WGM III -- FINAL WARNING

Working late at night in his laboratory, mad scientist Gary Ouellet has once again fused the living tissue of 15 top magicians into two hours of entertainment, to be presented as The World's Greatest Magic III on November 27 (the night before Thanksgiving) on NBC from 8-10 P.M. Tune in for the astral bodies of Mac King, Brett Daniels, Hans Klok and Sittah, Joseph Gabriel, Michael Finney, Galina, Nathan Burton, David Williamson, Steve Wyrick, Jean-Pierre Vallarino, Dirk Arthur, Bob Arno, Peter Marvey, and the Pendragons, all hosted by the always scary John Ritter.

SPIDERS AND COBWEBS AND MAGIC, OH MY! Just in time for Halloween comes this genuinely terrifying Jim Pace card trick, "The Web," marketed by Louis Falanga. We've tried this out here at Little Egypt Cemetery and can testify that the screams are real. Send $10 to L&L Publishing , P.O. Box 100, Tahoma, CA 96142. Check the Card Trick Boneyard below for a brief description of our handling.

DEATH NOTICES Although topsiders are no doubt mourning their losses, the Little Egypt Cemetery welcomes new residents Geoffrey Buckingham, Danny Dew, and J.B. Bobo, who died on the 9th, 12th, and 26th of September, respectively. Geoffrey Buckingham was the British magician and author of It's Easier Than You Think, and the ubiquitous photo of him in top hat and white gloves, springing the cards from one hand to another, defined for many of us what a magician should look like. Known in Texas as a school show performer, J.B. Bobo is probably better known to most of you for his magnum opus, The New Modern Modern Coin Magic. The book is still available in a handsome hardcover format for $30, from the publisher at Magic Inc., 5082 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625. As for Danny Dew, I first read his name in Genii when I was a boy, and he was pictured on his knees at some national magic convention, doing a card trick (or was it the cups and balls?) on the carpet. I had not attended a magic convention at that age nor did I know any real magicians, but that image made me think that if adults could have that kind of fun, then perhaps growing up wouldn't be all that bad. Magically, I think of Danny Dew as the creator of the coolest "Oil and Water" card trick I've ever seen, and it is an extreme privilege to be able to share it with you this month, in honor of his passing. Check the Card Trick Boneyard below for access.

MAC KING UNEARTHED Anyone who swallows a worm in his act is a Cemetery Times kind of guy. We "dug up" Mac King recently at Bears Place in Bloomington, IN and persuaded him to open up on his celebrity friends. Although we expected a terse "no comment" to all our probing questions, we did put Mac on the rack, and it took only a couple of turns before he was singing like a canary. Click Mac tells all for the complete in-depth interview with Mac King.

THE NIGHT IS LARGE "For as long as I can remember I have been impressed, perhaps overwhelmed is more accurate, by the vastness of the universe and the even greater vastness of the darkness that extends beyond the farthest frontiers of scientific knowledge, beyond what Dunsany liked to call the fields we know.'" -- Martin Gardner Although we at Little Egypt Cemetery comprehend eternal darkness all too well, it is amusing to observe mortal speculation on the subject. In this case the philosopher is Martin Gardner, and The Night is Large is the title of his new book, subtitled Collected Essays, 1938-1995. The scope of Mr. Gardner's speculations is indeed overwhelming. If you know him only for his contributions to magic, this book makes a nice introduction to what has made Martin Gardner famous in the real world, where his 56 or so books include such familiar titles as Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery; Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science; and The Ambidextrous Universe. The Night Is Large is $29.95, from St. Martin's Press. In the magic world, you can sample Mr. Gardner's work in The Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic, $35 from Magic Inc., 5082 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago IL 60625 or the monumental Martin Gardner Presents, $50 from Richard Kaufman, 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 106-292, Washington, DC 20016. His column "Martin Gardner's Corner" also appears each month in MAGIC magazine.

OBITUARY PAGE As a big wheel here at Little Egypt Cemetery, I have access to the Book of the Dead and can therefore arrange welcoming ceremonies for those about to join us soon. You might wish to take a look at our upcoming Little Egypt Cemetery Obituary Page to see if your name is on it. Of course, when we say soon around here we mean relative to eternity, so please don't write us for exact arrival dates. Trick or treat!

CONGRATULATIONS A huge congratulatory wreath to Erika Larsen and especially Max Maven for surprising us all last month with the 60th anniversary issue of Genii. That one family has published a magic journal for 60 years is an extraordinary record in itself, but Max's magazine-length retrospective ably demonstrates that it has also been a journal of incredible quality. Max presents a decade by decade review that not only covers the history of Genii magazine, but also of the Larsen family, of magic in general, and of life itself. (Having subscribed to the thing for 37 years or so, I experienced the eerie sensation of reading my own life's story.) In addition, the issue contains four to five top magic tricks that were published in each decade, adding up to a total of 31 very special effects, more than you will find in most magic books. One can only speculate as to how much work this took, and how much fun it was to do it.

