Now the Masked Magician will perform an illusion known as the stretch. He
examines the huge cabinet that has supposedly been designed to stretch a
human body.
What will they think of next?
An assistant comes out to lend a hand with this bizarre illusion.
The magician unlocks the front doors.
Then he opens the back panel so you can see all the way through the cabinet.
This is to show you that there are no secret compartments or hiding places
inside.
The doors are closed and the magician inspects the stretching device.
Now a stool is brought out.
Here comes the assistant that's about to be stretched.
She's in a pretty good mood for someone who is going to be pulled from limb to limb.
She is now locked inside the contraption.
Once the doors are closed her hands and feet are put into position.
The magician tickles them to convince you that they are real.
Now he tugs on a rope and the stretch begins.
It appears as if her arms and legs are being pulled right out of their sockets.
She must have a high threshold of pain.
The magician slides her head to the top of the cabinet. Looks like she's gonna
need a good chiropractor.
Her head is forced to the bottom.
Then it's brought back up.
Now for a little Linda Blair exorcist action. A perfect 360. Doesn't seem humanly possible.
Her hands and feet are put back into their original position.
And her restraints are removed and
the doors are open. Now she is in perfect shape.
Now for the secrets.
The magician spends a great deal of time trying to convince you that the cabinet
is empty but it isn't. When the trip begins two assistants are already hidden inside.
Before the front doors are open the assistants climb out the back and stand
on tiny ledges.
So you won't be able to see their feet underneath the cabinet.
Then just before the back doors are opened they climb around to the side.
Those decorative tassels and pegs are actually handles to help the assistants
maneuver around on the narrow ledge.
You can't see them on the side of the cabinet because the front doors are now
open and blocking your view.
Once the back doors are closed the assistants hide again behind the cabinet.
When the assistant that's about to be stretched gets inside
so do the other assistants. It's their hands and feet
that you see during the trick. They wear the same finger nail polish and
stockings of the assistant being stretched to make the illusion seem even
more convincing. Watch as they put their hands and feet into the holes and
prepare for the stretch.
While it looks like the magician is pulling apart his assistant,
we can see that the other two girls are merely sliding their hands and feet in
different directions.
So how does the assistants head get to the top of the cabinet?
It's pretty simple.
She's standing on the stool.
Again more tickling.
As the assistant moves head lower the stool is removed and she dropped to her
knees in order to put her head on the bottom of the cabinet. Not the most
comfortable position in the world
As for her head spinning around, this actually takes even more physical
dexterity.
You need a very flexible assistant to pull off a trick like this.
With their limbs back in place the other assistants remove their hands and feet
and escaped out the back of the cabine.t
The doors are opened and the masked magician has done it again.