Tricks, Tricks & More Tricks #3: Satanic Sorcery

Learn seven satanic card tricks to shock and surprise your audiences!

Welcome to the latest edition of Tricks, Tricks & More Tricks, a regular column that features several routines connected by plot, method, or presentation. This newsletter follows a “freeven” model—every even-numbered issue is free to read. To access all content, including the odd-numbered issues like this one, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. In this article, we’re dealing with the Devil! 👿

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The Devil’s Game: A Historical Context

Recently, I’ve been delving into the unique world of traditional folktales about the Devil and gambling (see my blog post, Playing Cards with the Devil). These stories often revolve around a gambler—or sometimes a group of young men—who finds themselves engaged in a game of cards with a peculiar stranger. Only too late do they discover their opponent’s true identity: the Devil himself! Academics have dubbed these legends “The Card Players and the Devil” and categorised them as type ML 3015, as defined in the book The Migratory Legends (1958) by renowned Norwegian folklorist Reidar Christiansen.

The Black Book of Magic

These tales, which fall under the broader category of “The Black Book of Magic”, typically depict individuals succumbing to the allure of sinful acts.

In Scandinavian folklore, a “Black Book Minister” is a clergyman who owns a book that can summon the Devil when read by an unauthorised person. Accordingly, a “Black Book” (Sortebok) is a magical grimoire containing spells, charms, and occult knowledge. It is often believed to grant its owner supernatural power, including the ability to conjure and command the Devil by reciting specific incantations or performing rituals. Sometimes, a blood oath or renunciation of Christianity is required.

In these stories, the Devil’s appearance serves various narrative purposes, and when he overstays his welcome, the Black Book Minister is summoned to banish him. Ultimately, these tales convey a profound fear that salvation may lie beyond human reach—cheerful stuff, indeed!

For centuries, playing cards have been associated with wickedness and the Devil. This perception has deep historical and cultural roots, stemming from religious mistrust, odd gambling superstitions, and traditional folklore (both regional and migratory).

Since their introduction to Europe in the late Middle Ages, playing cards have often been linked to vice, immorality, and even demonic influence. The Christian Church viewed cards as tools of gambling and idleness, believing they could lead to sin and moral corruption. Some religious figures referred to cards as the “Devil’s Picture Book” or the “Devil’s Prayer Book”, implying they were instruments of temptation, similar to dice (and other forms of chance-based gaming).

🎴 Historical Fact: The term “Devil’s Picture Book”, indicating a deck of playing cards, first appeared in print in 1729 (according to Green’s Dictionary of Slang).

In the 18th and 19th centuries, playing cards, particularly Tarot cards, became associated with the occult, fortune-telling, and mysticism. The Devil card in Tarot decks represents temptation, deception, and bondage—echoing religious anxieties that card games could lead to physical, moral and spiritual ruin.

Sleeping with the Devil

In certain traditions, the Four of Clubs is ominously nicknamed “The Devil’s Bedpost”, though the origins of this term are unclear. During the Early Modern period, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, the fear of witchcraft reached a peak across Europe and the American colonies. One of the most serious accusations against alleged witches was that they had made a pact with the Devil, often sealed through a carnal relationship. This belief was reinforced by both religious doctrine and the testimonies of accused witches—many of whom “confessed” under torture to meeting Satan in secret, participating in infernal rituals, and even laying with the Devil in unholy union!

The idea that witches slept with the Devil was not just a theological accusation; it was deeply embedded in the culture of the time. Witch-hunters, such as the notorious Matthew Hopkins in England and Heinrich Kramer—the author of the Malleus Maleficarum in Germany—provided vivid descriptions of how Satan would seduce his followers. They believed he would mark his consorts with a “Devil’s mark”—a supernatural brand that made them immune to pain at that spot. Some accounts claimed these marks were found on places such as the shoulder, back, or even intimate areas, reinforcing the notion of a physical union with the Prince of Darkness.

How does this connect to the Four of Clubs? The card’s symmetrical design—four pips arranged in a manner resembling a bedpost—could symbolise this unholy liaison. Beds, after all, are places of secrecy, intimacy, and forbidden acts. In a time when playing cards were often regarded as instruments of vice and sin (early Puritans, for instance, condemned card games as tools of moral corruption), it is easy to imagine the Four of Clubs earning a sinister reputation, leading to it being called the “The Devil’s Bedpost”.

Moreover, the number four carries mystical and superstitious significance. The number is often viewed as unlucky in various cultures. For instance, in China, the number four is pronounced “si,” which sounds like “si” (死), meaning “death”. In many traditions, however, it is associated with stability and order—such as the four elements, four cardinal directions, and four seasons. However, when distorted or linked to the infernal, the card’s meaning is upended, and stability becomes entrapment, with the four corners of a bed symbolising confinement within the Devil’s grasp.

Thus, the Four of Clubs—already shrouded by its association with trickery in gambling and its ominous nickname—might echo this centuries-old fear. It represents deception and shifting fortunes and perhaps serves as an ancient warning: beware of the bargains you make in the dead of night, for once you lie in the Devil’s bed, you may never rise again!

