The spirit coffin works like the age old spirit slates that everyone knows and loves. Upon examining the spirit coffin you will find that there is an extra black piece of wood that looks exactly like the top or bottom of the box. This will be referred to as the "flap”.
Take a piece of chalk that has been provided for you and write a word on the top lid of the spirit coffin. Now place the flap into the top of the lid and display the box on the table or in your hands in this open position. The spirit coffin now looks innocent and empty.
To make the writing appear, all you have to do is close the lid, which sends the flap to the bottom of the box. In performance, as soon as you close the lid, you are going to lift the lid back up just a crack in order for you to drop a small piece of chalk inside.
Positioning the flap.
Because each box is handmade, the flaps are hand made as well. When you are looking at the flap, the angles of the right side are just a hair different than the left side. Basically, this means that when the flap is placed in the box, it will fit better one way than the other. The flap fits in the lid just a tiny bit different depending on which way it's placed into the box. If you find that the flap doesn't quite fit perfectly or is too snug, just flip it over and try it the other way. You should now find the fit is better and it will fall freely when the lid is closed.
Stuck Flap
If the flap ever gets stuck, don't try to use a knife or anything to lever it out. This could damage the box of the flap. The best way to unstick the flap is to simply close the box quickly and firmly. Don't close it too hard, you don't want to damage the box. But closing the box quickly and firmly will almost always dislodge the flap after a couple tries.
Showing The Coffin Empty
For the most part, you are going to start all of the routines with the spirit coffin in the open position with the flap in the lid. The flap will either be hiding some written information or some small object. By displaying the box in this open position, it very obviously shows that the box is empty and insinuates that everything is fair. You will always have a tiny piece of chalk or small object inside of the box as well. After the effect I can reach over with my thumb and pin the flap against the lid as I turn the entire box over, letting the chalk fall out. Not only does this look extremely open and fair, but it subtly implies that the box is completely empty.
Closing Coffin
To ensure that the flap falls from the top to the bottom, perfectly, make sure that when the spirit coffin is in the open position, it is held completely flat. The box can be flat on the table or flat in your hands. Either way is fine. Close the top of the spirit coffin with force. And make sure that you keep everything flat the entire time. You don't need to SLAM the top of the box shut. But you don't want to slowly close it shut either. A nice quick movement closing the lid will ensure that the flap falls exactly the way it should.
Stuck Flap TIP
If you ever have a problem of the flap getting stuck or not falling all the way to the bottom of the box don't worry. This isn't a problem at all. After you close the lid, you are going to pop it back open just a tad so you can drop the chalk inside. When you drop the chalk inside It will be very obvious if the flap hasn't gone all the way to the bottom. Simply push it to the bottom as you drop the chalk inside. Problem solved. You'll never have to worry about the flap.
If you're performing an effect that doesn't use the chalk, like the torn and restored photo, you can still use the same basic ploy. When you open the box, you are going to be doing it yourself, with the box being open towards yourself. This means you will always be the first person to be able to look into the box before anyone else.
This gives you a great advantage, because if the flap does get hung up slightly, all you have to do is simply push it to the bottom of the box in the action of taking the restored photo out of the box. OR just use the Thumb Pin Display.
Thumb Pin Display
After you perform any of these effects, you usually end up in the same position. That is, the flap has fallen from the lid to the bottom of the box, and there will be some sort of revelation.
If there is a piece of chalk or some other object in the box, it's a nice subtlety to take the entire box and turn the entire unit upside down to let the chalk fall out or the photo, etc. To do this all you have to do is take your thumb and push it against the bottom of the box, pinning the flap to the bottom. With your thumb pinning the flap in this position you can be very open with the box turning it upside down to dump out contents. You may use your first finger to prop open the lid while your thumb is pinning the flap to the bottom of the box.
Once in this position, you can even shake it upside down showing it to be completely empty.
As I mentioned before, every once in a while, when you peek into the box, you'll notice that the flap hasn't fallen all the way to the bottom. Just simply shove your thumb into the box, pinning the flap to the bottom as you turn the coffin towards them to display the revelation.
Spirit Message Revelation
The simplest effect to perform with a spirit coffin is the simple appearance of a word, a message or image apparently written in chalk by the spirits. To set up for the effect write your message in chalk on the lid of the spirit coffin then place the flap into position, hiding your message. Place the spirit coffin onto the table in an open starting position and you're ready to go. As you see in the photo the right thumb is pinning the flap to the lid which allows you to be very free in your handling of the spirit coffin as you are showing it empty.
