Labyrinth

Labyrinth was a booklet-size journal published by Stephen Hobbs that ran sporadically for 5 years from 1994 until 1999. Each issue was limited to 100 copies. Every other issue of Labyrinth featured the magic of one particular person.

A complete file consists in 13 issues. The final issue was numbered 12 because there were two parts to Issue 8.

Issues

Issue No. 4

Alain Nu issue. An additional 100 copies were printed for Alain to use as lecture notes. They were identical to the actual issue except that on the cover it also says, "The Mentalism of Alan Nguyen"

• VooDoo Redo – The performer displays a voodoo doll, a pin cushion with 6 pins stuck in it and a stack of cards each bearing the name of a different part of the human anatomy. Three body parts are selected using three pins. The pins are subsequently stuck into the corresponding parts of the voodoo doll. It is then revealed that there is a second doll hidden in the pin cushion. The doll is removed to reveal that it has three pins stuck in exactly the same positions as the spectator’s doll.
• Rune Speller Fortune Teller – Using a set of rune dice the performer divines a thought of word.
• Bender Ender – A spoon is placed in the folds of a regular handkerchief which is held by a spectator. The performer gestures around the handkerchief which is seen to move slightly. The spectator unwraps the spoon to find it bent into a corkscrew.
• On Books & Good Looks – One of Alain’s specialties is the book test and this chapter examines six techniques that he uses in ungaffed book tests. These techniques are Peek-to-Peek, Page Number Rifle Force, the Romantic Reader, the * Silver Dollar Force, the Natural Anagram Principle and the Peek Bank. Alain feels that with these procedures you can rival any effect that is possible with gaffed book tests with the added advantage of being able to give the books away or to leave them casually on the table at the end of your performance.
• Over-Draun Challenge – Alain’s adaptation of Draun’s Fan Glimpse to three cards.
• The Red-Black Stack – Alain’s walk around instant reset version of Paul Curry’s “Out of this World.”
• Invisibility Watch – Alain’s presentation for the Invisible Deck

Issue No. 9

All of the effects in this issue have an Los Angeles connection:

• Time Flies – The flight of a thought of card from one deck to another from the mind of Dean Dill.
• Con-Clue-Sion – A Phil Goldstein and Stephen Hobbs contribution that lets you predict the outcome of a game of Clue – the murderer, the weapon and the room.
• The Trans-Pocket Switch and Applications – John Gustaferro’s technique for convincing an audience that a card has flown to your pocket along with four additional applications.
• Dunbury Aces – Part of Steve Silverman’s Magic Castle act, a Dunbury Delusion effect where the “prediction” cards transform into the three mates of the selection.
• Multi-Level Dealing – Another part of Silverman’s Castle act, this is a demo of false dealing inspired by Bruce Cervon’s “Devil’s Elevator”. At the end of this routine, the four random cards transform into the four kings.
• Multiplex Interchange – John Lovick’s extension of Jack Carpenter’s “Pocket Interchange.”

Issue No. 10

The magic of Eric Dockery:

• The Golden Chain – This is a routine that Eric uses in virtually every performance. It is his in the hands version of the “Endless Chain.”
• The Rose – A female spectator is asked if she would like a rose and is given a rose sticker with which she marks a card. A short ambitious card sequence is performed and finally the performer magically transforms the sticker into a real rose (the selection returning to its original pre-sticker condition) which is given to the spectator to keep.
• Hot Sauce – Eric’s sponge ball routine that concludes with the appearance of a bottle of Tabasco sauce.
• The Genie Bottle – Eric’s take on the classic Prayer Vase.
• No Camera Trickery – Three effects that Eric uses to frame his act. A torn and restored sign, a camera production and card to camera effect that brings the act full circle.
• Repeat Card to Envelope – Two selections are signed and lost. After failing to locate the first selection, the performer takes a wallet previously handed to a spectator and removes a sealed envelope. The envelope is ripped apart and the first selection is found inside. Placing the wallet back in his pocket the performer tries to locate the second selection. Failing again, the performer removes the wallet but no card or envelope is found. The performer calls attention to the previously destroyed envelope on the table. It has magically restored itself and the second selection is found within.
• Paddle Routine Notes – Eric’s ideas on the classic paddle routine from Sach’s Sleight of Hand done with a dinner knife.

References

• http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=201397#Post201397