Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-08-21
Fake Mediums and Fortune Tellers Are
Clever Sleight>of>Hand Performers
Many Methods Used
For Writing
MESSAGES.
BY ANNA MAY TRIMPE.

7 AVE you ever gone to . private
fortune teller. or to . theatel
where one was featured. AND
L 4 seen spirit slate writing or had
your message read? If you have, nc
doubt you wondered how the seer
could possibly know what you wrote
on the slip Of paper. OF course. there
are tricks to all trades, and the fol.
lowing are just few Of the ways IL
which you can be fooled.
Spirit slate writing. or the produc.
ton Of messages on blank states, hal
been performed for many years. some
Of the methods used today are remark.
able. Take. for example, the bolted
states. Two states are shown to con.
tain no writing. and are bolted firmly
together at all four corners. The
states are marked for identifica ton
The lights are turned out for . few
minutes, then turned on; the slatea
are unbolted, and = message Is found
written upon the inner surface Of one
Of them.
Special states are used. One o.
them is constructed 50 that the end
Of the frame is removable. When Thu
end is pulled, the slate slides out with
it, and the medium Is free to write or
the inner surface OF either slate, OF
to write card that may be between
the states.
SLATE writing also may be per.
formed with q single slate. Tit
slate is shown to be blank on both
sides. and placed in . paper bag
When the slate Is withdrawn. q mes
sage is found upon it. In this case
the writing is already on the slate
but is concealed beneath . layer OF
thick black paper or very light card.
board, which appears to be the sur
face Of the slate. When the slate !,
taken from the bag, the paper cover.
ing is dropped of and remains in the
bag.
Have you ever written a question on
slip OF paper and had a so-called
fortune teller answer your question?
Often this is accomplished by mean.
OF substituted slip Of paper. In one
system. the original question is folded
and placed on the table so that II
stands with the creased edge upward
The medium or fortune teller then ap-
parently moves the original question t.
another part Of the table, but he
cleverly substitutes the dummy slip
He then picks up the dummy slip, and
presses it against his forehead, DROP
ping the real question into his lap
where his other hand unfolds it.
Then. looking slyly downward, hi
reads the original question and start,
to answer 1t. He folds the original
slip. and when he has answered the
question he drops the dummy on the
table. He picks it up Immediately
making the switch once more. AND
hands the original slip back to thu
writer. Strangely enough, this Otter
works more smoothly when the me.
dunn Is blind folded. because with q
loose blind fold he can look downward
easily ana read the questions In hi,
lap without detection.
GONE mediums have methods where.
BY they can learn what the site,
has written without the exchangins
OF slips. This may be accomplished
by the use of carbon paper. If tn.
sitter is given pencil that contain.
hard lead. and is told to place his sir
upon a piece Of cardboard, the me.
dunn may obtain a copy Of the cues.
ton by having a sheet Of carbon pape
on the cardboard, covered with . thir
sheet of paper of the same color q
the board
Another and more elaborate methoe
involves the use of . special table
which has = top covered by parch.