Halloween Restaurant Magic Ideas

[D@n]

Hi guys, I'm going to be working at a restaurant during a Halloween dress up party this weekend. I asked the manager if I could perform some Halloween style tricks and she said "That would be awesome". I already of thinking of performing The Web, Ghost Disc, Static, and a PK ring routine. Are there any Halloween tricks you guys can think of that you would perform and would somewhat fit a restaurant atmosphere (no fake blood or anything grotesque done to the body)? Please don't flame this as a "Oh another kid who got himself in a gig he shouldn't have because he doesn't know what to do", I know I can put together a routine, and if for some reason it doesn't feel right I can always fall back on my usual routines. I'm just curious what you guys can think of.
Dan

 

[LBarnes]

Haven't got much time, but I'll be using the gimmickless handling of Crush by Eric Ross, found here at Theory 11, to pull off an incredibly spooky seance piece. In short, my script will be something along the lines of, holding hands in a circle around the bottle and getting everyone to concentrate, when the bottle starts to crush that's going to be when "the bad spirits are gathering energy". Then when you open the bottle, they leave this world.

Sounds silly in writing but imagine having all your family and friends around in a dark, candle lit room, with an eerie atmosphere. Plus no explanation of how it's done what so ever, because you're cleaner than clean. My family will be sleeping with the lights on for weeks!

Hope this helps man

Lloyd

 

[visualartist]

you can adapt many regular tricks to halloween themes. your script should change more than your tricks.
Loops will work wonders for halloween. Prediction illusions would be great for seance type things. Try to adapt what you already have for this short notice.

 

[eostresh]

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/2561
Get that. It's free and Chris has a great idea for a kind of haunted pack routine. I made one with a Bike 1800s deck and it looks and works great. It is also very easy to do so if you have some basic understanding with magic all you will really need to do is script some patter and work it into your set.

 

[Jacob L]

My one thing of advice is do NOT do the Web. Spiders around one's food? Very unappealing, and I've heard multiple people say that is not something for restaurant work. It's like borrowing their straw to perform a straw through bill effect, then giving it back. Don't do anything that could ruin an appetite. I know it's very Halloween-esque, but not fit for a food environment.

 

[Pete Pridanonda]

The Okito Voodoo doll where you lay the doll flat on your hand and make it stands upright is the perfect effect for halloween. I've been using this effect in all of my performances everyday for the past three months now and it's one of my audience's favorites. I usually don't ask anyone to use the effects that I've recommended but in this case, I urge you to use and perform this effect. You would be missing out a whole lot if you decided not to include this magical effect in your shows. This effect can be done completely surrounded with close scrutiny and they would not find a thing. No M5, threads, wires, or magnets. I've performed this over 400 times to different audiences over the past three months and I never leave home without it. Here are two of my videos performing this effect LIVE for real people, hope you add this to your repertoire, I guarantee you will fell in love with this little guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmIMRoJG-so


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsBoLs2dvH8

 

[D@n]

My one thing of advice is do NOT do the Web. Spiders around one's food? Very unappealing, and I've heard multiple people say that is not something for restaurant work. It's like borrowing their straw to perform a straw through bill effect, then giving it back. Don't do anything that could ruin an appetite. I know it's very Halloween-esque, but not fit for a food environment.

Yeah, I'll have to be careful with the Web, I probably won't end up using it.
Dan

 

[Filliana]

The witch of Glastonsbury would be a good trick for Halloween, I guess.
But I guess it would depend on the ambient noise, as you have to narrate a bit.

 

[Craig Browning]

Is it just me or does this sound awfully late in the game to be thinking about such things?

We can ignore 40 some years of doing this stuff and maybe even the standard business model that states that you plan for the the next season. . . that's a minimum of 90-days out from the start of the next quarter and when it comes to major holiday times 6-9 months is the norm with certain industries planning 11-12 months prior.

Waiting so late in the game only means one will deliver unpracticed, ill rehearsed CRAP that is of the sort that has lead to a world filled with shoddy magicians who seriously injure the craft for the rest of us that rely on it to make a living.

You may want to really think about this.

 

[D@n]

Is it just me or does this sound awfully late in the game to be thinking about such things?

We can ignore 40 some years of doing this stuff and maybe even the standard business model that states that you plan for the the next season. . . that's a minimum of 90-days out from the start of the next quarter and when it comes to major holiday times 6-9 months is the norm with certain industries planning 11-12 months prior.

