup through to the handling and some bonus routines and alternative ideas.


Overall
A very strong effect with durable materials and clear, concise instruction. Even with my ham-fisted handling of cards I can produce a convincing minor miracle. My only slight struggle at the moment is to get the cards to move exactly as per the demo, with the cut packet moving enough to slide from the top of the deck. The DVD gives some good guidance on various ways to adjust the gimmick and handling to fine tune the outcome though.

9/10

Hello.. Had a peek at this effect the other night, a young magician was showing the effect to a few senior members at the society, must say its a good piece of kit. Garry,.

Does anyone know how this compares to Haunted by Peter Eggink?

It is a case on independant invention. Although they are not identical, they are very similar and use the same material. If you use Haunted and it works well for you, I wouldn't bother. If you are one of those who struggled with various aspects, Rasmus may have solved them.

mr invisible wrote:Hello.. Had a peek at this effect the other night, a young magician was showing the effect to a few senior members at the society, must say its a good piece of kit. Garry,.

Since I made my last post in Feb, I have gone on and purchased the Haunted deck, and most of the reviews described are near on the same, with both decks. So it would be difficult to compare both decks on my experiences seeing both decks in action..

I have Haunted by Peter Eggink ,it is very good ,had some issues with a certain something ,changed it it and works fine now.