📝 For a deeper dive into the murky history of The Devil’s Bedpost, including historical references and additional folklore, visit my blog post “The Devil’s Bedpost” at Marty’s Bag of Tricks.

The Devil at the Crossroads

Many folktales—especially those of Hoodoo origin—tell stories of gamblers who, driven by desperation, make a deal with the Devil at a crossroads. This location has long symbolised a space that is “betwixt and between” worlds. These stories also reflect religious anxieties that gambling could lead to damnation, reinforcing the idea that playing cards are somehow associated with supernatural trickery. Perhaps the most well-known example of the crossroads myth is the legend of Robert Johnson, the pioneering blues musician who allegedly sold his soul to the Devil at a crossroads in exchange for a successful musical career. It is worth noting Johnson himself never made this claim, and there is a compelling argument suggesting that this legend, at least in part, stems from racial prejudice.

Today, the association between cards and the Devil is more of a cultural curiosity than an earnest belief. Historical information about people’s shifting attitudes to playing cards is fertile ground for developing educational, exciting, and engaging magical presentations. As magicians and storytellers, we can use these historical superstitions to enhance the mystery and drama of our magic tricks, weaving themes of fate, trickery, and redemption into our performances.

A Note on Performance

These folktales and legends are particularly effective when applied to story-based card tricks. However, unlike other popular story tricks, such as “Sam the Bellhop” or “Color Monte”, when performing a routine that mentions Satan or the Devil, there is a slight risk of upsetting or offending someone in your audience, particularly those who are deeply spiritual or religious. Naturally, one way to avoid this situation is to be cautious about whom you perform these tricks for. Even if someone isn’t religious, they may feel a bit uncomfortable when you suggest they’ve lost their soul to the Devil. For this reason, I have carefully constructed each routine to allow a spectator to win back their soul or nullify any “contract” with the Devil.

🔥 Hot Tip: When performing any of these Devil-themed routines, pay attention to your audience’s reactions during the setup. If anyone seems deeply uncomfortable with the theme, you can quickly pivot to a different effect. Always have a non-Devil-themed alternative ready!

From Satan to Salvation: A Gospel Magic Perspective 😇

Unexpectedly, these tricks make ideal material for Gospel magicians! Let me explain why I believe this is the case:

Redemption and Overcoming Evil

Each magic trick has been intentionally crafted to allow the spectator to “win back their soul” or break free from a “contract with the Devil”. This narrative arc is embedded within the trick’s structure and reflects central themes found in Christianity and Gospel teachings. Gospel magic often seeks to illustrate concepts such as salvation (being saved from a negative situation or force), victory over sin or evil (the ability to overcome detrimental influences, symbolised by nullifying the Devil’s contract), and the ideas of forgiveness and second chances (the belief that mistakes can be rectified and redemption is attainable). Many of the tricks emphasise this by enabling the spectator to reverse a negative outcome.

Reframing the Narrative

Although the tricks initially touch on themes related to the Devil and the potential loss of one’s soul—which could be perceived as negative or offensive in a religious context—the crucial element is the favourable resolution. By ensuring that the spectator can beat the Devil, the trick can be reframed by a Gospel magician to represent the triumph of good over evil or faith conquering temptation. These performances illustrate that even when someone feels bound to negative forces (such as sin or doubt), there is always a way to break free and find redemption through faith.

Engaging with a Darker Theme for a Positive Message

Ironically, by beginning with a potentially controversial or uncomfortable theme (making a pact with the Devil), these tricks can become more impactful in conveying a Gospel message because the contrast is heightened. During the trick, the audience undergoes a moment of potential “loss” or negative spiritual implication, which makes the act of redemption even more powerful and resonant when framed within a Gospel context. This dramatic approach effectively illustrates spiritual struggles and the hope of overcoming them. These devilish presentations also offer religious individuals a safe way to roleplay sinful behaviour and its consequences without acting on their temptations.

Accessibility and Relatability

Even though the tricks involve the Devil, the underlying themes of struggle, temptation, and the desire for redemption are universally relatable, even for those who may not be deeply religious. Gospel magicians can use this relatability to connect with a broader audience and guide the narrative toward a message of faith and hope.

What Do You Think?

In essence, the very aspect of these tricks that aims to mitigate offence—allowing the spectator to outsmart the Devil—ironically becomes the key element that makes these tricks surprisingly adaptable and effective for Gospel magicians. It’s an interesting twist where a potentially problematic and sensitive theme is turned into a vehicle for conveying a positive and faith-based message through the structure of the magic itself. However, I’m not a faith-based magician; I could be completely wrong about this instinct! I’d love to hear your views on this topic if you are a Gospel magician.

The Tricks

Below are seven card routines that embrace the theme of an encounter with the Devil in disguise and draw inspiration from the rich and superstitious history of playing cards. I’ve previously shared three of these tricks: “A Swindle of Souls”, “High Card to Hell”, and “Mark of the Beast”. However, “Beelzebet”, “Beelzebetter”, “More Mark of the Beast”, and “The Devil is Dyslexic” are all new and exclusive to paid subscribers of the Ruseletter. I hope you enjoy learning and performing them.