Genii Magazine - October 2026

October 2026 • Volume 89, Number 10

in this issue...

The Genii Speak • Will Houstoun Magic, Halloween, and an 800-year-old cathedral

Mailbox Missed opportunities and ruined effects

The October Almanac • Will Houstoun Magazines, séances, and an oft-forgotten name

The Eye • Vanessa Armstrong A magical odyssey, spooky sorcery, and more...

Features

Houdini's Death: Joscelyn Gordon Whitehead, falsely accused no more • George Hardeen and Alanna Nash Was Whitehead falsely implicated in Harry Houdini's death? Learn how Larrian Gillespie set out to clear Whitehead's name

Cyril Takayama: Rediscovering Magic • Will Houstoun (based on interviews by Richard Kaufman) Cyril shares the story of how he reignited his passion for magic and explains the work he is doing to keep the flame alight

Voices

Remain the Student • R. Paul Wilson Be intentional about your relationship with magic in order to avoid falling out of love

The Genii Questionnaire • Hide Hide responds to our questionnaire

Square Phones and Fast Coding • Marc Kerstein Marc shares two ways AI is affecting magic apps

Carry the Fire • Matthew Holtzclaw What does it mean to "carry the fire" and how can you do it better?

In Practice

Magicana: DeLand's Flyer • Chiam Yu Sheng A clever force combining a popular move with a sneaky gaff

Magicana: Valdemar • David Parr The perfect trick for your Halloween shows

Magicana: Coin Bounce • Oden Stall A moment of visual madness with a silver coin

Magicana: Card Boomerang • Larry Cards across with Ziploc bags

Magicana: Oracle Prediction • Axel Luna A trick and the choices that support it

Magicana: One Hand Card to Pocket • Keith Pettengell One hand, one card, one pocket

Diminishing Cards • Roberto Mansilla Enjoy Roberto's take on this manipulative classic

Inventing Magic • Blake Vogt Larry Fong joins Blake to invent a new idea and talk about seemingly impromptu miracles

In Performance

The Magic Castle • Shawn McMaster Guy Hollingworth and Artem Shchukin come to visit

The Comedy & Magic Club • Vanessa Armstrong Discover this Hermosa Beach institution

Marketplace

Book Excerpt • Stephen Tucker Clever magic from a mysterious magazine

Reviews Exposing Houdini; Hexalabim; Houdini's Library; A Strenuous Career; Synaptic; The Algorithm

Workshop

When to Give Up • Dr. Matt Pritchard And just as importantly, when not to

Lying Bastards • Andrew Wimhurst How do you get card cheats to share their secrets?

The Referral Engine • Laura Pulling How you can build a business that books itself

Perspectives

Sleightly Astonishing • Jim Hagy Sometimes we don't need all the answers

The Trouble With Newspaper Archives • Ben Winn Blackstone's sometimes fictitious side hustles

Andrew Pinard: The Sleeper • Will Houstoun An ethereal moment of magic

Coffee With... Richard McDougall What comes to light when you intensively work the same type of venue, 40 years apart

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