When a magic act contains dangerous stunts, a huge part of the action’s excitement revolves around the audience asking themselves, “What if it goes wrong?” Fortunately, it does not go wrong on most occasions, and the trick is carried out successfully. In this article, we will focus on Magic Ticks that did go wrong, sometimes with fatal consequences.
Bullet Catch Trick
One of the most famous tracks performed around the world is the “Bullet Catch.” This trick is a stage illusion in which a bullet appears to be fired directly at the magician. Typically it will be fired towards the mouth, although there are other variations. Many magicians have performed this trick over the years. Different magicians add their own variations to the trick, making it their own.
There are several ways that this illusion is created, and the mechanics may vary from performer to performer.
An early version of the trick involved the gun being loaded with a market bullet, and during the process, the marked bullet is removed from the gun by sleight of hand. The real gun is fired by a marksman who intentionally misses the magician, the magician then pulls out the marked bullet from his mouth, often with fake blood, and the illusion of catching the bullet is complete. However, so many accidents occurred using a real gun that this method of performing the trick is very rarely used today.
One magician, called Chung Ling Soo (William Ellsworth Robinson), created his own version of the trick using an old fashioned muzzle loading gun. The gun was loaded with actual gunpowder and a lead ball, seeming quite genuine. The difference was that this guy actually had a smaller tube below the barrel, and when the gun was fired, it did not fire the main barrel with the real bullet but fired a harmless blank from the tube. On the occasion where it all went wrong (in 1918), a flash from the tube set off the real barrel and fired the lead shot, which pierced Chung Ling Soo’s lung and killed him.
Soo Ling Chung normally spoke with a fake Chinese accent, but when he was shot, he used his own voice to shout, “Oh my god, something has happened,” and the curtain was pulled. Afterward, the blame was put on poor maintenance of the gun.
Over the years, no fewer than twelve magicians have died performing this trick.
World Famous Illusionist David Blaine was also a victim in a variation of the Bullet Catch Trick. He had his own version of the trick in 2016. He was to shoot himself in the mouth by pulling the trigger on a rifle pointing at him using a string in his version. He would then catch the bullet in a metal cup placed in his mouth. On the occasion of this trick, the metal cup failed (shattered), and he felt the bullet impact at the back of his throat. As it happened, he thought that the bullet must have gone through his head, but he was fortunate to only end up with a lacerated throat.
The bullet trick is one trick that has evolved over the years, with magicians competing with each other to make it more dangerous and spectacular and increasing the consequences should a trick go wrong. Today, the trick is nothing like the earliest versions, a little more sleight of hand tricks that did not actually feature live ammo.
Buried Alive
Houdini has so often be used as a benchmark by magicians who have tried to emulate his tricks and even surpass them. However, in 1915 one trick beat even Harry Houdini when he almost died after being buried alive. He managed to claw his way to the surface and stuck his hand through the soil, which prompted his assistants to dig him out. Despite that failure, he tried to think of ways to make it work for the rest of his life.
In 1990 Escape Artist Joseph Burrus tried the trick (a variation) when he was lowered in a see-through casket into a large hole. A cement ruck then poured its cargo of cement on top. That was when disaster struck, and the see-through casket collapsed under the extreme weight of the wet concrete. Joseph was crushed to death by the concrete.
In 2015 British escapologist Antony Britain tried to take this trick further by getting buried under six feet of soil, while handcuffed, and no coffin, just the soil placed on top of him, very much like the Houdini trick. He had no pipes and no oxygen tanks, so after he had still not appeared after nine minutes, his assistants grew concerned and dug him out. He had suffered a broken rib. Afterward, he commented that the soil’s weight was crushing him, and I was just seconds from death.
Princess Tenko
We see a common trick in magic shows that has swords being thrust into a box containing the magician or assistant, and we take them so lightly as we have seen them so often. However, in one performance, this was to show how dangerous this trick really is.
Glamorous Japanese magician Princess Tenko had a routine where she was locked inside a box and had just moments to escape before the 10 swords would pierce the box. Tenko was famous for the grand illusions that she performed, and nobody was particularly concerned about this particular trick.
One performance in Sabae in Japan went wrong, and Tenko failed to escape in time before the swords were plunged into the box. She was left pinned inside the box by the swords that had broken ribs and pierced her cheek. According to her manager, Noboru Orchai, if the sword that hit her cheek had been just one centimeter higher, it would have pierced her eye.
Tenko attempted to carry on the show once released and continued for 30 minutes before she succumbed to her injuries and had to stop. It took about a month for her to recover from this incident. Tenko, a big fan base in America and Asia, is a frequent performer in Las Vegas.
