When the Magician’s Assistant Begs for Help | Audio Drama

0:00 Speaker 1: Hi, this is Winslow.

0:01 Speaker 2: This is Crimson.

0:03 Speaker 3: And if you like what we're doing, hit the like button.

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0:10 Speaker 3: And please share it to all your friends.

0:12 Speaker 2: Everybody, everybody.

0:31 Speaker 1: With this key, you unlock the world to your dreams. What lies beyond could be the doorway to nightmare. Nightmare

1:03 Speaker 1: Welcome in. Welcome. I'm your host through the doorway to nightmare. The magician... The fakir, the one who does the tricks, has been around for centuries. Only the props and techniques have changed. Magic has become more sophisticated, and the art of manipulating an audience can be quite enjoyable and entertaining. Sometimes. Ginny!

1:43 Speaker 4: Are you crazy?

1:44 Speaker 5: No, Brad.

1:45 Speaker 2: I've made up my mind.

1:47 Speaker 4: He's just an old carnival magician, and not very good at that.

1:52 Speaker 2: I thought he was wonderful.

1:53 Speaker 4: You're just jealous. Jealous?

1:56 Speaker 5: Me?

1:57 Speaker 4: Of a 200-year-old-looking has-been magician? You really are crazy.

2:03 Speaker 2: I'm going to be his assistant, and that is final.

2:10 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, The Magician, was based on a story by John Allen and written especially for Doorway to Nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our stars include Crimson McKenzie, Mark Wheeler, and Mark McClain. It is sponsored in part by Swanage Press. I'll be back shortly with Act One. The world of magic at one time was regulated to traveling magicians who would entertain small towns across the country. It would be many years before the large stage shows that you can see today.

3:09 Speaker 6: Oh, Brad, look!

3:10 Speaker 2: A magician!

3:11 Speaker 1: Let's go.

3:12 Speaker 4: Oh, come on, Jenny. Once you've seen one magic act, you've seen them all.

3:16 Speaker 2: But I really want to check them out. You know, the carnival only comes through here once a year, and I don't even remember the last time there was a magic show.

3:24 Speaker 4: Probably some old man doing card tricks that my grandfather knows.

3:28 Speaker 2: Oh, it'll be fun. I promise.

3:29 Speaker 4: You really want to go?

3:30 Speaker 2: I really do.

3:31 Speaker 4: Okay, let's go.

3:34 Speaker 1: Yay!

3:36 Speaker 3: And now, madam, would you please think of a card Any card.

3:43 Speaker 4: I told you he would be an old man doing card tricks.

3:46 Speaker 2: I think he's wonderful.

3:48 Speaker 4: Are you kidding?

3:49 Speaker 3: And now, think of the card very hard. Now, let me see.

4:00 Speaker 4: Aha!

4:01 Speaker 3: Is this your card?

4:04 Speaker 1: No!

4:06 Speaker 3: Perhaps I should remove the curtain above my head.

4:10 Speaker 5: Is....

4:12 Speaker 1: Is that your card?

4:16 Speaker 4: Even I can do that.

4:17 Speaker 6: Brad, be quiet.

4:20 Speaker 3: And now, my lovely assistant will join me.

4:25 Speaker 1: Ah, Esmeralda.

4:28 Speaker 3: You are looking very beautiful.

4:33 Speaker 4: Geez, she looks young enough to be his great-granddaughter.

4:38 Speaker 2: She doesn't look very happy.

4:41 Speaker 5: Why, Esmeralda, you must not lose your head. That is up to me.

4:53 Speaker 3: As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, I have placed my young assistant into what is commonly referred to as a guillotine. With a wave of my magic wand, I release the razor-sharp blade and.

5:12 Speaker 6: Oh, my gosh.

5:14 Speaker 7: That was incredible.

5:16 Speaker 1: Yeah.

5:18 Speaker 4: I wonder how he did it.

5:20 Speaker 3: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your kind attention. We shall have another show in two hours. We hope to see you all again very soon.

