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Lore

Lore 317: Smoke and Mirrors

Duration
36m
Broadcast on
19 Oct 2026
Audio Format
other

Stage magic as we know it today is very different from how it began. The consequences of those early days, though, are all around us.

Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by GennaRose Nethercott, research by Cassandra de Alba, and music by Chad Lawson.

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©2026 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.

This episode is sponsored by Wildwood. From Leica, the studio behind Coraline, comes a new epic fantasy adventure. And at the heart of Wildwood is a simple question. How far would you go for someone you love? Wildwood is a handcrafted epic fantasy adventure that transports audiences into a secret magical and dangerously alive world just beyond their doorstep. At its heart is the story of a courageous girl, Prue McKeel, on a desperate mission to rescue her baby brother from a forbidden forest filled with enchanted creatures, endearing allies, and formidable adversaries. Her journey unfolds in a spectacular high-stakes adventure where the fate of an entire hidden world hangs in the balance. The film features vocal performances from Carrie Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, and Angela Bassett. And I have to tell you folks, I have seen the trailer for this film so many times, and I cannot wait to park my button to seat and experience this adventure. Wildwood is now playing in theaters everywhere, so grab your tickets today. This episode was sponsored by Progressive. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you might not know. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average. And pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cashback. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, national average 12-lin savings of $946 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Halloween is right around the corner, and for most people, that means a rewatch of all the cozy seasonal favorites. Practical Magic, Over the Garden Wall, Beetlejuice, and of course, maybe the most quintessential Halloween nostalgia flick of all, Hocus Pocus. Of course, the term Hocus Pocus far predates the Sanderson Sisters and their 1993 release. Like Abra Kadabra and Open Sesame, Hocus Pocus falls under the category of magic words that all of us just somehow seem to know. But have you ever wondered where those magic words come from? Well, as it turns out, stage magicians have been saying "Hocus Pocus" for more than 400 years, and before it was a common spell, it may just have been a person. Apparently, one of the most popular magicians of the early 1600s was an Englishman named William Vincent. He'd do card tricks, swallow swords, make objects disappear, that sort of thing. As part of his act though, he would utter nonsense fake Latin phrases over the tricks to make them seem more mystical and spooky. Fake Latin like Hocus Pocus. Before long, he wasn't going by William Vincent anymore, but by his stage name, the king's most excellent Hocus Pocus. He was famous enough that Hocus Pocus became a household name, and thus, the magic words spread far and wide. In 1635, the first known magic trick manual in the English language was published under the title Hocus Pocus Jr. The Anatomy of Ledger Domain. Ledger Domain, by the way, was the 17th century word for "slide of hand." Did the magician Hocus Pocus write this book that he come up with a phrase himself, or did he borrow it from a competitor? Unfortunately, those details are lost to time. But one thing is for sure, sometimes magic and history intersect in ways that you would never expect. I'm Aaron Mankey, and this is lore.
It's a trope that's found in countless fantasy stories, that of the king's magical advisor. The most famous, of course, is King Arthur's Merlin, but the list hardly stops there. There's Jafar from Aladdin, the Red Witch Melisandre from Game of Thrones, and of course, Hotep and Hoy from DreamWorks' 1998 film The Prince of Egypt, too, fun fact were based on Siegfried and Roy. Heck, even Gandalf picked up some government side work here and there. But here's the thing, court magicians, they aren't limited to fiction. In fact, throughout history, magical chancellors were all too real, and so was their political power. Back in ancient Mesopotamia, Assyrian kings would employ whole posses of magicians, each with their own supernatural specialty. One, for example, might be a pro at Korean favor from the gods, another an expert in ecstasy, which is reading the future from a sheep's liver. According to the book of Daniel, the King Nebuchadnezzar, had four flavors of sorcerer on staff, exorcists, astrologer priests, dream interpreters, and scribes trained to interpret cuneiform books of omens. Meanwhile, over in Egypt, the pharaohs were bankrolling magicians of their own. Now, while most Egyptians of the time were illiterate, these elite individuals were able to read ancient spell books, giving them access to secret God-given knowledge. Using these texts, they would perform magical rituals to protect the pharaoh and defeat his enemies. Then again, the pharaohs weren't exactly helpless on their own. It turns out they were often considered powerful magicians in their own right. As divine figures, every inch of a pharaoh's body was set to contain a special power called Hecha,

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