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Artist’s Daydream
A practical production of an assistant from a small picture frame. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
Artist’s Dream (Modern Version)
Performed by The Pendragons; a modern version of Devant’s classic plot featuring a novel production of the lady in the portrait.
Audience Acupuncture
A bed of spikes penetrates a spectator from the audience.
Audience Dis-Member
An especially visual variation of the Sawing-in-Half using a spectator from the audience.
Backstage with a Cane Cabinet
Featured by Doug Henning and Lance Burton.
Bits and Pieces
A fast effect in which the assistant is divided into five pieces and instantly restored again.
Blueprint Vanish
The disappearance of an assistant as the "blueprint" illusion is constructed for the audience.
Buried Alive
A modern, outdoor recreation of this famous escape. Featured by Lance Burton.
Burned Shoe
Performed by Jay Owenhouse and Lance Burton; a boy from the audience is inconvenienced during a "burned handkerchief" routine.
Chainsaw Decapitation
One of The Secret Cabaret’s eerie illusion effects. Performed by Simon Drake.
Cube-ism
A cabaret effect in which a flat painting which is folded into a cube; an assistant seems to disappear into the cube, then into the two-dimensional painting.
Cutout to Life
Created for industrial shows; the visual transformation of a two-dimensional cut-out to an executive.
Death Tank Escape
Lance Burton’s daring escape from a tiny, locked tank of water.
Disappearing Bus
A disappearance of a large bus while it is surrounded in four directions. Featured by Lance Burton.
Do-it-yourself Suspension
An especially practical suspension effect; the spectator floats on a board as the two chairs, supporting it, are pulled away.
Doll and Doll’s House
A routine using a different design for the classic Doll’s House production illusion. (Published in MAGIC Magazine.)
Elephant and his Shadow
A modern, visual stage version of the Vanishing Elephant effect.
Elevator
Featured by Doug Henning and David Copperfield; the production of a performer from an empty elevator shaft.
Fade-In, Fade-Out Cabinet
A new design for the famous science-fiction effect. The person gradually becomes transparent and disappears.
Goon Box Production
A fast production from a framed box which is lifted off the stage.
Headache Illusion
The performer’s head disappears while it is surrounded by pieces of mirror.
Headless
Using a large blade, the assistant’s head is sliced off and slid along the top of a wide cabinet.
Holography
Performed by Rick Thomas and The Pendragons: the lady escaping from a two-dimensional hologram.
Hospitality
A number of different drinks poured from a paper milk carton. A novel method and routine for this classic effect. (Published in Modern Art.)
Hot Air
A practical suspension effect in which a girl or boy from the audience is suspended atop balloons. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
Houdini’s Rope
Walking through an examined length of rope. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
Incubus
Presented by Rick Thomas; an unusual effect in which the lady takes form, as if from a dream, from the head of the magician.
Indiarubber
A stretching illusion using a wide banner held by two assistants. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
Inside-Out Production Box
A versitile production box which is shown empty as it is turned inside-out. (Published in MAGIC Magazine.)
Interlude
Originally performed by The Pendragons and David Copperfield, the popular illusion of one person passing through another.
Lady in the Puzzle
The assistant that disappears into the pieces of a puzzle. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
Little Doll’s House
Doug Henning’s tiny doll’s house production of Debby.
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Magical Puppet Theatre
An exchange and transpositon illusion using a puppet theatre; from Doug Henning’s tours.
Miracle Levitation
As featured in Doug Henning’s Broadway tour; an elaborate combination levitation effect in which the assistant floats above the stage and towards the audience, then disappears.
Modern Art
A modern design for the classic Cutting in Half illusion, suitable for almost any performance conditions. (Published in Modern Art.)
Neon
An assistant penetrates a row of illuminated neon lights. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
One-Way Hole
A small illusion in which the magician reaches through a portable hole which has been applied to a sheet of steel.
Optical Modern Cabinet
A tiny, framework Modern Cabinet variation.
Optical Sawing
A cutting-in-thirds illusion using a new optical design for the apparatus.
Origami
The popular effect originally performed by Doug Henning and David Copperfield; the lady who disappears inside a tiny, folding cube.
Osmosis
Performed by Rick Thomas, Hans Klok and Lance Burton: the unusual effect of one person disappearing inside the magician.
Perforation
A versitile cabaret effect in which the assistant seems to be punctured by a handful of sharp knives.
Plate Glass Mystery
A penetration using oversized shards of broken glass. (Published in MAGIC Magazine.)
Pole Levitation
A popular effect performed by Henning, Copperfield, Siegfried and Roy, The Pendragons, Kalin and Jinger and many others; a practical levitation as the performer is seated between two poles.
Portrait to Life
A painted 2-dimensional portrait which seems to slide off the canvas and become the performer.
Real Image Ghosts
A Pepper’s Ghost variation for use in display illusions and featured at Wizardz, Walt Disney World and Malone’s Magic Bar.
Sawing a Horse in Half
A comedy routine presented by Lance Burton which finishes with the production of a real horse.
Secret Cabaret Sawing
A frightening illusion from Britain’s famous series The Secret Cabaret.
Shadow Theatre
A theatrical disappearance of a person. The assistant’s shadow is folded into a small, flat bundle of paper. (Published in Modern Art.)
Sliding Spikes
A cabaret effect, in which the assistant disappears within an angled rack of spikes.
Small Packages
A new interpretation of the Expanding Die effect; the small die enlarges in several steps, then an assistant is revealed inside. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
Three-Space Mystery
A penetration illusion using three wooden tubes, which penetrate each other in three different dimensions. (Published in MAGIC Magazine.)
Through a One-Inch Hole
An assistant pulled through a one-inch hole in the side of a plywood trunk. (Published in Device and Illusion.)
Time and Space
Performed by The Pendragons and, in variations, by Lance Burton and Siegfried and Roy; the production and disappearance of performers from a tiny rotating cabinet.
The Torch Box
Flaming torches or neon spikes; a modern version of the old sword box effect.
Translucent Shadows
A shadowy variation of the Things That Go Bump routine, using an upright, fabric-covered cabinet.
Two Places at the Same Time
A shadow routine using two tiny cabinets; the magician reaches across the stage and proves to be two places at once.
Vanishing a Herd of Elephants
Originally performed by Lance Burton on his first NBC television special.
Vanishing the Statue of Liberty
The famous effect which was performed by David Copperfield.
Walking through a Fan
A large, dynamic effect in which the magician steps through a 7-foot fan as the blades are spinning.
Walking through a Mirror
Originated for Doug Henning’s television special; the performer walks through an examined glass mirror.
Windshear
The popular illusion in which the magician appears to climb through a the blades of a rotating fan.
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The following list includes many of the illusions developed by Jim Steinmeyer and featured by various professional magicians over the last two decades. Some of effects have been produced or built in consultation with Jim and licensed by him. Other effects, as noted, have been published in books.