We all loved a good magic show. Theyโre always fascinating and even adults are still mesmerized by magicians. Of course as adults, we know theyโre all tricks, but how exactly are they done?
Wonder no more as this list reveals a magicianโs secrets. Now prepare to be amazed!
Walking on water magic trick


Walking on water is a trick popular around the world. Its origins probably come from the Bible, when Jesus supposedly did the trick himself.
But He was the son of God so thatโs different. Hundreds of magicians have been successful duplicating the act though.
Stun your audience with this trick since it is one of the best to do. Itโs pretty impressive seeing someone defy the laws of physics like this, especially when itโs a convincing performance. Click next to see the secret to how this trick is done!


The secret behind walking on water
Biblical fans will be disappointed to know thereโs more to this trick than meets the eye. Magicians may appear successful in managing to cross a liquid surface as if it were solid, but thereโs actually something hidden in the water.
Perspex boxes are incredibly hard to see when submerged so they are placed where the magician plans to walk. With these in the water, magicians easily traverse the surface to maintain the illusion.
Some performers will put on a show while doing this, like pretending to lose balance and potentially fall, but itโs just part of the act. Not such an impressive trick now that you know.


Levitating man magic trick
Another popular trick with magicians is the levitating man. Even street performers try this one, and it does go down a treat.
The trick has the magician floating with nothing below them. The only thing connecting them to the ground is a stick they hold, but this canโt be enough to hold them up while levitating for so long, can it?
Most people have no idea how these performers manage it, so itโs a really convincing trick.


The secret behind levitating man
If you think there was something dodgy about that stick then youโre right. If magicians were genuinely levitating then they wouldnโt need anything to hold onto.
There is more to that stick. Connected to it are two metal plates,with one at the bottom and another higher up. The lower plate gives stability and is hidden by a piece of prop design, with the performerโs clothes concealing the other.
The magician can sit on this plate all day and appear to be levitating to onlookers.


Cutting assistant in half
Many of us are familiar with this one since itโs one of the oldest in the book, but it never fails to impress regardless. Thereโs not much to the act either since all the assistant has to do is get in a box with their head, arms, and feet sticking out of holes.
The magician takes several implements to stick through the box which then appears to separate the assistantโs body.
And despite looking as if theyโve been dismembered, the assistant just smiles as the audience is shown the trick.


The secret behind cutting assistant
Itโs not possible for a person to be cut in half and survive, so itโs not a surprise that more than one person is hiding in that box.
The feet hanging out belong to a second assistant, whoโs been in there from the start.
Their body fills the bottom half of the box, as the assistant on stage takes up the top half. Itโs not the most comfortable of positions, but the illusion is worth it.


Floating woman
This trick needs a glamorous assistant from the audience. Thatโs how magicians like to perform this trick. They have someone lie on a board suspended on several chairs.
The trick happens when the magician pulls the chairs away, and that assistant looks to still be floating in the air.
Some audience members might think theyโre suspended by wires, but the magician proves them wrong by running a hoop over the assistantโs body. How do they manage it then?


The secret behind floating woman
And once again, thereโs no real magic at work here. Thereโs just something in place holding the assistant up that the audience canโt see.
Behind the magician is a platform with a metal rod connected to it which runs around the performerโs body and attaches to the board that the assistant is lying on.
Itโs strong enough to hold the assistant in midair, and it isnโt affected by the metal hoop when the magician moves it around.


Rabbit out of a hat
This trick is a classic and if a magician canโt make a rabbit appear out of a hat, then they werenโt paying attention during training. Itโs what all budding magicians learn when first starting out, and is still a crowd pleaser.
All it takes is a top hat which magicians show to be empty.
Then they put it down on the table and tap their wand, and suddenly a bunny rabbit is inside. Itโs cuteness overload for the people watching.


Traveler Dreams
Weโd love for someone to be able to conjure up cute critters whenever we wanted, but these magicians arenโt pulling rabbits out of thin air.
Theyโre hanging in a bag under the table and a long tablecloth conceals the trickery, so the audience has no idea that the rabbit is already in the room.
For this trick to be successful, performers discreetly scoop the bag into the hat, allowing them to pull the animal out and show that magic exists.


Biting a coin in half
Weโre all pretty precious with money, so none of us really want to see any of it go to waste. But we canโt help but be impressed when a street performer successfully bites a coin in half.
This trick has the magician asking someone in the audience for a coin and have them bite it to prove that itโs real.
Theyโll do the same thing, but this time theyโll break it. It blows our minds every time but how?


The secret behind biting a coin in half
Sleight of hand is a magicianโs best friend so if you want to pull off this trick, youโll need to have refined motor skills to convince your audience of the magic at work.
This requires a substitute coin that looks similar to the real one. But this one will split apart when bitten.
The exchange is done between the audience member biting the coin and the magician, so they donโt have time to pull it off. Your money is still intact.


