Tops Treasury of Halloween Magic Download
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In the Fall of 2011 we put together a collection of Halloween magic and articles that appeared in past issues of Tops magazine between 1936 and 1994. The "2011 Halloween Special" was so successful that we decided to compile the information into a pdf format.
So, without further ado, Tops magazine is proud to bring you the latest in a long line of Treasury publications. The Treasury of Halloween is divided into 3 sections.
Spooky Magic Effects - When you have been in business for 8 decades, and you make magic in a big black building with white skeletons on the front, and you sell guillotines and choppers to magicians across the world, you just can't help but know a little bit about “spooky magic”. Abbott's expresses this associated in not only the magic that it sells but also in the various manifestations of its magic magazine. “Tops” (Abbott's Magic Magazine) has been in existence (for the most part) since 1936! So it stands to reason that through the course of time, many Halloween effects have graced the pages of Tops magazine. In no way do we presume this to be all of them, but it's a very good cross section of the Halloween effects. We sincerely hope that our readers will look at some of the effects as a way of getting the creative juices flowing. Simply going out and repeating effects that you read somewhere will never make your act unique. We hope you take some of these idea's and/or principles of magic and convert them for your own act. In the pages collected in this category we have also included several patter routines with existing props and a few mechanical suggestions to make your act easier to set up and look more the part of a Halloween stage show with you the star actor in it. Some of the effects included are new idea's, some are new twists on old idea's, and some are simply old. Where ever possible we tried to give the original author/inventor credit. Many of these authors are currently “living impaired” but at their time were considered the ‘tops' in the field of spook magic. Names like Stewart James, U.F. Grant, Eddie Joseph are just a few of the contributors to this collection and all are still considered giants of magical inventiveness. Other names you may recognize in this spooky collection of magic effects are magicians not generally associated with the spook circuit. Names like Percy Abbott, Tom Palmer, George Johnstone, and Dale Salwak are just a few that come to mind. It shows that when October rolls around, it is expected to see some spooky routines in a magic show and the smart performer is going to be on top of this.
Halloween Stories and Reviews - Through the years Abbott's has seen more than its share of spook shows, spooky magic, and spooky séances and the articles below really are just a small portion of what has been written in Abbott publications over the years. In all seriousness, we could have easily had ten times as many spooky Halloween articles had we wished it. However, what we have done is again take a cross section of these articles in the hopes that you may enjoy them. Even today, Abbott's carries in its stock many Halloween effects. Abbott's does this to help promote spooky magic across the globe? No, they do it because there is a demand for spooky magic effects especially at Halloween time. It certainly is not uncommon to see a Halloween act booked at the Abbott Get Together in August. From Bill Neff's Spook Show of the 1940's to John Bundy & Morgans Spooktacular show in present time, it is certainly not unusual for Abbott's to book a magic ‘spook' show for its summer convention. Does Abbott's do this to help promote the art of spook show magic? No, Abbott's does it to sell tickets to its magic convention and shows because spooky magic sells, it always has and it always will. We will take a look back at some of these spooky shows, see how people remember them and how they were received in their own day. What magic effects did they use? Which magic effects went over well at Halloween? Which ones didn't. You will also find articles about some of the many séances over the years to contact Houdini. Has he ever showed up? To what extent and locations did magicians go to do these séances? And finally some of these articles are simple notes and letters that we found and they contained amazing information. For example, the first article is a letter from Abbott's own Neil Foster. For decades, Neil Foster was known for his grace and elegance on the stage. He was the Editor of New Tops magazine, Abbott's sales manager, and instructor for the Chavez course in magic. But this article tells us that Neil Foster was something else that most do not know - A Werewolf in a John Calvert spook show!
RIP Tricks - Abbott‘s has always had a special relationship with Halloween, from the skeletons on the front of the building to the creaky floor in the Abbott showroom. Every year at Halloween season Abbott‘s brings the latest Halloween effects to its customers, but if these effects don't sell, what happens to them? A trick begins as a human thought, a dream if you will, but when a trick is discontinued or dies, does the human part of that trick die with it? More than one person has claimed to seeing - brief glances of - people or things who were not there a moment later while visiting the Abbott plant and or showroom. This author himself experienced this phenomenon one night working late (and alone) at the plant. People take it for granted that the only spooks running around this world are human spooks, but at Abbott's there may be a bit more to some of their spooks. Take a look at the creativity that went into some of these old effects (or should I say these old effects sales ads). The ads were geared to your imagination with all sorts of creepy clip art to help sell what might well be a very simple prop. These scary looking tricks now are but a distant memory in the long history of Abbott Magic. Most of these effects have not seen the light of day for 50-70 years, but today is their day to return from oblivion to again grace the world of the living and hit a chord of our imagination. Some of these effects (such as the mechanical talking skull) evolved into others (such as the electronic talking skull). Others simply vanished without explanation, remembered only here in Abbott‘s graveyard of spooky discontinued tricks. So without further ado, let's take you back in time, before Y2K, before the Space Shuttle, before Vietnam, Korea, and World War 2. Let‘s go back and start at the Great Depression of the 1930‘s and see what the spooksters had on their wish list from Abbott‘s as we present the third section of the Tops Treasury of Halloween, a section we call RIP Tricks.
