The Conchologist of Conchomanteia

and The Holey Stone

byBill Montana

Introduction

At its very root of the Conchologist of Conchomanteia is a story telling effect and an effect that you will need to build your own story around. I will not be providing the you with the story. Instead, I will be providing a psychological based idea that if used in conjunction with a good story will provide an entire evening worth of entrainment with only a few simple natural items. This is done for several reasons. The first reason is to avoid copy cats. The second reason is that I found when anyone takes an idea and add something to it it becomes unique. The third reason that I have discovered is that if you put forth the effort in creating something it will be far better in the long run and serve its for a lifetime. This idea has served me very well over the many years and I know if you build a unique story around what I am going to share with you it will do the same for you for years to come. When employing the principles contained in this work while using natural unaltered objects they will create sensational responses of a supernatural nature, if used in conjunction with what I will share with you. These principles of the human mind are inherent within us all and are what you could call a psychological flaw in our very matrix. It is through this inner doorway of our mind and through the minds of our spectators we can and will create strange and mysterious events using only natural unaltered objects. Or in the case of Conchomanteia create the sounds of human voices that will be heard within these very objects and through another object see mystical creatures. Best of all it happens naturally and without our direct interference as performers. Therefore getting caught in the act of using trickery is nonexistent for the participants will hear these human voices coming within the object or objects and each participant will hear something very different and unique. What they hear will be a real event for them which it will be impossible for them to contradict with any form of rational or irrational thought that they may have about how we did it. To do this effect as described in this work you will need several of these objects. You may also use the principle of this work with only one object. It is important to think of the objects as props even though they have a within hidden property or ability built naturally within there very design, more on that later. The exact number of these objects needed will depend on the number of people whom you will be performing for. In addition, later in this work I will give you a variation on this idea that you may wish to experiment with. This variant will need a few extra materials for its simple construction and with it you will be able to carry out miracles that many only dreams of.

The beginnings of this remarkable concept came about one day while I was reading “Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling: Illustrated by Incantations, Specimens of Medical Magic, Anecdotes” by Charles Godfrey Leland written in 1891. On page 237-239 the author writes about a strange occurrence that occurred years earlier.

The following is no in the public domain so I placed it here for you to read the account in they very words of Mr. Leland.

The excerpt is continued on the next two page for ease of distinction between my work and the work of Mr. Leland.

From Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling: Illustrated by Incantations, Specimens of Medical Magic, Anecdotes by Charles Godfrey Leland written in 1891

“This association of shells, with the mysterious and magical, is to be found among gypsies in the East, as is shown by the following: from my work entitled "The Gypsies." It describes something which I saw many times in Cairo :

"Beyond the door which, when opened, gave this sight, was a dark, ancient archway, twenty yards long, which opened on the glaring, dusty street, where camels with their drivers, and screaming sais or carriage-runners and donkey-boys and crying venders kept up the wonted Oriental din. But in the archway, in its duskiest corner, there sat in silence and immovable, a living picture — a dark, handsome woman, of thirty years, who was unveiled. She had before her on the gateway floor, a square of cloth and a few shells. Sometimes an Egyptian of the lower class stopped, and there would be a grave consultation. She was a fortune-teller, and from the positions which the shells assumed when thrown she predicted what would come to pass. And then there would be a solemn conference and a thoughtful stroking of the beard, if the applicant was a man, and then the usual payment to the oracle, and a departure. And it was all world-old primaeval Egyptian, as it was Chaldaean, for the woman was a Rhagarin, or gypsy, and as she sat so sat the diviners of ancient days by the wayside, casting shells for auspices, even as arrows were cast of old, to be cursed by Israel. "It is not remarkable that among the myriad manteias of olden days there should have been one by shells. The sound of the sea when heard in a nautilus or conch is marvelously "like that of ocean surges murmuring far."

"Shake me and it awakens—then apply Its polished lips to your attentive ear, And it remembers its august abodes And murmurs as the ocean murmurs there."

All of this is very strange to children and not less so to all unsophisticated folk, and I can remember how in boyhood I was told and listened with perfect faith to the distant roaring, and marveled at the mystery of the ocean song being thus for ever kept alive inland. The next step to this is to hear in the sea-murmuring something like voices, and this is as curious as it is true—that if the mind be earnestly given to it, and the process be continued for a long time during several days, many persons, and probably all in time, will come to distinguish or hear human utterances and eventually words. There is no special faith required here; the mind even of the most skeptical or unimaginative will often turn back on

itself, and by dint of mere perseverance produce such effects. An old pitcher or jug of a peculiar shape is also declared to be admirably adapted for this purpose, and I have one of Elizabeth's time which was trawled up from the sea near Lowestoft which would fulfill every requisition. In 1886, I was by moonlight in a camp of gypsies in the old Roman amphitheater near Budapest. It was a very picturesque sight, what with the blazing fire, the strangely-dressed men, the wild shrieking, singing, and dancing women. And when, as I have before mentioned, they showed me the shells which they carried for amulets, they exhibited one much larger of conch-like form, the tip of which had been removed and to which there was attached a flexible tube. This was used in a very remarkable trick. The shell, or one like it, is put into the hands of the person consulting the oracle, who is directed to listen to the voice of the Nivashi, or spirit of the air. Then he is blindfolded, the tube applied, and through it the gypsy speaks in a trained soft voice. Thus, in Conchomanteia, the oracles still live and devotees still hear the fairies talk.”