Introduce the piece of chalk and the concept of spirit messages. Show the spirit coffin openly, empty, and then close the lid. After the lid has been closed, pop the lid back open again just slightly enough for you to drop in the piece of chalk. The spirit coffin is held close to you for this move so you don't have to worry about anyone else seeing inside the box. That's pretty much it. All that's left to do is presentation and ask the spirits to show their presence by writing a message with the chalk.
Writing Noise
If you'd like, you can hold the spirit box in your hands and scrape your fingernail underneath on the underside of the box, which will create the auditory illusion of the chalk writing.
Delayed Double Message Revelation
This is a simple ruse that allows you to make two words or two messages appear inside the spirit coffin. The first part is exactly the same as you would usually do, simply write a message, or a word on the top or lid of the spirit coffin.
Then write your second word or message on the top side of the flap. Once the flap is put in place in the lid, the two messages will be kissing each other face to face. Now the box can be displayed empty.
Go through the normal motions of shutting the box and then popping it back open to drop in the piece of chalk and then latching it shut. Ask the spirits to give you a message. Now slowly open the box and hold it in such a way that they can't see the bottom, they just see the top message in the lid. You can see the exact position I'm talking about in the photo. You can display the open box in a very open position. It seems like you are being very fair and open but yet the spectator still cannot see anything inside the bottom of the box.
Simply close the spirit box, drop the chalk in again and asks the spirits to give you another message. This time open the box and once again slowly tilt the entire box towards the audience so they can read the new message that has apparently appeared on the bottom as well. You can put your thumb in the bottom of the box and hold the gimmick in place while performing this display move. You can certainly make both the top and bottom messages appear at the same time. But I like the delayed reveal as it has a lot more mystery for no more work.
Bagshawe Revelation
I've always loved this idea of Edward Bagshawe’s. It's very simple, but super visual. The idea is basically this: rather than make a word or name appear on the slate, you do the exact opposite. You have over a dozen different words written ALL OVER the inside the spirit coffin, a piece of tissue is placed inside of the spirit box. You asked the spirits for a sign, and when the box is opened, every single word has been erased by the tissue, except for the word that they chose. This could be a random word force from a book test, or it could be the spectator’s name which I feel is much more effective.
The secret is pretty obvious. Simply prepare one side of the flap with lots of different words, or several different names making sure that one of the names is the spectators name. Continue by writing words all over the bottom of the box as well. On the other side of the flap, write out several different names all over the flap and then erase them. You want it to be obvious that there was words written, but there is mainly just chalk smear left.
Then, on the upper lid of the coffin, you are going to do the same thing….write down a bunch of words, and then erase them all, except for the force word, or in this case, your erase all of the names, except for their name. Making sure that the name is in the same position on both the flap and the lid. So the visual at the end will be a bunch of erased or smudged chalk with THEIR NAME, staring them in the face. Strong stuff!!!
Message On Business Card
Not only is this a great and spooky revelation of a message, but it's also a sneaky way to pass out your business card. Every time they look at the card they will see the spooky message and think about the amazing moment they shared with you. Simply write whatever message you want onto the back of one of your business cards and load it underneath the flap in the lid ready to be produced.
Now, all you have to do is show the spirit coffin, empty, and then place one of your business cards in the bottom of the coffin, blank, side up, close the lid and latch it shut. Then re-open the box just enough for you to drop a pencil or a pen inside making sure the writing device matches the writing on the card. Ask the spirits to give you a sign, and now when the box is opened, the business card is laying there with a fresh message for the audience.
Torn & Restored Photo
For this effect, an old picture of your grandmother is displayed that has been torn to pieces or fallen apart over time. The torn pieces are placed into the coffin box. You explain that some of your earliest memories are time spent with your grandmother.
“In fact, she taught me my first nursery rhyme. Row row row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream.”
As you finish reciting the nursery rhyme, the coffin is opened, and the photo of your grandma is seen to have been restored. Life IS but a DREAM!!!!
With a simple Google search you can find old black-and-white photos. The further back in time you go the smaller the photos get. You want to make a copy of an old black-and-white photo that is small enough to fit inside the coffin. They call these antique tintype photos.
