The Devil's Flight
By Joseph Dunninger

A plank and two wooden saw horses are brought into view. The plank is placed upon the horses so that an improvised table is formed. A lady stands on the plank. She is covered with a cloth that doesn't reach to the stage. A pistol is fired; the cloth drops; the lady has vanished. This is one of the few illusions that can be worked on any stage without the use of traps and other such necessities that are usually employed to produce a similar effect.

Explanation: The saw horses are ordinary. The plank is prepared by attaching a cloth of the same color as the background used to its rear edge. A long, thin iron bar, which acts as a weight and also enables the performer to roll up the cloth more easily, is sewn to the bottom of the cloth.

Before covering the girl, hold the cloth in front of the plank for a moment during which time the girl releases the curtain with her foot. The bar attached to the cloth causes it to unroll. Under cover of the cloth the girl gets behind the masking curtain and holds up a stick with a ball attached to its end. This, when draped, causes the audience to believe the girl is under the cloth.

A shot is fired, the girl quickly pulls the stick out of view; the cloth falls, and the girl has vanished.

This illusion is very inexpensive to make, and a very effective finale. It is advisable to have a carpet of the same color and material as the background underneath the horses on the stage.