5:35 Speaker 6: May the magic be yours.

5:39 Speaker 4: Well, come on, Ginny. Let's go hit some of the rides.

5:41 Speaker 2: You go ahead, Brad. I want to wait for the next show.

5:45 Speaker 4: Are you kidding? You heard what the man said. It's not for another two hours.

5:48 Speaker 2: Yeah, but I want to sit in the front row this time.

5:51 Speaker 4: What is so fascinating about a two-bit magic act?

5:54 Speaker 2: I don't know, but don't you think he was mesmerizing?

5:58 Speaker 4: Oh, sure. He hypnotizes his audience into spending a buck per ticket.

6:01 Speaker 2: Even you didn't know how he did that last trick.

6:04 Speaker 4: Okay, you got me there. That one, I have to admit, was pretty good.

6:09 Speaker 2: Did you notice his assistant? She really looked unhappy to be up on that stage.

6:16 Speaker 4: If I had to work for that old man, I wouldn't be happy either. Now, are you coming?

6:20 Speaker 2: I told you. I want to see the next show.

6:23 Speaker 4: Tell you what. Ride a couple of rides with me, and I will make sure that we are back in time to sit in the front row.

6:28 Speaker 8: Really, Brad?

6:30 Speaker 2: No fooling?

6:30 Speaker 4: Scout's on her.

6:41 Speaker 6: This is not your card, madam.

6:46 Speaker 9: Let me remove the curtain above me, and is this your card? And now here comes my lovely assistant, Esmeralda, my dear.

7:00 Speaker 3: You should not lose your head. That is my job.

7:08 Speaker 2: She almost looks scared, Brad.

7:10 Speaker 4: It's just part of the act.

7:12 Speaker 3: I beg your pardon, young man. Did you say part of the act?

7:19 Speaker 4: Who, me? Um, no. I was just saying... Perhaps you.

7:22 Speaker 6: Would like to come and face the guillotine.

7:26 Speaker 4: Well, I don't know. I mean, it is your act and I don't... Are you perhaps afraid?

7:32 Speaker 2: Go on, Brad. Maybe you can figure out.

7:35 Speaker 3: How it works. A very brave young man.

7:40 Speaker 6: Now, what is your name?

7:43 Speaker 1: Brad.

7:44 Speaker 4: Brad Majors.

7:45 Speaker 6: Tell me, Brad. Are you in high school?

7:51 Speaker 4: Senior, this year.

7:52 Speaker 6: And based on your size, I would say that you are on the football team.

7:59 Speaker 4: Quarterback.

8:00 Speaker 6: So, you would consider yourself Brave?

8:05 Speaker 4: I suppose so.

8:06 Speaker 6: Esmeralda, show our young, brave lad the terrors of the guillotine. Now, ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, our young.

8:21 Speaker 7: Football player is firmly strapped into the mechanism. With a wave of my wand, I press the trigger in. Please, a round of applause for the brave, very brave.

8:40 Speaker 1: Brad Majors.

8:43 Speaker 4: Come on, Jenny, let's get out of here.

8:44 Speaker 2: Brad? Are you alright?

8:46 Speaker 4: No, not really.

8:48 Speaker 2: What is it?

8:49 Speaker 4: That girl, Esmeralda. While she was strapping me in, she slipped something into my pocket.

8:53 Speaker 2: What was it? Her phone number?

8:56 Speaker 4: No, here, read it.

8:59 Speaker 2: Please help me. What do you think it means?

9:02 Speaker 4: I don't know, but there is something very strange about Merlin the magician.

9:08 Speaker 1: Some magicians are more theatrical than others. While others lean more towards the comedic side, Merlin seems to be more sinister than dramatic. I'll be back shortly with Act Two.

9:40 Speaker 1: The great Harry Houdini once said, I am a great admirer of mystery and magic. Look at this life. All mystery and magic.

9:54 Speaker 10: And now, ladies and gentlemen, for this next illusion, I will show you require man's want.