They are usually 1 ½” x 2“ or similar size. This can be easily done with any printer or copy machine. You can also go the extra mile and use photo paper to print on so it looks and feels like an actual photo. You can even age the photo by soiling it and dipping it into some tea, then letting it dry. Wrinkling it a little etc.
The duplicate photo is placed into the lid, and the flap placed on top of it so the box can be displayed as being apparently empty. Drop the torn pieces into the bottom of the box, close the lid, sending the flap to the bottom and now when the box is opened again, the photo will be restored.
When you are placing the torn pieces in to the bottom of the spirit coffin you want to make sure that you are placing the pieces in the very center of the largest part of the box. This way the pieces won't be near the edge and they won't peek through or flash. The torn and restored effect can be accomplished with any small thin object like an old movie ticket stub, a dollar bill or any small piece of paper, etc.
Rather than having the picture restore itself, you could perform the opposite. You can place the picture into the coffin, and then when the coffin is opened the picture has been torn to pieces. Apparently you have summoned an angry spirit or a poltergeist. I have provided you with several photos to get you started. All you have to do is cut them out and use them however you wish.
Appearance Of Folded Selected Card
For this effect, you'll need one deck of playing cards and one extra duplicate card. Let's say the duplicate card is the five of hearts.
The spirit coffin is just a tad too small to hold a full size playing card. But you can easily make a folded playing card appear inside the box. Simply take whatever card you would like to force and fold it in half. Crease the folded card back-and-forth so that way when the card is folded in half it will lay completely flat and won't pop open.
This will ensure that it will stay hidden underneath the extra flap in the coffin. With the folded card placed underneath the flap and hidden in place in the lid , you are set to begin. Starting with the spirit coffin in the open position showing the box apparently empty is the best way to start. Force the five of hearts on the spectator, and then let them shuffle the card back in the deck. If you put pencil dots on the back of the five of hearts, it makes it very easy to find when the cards are spread on the table.
You can certainly control the card using your favorite method. But I think the effect is so much stronger if the cards are shuffled by the spectator. Once the cards have been shuffled, it's an easy matter to spread the deck in between your hands, or on the table and cut the force card to the top of the deck. It's easy to find because of the pencil dots. You can cover this action by spreading the cards with the faces towards the spectator, having them confirm that the cards are indeed, very well shuffled. Tell the spectators that you are going to walk a few feet away, so that way the spectator can whisper the name of their card to the coffin.
Take the CLOSED spirit coffin, and place it in front of the spectators and whisper to the coffin giving them an example. This is done, so they understand they are not to touch the box, but just to lean over and whisper to it quietly. You tell them to wait until you walk away before they whisper. When you turn around to walk a few feet away, you simply take the top card and drop it into your shirt or trousers pocket. After waiting for a second or two, turn around and walk back towards the spectators, holding the deck in your outstretched hand and hand the deck to them. Tell them that hopefully the spirits heard them.
And now we will see if we can ask the spirits to reveal the selected card. Take the coffin and slowly open it and turn the box towards the spectator so that they can see there is a folded card inside. Let the card fall out of the box using your thumb to keep the flap in place by applying a tiny bit of pressure. This is the Thumb Pin Display taught earlier. You don't have to tell the spectators to check the deck. They will check for you.
Book Test
It’s a great idea to use the spirit coffin to reveal a word or a picture that is thought of from a book or magazine. Essentially using it as a revelation for a book test. Let's say you want to force the word “shoe”. The word shoe is the first word on page 79 in your book. Simply place a silver dollar or half dollar into the book near the spine at page 79. The coin inside the book will act as a short page similar to forcing a short card using playing cards. I will sometimes use a business card placed inside of a book. This works great too. With a piece of chalk either write the word shoe or draw a simple picture of a shoe in the lid, and then place the flap into the lid so the coffin looks empty. To present the effect, display the spirit coffin as being empty and free of any writing, close the coffin and latch it shut. Reopen the coffin just enough to drop in a piece of chalk and then latch it shut.
When you riffle through the book, you will find it's very easy to stop at the exact place where the coin is. If you'd like, you can have three or four books presented and simply use equivoque to force the book with the coin in it. Now riffle through the pages timing it so they say "stop" as you get to the force page. Have them look at and remember the first word on the page, which is the word shoe, your force word. What's nice about forcing a simple word like shoe is that it's very easy to draw. So you could either have the revelation be the word shoe or a simple hand drawn image of a shoe in chalk. If you already have a preferred word force, or a preferred book test, simply substitute that here.
