Halloween

When I was a magician's assistance, known as Genii Puff, this was our busiest time of year. Everyone, it seemed, wanted a Magician, in the spirit of Houdini, to appear at their Halloween party. We did shows at country clubs, private parties, and even churches. There is a program about Harry Houdini on the History station tonight. I just may watch it for old times sake. Houdini died on Halloween. In the later years of his life, after his beloved mother died, he became obsessed with spiritism. He had engaged the services of several promonent mediums, in hopes of contactine his mother, only to discover them all to be fakes. He then set out to expose their trickery. Houdini vowed that if there was any way to return from the dead and communicate with the living, he would do it. There have been attempts to contact him every Halloween since his death. Official and unofficial seances. I've been to a few myself. OoooOoooOo
I'd like to share with you the account of a botched attempt to convert my magician and I to Chrisitanity. It wasn't Halloween. It was actually Christmas time, and we were working in the toy department of a big department store in Rochester, New York. We were demonstrating a magic kit, putting on hourly shows. A group of well meaning youth walked up to us after one of our shows and the leader of the pack declared, "We know who you are working for." As we looked at them in puzzelment, not knowing where the converstaion was headed, he continued - "You're working for the devil". This brought a chuckle from us. Yeah, right. The devil was interested in the cup and ball and sponge rabbit tricks this particular toy featured. But the youth were persistance. They declared that the Bible said that doing magic was a sin and that magicians "should not be suffered to live". "So you want to kill us?" They were beginning to give me the creeps. The magician challenged them to find in the Bible where it said such a thing. They only had New Testaments with them, and they couldn't find it (something like it is there, but they hadn't done their homework.) The leader said it was in the Old Testament, and they didn't have one. The magician was persistant too. "Let's go down to the book department. Surely they have a complete Bible there." So we all headed for the elevator. The verse they managed to find in the Old Testament used the word "Necramancer" not magician. The kids said it was the same thing. It's not. The leader, who began to realize this was going no where, invited us to attend a Bible Study at his church the next Sunday night. He gave us the address. The magician asked if he should bring anything (he was thinking of 'putting on a show' for them.) "Only a Bible" was the reply and the kids (who were not much younger than we were at the time) walked away. The magician had a plan. We had this trick book. It was black and it very much resembled a Bible, but when you opened it, it burst into flames. But I convinced him it wasn't a good idea. I never had gotten an answer to the Question about whether or not they wanted to kill us, and I was afraid they might decide to stone us or burn us at the stake. That was over 30 years ago. I am saved now. The magician is not. God have mercy on his soul...