Hi,
I'm looking for learning resources on how to perform the seance or spirit cloth effectively. Most performances I've seen so far have been rather weak and obvious to the audience. Only Xavier Mortimer has done an excellent job (as he always does) in his mirror act (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3pFobEpx0g)

So far I've only been able to locate "The Spirit Cloth Book" by Algonquin McDuff. Are there any other book(let)s or DVDs available?
Or is it just look and learn and improve by trial and error?

P.S.: I'm not planning on using this the traditional way in a seance situation.

Thanks,
Uwe

You have the only booklet that was written on this subject, to my knowledge.

Where did you find audiences find the trick obvious to the audience. What did they say?

I have never experienced this during or after any of my shows, when using this apparatus.

We used to use a newspaper as well and that always feels more natural than holding a cloth from the top. I have seen cloths that bend around, down, and even drape/droop. I have seen people use coats and all manner of other stuff. Rudy Coby put "Wings" on his so people can't see in from the sides.

Someone really should make a resource if that's the only one out there.

I'm actually planning on using a newspaper... a bit tricky, but it works smoothly

There was a newspaper version of this available made out of aluminum, don't know if it is still around. The paper is held by he sides in open page fashion.

I've seen Dave Powell's name credited with the Newspaper Seance effect.
I'm not sure whether the one listed at The Magic Warehouse is Dave's or not.
http://themagicwarehouse.com/TA4208/Newspaper-Seance.html

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Thanks for sharing, looks very interesting, never seen this product before!

Interesting stuff with the spirit cloth on the DVD "Seance" -Dixie Dooley. Worth a look.

My recollection is that the feke used was invented by the remarkable Karl Germain. I don't have it at my fingertips (ha-ha) at the moment because I recently moved and most of my books are in storage , but I believe there is some discussion of this effect in the book 'Germain the Wizard' by Stuart Cramer, and Todd Karr (editor), published by The Miracle Factory, Seattle, WA (2002). Germain used it in a subtle and mystifying manner , not as a quick throwaway gag , usually exposing it in the process as many thoughtlessly do. Used discretely it can be utilized for loading (production) or taking away (vanish), as well as animation or levitation of objects.


As you have discovered, Xavier Mortimer is an excellent source to study.

Another fine performer who uses it is Gwenaëlle Ardault .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X4Wi7L3F_Q






Another performer to study is Chris Hart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd6qpZjjIkM






All of these are great performances , however I think at times almost invite the audience to discover the method by going on a bit too long (?) or that could just be me because I know what I'm looking at ... but I think I prefer using this more discretely to accomplish loading or going south with something that is covered briefly with a cloth and not drawing too much attention to it.


.

In the book,"THE REAL DEAL: A Magician Prepares" by Dennis Loomis (compiled by Michael Close) Dennis has a chapter on "FULL-LIGHT SPIRIT SÉANCE BREAKTHROUGH" (with photos) , which offers many improvements on making and handling this effect. Available from Michael Close Magic. https://michaelclose.com/products/the-re......download (the book is compiled from Dennis Loomis's columns in M-U-M magazine).

Yes, the first record of such I am aware is Karl Germain. When I worked on the Klosterman collection for 12 years, I spent a lot of time looking at his Germain items. Germain's dad hand carved the hand used in his spirit routine. The detail was incredible down to fingernails and veins on the back of the hand. All were carved into the wood.

Thinking along those lines (of using it for loading/producing), I remembered that the use of this device is also briefly covered in the book "Okito on Magic" by Okito (Theo Bamberg), on page 67. In re-reading this , I read that Okito says he gave it to his son, Fu Manchu (David Bamberg) who used it for a Growth of Flowers (blooming rosebush) effect , which David Bamberg described in detail in The Sphinx, Vol. 36 - No. 4 , June 1937. I looked it up in The Sphinx. It is quite good , but requires a certain kind of costuming (Fu Manchu wore flowing robes when he performed)

Bamberg writes:


"Several years ago, for my show I wanted a quick method of growing a
rosebush , a method whereby I could show successive stages of growth and
finally the flowering bush. I devised the method described below, and
used it for a considerable length of time, and am therefore confident
that it is practical and effective.

The effect is that I fill an unprepared flower pot with sand and stand
the filled flower pot on a light, obviously ordinary table. I then hold
a cloth in front of the flower pot for a second, take it away, and the
plant is seen to have grown about eighteen inches in height. The cloth
is held back in front of the flower pot, again quickly taken away, and
the plant has now grown to the height of three feet. Again the cloth is
momentarily held in front of the plant, and when taken away, the bush is
covered with roses. A couple are clipped off and thrown to the audience."