Don't try this at home

Carter, Witness
Ezra, Victim
July 30th, 19991

I sat by the vanity, looking in the mirror and finishing my make up. I was wearing my usual uniform: ripped up sleeveless top, miniskirt bottom, fishnets and high leather boots. My black hair was curled and my make up was flawless. My and my friends were ready to perform.
"Lets go, Carter," my best friend, Lucila called. We watched on the sidelines, the crowd, as usual, was cheering as my boss, Ezra, entered from the other side.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he started out. I smiled, I had always liked Ezra, though he got flirty onstage for performance reasons, he was respectful, kind, gentle, and very smart.
He explained the simple trick, how he would send his hand and eventually his entire body through a spinning, sharp-bladed fan. The trick started out, we pulled in the screen and set it in front of the fan, Ezra stepped behind it.
In this trick, the magician, Ezra, made it look like he could go through a spinning fan without getting hurt or disturbing the blades. The fan was on a pulley system that was worked by a stage hand, he was in control of making the fan go backwards, and forwards, with Ezra stepping to the side and in the front or back of it when the lights went out. Special lighting made the fan's shadow look the same even in the two different positions.
The trick went fine for a bit, my and the other assistants stood there and looked pretty, waiting to pose with him after the trick. It wasn't until Ezra was standing in the back of the fan when my life turned upside down.
Ezra stood in back, waiting for us to move the screen and show the audience that he hadn't moved from his spot. But the gap in which the fan moved on somehow caused trouble with his pant leg or shoe. Before the fan could be turned off, the lights went out, as planned, and we heard someone scream and the sound of fruit being split. Baffled, we looked at each other. As the lights came on, we saw. Blood splattered the screen and dripped down. It dripped from the platform and the fan was instantly turned off. The crowd gasped and was in turmoil, we screamed and looked back at the stagehand, who saw it all from the back. His eyes were wide and he gripped the rope tight. The foul stench of blood filled the air and we peeked behind the screen. Scattered chunks of bloody meat was all that was left of our dear Ezra. The mascara dripped in the tears on our faces as we huddled together, shaken, scared, and just devastated. We thought there was no danger in this trick, but there is a reason why we say not to try this at home. I never practiced with magic again, not after it killed my friend, it is a mysterious, graceful, and fun practice, but I never knew it could be so lethal.2


Marie, Witness
Sarah, Victim
September 18, 20013

I went to one magic show in my life, the first was, definitely, the last. I was 40 years old and I thought, I'm over the hill, and I've never seen a live magic show, I'll go and see one, there's one going on downtown.
I watched the magician, Sarah, her name was, do a bunch of tricks. The classic rabbit in a box, the zombie ball, and a few card tricks. Then she said she was going to do a dangerous stunt. My adrenaline started pumping and I got excited. They brought out a giant wood chipper, a sawdust truck, and the assistants brought a big wood casket.
Climbing in the death bed, Sarah waved goodbye to the crowd and was sealed into the box. It went down the conveyor belt and into the wood-chipper. The crowd gasped, but I knew it was normal, I had seen the trick before, but didn't know how it worked.
On television, I saw it. For some reason, probably budget or so the audience doesn't puke or something, they don't really show blood on these shows. I knew they acted, but this was different. I heard Sarah screaming inside the box as it went through, when the blood and guts got spewed out into truck, everyone was in shock. We all stood there, silent and still. "Please," I begged Sarah, "Come out, show is this is all fine."
She didn't come, but the police did. It ruled out as a tragic and terrible accident, an accident that scarred my for life.4


Tory, Witness/Culprit
Ariel, Victim
December 3ed, 19875

It was a routine trick, it was, the old 'Cut the girl's body in half then restore it.' My lovely assistant, Ariel, was doing this trick with me, again. I had done this about ten times with the same girl. What happens is this: After I show that  Ariel is in the box, but not laying down with her head and feet in the holes, I close the door and another girl, Lucy, comes up from a secret compartment and, wearing the same shoes as Ariel, slips her feet through the holes. Ariel's head comes out the other side. The two scrunch to the side, or are supposed to.
I had a razor sharp rotating saw-blade that I used to cut the box. Some magicians use boxes with lined gaps to cut, but I was old school. Cutting into the wood, I saw Ariel make some discomforting expressions. She was an actress, it was common. Then I heard screaming, I immediately stopped the blade and pulled it out, it was covered in red. I opened the box and the upper part of Lucy's body dropped out, hanging limply from the rest of her body.
It was too late, she was dead. Ariel was in distress and the crowd was panicked. I, myself, felt a terrible surge of stress and guilt. I had killed someone in front of about 200 people.
After I was taken in to the police station, I had to go through the hassle of court and was sentenced 15 years in prison for manslaughter.
Manslaughter, to me, is more of a gruesome word than murder, it's hard to believe it merely means accidental killing. Accidental, such an innocent word. Whether I intended to kill her and scar people for life or not, it is not going to bring the life back Lucy, or erase the gruesome images burned into Ariel, mine, and a large number of people's minds.6

Many accidents have occured doing dangerous stunts for the thrill of magic and mystery. No professional, no matter how much they seem to be, is perfect. Tragedies like these are what brings to life that famous little phrase, "Don't try this at home."