Just in time for your Halloween reading comes a fat new book of illusion plans that might have pleased the Marquis de Sade. Little Egypt Cemetery's resident book critic, who's been at it since Hocus Pocus Junior sent the magic clubs of 1634 into a tizzy of letter-writing denouncing exposure and crabbing about lifted material, takes a look at Paul Osborne's Haunted Illusions. Click on Bookworms and Earwigs for an illusion-by-illusion look at the book that is keeping the corpses in Blackstone Hollow up all night.

Many clever, practical, and entertaining card tricks lie buried in books of the past, often overlooked by the student of the arcane arts as he lusts for the newest book on the dealers' shelves. The passing last month of Danny Dew reminded us of one of the best of these forgotten or overlooked masterpieces, Danny's "Oil and Water." This effect originally apperared in Magic and Methods of Ross Bertram, published in 1978. Fortunately, both Magic and Methods of Ross Bertram and its followup companion volume, Bertram on Sleight of Hand, are again available, from Lee Jacobs Productions, P.O. Box 362, Pomeroy, OH 45769-0362. The former book is $45 and the latter is at a new low price of $65 (it was originally released at $80). The Bertram books garnered deserved raves when they came out and are receiving even more glowing appreciation on reappraisal by such reviewers as Jamy Ian Swiss (Genii) and Mike Close (MAGIC). They are rich in material and well worth your time. I hope that the "Oil and Water" effect offered here will rekindle your interest. Ah, but to get to Card Trick Boneyard, you must first cross Styx Creek, and that requires you to whisper a password into the oarsman's ear. This month, let's honor the bearded fellow with the deep voice who put spooky magic back on the map in 1988 with Spirit Theater, published by Richard Kaufman. You also know him as the author of such books as Secrets and Mysteries for the Close-up Entertainer, Intimate Power, The Experience of Magic, The Performance of Close-up Magic, Strange Ceremonies and, recently with Bob Neale, Magic & Meaning. To cross the Styx, click on Card Trick Boneyard. When prompted for the Userid, enter the word chicago. When promped for the Password, enter Mr. Burger's first name. If you are completely stumped by all this, you can just enter the name of Max Maven's monkey or jump, for consolation, to What if I don't know the password? As always, both the Userid and the Password must be entered completely in lower case. In addition to "Oil and Water," the Boneyard also contains "Prime Cuts," a Halloween card trick of my own, and a brief description of my handling of "The Web." Warning: each requires some prior knowledge. See you on the other side.

To help you navigate the cemetery at night, simply click on the desired destination below, and a cold, clammy hand will lead you there. A. Last year you had a page of spooky Halloween links. Did you ignore your family for hours on end again as you researched all those eerie sites for us? Why, yes, dear reader, I did just that. Click on Haunted Links for a tour of the dark side of the web. B. My favorite part of the magazine is your personal commentary in "Stirring the Tana Leaves." Do you have any photos of Columbine, your new teenage secretary? Would she be interested in an internet relationship with a guy who does card tricks in his bedroom while he's sitting at his computer console? I have no photos of the child, and I think you should get out more. But please click on Stirring the Tana Leaves for more photos from my summer vacation along with the usual must-read chitchat. C. I'm a female reader and think Mac King is as cute as they get. Take me back to the Complete In-depth Mac King Interview. Your wish is granted. Just click on fig newton and you're there. D. I know you told me to bookmark the regular magic links last month but I forgot. Can I still get there? Of course. The Favorite Links page is available and contains a new Links quiz. E. I tried the "Oil and Water" trick and it didn't work. Do you have Lee Jacobs' phone number? The trick works fine as written. Just be patient and work it slowly with cards in hand. If you've already accessed the trick this session, click Trick Reprise and you can get back in without the password. F. The Obituaries page scared me, and I'm glad my name wasn't on it. Those names never change, do they? You never know. You can always click on Obits and take another look. G. I know someone who will pay $500 for a two-hour illusion show for his company's Christmas party. I don't actually own any illusions, but I understand the Paul Osborne illusions are really easy to build. Can you take me back to that book review? Why, certainly. I think you should do "The Buzz Saw," "Girl to Gorilla," and "Executioner's Dream" to make certain your sponsor gets his money's worth. And who knows? Perhaps a TV talent scout will be in the audience. Just click . . . and maybe Claudia needs a date for New Year's Eve for a return peek. H. I think I have necrophiliac tendencies. Is Anna Eva Fay really buried in Little Egypt Cemetery? Can you take me back to the opening photograph? I'll be sooo glad when we can move out of this Halloween season and on to Christmas. Meanwhile, allow a ghostly hand to take you back to the top of the issue. I. This issue gives me the creeps. Can I turn back to the September issue? You certainly can. First I'll take you back to the Welcome Center. From there you can click on any month of your choice. Be warned that the passwords are different for different months, and that you will probably have to try twice if you jump from month to month.