10:03 Speaker 4: Here you go.

10:05 Speaker 6: Well, well, well.

10:09 Speaker 3: Good to see you again, Mr.

10:11 Speaker 1: Brad Majors.

10:14 Speaker 4: Wow, you remembered my name.

10:16 Speaker 6: I remember everything. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I shall take this wallet and prove that the hand is truly quicker than the eye.

10:30 Speaker 4: Hey, you're burning my wallet.

10:32 Speaker 3: Have no fear, young man.

10:34 Speaker 6: And abracadabra. Here is your wallet.

10:44 Speaker 3: Esmeralda, please return the property to the young man.

10:50 Speaker 1: Whoa.

10:50 Speaker 10: And now, ladies and gentlemen, my lovely assistant Esmeralda will be facing the whore of the guillotine.

11:03 Speaker 4: Hey, what's this note? Meet me at the haunted house after the show. Well, you actually came.

11:20 Speaker 8: I cannot stay long. You will be expecting me back at the trailer in a few minutes. Please, you must help me.

11:26 Speaker 4: That's what your first note said. What is Merlin doing?

11:29 Speaker 8: He's a horrible man. His magic is.

11:33 Speaker 4: is.

11:34 Speaker 2: dark.

11:35 Speaker 4: He's a has-been magician working at a carnival. How dark could it be?

11:39 Speaker 8: You don't understand. He's a very powerful wizard. The guillotine is one of his most terrible spells.

11:46 Speaker 4: The blade sure looks real.

11:47 Speaker 8: Believe me, if he did not whisper the right words before the blade falls, it would slice through my neck like butter.

11:53 Speaker 4: Are you serious?

11:54 Speaker 6: Deadly!

11:56 Speaker 8: Please, you must get me away from him. I feel he's growing tired of me and is looking for a new assistant. I'm so afraid of what will happen to me if he finds someone.

12:05 Speaker 4: You could go home, couldn't you?

12:06 Speaker 8: He won't let me.

12:08 Speaker 4: Can't you just run away?

12:09 Speaker 8: Don't you think.

12:10 Speaker 6: That I've tried?

12:12 Speaker 8: He always finds me and brings me. Hey, isn't that the girl that you were with last night?

12:18 Speaker 4: Who, Jenny? I was going to take her to the movies tonight, but she said that she was busy.

12:22 Speaker 8: But isn't that her, waiting for the next show?

12:26 Speaker 4: Jenny, what are you doing here?

12:28 Speaker 2: Brad, I thought you were going to the movies.

12:31 Speaker 4: Well, I was, but I didn't want to go by myself. What are you doing here?

12:33 Speaker 2: I don't have to answer to you.

12:35 Speaker 4: Hey, hold on. I was just asking.

12:37 Speaker 2: If you must know, I was hoping to meet the Great Merlin.

12:41 Speaker 4: Oh, now he's the Great Merlin.

12:43 Speaker 1: What?

12:44 Speaker 4: You jealous? Of an old dried-up magician? Are you kidding? Why do you want to meet him?

12:49 Speaker 2: That's none of your business.

12:50 Speaker 4: Ginny, you're not thinking of trying to be his assistant, are you?

12:53 Speaker 2: Brad, I'm stuck in this town where the only prospect is marrying you and working the farm. I want something more from my life.

13:03 Speaker 4: Ginny, please, just come with me. Let's get out of here.

13:06 Speaker 6: No, Brad.

13:08 Speaker 2: I want to meet the magician.

13:09 Speaker 4: I've got a really bad feeling.

13:17 Speaker 1: Brad sees the look of determination on Ginny's face. The feeling of dread that began earlier is growing inside of him. I'll be back shortly. with Act 3. Donald Wills Douglas wrote, Dream no small dream. It lacks magic. Dream large. Then make the dream real. Jenny, a poor farm girl, is dreaming of a new life with a magician. If what Esmeralda has told Brad is true, Jenny's new life could turn into something much darker.

14:20 Speaker 8: May I help you?

