reVamped by Kent Bergmann

Kent Bergmann sprang on the scene in 2008 with his amazing and coveted Z-Wood Magic line of mini-magic created using Zebrawood. He disappeared for a few years in 2012, but came back bigger than ever with his unique 3D Magic line in 2016.

I’ve been a big fan of the Wandering Mummy theme in magic for more than twenty years and wrote a history of the effect here.  One of the big holes in my account was this beautiful and clever version from Kent Bergmann during his Z-Wood Magic days.  This is easily the most sought after effect from Kent’s whole line and since Kent stopped selling them eight years ago I’ve never seen one come up for sale on the secondary market.  And it is easy to see why.

Not only is the effect one of the most popular themes with collectors in close-up magic with versions from Eddy Taytelbaum, Alan Warner, Tony Lackner, Richard Gerlitz, Francois Danis and others. But Kent turned the whole method and story on its head and created something that is still clearly a Wandering Mummy, but with a totally unique approach to the method and the story.  His approach, though based on the others before it has three distinct advantages:

• The two caskets are cleverly gimmicked such that the vampire can appear or disappear at will in either casket as many times as desired.  This allows for more flexibility in the story line.
• Any sounds of the mummy vanishing are covered by the clever idea of rolling the caskets in and out of the main crypt – this is a really nice touch.
• The story line seems a little more logical because we are all familiar (from the movies) with how vampires travel in their secret coffins.

Needless to say Kent’s choice of woods and fine attention to detail, ensure this item looks stunning too. This is a very rare beauty and is very welcome nestled in with all of the other mummy’s 🙂

Effect: reVAMPED is a great Vampire themed effect with a wonderful story involving a crypt, two caskets, and of course, a Vampire who magically vanishes from one casket only to be found in the other . . . and then vanishes only to appear back in the original casket ( if so desired) . . . and then back to the other casket . . . and back again, and . . . well you get the idea. reVAMPED does not limit the performer to just one transposition. The performer decides if the Vampire will magically vanish or remain in the casket, this allows for the performer to determine where and when the Vampire will appear here or there. This means that the performer may have a completely original and different routine/outcome each time reVAMPED is performed. This is ideal if you are performing in front of someone that has seen you perform this effect before. The included story line and all the beautiful props, together, create a magical transposition effect which is fun and entertaining for all.

The crypt, main storage box, is made of Zebrawood and decorated with Padauk and Maple. The hinged lid has two eye and hooks on the sides of the crypt to hold lid down. The front of the crypt has two hinged doors with a latch to lock the doors. Inside of the crypt you will find two drawers, lined with black felt, which cannot be removed from the crypt. The crypt measures approximately 5.75″w x 3.25″h x 6″d.

Both caskets are of identical size, approximately 4.75″ x 2″ x 1.75″ and both casket lids have two bats engraved into them. The difference in the two caskets is that one has an emblem made of Maple and Zebrawood and has a genuine Snowflake Obsidian cabochon mounted to the top. The other casket emblem is made of Padauk and Zebrawood and has a genuine Mother of Pearl cabochon mounted to the top.

The “traveling” Vampire measures approximately 3.5″ long.

As one collector of fine magic said when looking at reVAMPED: it is a beautiful new twist on a familiar idea. The mechanical “workings” of reVamped are original in construction and operation.

(Click here for more history about The Wandering Mummy)

Found something wrong? Help us improve things by clicking here!