This is a genuine vintage effect bought directly from Black Artefacts over 20 years ago.
Rare and hard to find, I do not think these are available to purchase new anymore.
Perfect for a collector of bizarre magic.
You will receive the original props made by Keith which consist of two decks of Grimaud playing cards and the original instruction book.
The cards, boxes, and instruction book are in good, lightly used, condition.
Below is the introduction text from the booklet.
The idea for the story behind this effect came from a young Bizarre Magician named Neil Brown. At the time he was just 15 years old. The effect uses the antique style 'Grimaud' deck so it fits in very well with the plot.
The working of the effect is the same as 'Sign of Satan' in Black Book 1. This is in turn based on 'Fred the Red'.
How it looks
A tale is told of the infamous Witch-Finder General, Matthew Hopkins who in one year 1645-1646 sent more alleged witches to the gallows than in the rest of the 160 year persecution of witches put together.
Hopkins would often offer his victim a chance to gamble for their life. He would tell them that he had marked a playing card 'Guilty', just one card in a whole deck. He said that only Satan, apart from himself knew which card was marked. The accused would name any playing card. Hopkins believed that Satan would make his witch name the 'Guilty' card out loud to show that the witch obeyed him. If this named card was indeed the 'Guilty' card then the witch would be hanged as guilty. Many took up this last offer of hope as they rightly perceived the adds to be in their favor.
A playing card is named and removed face up from the deck. The other cards in the deck are shown to be un-marked. The chosen card is turned over and seen to bear the 'Guilty' mark.