inspired by @beast-glatisant wonderful tale about being a carnival witch, I remembered the coolest magic trick i've ever read about. i don't think it's a very well known story, even though it includes Teller, from the Penn & Teller duo.
it's about a man called Enoch Soames and his infamous appearance on June 3, 1997, in the reading room of the British Museum.
so Enoch Soames is a short story written by Max Beerbohm in the late XIX century. the narrator is max himself, a friend of the main character, Enoch Soames, who struck a bargain with the devil. Being a mediocre writer in his own time but absolutely convinced of his own greatness, Soames feared his genius would only be recognized after his death.
the devil shows up before the two friends to offer a bargain: Enoch Soames would go a hundred years into the future and he would look up the reading room of the british museum for his own name. If he found himself listed there as an author, he would be spared but if not, his soul would belong to the devil.
having accepted the bargain, Soames is whisked away to 2:10 PM in the Round Reading Room of the British Museum on June 3, 1997. now, i'm gonna spoil the ending of the story, so I'd recommend reading it here before continuing.
Soames returns in the end of the afternoon to his own time. To his frustration, the only reference he found to his name was on a tale from his dear friend, Max Beerbohm, where (the nerve!) he is mistaken by a fictional character. He implores the narrator to convince us the readers that he is indeed real - and so the narrator tries, for the sake of his friend's soul. we can read the ending in a somewhat self-fulfiling prophecy way: we are reading the only story that survives Soames and where we know he is fictional.
or we can play in the game, just for a minute, and dive into the idea that we are, indeed, reading a desperate plea. and if we believe this, if we believe in the existance of Enoch Soames, could this act save his soul?
it's a fun little game that 13-year old Raíssa loved to play.
I was six years old in 1997, but if I were an adult then, I would have gone to the reading room on the british museum in june 3 to try and spot this cursed time traveler. of course i would go knowing it's silly, but still doing it because... what if it's not? what if something happened?
apparently, other people also thought like me and they were rewarded with the most delightful sight: in June 3, 1997, onlookers on the Reading Room of the British Museum witnessed a strange man in his late twenties, dressed in a wide-brimmed beaver hat and a mud-stained cape search through the reference system.
the account, as told by Teller, can be found right here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/11/a-memory-of-the-nineteen-nineties/376995/
the article is a great read - Teller heard of the story through an old teacher and wondered if any other people would show up to try and witness Soames too. the whole thing matches with what we knew from the story. the man was perfect for the part - he appeared and disappeared from the rooom without anyone knowing how he got in or out!
our narrator from this strange incident definitely knows a thing or two about magic (if you are not familiar with him, there's a great article here connecting the dots - https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/houdinis-heirs/) .
there's something of tongue-in-cheek tone to his writing - he knows, you know and i know that it can't be real. but it did happen. how? who knows, Teller seems to be saying in his article, barely containing the smile. it was magic. perhaps there truly existed an Enoch Soames.
when i first read the article, i was overwhelmed by a profound sense of gratitude and companionship. the lenghts that man went just to play a very elaborate and loving magic trick for an audience who was very niche. the most receptive audience possible, the ones who were there truly, truly wanted to believe something magical was going to happen. it feels like a love letter.
keeping the magic alive in the most weird, beautiful way i've ever heard it.
a photo of the incident and the man himself. (credits to allhails, took from https://www.flickr.com/photos/allhails/8124880282)
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