The room holds only a handful of people, a few joining on Zoom, eagerly waiting to showcase their tricks. It’s inside Merrill Gardens at Sheldon Park, an assisted living facility buried in the outskirts of Eugene. One person tells me to open my right palm and places two squishy, red balls inside before closing it. When I open my hand back up, there are three.
This is a typical meeting for the Mysticians. The Eugene-based magic club was founded in 1962 by Ray Hyman and the late Jerry Andrus, both renowned figures in the magic world. Hyman, who is also a retired professor of psychology at UO, is now 97 years old and still running the show.
Alongside him is Jay Frasier, current club secretary and Lane Community College professor, who is also an award-winning magician. He prides the Mysticians on its unique lack of traditional structure, something Hyman decided on when he first created the group as an incentive for quality discussion over time-consuming agenda explaining.
“We don’t have dues (and) we don’t have membership requirements, except for being interested in magic,” Frasier said. This type of accessibility opened the gates to a diverse range of participants over the group’s 60-year history. They’ve even had a few members make their way to the big leagues, such as Hart Keene (as seen on “America’s Got Talent”) and Greg Moreland (professional comic magician).
As for Frasier, his curiosity for magic piqued when he was about five years old, when a minister at his church showed him a seemingly impossible card trick. “It fooled the pants off of me. I was like, ‘how the heck?’ He wouldn’t tell me how it was done,” Frasier said. “So, I had my mom check out all the grown-up books on magic and read them to me, ’cause I wanted to know how that trick was done. It was driving me insane. It was like this worm in my brain that just would not go away, so … I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Mysticians meetings typically act as a forum for both performing and explaining tricks, but since a “Muggle” would be joining, the group would refrain from openly discussing their secrets. The group performs occasionally, but meets monthly to mull over new illusions (and share a magician joke or two).
According to Hyman, card magic is the “most widespread form of magic,” but many of the group’s members have found a way to utilize their other talents. One created a prop out of a shoebox, which, when stuffed with a handful of handkerchiefs, manifested an entirely new piece of colorful fabric that was pulled out with a satisfied smile.
They’ve also had members in the past who have solely worked with larger props, leaning toward a more “stage magic” style. There is a wide variety of avenues to mystify, big and small.
For some, the Mysticians is an outlet from the stressors of daily life. The most recent meeting coincided with a possible upcoming faculty strike at LCC over budget cuts. Currently, Frasier works as a professional magician on the side, something he has had to lean on for financial security.
“So, my joke — it’s not actually totally a joke — is that I’m in education, so I’ve got to do something to make some money. And there’s some truth in that. Particularly since we’re bargaining right now, the faculty union with the administration, and it’s not going well,” he said.
Unlike Houdini escaping handcuffs after jumping into the Erie Canal, the group acts as a break from real life. Both Frasier and Hyman are self-described skeptics, yet they practice something that is meant to incite both confusion and awe. Although not exactly scientifically supported, the group is one example of how magic acts as a way to both inspire and bring people together.
As for the Mysticians, anyone is free to join; the only prerequisite is an interest in the fantastical. They will continue to meet at Merrill Gardens monthly, whether the group is few or many, as long as the wonder for things like disappearing squishy red balls remains.
