Mark Strivings

"Brilliant! This is excellent!" - Jeff McBride Did I cannibalize a G.I Joe? Awhile back I found myself in the company of a bunch of wonderfully strange wonder-workers at Poe's Magic Conference in Baltimore. It was great fun and I got to see old friends that I haven't seen in years as well as meet...

"Holy sh*t! I'm completely blown away. I thought this was going to be a small little manuscript. There is so much information here! "While this is not meant to be a complete encyclopedia of "living and dead tests"......it's very close! "Dozens and dozens of routines and ideas are taught. To me many...

What is the Decanter of Death? It is pictured here. It doesn't look like much, but lurking within this innocent-looking little glass are the makings of a sinister and highly commercial presentation. Here's what happens. The performer displays three small glasses (as pictured), three small...

A full-length exploration into the creation of miniatures 'sets' of mentalism material using thesimplest of props - a box of matches or a handful of coins. Armed with nothing more than a box of matches or a small handful of coins, you can nowentertain your close up audiences with amazing...

An intimate communication from the spirits... completely at home in a séance or any small to medium bizarre performance. The effect is simple. A coin is used. This can be "any" coin. It can be borrowed and marked for identification if you wish. The coin is placed into a small translucent plastic...

Here's the effect. The performer brings eight people up on stage and divides them into two teams of four each. There can be all kinds of fun picking captains (read: CEO's, principals, teachers and such) who then choose their teams, depending on the situation. Each person is given a large card...

Mark Strivings presents... Rhine 2000 by Ray Piatt And with this rather short-sighted title, we have a unique piece that takes an old mentalism demonstration in a whole new direction. Ray first released this piece (under this name) sometime in the late 80's. I'm sure that the title seemed plenty...

Mark Strivings presents... Ray Piatt's Close Up Classic E.S.P. Domino Principle Here's a self-working tabletop miracle prediction that is instantly and endlessly repeatable with a different outcome every time. Literally works all by itself. A 'game' of dominoes is played using a unique set of...

Back in The Jinx and subsequently in " Annemann's Practical Mental Effects ", Theo Annemann published an absolutely fabulous idea. It was a devious and incredibly simple design duplication. I first came across it back in the mid-80's. But there's just one problem. As published, I haveyet to find...

I've been doing this for 20 years and it has never failed to garner strong reaction wherever it is shown. I recently performed it at the local magic club. Here's what the club president, Matt Brandt, had to say: "When Mark pulled the Red Snapper out of his pocket, I must admit more than a few...

The dynamite follow-up to one of the most important new developments in modern mentalism. Continuing on the worldwide success of Mobile Mentalism , here's Volume II ! Continuing one of the most important movements in mentalism in the last 30 years, this is Mobile Mentalism Volume II . Loaded to...

Practical mentalism for the next millennium and beyond... If you perform close-up at all, you need this book... The book that started an entire movement in the world of magic and mentalism. Prior to this book, strolling and walk-around mentalism didn't even exist. Since then, it has become a...

Five "ESP Compatibility Test Cards" are shown, each with a different colored spot on the back. They are mixed with the colors face down, and one is freely selected and placed aside, sight unseen. Now five small colored stones, the same colors as on the back of the cards, are mixed and one is...

An updated Annemann classic! A deck is shown and shuffled. Three cards are selected sight unseen and placed into a spectator's pocket. The performer can be clear across the room and blindfolded! A card is removed from the pocket and concentrated upon. The performer names it! This is repeated with...

The performer brings out a red and a blue deck of cards, each in their own case. A spectator is offered a free choice of which deck to use. The other is tossed back into the performer's case. The deck is shown and shuffled, a card is freely selected and left face down without revealing its...

An incredible mentalism effect that baffles audiences! Picture this: I'm at a cocktail party and performing strolling magic. I am working with a small group of very nice people and I kick into the following spiel. "Suppose you were to walk up to ten people randomly on the street, hand them a pen...

The Most Versatile Device of Its Kind Anywhere... The hottest utility item in decades! You get a business card case that looks completely normal but allows invisible access from the outside to the inside. It can be handled completely normally and casually and will not reveal its workings. It is...