Indian Rope Trick - The Explanation

The Explanation

There are various explanations of the trick as stage magic. The trick was performed between two trees or similarly placed objects, and at night. A strong, narrow wire was placed between the trees, and when the rope was thrown above, it got hooked up with the string. This allowed the boy to climb, though not to vanish or be dismembered.

However, in his book on the topic, Peter Lamont exposed the trick as a hoax created by John Elbert Wilkie while working at Chicago Tribune. Under the name "Fred S. Ellmore" ("Fred Sell More") Wilkie wrote of the trick in 1890, gaining the Tribune wide publicity. About four months later, the Tribune printed a retraction and proclaimed the story a hoax. However, the retraction received little attention, and in the following years many claimed to remember having seen the trick as far back as the 1850s. None of these stories proved credible, but with every repetition the story became more ingrained.

Lamont also notes that no mention appears before the 1890 article. Marco Polo's supposed viewing was only offered after the article was published. Ibn Batuta did report a magic trick with a chain, not a rope, and the trick he describes is different from the "classic" Indian rope trick.

Penn and Teller followed Lamont's work and examined the trick while filming their three-part CBC mini-series, Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour. The tour travelled the world investigating historical tricks, and while in India they travelled to Agra where they recreated the trick.

Penn and Teller invited two British tourists shopping nearby to see what they claimed was a fakir performing the trick. As they walked back, an assistant ran up and claimed the fakir was in the midst of the trick, so they rushed the rest of the way so they wouldn't miss it. As the witnesses neared the room they dropped a thick rope from a balcony. The witnesses saw what they thought was the end of the trick, the rope falling as if it had been in mid-air seconds before. A sheet was then removed from a boy with fake blood at his neck and shoulders, hinting that his limbs and head had been reattached to his torso. According to their account, the rumour that a British couple had witnessed the trick was heard a few weeks later in England.