The Shame of 'The Web'

Do you remember The Web by Jim Pace?

I do. I was a teen when I first discovered this effect. I bought it and began performing it wherever I could.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the effect, here’s what happens: you ask a spectator to cup their hands together. You count four blank cards into their hand.

Then you count them again. Magically, the blank cards now have spider webs on them. You ask the spectator to wave her hands over the cards.

When she turns her hands over, she sees a big furry spider stuck to the back of her hand!

At first, I believed the reactions were incredible. The person I was doing the effect to (be mindful of the deliberate way I worded that) screamed. The spectators around them laughed and clapped as they watched their friend completely flip out.

What wasn’t to love?

Then I saw Lance Burton do it on national TV. It didn’t mesh with his character at all. Compared to everything else he did, The Web seemed…tawdry.

The last straw came when my agent at the time asked me to do the effect on her husband. He completely freaked out. It was only after that my agent revealed her husband had a deathly fear of spiders.

I felt awful.

I stopped performing The Web immediately.

Years later, after I became a hypnotist, I learned a lot about fear. And phobias./ About how they were nothing to be trifled with.

After hypnotizing thousands of people, I’ve seen firsthand the power phobias can have. It’s debilitating.

I remember several years ago watching another stage hypnotist at my wife’s college. At one point, he removed his belt and told his hypnotized subjects that it was really a snake.

And of course, some of the folks who were hypnotized were absolutely terrified.

I left the show in disgust.

But then…as the mind does…I was reminded of my own mistake performing The Web.

Why do so many magicians do things like this to our audiences? Do we hear the screams and think we are getting ‘great reactions?’ Do we hear the laughter of the onlookers watching and think we are doing a great job with our entertainment?

Or do we seek their approval?

I don’t know. I think it’s different for every performer. And for many, it’s probably a combination of all three.

But performing effects like The Web on unsuspecting volunteers is a reason why so many adults are horrified by the idea of ‘volunteering’ for a magic show.

They’re afraid they will be made to look foolish.

Heck, I don’t even volunteer when watching a magic show and I’m a magician!

I could go into an entire discussion about other awful effects in magic like the infamous bra trick, but I want to stick with fear-inducing tricks.

After all, Halloween approaches.

When someone is frightened, it triggers a protective response in the body.

Some of the blood in the brain that is currently being used for cognitive functions gets redirected into the body for what the mind perceives as a fight for survival.

The three possible responses are flight (or flee), fight, and freeze. For the last one, the body assumes a state of torpor. The body becomes motionless. The person is literally ‘frozen by fear.’

This physiological response evolved in humans thousands of years ago. It’s a protective response to what the mind perceives as an existential threat.

The person sees a lion, and this response kicks in.

They are reacting to save their lives.

And because a lot of the blood in the brain is diverted to the body for the upcoming fight for survival, logical thought capacity is greatly diminished…or eliminated.

The stronger the fear, the less likely the person can think rationally.

Is that the kind of reaction you want to generate in your volunteers? Not me.

But I know what some of you are thinking.

What about haunted houses? What about roller coasters and other thrill rides?

That’s different. The person enters those experiences knowing what’s going to happen. Yes, the experience may be more intense than they were expecting. But they went into it voluntarily.

And what about geek effects, like Needle Thru the Arm or Razor Bladers from Mouth? (For the record I love both effects.)

I maintain those effects are different. They are effects the magician is doing to himself. The audience can choose to look away if they wish.

Compare that to the experience of The Web or other similar effects.

The person may be thinking, “Oh, that’s so cute. This magician is going to do a little card trick for me.”

They’re certainly not expecting to feel terrified.

In my opinion, effects like The Web and others of its kind, where the objective is to scare the volunteer, are nothing more than assault.

And since Halloween is approaching, I decided to appeal to my newsletter subscribers to treat their audiences with more kindness and respect.

Want the perfect Halloween show for your adult audiences? Check out my Murder By Magic course.

Until next time, have a great week!

--Cris

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