The Phantom Card & Slate Mystery
by Mystic Clayt
I love the simplicity of this routine. It's basically self working. And packs a huge punch. I also love that it's over 100 years old. It first appeared in The Sphinx magazine, March 1922.
This routine originally used a standard set of Spirit Slates, but can be easily adapted to the spirit coffin. The performer shows the spirit coffin to be empty, and without any writing inside. The slates can even be cleaned with a tissue. A small piece of chalk is dropped inside the coffin box.
The spirit coffin is given to a spectator to hold. A deck of cards is produced and asked to be shuffled by another spectator. The spectator, after thoroughly shuffling the deck, hands it to the Magician & the cards are placed into his right jacket pocket.
Next another member of the audience is asked to call a number (preferably below 20, as we don’t have all day)
The Magician removes the cards from his pocket, one at a time and upon arriving at the selected number the card is turned over so all can see it. The spirit coffin is now opened, and the name of the selected card is found written upon the slate.
The preparation of the trick is simplicity itself. First, determine the card to be forced. Now write this on the lid and cover with the flap. Before the performance the force card is now removed from the deck and placed in your right pocket.
So the rest of the trick is self-explanatory. When the number is called out by the spectator, you start pulling out cards from the top of the deck and then when you get to their selected number, you simply grab the force card on bottom that was previously in your pocket. You will find it simple stunt to pull the card from your pocket at the selected number. The use of so many spectators only makes the trick seem the more complicated and difficult.
In the original write up of this trick he had the card hidden in his vest pocket. I understand that a lot of people won’t be wearing a vest while they are performing this so I explained it using just the right jacket pocket. If you do have a pants pocket that has an extra pocket and can hide a card, that’s even better.
You introduce a haunted marble that was once owned by your late great Uncle Henry.
“Uncle Henry was said to be a clairvoyant, and he could always predict when something bad was about to happen. Unfortunately I never met him as he passed away at a very young age. But the family stories are quite marvelous about uncle Henry.
I inherited a couple of toys from his youth. An old toy truck. And a few marbles that he loved to play with. I carry this as sort of a good luck charm. It's one of uncle Henry's old glass marbles.
You'll notice it has a beautiful and mysterious color green, which is said to represent a connection to the spirit world. Let's see if that's true shall we?”.
(if you have a red or blue marble, simply substitute “red” or “blue” in the presentation)
The marble is placed inside of the spirit coffin, and the box is latched shut. (because no flap is used in this trick. You can have the spectator close the box and hand it to you.)
You ask another spectator to hold up any amount of fingers that they would like. Let's say they hold up three fingers. After a few quiet seconds three loud and distinct taps are heard coming from within the spirit coffin. The marble can also tap once for ”yes”, & twice for “no” answering any questions you would like to ask uncle Henry.
The secret is quite an old one. The noise is made by a fake fingertip that is worn on your right, middle finger. The spirit coffin is held with both hands, completely flat. You want the wide end of the coffin to be on your right side because that gives you more cover to move your right, middle finger and tap it against the bottom of the box. If you hold the coffin in your hands flat in front of you as displayed in the photo, you can basically be completely surrounded and perform the effect as the spectators are looking down at your hands. Because you are using both hands to hold and steady the coffin, the tiny movement of your second finger tapping will be imperceptible.
After the marble has answered a question or two, all you have to do is ask the spectators to open the box, and they will find that there is nothing inside the box, just the marble. As you put the marble away into your pocket, simply ditch the finger tip.
The nice thing about this routine is you don't have to use the flap at all & the box can be completely examined before and after the effect.
The idea of using a fingertip or thumb tip to create a rapping noise is credited to Jack Vosburgh and his effect “Taps” published in 1944 in The Linking Ring and The Phoenix magazine.
Ditching the gaff
Depending on your performance situation, you can ditch the gaff in several ways. If you're seated, you can obviously ditch the flap by simply holding the box inverted over your lap for an instant.
This can be done during a small moment of misdirection while someone is examining another object, or for example, examining a business card that just had a message appear on it, etc.
If you have the spirit coffin in your hand, you can invert the box over your close-up case, and the flap will fall into your case as you grab another prop like a tissue or a deck of cards etc Because the box only has to hover over your case for a second it will seem as though it never went out of view.