Waiting so late in the game only means one will deliver unpracticed, ill rehearsed CRAP that is of the sort that has lead to a world filled with shoddy magicians who seriously injure the craft for the rest of us that rely on it to make a living.

You may want to really think about this.

I'm not going to argue over this because for one thing, you are correct, and for the second, I already addressed this in the opening statement of this topic.

 

[DannyT]

My one thing of advice is do NOT do the Web. Spiders around one's food? Very unappealing, and I've heard multiple people say that is not something for restaurant work. It's like borrowing their straw to perform a straw through bill effect, then giving it back. Don't do anything that could ruin an appetite. I know it's very Halloween-esque, but not fit for a food environment.

I see what you mean. It's like pulling a card out of your mouth in a restaurant. It's just not the right environment to do it in.

 

[William Draven]

The witch of Glastonsbury would be a good trick for Halloween, I guess.
But I guess it would depend on the ambient noise, as you have to narrate a bit.

Good effect. Prater's Sectet Key would also kill and has instant reset, and would be more visual and versatile.

 

[William Draven]

I see what you mean. It's like pulling a card out of your mouth in a restaurant. It's just not the right environment to do it in.

It's a fake spider, I think you'll be ok. Its not like card to mouth or blockhead that present a contamination/ bio hazard issue

 

[DannyT]

It's a fake spider, I think you'll be ok. Its not like card to mouth or blockhead that present a contamination/ bio hazard issue

Yeah, but it still goes on the list of "things I don't want at the dinner table".
-Insects
-bodily fluids

If you have to think twice about a specific trick or prop to use at a certain venue, then you should probably scrap it.

 

[William Draven]

I'm guessing the old rubber fly in the ice cube trick isn't high on your list either?

I've made good use of the Web for a number of years, and really you need to be aware of how and when you use it. You get the wrong person with a severe fear of spiders on it, and you could create a dangerous environment for them, and yourself!

I don't see anything wrong with it outright, you just need to be aware of when and how you use it.

 

[Simple Magic]

I would recommend Haunting by Tony Chris. Watch Dan White perform this in his tv special.

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td3yYNzbNt4

This could be the easiest card trick you can do but you have to think very well of when you will do this, where is the right place, how do you want the whole image to look, etc. It's very easy to read that but very difficult to do. So in short, this could also be the most difficult card trick because you really have to think very well. Every decision that you do, even the little ones is a huge impact that could make the effect better or worst.

I hope I've helped you somehow. Good luck!

 

[Jacob L]

I'm guessing the old rubber fly in the ice cube trick isn't high on your list either?

I've made good use of the Web for a number of years, and really you need to be aware of how and when you use it. You get the wrong person with a severe fear of spiders on it, and you could create a dangerous environment for them, and yourself!

I don't see anything wrong with it outright, you just need to be aware of when and how you use it.

True, you need to find the right person to do it for. Still, the idea of a bug at my table if I'm eating just doesn't seem appetizing, and what are you going to do with the fly once you put it in their drink, fish it out yourself? The obvious answer is no, but I doubt they would want to touch it either. For me, it just doesn't seem like something you bring to a food venue.

Geoff Williams has a variation of this that's much more friendly on his "Miracles for Mortals" DVD called Bear Hands I think? It basically uses a sticker instead of an actual spider. Not terrible "spooky" but lots of fun.

 

[William Draven]

I see what your saying, and had it be a real bug, I'd totally agree. I guess I just don't think that the Web is a no go for this setting.

Of course the fly in the ice cube comment was pure satire. There's no safe way you could do it without contaminating someones drink.

 

[DannyT]

I'm guessing the old rubber fly in the ice cube trick isn't high on your list either?

Definitely not, haha.

I've made good use of the Web for a number of years, and really you need to be aware of how and when you use it. You get the wrong person with a severe fear of spiders on it, and you could create a dangerous environment for them, and yourself!

I don't see anything wrong with it outright, you just need to be aware of when and how you use it.

I agree. In a restaurant setting the last thing you need is a woman screaming "SPIDER"! when there's other people at tables eating their food. These people don't know what you're doing, so for all they know, the woman saw a huge spider at her table.
Definitely know who you're performing for.

 

[eostresh]

Of course the fly in the ice cube comment was pure satire. There's no safe way you could do it without contaminating someones drink.

Oh I don't know...If you put it in hard liquor the alcohol would be sufficient to sanitize the gag. Besides....anyone crass enough to put ice in a 12+ single malt deserves what they get.