This article contains a list of magic tricks. In magic literature, tricks are often called effects. Based on published literature and marketed effects, there are millions of effects; a short performance routine by a single magician may contain dozens of such effects.
Some students of
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
strive to refer to effects using a proper name, and also to properly attribute an effect to its creator. For example, consider an effect in which a magician shows four aces, and then the aces turn face up one at a time in a mysterious fashion. This effect, recognized as ''Twisting the Aces'', is attributed to
Dai Vernon
Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David; June 11, 1894 – August 21, 1992), a.k.a. The Professor, was a Canadian magician. His sleight of hand technique and knowledge, particularly with card tricks and close ...
, and it is based on a false count invented by
Alex Elmsley. Some tricks are listed merely with their marketed name (particularly those sold as stand-alone tricks by retail dealers), whereas others are listed by the name given within magic publications.
Magic tricks
*
Assistant's Revenge
*
Aztec Lady
*
Battle of the Barrels
*
Bill in Lemon The bill in lemon is an effect in which a magician requests a currency note from a spectator and makes the note vanish, then proceeding to slice a lemon open to show the note inside. Variations include the coin in orange, and more generally "somethi ...
*
Book test The book test is a classic mentalism demonstration used by mentalists to demonstrate telepathy-like effects. The name refers to its early use as a test of mental powers.
Effect
An audience member (the "spectator") is called onstage to assist the m ...
*
Bullet Catch
The bullet catch is a stage magic illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at them — often in the mouth, sometimes in the hand or sometimes caught with other items such as a dinner plate. The bullet catch ma ...
*
Cabinet Escape
*
Chinese Linking Rings
The Chinese linking rings is a classic of illusion magic (illusion), magic in which solid metal rings appear to link and unlink, pass through each other, and form chains and other complex patterns and configurations. The rings may even be handed ...
*
Chinese Water Torture Cell
The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mid-air from his an ...
*
Cut and Restore Rope Trick
The cut and restore rope trick is a Magic (illusion), magic effect in which the performer cuts a piece of rope (usually tied into a knot) which then appears to be magically restored. Sometimes the trick is done with a piece of string, a handkerch ...
*
David Copperfield's Laser Illusion
*
Dove Pan
*
Devil's Torture Chamber
*
Dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...
*
Drill of Death The Drill of Death is a large-scale stage illusion in which a performer appears to be impaled on a giant drill. It was created by magician André Kole and illusion designer Ken Whitaker for magician Melinda Saxe. It was one of Saxe's signature tric ...
*
Guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...
*
Impalement
*
Indian Rope Trick
The Indian rope trick is a magic trick said to have been performed in and around India during the 19th century. Sometimes described as "the world’s greatest illusion", it reputedly involved a magician, a length of rope, and one or more boy as ...
*
Inexhaustible bottle
*Several varieties of
Levitation
Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact.
Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...
*
Miser's Dream
Miser's Dream is a magic routine where the magician produces coins from the air (and often other places) and drops them into a receptacle they are holding, usually a metal bucket. It has also been called "Aerial Treasury". It was invented in the 1 ...
*
Metamorphosis
*
Needle-through-arm
*
Origami
) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...
*
Predicament Escape
A predicament escape is any form of magic trick or escapology stunt in which the performer is trapped in an apparently dangerous situation and is required to escape from it. Classic examples include the Table of Death, Houdini's Chinese Water T ...
*
Quick-change
*
Radium Girl
The Radium Girl is a stage illusion of the classic type involving a female assistant in a large box and is probably best categorised as a penetration or restoration-type illusion. Its origins and history are much less well documented than th ...
*
Sands of the Nile Sands of the Nile, also known as Hindu Sands or Sands of the Desert, is a popular magic trick performed since the early part of the 20th century. It was a staple of Doug Henning's stage and television shows.
Effect
A large transparent bowl is plac ...
*Several variations of
Sawing a Woman in Half
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a female assistant) is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces.
History
There remains a debate about the origin of sawing ill ...
, including the
Zig Zag Girl
The Zig-Zag Girl illusion is a stage illusion akin to the more famous sawing a woman in half illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides an assistant into thirds, only to have them emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance c ...
and
Mismade Girl The Mismade Girl is a stage illusion, designed by American magician Chuck Jones. It is a variation of the sawing a woman in half
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a fema ...