In the Fall of 2011 we put together a collection of Halloween magic and articles that appeared in past issues of Tops magazine between 1936 and 1994. The "2011 Halloween Special" was so successful that we decided to compile the information into a pdf format.
So, without further ado, Tops magazine is proud to bring you the latest in a long line of Treasury publications. The Treasury of Halloween is divided into 3 sections.
Spooky Magic Effects - When you have been in business for 8 decades, and you make magic in a big black building with white skeletons on the front, and you sell guillotines and choppers to magicians across the world, you just can't help but know a little bit about “spooky magic”. Abbott's expresses this associated in not only the magic that it sells but also in the various manifestations of its magic magazine. “Tops” (Abbott's Magic Magazine) has been in existence (for the most part) since 1936! So it stands to reason that through the course of time, many Halloween effects have graced the pages of Tops magazine. In no way do we presume this to be all of them, but it's a very good cross section of the Halloween effects. We sincerely hope that our readers will look at some of the effects as a way of getting the creative juices flowing. Simply going out and repeating effects that you read somewhere will never make your act unique. We hope you take some of these idea's and/or principles of magic and convert them for your own act. In the pages collected in this category we have also included several patter routines with existing props and a few mechanical suggestions to make your act easier to set up and look more the part of a Halloween stage show with you the star actor in it. Some of the effects included are new idea's, some are new twists on old idea's, and some are simply old. Where ever possible we tried to give the original author/inventor credit. Many of these authors are currently “living impaired” but at their time were considered the ‘tops' in the field of spook magic. Names like Stewart James, U.F. Grant, Eddie Joseph are just a few of the contributors to this collection and all are still considered giants of magical inventiveness. Other names you may recognize in this spooky collection of magic effects are magicians not generally associated with the spook circuit. Names like Percy Abbott, Tom Palmer, George Johnstone, and Dale Salwak are just a few that come to mind. It shows that when October rolls around, it is expected to see some spooky routines in a magic show and the smart performer is going to be on top of this.
Halloween Stories and Reviews - Through the years Abbott's has seen more than its share of spook shows, spooky magic, and spooky séances and the articles below really are just a small portion of what has been written in Abbott publications over the years. In all seriousness, we could have easily had ten times as many spooky Halloween articles had we wished it. However, what we have done is again take a cross section of these articles in the hopes that you may enjoy them. Even today, Abbott's carries in its stock many Halloween effects. Abbott's does this to help promote spooky magic across the globe? No, they do it because there is a demand for spooky magic effects especially at Halloween time. It certainly is not uncommon to see a Halloween act booked at the Abbott Get Together in August. From Bill Neff's Spook Show of the 1940's to John Bundy & Morgans Spooktacular show in present time, it is certainly not unusual for Abbott's to book a magic ‘spook' show for its summer convention. Does Abbott's do this to help promote the art of spook show magic? No, Abbott's does it to sell tickets to its magic convention and shows because spooky magic sells, it always has and it always will. We will take a look back at some of these spooky shows, see how people remember them and how they were received in their own day. What magic effects did they use? Which magic effects went over well at Halloween? Which ones didn't. You will also find articles about some of the many séances over the years to contact Houdini. Has he ever showed up? To what extent and locations did magicians go to do these séances? And finally some of these articles are simple notes and letters that we found and they contained amazing information. For example, the first article is a letter from Abbott's own Neil Foster. For decades, Neil Foster was known for his grace and elegance on the stage. He was the Editor of New Tops magazine, Abbott's sales manager, and instructor for the Chavez course in magic. But this article tells us that Neil Foster was something else that most do not know - A Werewolf in a John Calvert spook show!
RIP Tricks - Abbott‘s has always had a special relationship with Halloween, from the skeletons on the front of the building to the creaky floor in the Abbott showroom. Every year at Halloween season Abbott‘s brings the latest Halloween effects to its customers, but if these effects don't sell, what happens to them? A trick begins as a human thought, a dream if you will, but when a trick is discontinued or dies, does the human part of that trick die with it? More than one person has claimed to seeing - brief glances of - people or things who were not there a moment later while visiting the Abbott plant and or showroom. This author himself experienced this phenomenon one night working late (and alone) at the plant. People take it for granted that the only spooks running around this world are human spooks, but at Abbott's there may be a bit more to some of their spooks. Take a look at the creativity that went into some of these old effects (or should I say these old effects sales ads). The ads were geared to your imagination with all sorts of creepy clip art to help sell what might well be a very simple prop. These scary looking tricks now are but a distant memory in the long history of Abbott Magic. Most of these effects have not seen the light of day for 50-70 years, but today is their day to return from oblivion to again grace the world of the living and hit a chord of our imagination. Some of these effects (such as the mechanical talking skull) evolved into others (such as the electronic talking skull). Others simply vanished without explanation, remembered only here in Abbott‘s graveyard of spooky discontinued tricks. So without further ado, let's take you back in time, before Y2K, before the Space Shuttle, before Vietnam, Korea, and World War 2. Let‘s go back and start at the Great Depression of the 1930‘s and see what the spooksters had on their wish list from Abbott‘s as we present the third section of the Tops Treasury of Halloween, a section we call RIP Tricks.
