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Talea by Thaumaturgy

The Effect …..The throng gathered round the Magi as his knarled arthritic fingers flicked open the clasp. As the lid opened, the faint smell of age and decay met the crowds nostrils. Inside, a relic from an age of commonplace violence, murder and bloodshed. It is said the blood, the essence of the victim, is forever on the hands of the murderer. That is true, but the blood of the victim is also forever on the weapon too...

Talea A smash and stab effect like no other.

There is no suspicious metal object, just Talea, an examinable expertly aged European oak stake. The Talea is made from 10 year seasoned English oak, and is completely examinable. Each Talea is crafted, hand turned, carved to a very specific aesthetic, and then painstakingly aged in layers to give it a look of complete authentication...right down to its smell and rustic cross scored into the base!

Talea comes with a beautiful aged box and an accompanying 50 page book academically written, detailing the history of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the history of her Iron Maiden (with some juicy bits added), an engaging and creative effect from Dr Todd Landman and care and handling instructions. A truly beautiful item.

…The young man rounds the corner, the light of the torch throwing his flickering shadow onto the cold stone walls of the corridor. Behind him, two more figures follow, one an elderly woman carrying a satchel, the other, a cloaked shape, moving with speed and purpose. Upon reaching a heavy wooden door, the man stops and presses his hands against the oak…

OK, from the maker’s description and those opening words of the manual, I guess by now you know we aren’t doing Hippity Hoppity Rabbits. In fact, the description from there on is enough to scare those of frail dispositions so you can guess the impact of the routine.

Cost
£68.50 for a very short time, thereafter £75.00 from http://www.thaumaturgy.co.uk/

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. although you do need to be able to spin a convincing tale to do this item proper justice so perhaps the score should be higher for that feature – perhaps a 3.

Review
You receive an aged wooden box, stained with the passage of time and perhaps the blood of innocents. On opening the box there is an immediate aroma of age and decay and there, nestling in a bed of musty straw, is the Talea itself which is even more aged and certainly stained with blood, it’s as sharp as a stiletto and despite the basic wooden obelisk design, somehow exudes a threat of indescribably foul deeds done in the past and perhaps still to come.

In the manual are several sections of information, A History of Elizabeth Bathory, The Blood Countess; A History of The Iron Maiden; “Put to Rest" a superb routine by Dr.Todd Landman which guarantees the high quality of Talea and the effect. Advice on handling and care are included as is a pattern to produce the necessary paper cones – no cheapo Styrofoam cups for this little beastie! A Blue Peter tip here, print out a copy of the patterns by scanning or photocopying, put the pattern on top of two plain sheets of A4, staple all three sheets together in the waste areas and cut three in one go. You might be able to cut four sheets but don’t rush, it’s worth getting these right even though they'll be destroyed during performance. The book suggests aging the cones with tea and it’s a suggestion which shouldn’t be ignored!

Before using this item you’ll need to have a certain item with ‘attractive’ properties, most of you will have one or two already but they’re readily available from many places.

The Claims
As far as I can see, all claims are spot on, in fact they’re probably understated.

Overall
Expensive, and thank goodness for that, but well worth the money if you’re in to the bizarre, dark and scary sort of effects. As with all such things, the performance must be well rehearsed, the story told convincingly, the mood just right. A séance room lit with only two or three candles would be ideal…….

Thanks for the review Mandrake! Working on this with Christo has been a great pleasure. I am sitting stateside and know that the haunted item awaits my return...

Thanks Mandrake! Great review and I'm so pleased with all the positive responses I've been hearing!...and also with the amount of ideas people have been having with this.

I had three main aims I wanted to get right with Talea:

1 - to give the 'smash and stab' concept a meaty and feasible purpose.

2 - to produce Talea with enough 'play' in it so that it could be adapted with your own stories and ideas etc. and also to have enough detailed research and ideas provided to inspire people with this true story. I don't think bizarrists and story tellers could ask for much better than a real life historical mass murderess shrouded in mystery, blood lust and torture!

3 - If needed, to be able to use Talea 'as is', as a strong, reliable, convincing and impossible smash and stab tool for those Magi who prefer a more classical approach...no suspicious metal objects in sight

Todd, likewise! It was great to bounce ideas off you, and the feedback you gave, I feel, added a lot to her...the smell in particular!

Talea is waiting for you...can you not feel her pull?

Dare I also mention that there is a certain, er, phallic aspect to Talea? On a very subconscious level this will add to the fascination for such an object which, no doubt, the bizarrists will be able to exploit to the fullest....

there is a certain, er, phallic aspect to Talea

my god.. if they go that shape with age, Im not looking forward to that!

Mandrake wrote:Dare I also mention that there is a certain, er, phallic aspect to Talea? On a very subconscious level this will add to the fascination for such an object which, no doubt, the bizarrists will be able to exploit to the fullest....

I came to the same conclusion. Its an area which can be exploited when designing a routine around this. Talking about the human races incessant fascination with the female and male elements, from pre-history and the erotic carvings found knapped in flint, right through to modern day and the most famous landmark in the world, the Eiffel Tower.

Any stake produced will have the dirty minds (you know who you are...Mandrake...cough cough) racing, but the design of Talea was so long in the development you could not believe.
I have many stake prototypes stuck all over my workshop, most of which really ARE phallic (maybe I could sell these to Ann Summers???), but the end design encompasses the functionality needed for the effect to work, a 'rough and hewn' appearance, whilst still maintaining a certain refined grace.

I was talking to Roni about Talea yesterday. He's very enthusiastic about it and has had an interesting idea I think he may already have shared with you, Christo.

I have no idea which one! We've been bouncing ideas around for the past few days and have come up with some pretty interesting stuff.
I'm going to have to get the Thaumaturgy forum in order soon and start putting all these ideas into writing lest they be forgotten.
Roni has taken Talea and is really pushing it, using everything facet and adding his own elements to create a really meaty, layered performance. Its been very interesting!

Well, there are only 5 left of the original 'The Thirteen'. After that, it will be another month before the next set are ready, so take advantage of the special price and be the proud owner of one of the first while you can.

Thanks for all your support, floods of ideas, and great feedback!

Very good thoughts,

Christo

4 left...

There is only 1 Talea left. It will be another month before Set 2 is ready.

Who will claim the 13th and final Talea from the very first set?...

A bit late but I've only just noticed, ITV3 9pm and ITV3 +1 10pm tonight, Ladykillers all about Elizabeth Bathory!!