Billet reading

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Billet reading is a mentalism effect where a performer gives the impression that he is able to correctly identify, using supposed clairvoyant powers, messages that have been sealed inside envelopes. Although billet reading is accomplished by a simple secret, the effect can give the impression of mind reading. Billet reading is usually demonstrated as an entertaining parlor trick by magicians and mentalists. Psychics and mediums often use the technique to demonstrate their alleged supernatural abilities.

The effect is generally demonstrated as follows: Members of the audience are invited to write on small slips of paper, or billets. The messages can be questions for the deceased or simply questions or statements that the magician performing the effect would not otherwise know. These billets are sealed inside envelopes which are collected together. The magician then takes the envelopes one at a time and accurately describes the message found inside. After announcing the contents of an envelope, the magician opens it, as to check how accurate his prediction was.

Spoiler warning: The following section reveals a magic secret.

The technique used in billet reading is called the one-ahead method. It relies on the magician knowing what is inside of one of the envelopes and then using that information to stay one step ahead of the audience. When the magician is supposedly predicting the contents of the first envelope, he is really reciting what he has already read from another envelope that he opened secretly. When he opens the envelope to "check" his answer, he is actually reading the information so that he can make the next "prediction". The final envelope that is opened is either a decoy that does not contain any message, or is actually the envelope at which the magician had peeked inside at the start of the trick.^{[citation needed]}

This trick, and exactly how it is carried out, can be seen in the movie A Month by the Lake. Here the magician, instructs his "plant" to write something about mountains. When he receives all the envelopes, he places his envelope on the bottom of the stack. After asking who wrote about mountains, and the plant responds, he opens the envelope to affirm his guess but is really reading the next person's card.^[1]

This con can also be seen in the movie series Trick, in the first episode of the first series.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Parodies

Johnny Carson's "Carnac the Magnificent" sketches parodied the billet reading trick by having Carnac announce the (seemingly normal) answer to an unseen question, then open the envelope and read the question, which revealed the answer to be a pun.
The Loren & Wally Show of WROR-FM parodies the trick with the "Answer Man," who sounds like W.C. Fields