Magic Short x - The Voodoo Cabinet


Carlos scanned the audience, looking for a couple with an ill-defined something, to invite them to take part in the next illusion. He had almost given up on spotting people suitable for the more advanced version of this illusion. The magician had resigned himself to performing the less adventurous version, until he spotted the couple on the back row more into each other than what was happening on stage.

He sent Rita, his lead assistant, to go and invite them to join in the show by coming on stage to participate in an illusion. Meanwhile, Lucy, his other assistant, and he checked the props; turning the upright cabinet to show that the only external feature was a pair of double doors on the front.

Rita approached the couple and when she spoke, it took them a few seconds to twig that she was speaking to them. The man said, "Sorry, what was that?"

"Carlos invites you to come on stage and take part in an illusion," the assistant repeated.

"Um, sorry, which one of us?" he replied.

"Both of you, Carlos needs a couple who love each other and aren't afraid to show it for the illusion he wants to perform. He thought that you would be perfect."

The Man turned to his female companion. "What do you reckon, Claudie?"

The woman appeared to mull the invitation over for a few seconds before saying, "Yeah, why not?" She turned to the assistant; "You're Rita, aren't you? Will it be something exciting and adventurous?"

The assistant nodded and smiled that the woman had got her name right; few people paid any attention to the names of assistants. "The excitement will depend on what you are into, but it is definitely adventurous."

"Ok, we'll do it," the woman declared. She kissed her partner and stood, taking his hand. They followed the assistant to the stage.

As they reach the top of the steps up to the stage, Carlos greeted them and chatted with them for a minute or two, during which the audience learn that 'Claudie' is the man's nickname for Claudia, he is Gerald, but she calls him 'Geraldo', and that they have been together 'happily unmarried' for eighteen years.

The audience noticed that the magician is sizing up the couple, who are both wearing brown trousers, leather sandals and waistcoats with a hippy-ish look to them; Gerald had a soft collarless cotton shirt under his waistcoat, but Claudia did not appear to be wearing anything under hers.

"Now, here we have what I call my voodoo cabinet. You will notice that it is tall, but narrow; both side-to-side and front-to-back. The purpose of this is that whoever is put into the cabinet has little or no space to move; they cannot bend or squat or any other move that might help them achieve what I plan.

"The first order of business is to prepare the dolls. I hope you don't mind, but this will involve plucking a hair from each of your heads." The assistant brought a doll each, each made of a pink fabric and showing signs of having been hurriedly dress in the clothes they wore. The first one, carried by Rita, had been dress the resemble as closely as practical Gerald's clothes, so had blue trousers, a white shirt and a black waistcoat; its short blond hair was much shorter and brighter than Gerald's dirty blond locks that waved down to not quite reach his shoulders.

Given no indication that either of the couple objected, Carlos reached up to pull a hair from Gerald's head and twisted it into the doll's hair. Gerald winced,but did not comment. Rita then handed the doll to Claudia tell her to hold it while they showed Gerald the inside of the cabinet.

Carlos opened the cabinet and with Lucy's help displayed the inside to the audience. It contained some fittings on the back wall; straps and anchor points and a pair of vertical bars either side of the middle third of the cabinet. "Because nobody really believes that the size of the cabinet is enough to restrict the movement of its occupant we shall be strapping you in, so you can't do anything."

Claudia seemed more alarmed by this that Gerald, who stepped into the cabinet and turned to face front. He filled the cabinet with no more than a few centimetres on either side or above. After the volunteer had been strapped in, the magician turned the cabinet showing that there would not be much more room in front of the volunteer when the doors were shut. The straps were fitted so that they started from a point above Gerald's shoulders and crossed to a fitting a little above his waist on the opposite side, the lower straps crossed his legs in a similar fashion holding them together and flat against the board.

"We will start with a fairly standard demonstration of the power of the voodoo doll and cabinet." he produce a black silk square, which he folded and tied over Gerald's eyes. "Claudia, would you please move the doll in some fashion that Gerald could repeat if he could see it!"

Claudia looked puzzled as to what to do and seemed glad to receive a whispered suggestion from Rita, who had stayed at her side while the magician had been installing Gerald into the cabinet. A frown of indecision flicked across her face, then she lifted the doll's right arm until it was pointing forward. As she did this Gerald lifted his right arm to shoulder level, also pointing forward, because of the limitations of the cabinet. The crowd applauded. and redoubled their applause, when Claudia turned the dolls head to the left and Gerald followed suit.

"Thank you, Claudia, you did great!" Claudia returned the doll to its former pose with its arms by its sides and facing forwards, causing Gerald to return to his original pose in the cabinet. "Now, this would not be a proper magic show if we did not take the opportunity to do something impossible."

Carlos closed and latched the double door on the cabinet shut and asked Claudia to do something with the doll that Gerald would find impossible to duplicate, even if he could see it; he took the chance to remind the audience that his volunteer was blindfolded and strapped to the back of a small closed cabinet.

