The seance is a magic classic. In a seance, the magician is tied-up or bound in some way that constrains his or her movements, and then spiritual “manifestations” and strange events occur. To perform the effect, Cannon’s Great Escapes offers its superb Seance Handcuffs that work well and rely on a clever and almost undetectable gimmick.
The magician allows a spectator to examine a pair of handcuffs and ensure that the locks are not altered in any way from a standard set. They aren’t. The spectator then binds the magician with the cuffs and can seal the keyholes with tape to prevent a key or pick from being used, and even tape the manacles shut.
The magician then steps behind a curtain, and almost immediately, can reemerge wearing his jacket inside-out. The magician has, in seemingly no time, taken off his jacket, reversed it, and then put it back on, all while wearing the handcuffs. Furthermore, the tape on the locks is undisturbed. The magician can't remove the cuffs from his wrists-they're truly locked on. The spectator has to unlock the cuffs to remove them.
Other Manifestations
Other strange things are possible. The magician can weave the cuffs through wicker chairs or metal rings. The spectator can attach the cuffs and magician to a post and then tambourines and horns that are out of her reach can sound (reminiscent of the classic routine of the Davenport Brothers). But when the curtains are opened again, or the lights turned back on, the magician is still locked to the post.
The gimmick is ingenious and the cuffs can withstand a good amount of examination while they’re held in your hands. The spectator can examine the locks as much as they want and won’t find anything. The handcuffs themselves are sturdy and of a high quality, and have been altered for the effect.
According to the instructions, with practice, you can perform the detachment in less than two seconds. In my use, I was able to perform the unlink in less than a second. But my reattachment, which takes a bit longer, was probably closer to two seconds.
As the name implies, the handcuffs are best for seance-style routines where the performer is handcuffed and then briefly steps behind a curtain or covers his hands momentarily and then steps out with an object linked through the chain or any other feat you would like to do.
Ala Anderson
If you’re familiar with the cuffs that Harry Anderson uses in his routine, which resembles a quick Tenkai thumb tie style comedy effect, the Seance Cuffs won’t unlink and relink as fast. Also, the gimmick won't allow you to perform a comedy escape where you place your cuffed hands into a bag and quickly bring out uncuffed hands with the usual gags. Once the cuffs are locked onto your wrists, they’ll stay there until you or a spectator unlocks them.
On the plus side, the Seance Cuffs will withstand more examination than the Anderson set of cuffs. It’s a trade-off that will depend on the type of effect that you want to perform. But if you want to be bound and create strange “manifestations,” the Seance Cuffs can serve you well.
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