Bending spoon magic trick
This trick is usually done at dinner parties. A performer will take a spoon from the table and work their magic with it.
Onlookers will see the piece of cutlery bend out of shape to extreme portions. The spoonโs ruined, right? Wrong.
The magician follows up by returning the spoon to its original shape without any difficulty. This is an easy illusion for performers to do, but how do they manage it?


The secret behind bending spoon
The reality is that the spoon is never bent at all. The magician holds the implement in his hand, while also holding a silver coin stuck between his thumb and forefinger.
This tricks the audience into thinking that itโs the end of the spoonโs handle. So as the performer press the spoon down into the table, it moves deeper into their grip while the coin stays in place.
This gives the audience the impression that the spoon is being bent, when it never actually does.


Zigzag magic trick
Magicians love cutting their assistants apart. And theyโre not content with putting saws through them, since theyโll even use this contraption to remove an entire part of the body.
The assistant steps into the box, and then the magician moves their midsection out of the way. But rather than showing any discomfort, the assistant looks fine, despite part of their body already out of line with the rest.
Itโs not done with mirrors as evidenced by this magician sticking his head in the gap.


The secret behind zigzag
Mirrors may not explain how this one is performed, but itโs done in a way that doesnโt disfigure the assistant. It requires someone incredibly flexible to stand in the contraption, since they need to stand at an awkward position to pull it off.
Having certain body parts sticking out of various holes makes the trick even more difficult, but the pay off is always worth it.
Itโs one of the more dazzling acts during a magic show.


Spike through the body
This trick can be a little unsettling for squeamish viewers. A magician balances on a pole then things suddenly take a dark turn.
After defying gravity and holding their entire body on the tip of the pole, they suddenly plunge down. From the audienceโs point of view, it looks as as if the magician has been impaled.
They eventually get back up, and thereโs no sign that the pole ever entered the body.


The secret behind spike through the body
If this trick makes you uncomfortable, donโt worry because itโs not as gruesome as it seems. Instead of balancing their body on the pole, theyโre just lying on a special platform that the audience canโt see.
When they get impaled, itโs just the platform dropping down and giving off the impression that the magician met a grisly end. To further the illusion, the magician wears a corset. Itโs designed to make it seem as though the tip has penetrated their body.


Levitating cup
Some magicians donโt have the power to make their body levitate. But that doesnโt mean that they canโt make anything appear to be suspended in midair.
A great trick at parties is to levitate a paper cup. Thereโs not much to it, but it amuses guests to no end.
Who wouldnโt be impressed by seeing this? Not a single one of them can control the laws of physics the way you do.


The secret behind levitating cup
The levitating cup seems like a great trick, but itโs easy to be caught out on this one. Stick your thumb through the side of the cup so that you can control its movement with your hand.
For performers who donโt want to be called out, they need to find proper distraction techniques with their free hand.
This stops the audience from seeing through the illusion and doubting your magic.


Sword swallowing
Some of the tricks are just too daring to even consider. Who wakes up and thinks that swallowing a sword would be a good idea?
The ramifications could be deadly, yet so many performers pull off this trick without issue.
Some have attempted the trick without putting the sword in their mouth, instead using visual effects to create the illusion. However, those versions arenโt as impressive as the real deal.


The secret behind sword swallowing
Unlike other tricks, sword swallowing is done for real. It takes great confidence to pull this off since one wrong move wonโt go down well.
The trick is done by holding your head back in the right position.
This aligns your mouth with the esophagus, creating a straight path down for the sword to go in. Without the right angle, performers would hurt themselves doing so.


Smooth criminal lean
Michael Jackson was an incredible musician, known for more than his infectious songs. The man had style, and he knew how to stun audiences with his performances.
One of the moves that has impressed us for years is the lean in the video for the 1988 song Smooth Criminal.
The movement appears impossible. How does someone lean so far and not fall over?
Michael pulls it off without a problem, and itโs hard not to be blown away by this.


The secret behind smooth criminal lean
The man was not a wizard. It wasnโt magic that helped Michael, but rather specially-made shoes.
The heel had holes designed for nails to slot into. These were on the floor during the famous lean scene, so when it was time to do the lean, they slipped into place below MJโs shoes.
This allowed Jackson to lean forward without falling over. No wonder weโve never been able to recreate that iconic move.


Buzzsaw magic trick
This trick is like the assistant being cut in half, only more extreme. This gruesome magic trick involves an assistant placed on a table beneath a huge buzzsaw.
When the magician is ready, the saw is brought down, so the assistant appears to be cut in half. Itโs horrific but luckily they survive the ordeal.
Theyโre perfectly fine lying there with their body split in two.


The secret behind buzzsaw
Naturally, all is not as it seems here. Itโs similar to the assistant being cut in half, and the truth isnโt too different either.
The assistant has a secret compartment allowing them to hide their lower body so that itโs not cut off by the buzzsaw. Where the real feet were, a pair of fake ones are put in place to maintain the illusion that theyโve been split in two.
But audiences are usually too horrified to realize the trick thatโs been played.


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