Product description : I really like João’s magic, it’s pure, streamline and very ingenious in most cases. Haunted Box is no exception to this, it’s a beautifully crafted box which will allow to do some very impressive magic. The idea behind it is simple, you say that you have Houdini’s spirit in your wooden box, you pull out a deck of cards, let someone selects and signs any card, place it back in the deck. You then ask the spectator to deal one at the time the cards in the box. At some point, the box will close by itself and the next card the spectator would be dealing is their signed card ! But you can do much more with it, let’s find out if it’s worth your money !
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $250 for the standard version and $350 for the deluxe one and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic « partner » shop !
What you get : You get a cardboard box with nicely protected inside, he advices you to watch the video first which I think you should do because you could damage the box if you don’t use it properly. The box is really well made, I had the chance to check both version (standard and deluxe) and they both look very good ! Of course the box is completely gaffed but looks very innocent because of the cleverness of the mechanism. You also get 2 gimmicked cards, one red and one blue (both in bicycle) so you can use any deck you want with another “blank” gimmick which you can put in anything, whether between 2 split cards, in an envelope, behind a picture or whatever you want. You get a charging cable, a tool to reset as well a picture of Houdini. The video is well made and João covers everything you need to know in order to make the box work. I had no problem with it, it’s very reliable and works every single time. Overall, I know this is a high priced item, but it works so well that I’m very happy with it and I can’t see why you would be disappointed.
The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.
THE CONS :
[if !supportLists]· [endif]The price for this is not low, but because of all the electronics behind and the custom made box you get, I think the price is fair. If you want, I would suggest to get the standard version to customize it. But I must say the Deluxe one feels a little bit better, I love the way it is aged.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]I would have liked to have an easier access to the on/off switch because here you have to do quite a procedure in order to switch on the box. But since the battery life of the box is around 13 hours, I don’t think it would be a problem to switch it on at the beginning of your performance and switch it off at the end of the night.
THE PROS :
[if !supportLists]· [endif]I love electronic stuff but I like them even more when the technology is 100% hidden. Promystic products are perfect for that so is the Haunted Box ! From the spectator’s point of view, this is just a regular wooden box.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]You can adapt your presentation to anything you’d like, if you use a worn deck such as the 1800’s produced by Ellusionist, you have a perfect complete routine.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]You don’t have to watch neither be in the same room with the box when it closes, everything is done by the spectator, there are no remotes or things like. That’s the beauty of this, everything can be considered as self-contained.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Since the gimmick is very thin and flexible, you can put it in many things, and still be undetectable. This opens up the possibilities of routines !
[if !supportLists]· [endif]It is very reliable ! I’m always a bit scared with electronics because it can fail but this box works a treat every single time, this gives me more confidence to do the routine.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]You never touch the box or the deck once the card is put back in the pack ! It’s quite hands free so you can focus on your presentation.
Overall rating : I understand this is not a cheap item but boy it works amazingly well and is one of the best product I have seen in a long time. I can totally see myself using it ! 4/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, the electronics does all the work for you, the cards technics are very simple, I would say 2/5 stars.
Similar products : There is something called the Anverdi box I think but I have not seen it in person.