My first experiment was conducted by attaching a rubber tube with black electrical tape to a seashell similar to the one mentioned in our story given to us by Leland so very long ago. Later one end of the tube will have the shell and to the other end will have a cone made of stiff paper. This became the speaking tube if you will. My very first experiment with this new device was where I would speak into the cone end as the Gypsies did. Well that just was not good enough for me. It just seemed way to fake and not nearly believable enough for my taste. Then I discovered something most curious. If you listen at the cone end sound can be picked up through the shell. But first, I should mention that I soon discovered that if one removes the paper cone and replaces it with two shells one for listing and the other for speaking, something very strange happens, if no one is speaking on the other end of the shell. What happens is what the Charles Godfrey Leland said would happen but that it took days. In fact, it takes only minuets under the right context and it can also be done with only one shell. Here is where we shall ditch reality and begin to explore a mystical world. If you present the shell in the context of a story, lets say for sake of argument it is a shell collected from a ship that sank at sea long ago and if you mention the fact that this is a rare shell and it sometimes will pick of the voices of the sailors who perished aboard that ship. Then it will do just that. It has to to with a very complex mental process of the human mind hearing noise that are repetitive and converting it to audible language. The process will not happen with a consistent pitch or tone only a sound that repeats. In the case of a shell it is our circulatory system that we are hearing. Now this may sound a bit crazy but there are now several people who have heard a troll who lives under a bridge. I used the double shell and a tube. I told them very convincingly that if they hold one end to there ear and lower the other end so that it is below the bridge they would be able to hear a troll who lives there. If they wanted to they could speak into the shell and ask a question and if the troll is in a good mood perhaps he would answer them. That troll answers them ever time with in a few minutes. So now you know, that if you add context to a natural item, it can do mysterious and wonderful things. The key is context. In addition, not everyone is a skeptic and what you will find is that many want to believe in such things. All you need to do is tell them that these things do exist and give them a means by which they can experience it for themselves and the rest will happen.

The Holey Stone

This is a simple stone that has a hole natural formed within it. This type of stone has been known over the centuries by many names, Hag stone, Odin Stone and witches stone are just a few of the name this stone has been called. I have some examples on my website at http://glisk.weebly.com/ you can see many different styles there. Another historical name for this stone is called the Fairy Stone and one legend around this stone is that if you look through the center of the stone you may get a glimpse of a Fairy. Do I need to tell you new age workers how useful this type of stone is? When working the stone all you need to do is hand one or more of these special and rare stones out to some members of you audience while you are outside in a park. The rest is so sensational I let you experience it for yourself. However I will give you a few insights to help you on your way to greatness. First talk about magical creatures before you remove the stone(s) from your pocket. Once they have received the stone have them wrap their index finger and thumb around the stone so that only the hole is visible. In other words your blocking out most of the light coming in around the stone. Have them look though the whole to see if any Faeries are in the area. They are there if you know where to look. The first thing is to have them look around at random. Now gently guide them look a the lower part of the tree line. If your in a park this area will separate the mowed lawn from the forest or woods. That’s where the Fairies are. In this area just above the grass and below the first open space and movement caused by insect, animal or wind will be preconceived as a fairy. I have been using this for so long I hate the fact I just gave it away but why not. Something as simple as this should not be hoarded by me any longer. If for no other reason the more people who believe in mystical creatures around the world will just make my next tour just that much easier. Well I hope you have enjoyed our time we have spent together. I hope you will play around with a few of the many adaptations that I have given you and do not forget to wrap a story of your own making around the basic effect to create something that is as unique as you are.

After Thoughts

The Conchologist of Conchomanteia is a previously unreleased work and contains some unique insights to my way of thinking. In my personal way of thinking about magic and mentalism it is better to sell the idea of something that may or may not be real than to create the same or similar effect by using trickery. Often this concept of melding psychological quarks with natural objects will produce better results than using out right gimmicks and gaffs.

This way it will be very difficult for any layperson to follow and figure out how you did it. Leaving them with only one inescapable conclusion and that is “it must be real for I myself have seen or heard it and how can I doubt what seemed so very real at the time”.

Until next time Bill Montana here wishing you all the very best.

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