“Got Talent” Magic Trick Disasters
One of the most popular television franchises globally is the “Got Talent” show (Britain’s Got Talent, America’s Got Talent, and so on). In these shows, magicians audition with one chance to really impact and perform something that perhaps stretches their limits as a magician.
In the quarter-finals of America’s Got Talent (Season 11), Ryan Stock and AmberLynn had planned a trick where she would fire a flaming arrow at a target being held in the mouth of Richard Stock. On the live show, she missed, and the arrow hit him in the throat. The pair were forced to stop the act for a few moments as Stock needed time to recover. Fortunately, there was no major damage done, and they were able to continue. They did lose the competition, though.
Accidents have also occurred on Ukraine’s Got Talent, Vietnam’s Got Talent, and Spain’s Got Talent.
The incident in Spain’s Got Talent was particularly nasty when Escape Artist Pedro Volta donned a straight Jacket and was submerged in water where he was supposed to undo two locks. After 1:45 of the trick, it was clear he was in trouble, and they had to rescue him from the tank unconscious. Fortunately, they managed to revive him, and he was seen with water gushing out of his mouth.
On Ukraine’s Got Talent, performer Andrey Zheleznov had an act that involved waving a sword around the stage before he was laid on a bed consisting of shards of glass, which appeared to cause him a lot of pain, That was bad enough, but his next trick was to jump through a hoop that had knives affixed to it. This ill-prepared magician ended up being cut by one of the knives on the hoop, leaving blood pouring out of his back. As if that was not enough, one of the knives was stuck in his ankle.
In Vietnam’s Got Talent, magician Tran Tan Phrat appearing in the 2015 semi-finals, brought four water glasses and one glass of acid onto the props. One of the judges shuffled the glasses, and he was supposed to use “Magic” to select the dangerous glass. He got it wrong and promptly drank from the glass of acid. As soon as he felt the pain, he spat out the acid, but he still ended up with second-degree burns.
This talent shows that performers are placed under intense pressure to perform stunning acts that they were probably not prepared enough for on reflection.
Tommy Cooper
Of course, not all apparent mistakes are genuine. At least one famous Magician made a career of making bumbling mistakes during his act. When his tricks failed, he would turn them into humor and sometimes come back with a far more clever trick. The man was a genius when it came to comic timing, and of course, most of the tricks were designed to fail, the beauty being that if he did genuinely make a mistake, nobody really knew. Tommy Cooper had a long career and was one of the most famous magicians in the UK.
On a personal note, some children’s magicians often use volunteers and set them up to fail in a task, creating a lot of laughter from the audience. I still remember from over half a century ago how I was pulled up on stage with a girl as a child, and we were told to cut a circle of material in two to make two circles of material. The girl achieved this quickly, and I continued to cut and never managed to complete the circle. I now realize that I had been given a trick prop, but at the time, and for many years later, I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I could not do this simple task. I was convinced that I had caused the trick to go wrong when I could never have cut my circle.
What to do if A Magic Trick Goes Wrong
Many magicians who make mistakes try to carry on with the act, continuing as if nothing has happened. This was the route taken by Princess Tenko after getting impaled with swords. She was not able to finish the act, but she tried. Of course, not all failures end up with a physical injury, just a bruised ego. In those cases where a trick didn’t work out, it is best to move on to the next trick unless you are imbued with the comic genius of Tommy Cooper, who turned the failure into a humorous moment. By making a big thing of them fail, you are simply drawing the audience’s attention to it. By seamlessly just carrying on with the next trick, a magician will be less likely to suffer any consequences.
Final Thoughts
On the website debate.Org, the question was asked whether not magicians should be allowed to perform tricks that risk their lives. This question’s ongoing result was that 83% said that magicians should be allowed to risk their lives, while just 17% said they should not.
The public loves the element of danger in these risky tricks. Part of the reason audiences love these death-defying tricks is that a part of them is wondering what would happen if it all went wrong.
Two American TV shows were made on “The world’s most Dangerous Magic.” All the tricks on the shows were ones that could result in death or serious injury. This show was the ultimate entertainment for those who get their kicks from the element of danger.
I am just amazed at the imagination of whoever created some of the tricks on the show. For example, one trick featured Dean Gunnarson hanging upside down from a trapeze bar, covered in chicken meat and blood, while suspended over a swamp containing 130 hungry alligators as he tried to escape. When you include tricks like this in the equation, “Magic Tricks That Went Wrong” takes on a whole new dimension.