*
Squeeze Box (as created by
André Kole)
*
Table of Death
*
Thumper (magic trick)
*
Wringer
A mangle or wringer is a mechanical laundry aid consisting of two rollers in a sturdy frame, connected by cogs and (in its home version) powered by a hand crank or by electricity. While the appliance was originally used to wring water from wet ...
Close-up effects
*
Ambitious Card
The Ambitious Card, or Elevator Card, is a magic effect in which a playing card seems to return to the top of the deck after being placed elsewhere in the middle of the deck. One of many versions of the Ambitious Card Routine available on interne ...
*
Blackstone's Card Trick Without Cards Blackstone's Card Trick Without Cards is a magic trick. As the trick requires only that a card is ''thought of'', it does not require the use of a deck of cards
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin card ...
*
Card Warp
*
Chink-a-chink
Chink-a-chink is a simple close-up magic coin trick in which a variety of small objects, usually four, appear to magically transport themselves from location to location when covered by the performer's hands, until the items end up gathered toge ...
*
The Circus Card Trick The Circus Card Trick is a self-working card trick where the performer uses verbal misdirection to prompt the participant into betting
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a rando ...
*
Cups and Balls
*
Detachable Thumb
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Floating Match on Card
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French Drop (The Tourniquet)
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Glorpy
* Healed and Sealed
*
Hot Foil Trick
*
Hummer Card
*
Needle Through Thumb
The needle through thumb is the name of a magic trick which is meant to give the illusion that the magician is actually stabbing his own thumb using several sewing needles.
Effect
The performer shows his thumb to the audience, showing that it i ...
*
Retention of Vision Vanish
In the retention of vision vanish, the magician places a coin or small object between the fingers and the thumb of the right hand. The left hand is palm up with the palm slightly tilted towards the audience. The right approaches and displays the o ...
(Pinch Vanish)
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Scotch and Soda
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Snapper (puzzle)
*
The Best Coin Fold
*
The Four Burglars The Four Burglars is a magic effect in which the magician shows the four Jacks from a deck of cards, calling them burglars, and tells a story about them entering a house in different ways (the front door, a window, another window, and the back do ...
*
Three Card Monte
Three-card Monte – also known as Find the Lady and Three-card Trick – is a confidence game in which the victims, or "marks", are tricked into betting a sum of money, on the assumption that they can find the "money card" among three face-dow ...
*
Zarrow Shuffle Zarrow shuffle is a sleight of hand technique that gives the appearance of being a normal riffle shuffle, but in fact leaves the cards in exactly the same order. This is an example of a false shuffle. It was invented by magician Herb Zarrow c. ...
Levitations
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Asrah Levitation
*
Balducci Levitation
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King Rising Levitation
*
David Copperfield's Flying
Utilities/accessories
Thousands of devices are used by magicians to accomplish their effects. However, most of the devices are never even seen by the audience during the performance of the trick(s). While not generally tricks themselves, some of these devices are very valuable to performers of magic.
*
Topit A Topit is a pocket installed inside a jacket used by Magician (illusion), magicians to dispose of objects secretly. It plays a similar role in the magician's toolkit to pulls, holdouts, servantes (magic), servantes, and techniques such as sleeving ...
*A.R. mini-stage
*Funkenring
*
Gibeciere
A gibeciere is a large pouch-like device used by magicians as a utility device, most often to aid in the performance of the famous magic trick
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, ...
*Business card production wallet
*ITR (invented by James George)
*Surya's Device Pro (invented by Surya Kumar and James George)
[Miracles DVD]
*
Thumb tip
A thumb tip is a magician's prop designed to fit over and appear to be the magician's thumb used for vanishing, producing, or switching small objects. A classic effect is to have a silk handkerchief or other small object pressed into the top of ...
*Victorian ring box or Lippincott Box is used for storing small items such as coins that have been marked by a participant in an illusion and later appear inside the locked box
See also
*
List of card manipulation techniques
Card manipulation is the branch of magical illusion that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used to perform card tricks in magical performances, especially in close-up ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic tricks
List
Entertainment lists