If you are performing in a parlor or stage situation, and you have the right lighting, you can invert the box and leave the flap right on the table that you are using if you are using a black table. The flap will just vanish due to the black art principal, and it won't be seen from several feet away. If you have a performance table on stage with a black art well in it, that will work perfectly, or simply a table with a servant will work as well.
Ditch While standing
If you want to ditch the flap while standing, this is a pretty convenient way to do it that is angle proof.
You'll need a dark colored handkerchief or silk. You also need a small package of chalk either in your pocket or laying on the table and a deck of cards. You are basically going to perform a couple of bonus effects, and in the course of doing that you get rid of the flap.
In a moment you will force a card, a word, an object or a symbol on your spectator using your favorite method. This can be a simple card force or your favorite book test, etc. But again, keep in mind it doesn't have to be a playing card. It could be a word, a color or an ESP symbol or a name…anything you'd like.
Produce the handkerchief or silk from your pocket displaying it and then place it into the spirit coffin. Ask for the spirits to show their presence, and when you open the coffin, the handkerchief is now tied in a knot. The flap isn't really used in this part. It just goes along for the ride.
Method: Simply tie a knot near the corner of a handkerchief, napkin or pocket square etc. Because the knot is near the corner you can use your fingers to easily conceal the knot as you display the handkerchief to be normal. Simply drop the handkerchief into the box, close the box and now when you re-open the box and pick up the handkerchief, you can make a big deal about a knot having been tied in it. Thanks to Michael Likey for this idea. Ask the spectator to untie the knot to prove that it is not an illusion. When they hand the handkerchief back to you, receive the handkerchief with your left hand, and then invert the box on top of the handkerchief in your left hand so you're right hand can reach into your pocket and produce a deck of cards.
While the box is inverted, the flap will fall onto the handkerchief and into your hand. (Tossing the coffin from the right hand into the left hand or lightly dropping it will help aid in the flap falling into your hand onto the silk.)
Ask the spectator to shuffle the cards, and when they are satisfied to grab a piece of chalk from the box. This is more than enough misdirection for you to calmly and quietly put the handkerchief and the flap in your back pocket out of sight or into your case. The spirit coffin is simply placed on the table.
You now ask them to cut the deck several times, stopping whenever they like. They are to then take the top or bottom card, remember it and place it into their pocket so no one can see it. You now walk a few feet away from the spectator and ask them to write the name of their card inside the box. So there's no way you could possibly see you turn your back. Tell them to let you know when they are done.
You can now reveal the card, but before you do, reiterate the impossible conditions. They cut the cards as many times as they liked, and when they were satisfied, they took the top or bottom card and placed it into their pocket so no one in this room could possibly see it but them.
The method for this is simple. You are simply using a stacked deck. All you have to do is glimpse the bottom card. Or if you are using a stacked marked deck, simply look at and read the top card and the next card in your sequence will be the card in their pocket.
You can now slowly reveal the card to them, revealing first the color, then the suit and finally the value. For a big finale you can reveal that you predicted the card as well.
If you want a really great ending, before the show you can mail them an invisible deck, sealed in an envelope. For the dramatic finale you can rip open the envelope and pull the invisible deck out to show that every single card in the deck is face up except for one face down card….their selection. Proving once and for all that you did indeed predict the exact card that they would place into their pocket.
One final note. You don't have to follow the knotted spirit handkerchief trick with the card trick that I described. You just need an excuse to reach in to your pocket. Another great motivation to go into the pocket would be to produce uncle Henry's marble for the haunted marble effect. While the spectators are examining the marble, you have plenty of cover to place the handkerchief and the gimmick in your pocket.
Uncle Henry’s Marble is the perfect effect to follow up with since you have just ditched the gimmick and it's not needed for this effect.
Different Objects
There are lots of different objects that you can make appear or vanish inside the spirit coffin. A playing card, a photo, postage stamps, old receipt, a love note, a movie ticket, an old ID, a newspaper clipping, a grocery list, an old $5 dollar bill or a two dollar bill, etc.
Black Chalkboard Paint
The spirit coffin should be good for hundreds of performances, but if you find that the black surface ever starts to fade, you can give it a couple of extra coats of black chalkboard paint and it will be good as new. You can find black chalkboard paint pretty much any hobby or art store. A quick Amazon search shows several options starting at around four dollars.
www.KranzoMagic.com