The Medium shows the sitters a dusty packet of crumbling old letters tied with a black ribbon. Picking out a small back-trimmed envelope while setting aside the balance of the stack, he begins his eerie tale…”
And so began the routine; “Legacy of Luck” from my book “Restless Plots.”
Since 1999, much as occurred to make me re-think and re-build an entire portable act that could fit in the performer’s inside coat pocket. At the 2000 Deception Convention, I premiered this new concept for a complete séance package that could be carried comfortably into any environment and spontaneously drawn from to suit each individual group of sitters. I’ve used this version of a bare-handed-booking many times since with complete success. Walk confidently into any venue or home empty-handed and yet, you are prepared to do literally hours of material without resorting to any of the cumbersome apparatus often associated with Mediums and trickery- no bags, boxes, shrouded cases full of bells, books or candles. Only a small bundle of personal artifacts whose history forms the basis for your very best storytelling skills.
Everyone is familiar with the Victorian trope of love letters tied in a tattered bunch and discovered moldering away in a relative’s attic trunk. We have all seen this effective mystery gimmick put to use in countless detective films, television courtroom dramas and plays. There is something inherently very private, personal and strangely curious about a person’s collection of papers kept “under wraps.” Why did they save these particular papers? What secrets or emotions do they contain? Could they be haunted or cursed? Are they valuable? What can we learn that can entertain, enlighten – or even frighten us?
Skeletons in the closet? – Absolutely!
Inside “Bundles” the aspiring Medium will find the best stories and letters I have used employing simple magical methods to make them your own. New material has been written including tried and true favorites re-edited from “Restless Plots,” “Sense and Seance,” and “Loose Ends.” These have been re-written and pared down along with several other new routines into a streamlined packet of powerful manifestations that allows you to enter clean and carry on if necessary without any re-set. Do as much or as little as you want. Mix and match. Leave clean. These are simple straightforward miracles of mentalism tinged with the supernatural.
Ten routines plus bibliography. Quality heavy black coil bound, fifty 8.5″ x 11″ duplex pages. Plastic covered photo illustrated covers.
“I have long used the many clever concepts contained in Mark Edward’s ‘Bundles’, which for me is bizarre magick par excellence. Innocent papers tied with a tattered ribbon to create a whole show full of ambiance, stories, and mystery. You know this comes from a real worker and using his ideas has enhanced my own work immeasurably. With his attention turned to séances, be prepared for a treat.”
— Dr. Todd Landman
The Magic Circle, UK