Last night was an opportunity for members to perform at Ring 76's monthly meeting. The theme: Spooky Magic. I chose to perform the Haunted Box.

I weaved a story about how my wife and I like to travel in our little sports car and how we like to visit antique shops along the way. I mentioned that I found this old box in a little shop in Ohio and was surprised to find an old photo of Harry Houdini in the box. Since Ohio isn't very far from Houdini's boyhood home in Wisconsin, my imagination took over and I found myself wondering if this little box had once been the property of Houdini. I imagined it could have been his valet for his watch, rings and cufflinks. At any rate, I liked the box so I purchased it and brought it home, using it for the very same purpose, a valet for my men's accessories on a dresser in our master bedroom. However, that very night we started hearing strange clicking/scratching noises coming from the box. We even heard an occasional very faint scream (as if someone was trapped inside something). It freaked us out and my wife wanted the box out of our bedroom so I moved it to my den.

Fast forward a few years and I was using the box to hold various magic props and, suddenly, one day, I discovered something quite interesting. Let me demonstrate....

I then proceeded with the standard effect. I chose my assistant carefully, BTW. I picked a female and guessed that she would be the most likely person to react with a good jump when the magic happened. She did jump and the rest of the group got a good laugh.

I felt the effect went over quite nicely. Several members asked me about it after the meeting.

Best of all, I had fun presenting it. I'd picked up a few Halloween themed little statue props at Michael's craft store and I used one of them as a stand to hold the photograph of Houdini. I pulled these little props from my carrying case as I started weaving my story. I explained the props came from Michael's but let me show you what I found in that antique shop in Ohio...

Mark

I guess my Haunted Box performance was well received because today I was notified that I won "Entertainer of the Month" for October. Members vote for their favorite entertainer on meeting nights when there's an opportunity for members to perform. And, no, I wasn't the only one to perform.

Mark

Does anyone know if any RFID tag will work?

Nice review Mark and congratulations on your award
It is a lovely prop

I have 2 new tags and want to make my own custom card. So if I split the card and place a tag inside the card will gluing the card and gluing over the tag cause an issue? Has anyone made your own split card?

Yes, I've made several - actually using some small round NFC tags I bought off Amazon (Timeskey NFC 10 pcs NTAG 215 NFC stickers). I used a glue stick and they work fine...one suggestion is to try and make sure the thin layer you peel apart when you split the card is the back of the card - it seems to hide the sticker a bit better when you glue things back together.

I also just purchased some additional rectangle shaped stickers off Amazon (RapidRadio HF RFID Library Book Tag) - but I don't know if they work yet.

I hope someone can help me. The chain on the left has now come completely undone so the little white string at the end of the chain is no longer attached to be able to shut the box. Does anyone know how to repair this? I have email Joao to see if they can help.

I ordered this today from Hocus Pocus Magic and I am looking forward to this. I like the initial response and reaction people have when the Box closes unexpectedly. The ideas you guys have on here about how to make it look antique is very valuable indeed.

Good magic to all,


Eric

I was also wondering about something when you charge this up is there an indicator light to let you know it's fully charged? Thank you in advance.

Good magic to all,


Eric

Just hope your chain does not come loose on the left side of the box or the effect will become useless. Unfortunately this was one of my worst purchases in magic. It cost more to ship it to Portugal for repair than to just get another one. Joao said if I were to return it to him he would repair it. Maybe when this COVID is over he will come to the US again someday and I can get it to him then.

I mostly deal with Hocus Pocus magic and I have for many many years in that time I've had I believe two items that simply did not work or became defective after just using it a few times and they allowed me to return it to them for an exchange. I found their customer service to be second to none. I mostly deal with Paul and Max and they have always been very helpful and have given me some good advice. In fact very often I will ask either Paul or Max actually look over the item they're sending even if it's packaged and make sure everything is working good before it is sent to me. But thank you for the heads up on the left side of the box with the chain that's attached there I will definitely keep an eye on that. I'm sorry your experience with it was not a good one.

Good magic to all,


Eric

A while back I bought an effect that came with a picture of Harry Houdini and a autograph book that forces Harry Houdini's signature I'm a use that along with a deck of cards that I bought that has magicians pictures an artwork form on the cards so I may use the force book and Harry Houdini's playing card to use with the Box but I will see how it all looks once I put the idea together.

Good magic to all,


Eric

Well this beauty showed up today and I certainly can see why there was so much excitement about it! Everything is so well thought-out and appears to be very well made. The only thing I would have added is I would like to have seen more time spent on how to charge the unit and possibly making the charging unit easier to access. I showed this to my Wife and she too jumped back a little bit which really made me laugh because I could see how this would be startling to people and that's part of the fun. My wife told me she thought it might be a voice-activated device and I told her no it is not done that way and she said then I have no idea how you did that! This is a nice effect and I'm looking forward to trying it out more in the near future.

Good magic to all,


Eric

I love the effect but 4th time using it failed. Read everything, tried everything but finally realized it was not re-charging. The (very crude) USB connector was loose. It still is. Not being an expert with Soldering Irons I'd love to get this repaired. As another poster said though - the cost of sending it back to Portugal for repair would be ridiculous. Any thoughts appreciated, otherwise, it looks like it'll spend its life as a cheap box I bought at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.

Did you buy it from a reputable dealer? If so, how long ago?
Return it for a refund or replacement.

I just don’t understand magicians. If you bought a smart phone or camera and it failed after 4 uses would you just consider it an expensive paperweight? I doubt it.
Would you consider re-soldering connections? I doubt it.

If you wouldn’t accept it for any other purchase, why accept it for a magic prop?

The easiest, fastes and also cheapest way is to let it fix in a computer store

I hope and pray for a 2.0 version of this. I love the effect, but man my RFID reader misses its mark 50% of the time.

I know its kinda trivial, but I found myself wondering when I watched the trailer, "did no one say, hey Joao, that's not how you pronounce 'haunted'..." and him saying, "well, that's how *I* pronounce it!"

Are you absolutely certain you got a genuine Joao Miranda Haunted Box? In 2019, a prominent magic retailer was selling copies that Joao said were counterfeit. I saw one of the copies in this retailer’s booth at Magic Live and the internal board and electronics was VERY different than my Haunted Box.

There are definitely counterfeit ones out there and some of the owners have no idea they purchased a counterfeit.

Mark

Is there any way to distinguish the original and the imitations ❔