Billet reading
Encyclopedia
Billet reading is a mentalist
effect in which a performer pretends to read messages sealed inside envelopes by clairvoyance
. Although billet reading is accomplished by a simple trick, the effect can give the impression of mind reading
. Billet reading is usually performed as an entertaining parlor trick by magicians and mentalists. Psychic
s and mediums often use the trick to demonstrate their alleged supernatural
abilities.
The trick used in billet reading is the one-ahead method. It relies on the performer knowing what is inside one of the envelopes beforehand, and using that knowledge to stay one step ahead of the audience. The performer may do this by having a plant in the audience submit a pre-arranged message as one of the billets, or by secretly opening one envelope. When the performer pretends to read the contents of the first sealed envelope, they are actually reciting the plant's message or the message from the secretly opened envelope. When opening the first envelope to "check" their answer, they actually read the first billet, which they then pretend to "read" inside the second envelope. This process is repeated down to the final envelope, which is either an empty decoy, or the plant's envelope, or the secretly opened envelope. It is necessary, of course, that no one but the performer see the billets until the trick is completed and all the billets are out. If the secret-opening variant is used, the performer must use sleight of hand
to conceal that the last envelope is already open, or to "extract" the last billet from an empty decoy envelope.
This trick, and exactly how it is carried out, can be seen in the movie A Month by the Lake
. Here the performer has his plant write something about mountains. When he receives all the envelopes, he puts the plant's envelope on the bottom of the stack. He then asks who wrote about mountains, and the plant responds. He opens the top envelope, and "confirms" his reading, but actually reads the next person's card.
Mentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
effect in which a performer pretends to read messages sealed inside envelopes by clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
. Although billet reading is accomplished by a simple trick, the effect can give the impression of mind reading
Mentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
. Billet reading is usually performed as an entertaining parlor trick by magicians and mentalists. Psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
s and mediums often use the trick to demonstrate their alleged supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
abilities.
Method
The effect is often worked as follows. Members of the audience write messages on small slips of paper, or billets. The messages can be questions for the deceased, or simply statements that the performer could not know. The billets are then put into individual sealed envelopes, which are collected and given to the performer. The performer then takes one envelope at a time and accurately describes the message inside. After announcing the contents of each envelope, the performer opens it, as if to confirm the reading.The trick used in billet reading is the one-ahead method. It relies on the performer knowing what is inside one of the envelopes beforehand, and using that knowledge to stay one step ahead of the audience. The performer may do this by having a plant in the audience submit a pre-arranged message as one of the billets, or by secretly opening one envelope. When the performer pretends to read the contents of the first sealed envelope, they are actually reciting the plant's message or the message from the secretly opened envelope. When opening the first envelope to "check" their answer, they actually read the first billet, which they then pretend to "read" inside the second envelope. This process is repeated down to the final envelope, which is either an empty decoy, or the plant's envelope, or the secretly opened envelope. It is necessary, of course, that no one but the performer see the billets until the trick is completed and all the billets are out. If the secret-opening variant is used, the performer must use sleight of hand
Sleight of hand
Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation or legerdemain, is the set of techniques used by a magician to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly....
to conceal that the last envelope is already open, or to "extract" the last billet from an empty decoy envelope.
This trick, and exactly how it is carried out, can be seen in the movie A Month by the Lake
A Month by the Lake
A Month by the Lake is a 1995 romantic comedy starring Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox and Uma Thurman. It is directed by John Irvin and is based on the novel by H.E. Bates.-Plot:...
. Here the performer has his plant write something about mountains. When he receives all the envelopes, he puts the plant's envelope on the bottom of the stack. He then asks who wrote about mountains, and the plant responds. He opens the top envelope, and "confirms" his reading, but actually reads the next person's card.
Parodies
- Johnny CarsonJohnny CarsonJohn William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
's "Carnac the MagnificentCarnac the MagnificentCarnac the Magnificent was a recurring comedic role played by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. One of Carson's most well known characters, Carnac was a "mystic from the east" who could psychically "divine" unseen answers to unknown questions...
" sketches parodied the billet reading trick by having Carnac announce the (seemingly normal) answer to an unseen question, then open the envelope and read the question, which revealed the answer to be a pun. - The Loren & Wally Show of WROR-FMWROR-FMWROR-FM is a radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts. It broadcasts on 105.7 MHz and serves the Boston market. The station offers a classic hits format, with a timespan of the '60s, '70s and '80s...
parodies the trick with the "Answer Man," who sounds like W.C. Fields.
Further reading
- Ho, Oliver. How to Read Minds & Other Magic Tricks. ISBN 0-8069-7645-4
- Irwin, Harvey J. Introduction to Parapsychology. ISBN 0-8069-7645-4
- Anneman, TheodoreTheodore AnnemannTheodore 'Theo' Annemann born Theodore John Squires was an American professional magician who specialized in the field of mentalism...
. Practical Mental Magic. ISBN 0-486-24426-1