Mentalists have the power to shock and awe.
They perform a myriad of tricks that can baffle and befuddle anyone watching.
While there are many predictable and simple mentalism tricks, there are also a few that are seemingly magical feats on stage.
These tricks can be difficult to understand and never fail to get a good reaction out of the audience.
In this article, we’re going to be looking at the 5 most baffling mentalism tricks performed on stage.
These are:
- The Book Test
- Bending a Spoon with the Mind
- The Chair Test
- The Russian Roulette
- The Number Mind Reading
Let’s get straight to it!
The Book Test
The Book Test trick, also called the Glance trick, has been stupifying audiences far and wide for ages.
This classic is performed by asking a member of the audience to select a book from a pile.
The mentalist then asks that person to open it up to any page and memorize a word from that page.
Almost magically, the mentalist then goes on to reveal the word that the audience member has chosen — without even looking at the page!
The average person has no way of figuring this trick out. And this is what makes it a surefire way to leave people’s jaws dropping.
However, there is a science to this “magic”.
Experienced mentalists try to use the power of unconscious suggestion to direct the audience member to choose a certain book and page.
Mentalists also hone in on a person’s body language and cues to figure out which word they’re going to select.
I know, I know.
Baffling, right?
Bending a Spoon With Your Mind
Bending a spoon with one’s mind is the quintessential trick in a psychic’s arsenal.
Here, mentalists are able to bend a spoon, or any other metal object, with nothing else but their mind.
If you’ve ever tried to bend a metal object before, you know how hard it can be.
But with the mind?
Impossible.
Mentalists achieve this using several different tactics.
Some weaken the spoon or metal object beforehand. They then hide a strong magnet underneath a table or cloth to deform it.
Others momentarily direct the audience’s attention elsewhere and bend the spoon manually in a split second their attention is diverted.
Still, others use illusion to make it seem like they’re bending the spoon or metal object. When in reality, they’re not.
Regardless of the ways they do it, it sure makes for an exceptional trick!
The Chair Test
This trick directly involves the audience.
The performer takes four people from the crowd.
He then brings out a concealed bag with 4 different colored balls. The colors are black, yellow, green, and red.
The audience members will be shown that the balls are really different colored, then placed back inside the bag.
The 4 selected participants will then grab one ball and hide it from the performer and audience.
The performer then makes each participant sit in one of the four chairs provided on stage.
The mentalist is able to accurately predict which person is holding which colored ball — despite never seeing them choose!
Even more amazing, when he makes everyone look at the underside of the chair, there is a paper that matches the color of the ball the person sitting on it is holding.
What?!?!
This trick is shrouded in secrecy, with many different variations.
A few ways this trick may be done is that the performer gathers information about the audience members before the show. This will give them an idea of what color is chosen.
Another way is that the performer asks unrelated questions that provide clues to the answers.
However, the true secrets behind this trick are still kept under tight wraps.
The Russian Roulette
This is probably the most well-known, but extremely dangerous trick performed only by the most experienced mentalists.
Here a single bullet is loaded into a gun with 6 chambers. The mentalist then spins the barrel to give the illusion of it being anywhere.
Then, the mentalist puts it against their head and manages to fire 5 times without the gun going off.
Was he extremely lucky that the 6th shot was the one with the bullet?
While VERY dangerous, there is some sense to this madness.
Highly-experienced mentalists carefully measure the weight of the revolver in their hands. With this, they are able to judge where the bullet is located.
Another way is to rig the revolver, making it only fire on the 6th attempt.
Regardless of the method, this is a trick that doesn’t fail to impress.
But remember, it should never be attempted by anyone who is not a trained professional.
The Number Mind Reading
This is one of the most well-known mentalism tricks.
It’s such a simple trick — yet so baffling.
As the name suggests, this involves reading someone’s mind.
Now, for this trick, someone is called up on stage and told to think of any random number.
They are possibly told to voice each letter of the number in their head. This is to give the mentalist a “clearer picture” of what they’re thinking.
Through performance, the mentalist guesses the exact number in the person’s mind. They can do this however way they want.
The better the reveal, the more in awe the audience will be.
This method is often done through suggestion. The mentalist is able to make the participant think of a specific number by placing ideas into their subconscious.
Other subtle clues may also be analyzed by the mentalist. For example, voicing the number in your head can make you move your lips, which the mentalist is quick to catch.
They may even apply the power of deduction, using a series of questions to get their guess right.
Conclusion
So those were the 5 most baffling mentalism tricks performed on stage.
To this day, we still don’t know how some of these tricks work — though we can speculate all we want.
All these tricks have been perfected by experienced mentalists, and aren’t so easy for the average person to replicate.
Through the power of psychology and other tricks, mentalists are able to make the seemingly impossible seem possible.