The Indian rope trick
A street-magic feat in which a rope climbs into the sky and a boy follows it out of sight. Some historians trace its fame to a newspaper story printed in 1890.
In the version Wikipedia calls the classic one, a rope rises high into the sky until it vanishes from view. A boy climbs it and is lost to sight. The magician calls to him, pretends to be angry when nobody answers, takes a knife or sword and climbs up as well. An argument is heard, then human limbs fall to the ground. The magician climbs down, gathers the pieces into a basket or under a cloth, and the boy walks out unhurt.
Madras Musings reports that some historians treat the trick as a hoax started in 1890 through an article by John Wilkie at the Chicago Tribune. It cites the magic historian Peter Lamont, who found nothing reliable about the trick from before that year and argued that later stage performances drew on Wilkie's account. A review of Lamont's book on 3 Quarks Daily gives his reason the story lasted: the article reached readers at a time when British imperial culture wanted the Indian fakir to stand for superstition, a figure who could scare his own countrymen but never fool a Westerner.
"The "classic" version was much more detailed: the rope seems to rise high into the sky, disappearing from view. The boy climbs the rope and is lost to view. The magician calls to the boy, and feigns anger upon receiving no response. The magician arms himself with a knife or sword, climbs the rope, and vanishes as well. An argument is heard, and then human limbs fall, presumably cut from the assistant's body by the magician. When all the parts of the body, including the torso, land on the ground, the magician climbs down the rope. He collects the limbs and puts them in a basket or covers them with a cape or blanket. The boy reappears, uninjured."
- Indian rope trick, Madras Musings
- The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick, 3 Quarks Daily