Claudia frowned with puzzlement; she did not seem to be able to think of something she could do with the doll that Gerald could not do. She looked to Rita for some further guidance and received a gesture that suggested that she turn the doll over. She followed the suggestion and turned the doll until it was hanging head down from her hand. This movement was accompanied by a scream of protest from inside the cabinet.

Carlos quickly unlatched the doors and threw them open, revealing Gerald was upside-down and clinging to the bars at the side to prevent his head hitting the cabinet floor. While the audience showed their astonishment, Carlos and Lucy released Gerald and assisted him into a handstand to exit the cabinet.

The magician gathered his two volunteers at the front of the stage. "As you can imagine, that is usually as far as most magicians take that illusion. Mainly because having the combined power of the voodoo doll and the voodoo cabinet has the potential to be dangerous. But because I feel sure that you love each other and would not hurt each other, I am willing to take it to the next stage if you are willing to help."

Gerald looked at Claudia with an expression that the audience interpreted as 'I would love to do it if you are willing'. She in turn glanced at Rita, who smiled a positive smile in her direction.

"Ok," said Claudia, "What do we do?"

"Well, first I'll need a strand of your hair for the doll." On cue, Lucy returned from the wings with another doll dressed as Claudia with long brown hair that did not match Claudia's auburn locks, but suited the length. Carlos pulled a strand from Claudia's head and twined it into the dolls tresses. He then stepped to the side of the stage taking Gerald and the doll with him. The two assistants made efficient work of installing Claudia into the cabinet, with her cooperation.

While his assistants finished up closing and latching the doors, Carlos stepped into the wings and brought a small table on while stood a small glass box that seemed the right size to fit the doll into.

"Geraldo, you know Claudia well. I'm guessing she has told you some of her fantasies," suggested Carlos. Gerald nodded. "Then perhaps you can think of something to do with this doll that will fulfil one of those fantasies. All you have to do is perform the effect of the fantasy on the doll and put it into the box on this table and then we'll she what effect it has had on Claudia, by opening the cabinet."

"I can think of two things that Claudie has mentioned she would like to do, but I didn't think that this was that kind of show." Gerald seemed in two minds about whether what he had thought of was appropriate.

"I feel sure that your doubts have intrigued the audience." The audience backed up Carlos' assertion, by cheering. "And I can't be held responsible for what you think Claudia would want you to do in this situation. All you have to be sure of is that Claudia will be happy with the result."

"Ok, here goes!" Gerald said. His first action was to unbutton the doll's waistcoat and once i was removed, drop it into the bottom of the glass box. The doll's trousers soon followed. At each stage the audience heard a squeal from the cabinet, but could not determine by the sound alone whether Claudia was excited or frightened by what they assumed was happening to her.

Gerald next grabbed the doll by the waist in both hands and ripped it apart. Again a scream was heard from the cabinet; it could have been terror or ecstasy. The volunteer then stuff the naked and ripped doll into the box; the lower half feet up first, then the upper half head down.

Carlos looked shocked, but had the presence of mind to ask, "What made you do that?"

"Claudie loves to be naked; she wears nothing at the beach, whether it's a nudist beach or not. She has often told me that she would love be braver and go nude in public in a less expected situation; we have even discussed throwing a party for our friends at which she would be totally naked all evening."

"And ripping the doll in half?" queried the magician.

"Claudie also says that being sawn in half by a magician has been a fantasy of hers since her mid-teens; a few years before we met."

"Shall we go and see what's happened to Claudia?" Carlos suggested.

He moved across the stage to the cabinet. He paused to knock on the cabinet and enquire if Claudia was alright.

"I know things aren't right, and I don't think things are quite normal, but I feel excited to find out what happened."

"So, you don't mind if we open the doors?"

"Of course not. I want to find out what you've done to me."

Carlos' two assistants unlatched and opened the doors and turned the cabinet to each side to display Claudia's predicament to the rest of the audience.

From the bottom of the cabinet they saw, Claudia's buttocks, presumably resting on the clothes she was no longer wearing, then up thighs to the backs of her knees, her calves and above them her heels, all held in place by the crossed lower straps. Resting on her upturned feet was her upside-down face grinning broadly and haloed by her auburn hair that rested on her toes. Further up her torso from shoulders to waist was held in place by the upper straps criss-crossed through her cleavage and her arms waved demonstrating that she was excited by her situation and that she did not know what to do with her hands; it appeared that the thought that she might use them cover her breasts did not seem to have occurred to her, or if it had she was not doing anything about it.

As the applause began to ebb, Carlos announced that they would be taking Claudia backstage and reassembling her in body and costume.

At the end of the section of the show, Claudia returned to the stage in one working piece and dressed, although she seemed to have forgotten to button her waistcoat. Carlos blushed a little as she hugged him to thank him for such a wonderful experience. The couple then returned to their seats at the back of the theatre.