14:22 Speaker 5: Um....

14:30 Speaker 2: Mr. Merlin, my name is Jenny, and I think that you're the greatest magician in the world, and I would love to be your assistant.

14:40 Speaker 6: Jenny, eh? What a pretty name.

14:45 Speaker 3: What a pretty girl. And you say that you would.

14:49 Speaker 6: Like to be my assistant?

15:01 Speaker 2: Oh, my! What an interesting... Oh, wow.

15:08 Speaker 6: Please, look around, my dear.

15:12 Speaker 2: These paintings. Six eyes? Four arms?

15:19 Speaker 3: These are the paintings of the old ones, my dear. The gods who were here long before man.

15:29 Speaker 6: crawled out of the ooze.

15:31 Speaker 2: What is that? It looks like a bat.

15:34 Speaker 6: It is, my dear.

15:36 Speaker 1: It is.

15:38 Speaker 7: Now, if you will forgive me, I must have a talk with Esmeralda. You have been a bad girl, haven't you, my bat?

15:54 Speaker 8: I won't stay here any longer.

15:56 Speaker 7: That's One.

15:58 Speaker 8: I won't be your assistant anymore!

16:02 Speaker 4: That's two.

16:04 Speaker 2: What are you going to do?

16:05 Speaker 6: I will be with you in a moment, my dear.

16:13 Speaker 1: Jenny!

16:14 Speaker 8: Get out of here!

16:15 Speaker 6: Run away while you still can!

16:17 Speaker 3: That's three!

16:18 Speaker 1: Three!

16:36 Speaker 3: Well, Jenny, you have heard of pulling a rabbit out.

16:41 Speaker 6: Of a hat. What do you think of a cat in a hat? That's enough, Esmeralda.

16:53 Speaker 11: Into the hat!

16:57 Speaker 6: Would you rather be a cat or a mouse?

17:05 Speaker 3: Now, my dear Jenny, what was it you were saying?

17:16 Speaker 2: I can't open the door.

17:19 Speaker 7: It's locked.

17:21 Speaker 2: You terrible, horrible man! How could you do such a thing?

17:25 Speaker 1: I wouldn't be your assistant if you were the last magician on earth!

17:33 Speaker 6: Would you.

17:35 Speaker 3: Whether it be a cat or a mouse.

17:43 Speaker 6: That's one.

17:51 Speaker 1: Ginny's face becomes ashen white. She realizes, a little too late, that she is now trapped under the magician's spells. I shall return shortly with a final word. One of the first rules of magic is to never reveal a secret. Assistants have been sworn to secrecy. even after leaving the show, not to tell someone how a trick or illusion was accomplished. The great Merlin, traveling around the country in a carnival, has found a rather unique way to keep his secrets.

19:03 Speaker 1: Our cast included Mark Wheeler, Crimson McKenzie, Brenna Faith, and Mark McClain. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie, and the entire production was under the direction of Winslow Swan. Doorway to Nightmare is brought to you in part by Swanage Press. And now, a preview of our next tale.

19:29 Speaker 11: In less than three hours, I will be escorted down that hallway where I will be strapped into a chair and several thousand volts of electricity.

19:41 Speaker 2: That was the order of the court. There isn't anything that I can do about it, so what I want to know is why you were so insistent on seeing me.

19:51 Speaker 11: Because, doctor, I'm in love with you.

19:55 Speaker 2: Oh, don't be ridiculous.

19:58 Speaker 11: I'm not. The first time that we met, when you told them I was fit to stand trial, that everything I had told you was completely made up, I fell in love with you.

20:10 Speaker 2: So, hours before your execution, you confessed this love. Why?

20:16 Speaker 11: Because I don't want to see anything happen to you.

20:19 Speaker 2: And what could possibly happen to me?

20:22 Speaker 11: Something very, very bad.

20:28 Speaker 1: This is your host inviting you to return with us through the doorway to nightmare for another adventure into the world of your terrifying imagination. Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue. The butler did it.