Metamorphosis (illusion)

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Metamorphosis is the name of a stage illusion invented by John Nevil Maskelyne, but most often associated with famous escape artist Harry Houdini and performed to some renown (for speed) by The Pendragons, among others.^[1]

In the illusion, an assistant (Houdini employed his wife Bess) is locked inside a large box or trunk, often after being restrained with handcuffs, ropes, bags, etc. The magician stands upon the trunk and holds a curtain up to momentarily conceal his entire body. When the curtain is lowered, it is revealed to now be the assistant standing atop the box, the magician and assistant having changed places instantaneously. When the box is opened, it is shown to contain the magician, restrained as the assistant had been. In some acts, the magician is locked in the box first, then appears standing atop the box.

Variations include the Aquarian Illusion performed by Mark Wilson, wherein a tank filled with water is used and a beautiful swimsuit-clad woman assistant is locked inside underwater, and Penn and Teller performing the illusion in an underwater theater with the woman assistant handcuffed & locked in a steel cage on the bottom. This adds an exciting element of danger and peril - The beautiful lady is trapped underwater, with no source of air. If anything goes wrong, she will drown! Pixar's computer-animated story A Bug's Life makes reference to this.^{[citation needed]}

A method for Metamorphosis was exposed by the Masked Magician, Val Valentino, as part of Fox TV series Breaking the Magicians' Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed. He was assisted by Michelle Berube. However, the method exposed (specifically the manner in which the trunk is opened) is not generally in use today.^{[citation needed]}