I have Swami Mantra. In fact, I gave a copy to a friend who has used several of the ideas in it to become one of the top college performers in the world. We tried several of the items together. They are dangerous and you could get hurt. So, knowing that you like this stuff, be careful.
The problem with a lot of the "Bizarre magic" stuff is that it is so poorly done. Most bizarre magic has never been performed, and the few pieces that have been, are awful. I was very much involved in the Bizarre movement when it regained it's popularity in the 90s. I held the first Bizarre magic event at a mainstream convention, which eventually became a regular and popular event. I was a Mystery Schooler and wrote a bit on the subject for the then snail mail based Shadow Network.
And even though I loved so much of it, I can tell you most of it is unperformable.
However, there are some great ideas in that literature, and if you are willing to work on them, they could be made commercially/dramatically viable.
So, where should you look:
Probably the best source for lots of general weirdness is the Invocation magazines. Originals can be found, but the entire series has been reprinted by Richard Kaufman. You'll find seance stuff, mindreading, geek material, everything.
For the king of the weird, Tony "Doc" Shiels is your man. He'll make your head spin. One of magic's great "characters." But Tony lives the part. Can you convince reporters you raised sea serpents from Britain's waterways in order to have a meeting?
For a good into text to the Bizarre, check out Burger's Strange Ceremonies. It's definitely has his personal slant to the topic, but there is a lot of material about other performers and that can give you a path to follow.
I once published a beginner's bibliography for Bizarre. If I can find it, I'll post it. Also, for my symposium, Craig Snader put together a fairly comprehensive bibliography. If you want bizarre books, that's where to look.
Brad
