What is Bizarre Magick?

Bizarre Magick is an immersive style of performance art that uses storytelling, theatrical drama, ritual, and occult or paranormal themes to evoke mystery, wonder, or primal fear — rather than relying on traditional sleight of hand. Where traditional magic elicits the audience question, “How did they do that?”, Bizarre Magick elicits something stranger: “Was that real?”

It is not based on card tricks. In fact, at one Invocation Gathering, someone performed a card trick onstage and was promptly shot by Tony Andruzzi. But that’s another story…

The craft

Story-driven. The narrative is the main focus. The magic serves as physical evidence — proof for the story — rather than being the centerpiece itself.
Theatrical-driven. The construction of a Bizarre effect and a show is theater-based, with a focus on scripting, delivery, blocking, lighting, sound, scent, and texture. The goal is to engage as many senses as possible to create an immersive experience in the tale and the show. The effects chosen for a given show should not just be a hodge-podge of magic, but a deliberate path — a through line in the show.
Emotion-driven. While Bizarre Magick is often associated with darker emotions like fear, terror, and despair, it can also elicit lighter emotions like joy, love, and empathy. A well-constructed show takes the audience on a roller coaster of emotions. The famous speaker Jim Rohn said he loves going to shows and movies that take him on this roller coaster. He said, “Make me laugh, make me cry, but don’t leave me as the same person I was when I first arrived.”
Character-driven. Because Bizarre Magick involves storytelling and subsequently acting, developing a show involves assuming a character role. But this character should, at its core, be 1000% you — just perhaps dialed up… even to 11! Charles Cameron, the Godfather of Bizarre Magick, said, “Either you are a mage with mystical powers, or you are not.” All of the founders of Bizarre, especially Tony Shiels and Tony Andruzzi, subscribed to the idea that we should live our character 24/7. And that’s impossible if the character is not actually ourselves — but easy if it is. There is nothing that will break the spell of a Bizarre performance more than an audience member seeing the Bizarre performer come out of character.
Research-driven. Especially in this age of technology with instant research, it is important to support the veracity of your stories as real with accurate information as much as possible. Your audience is clever and will test your tales. A good rule of thumb: if an expert on the topic were sitting in your audience and was asked, they would say your information was accurate. Sure, many stories are partially or fully unverifiable. Just make sure the information you have is accurate and your premise cannot be trivially disproven. Your story creates a mesmerism, and you want this spell to continue with your audience long after the show is over.
Intimate atmosphere. A performance feels more like small, shadowed theatre or a dark ceremony than a flashy illusion show. Victorian séances. Haunted objects. Spirit cabinets and cursed relics, by candlelight.
Unique artifacts. Performers reach for authentic antiques, weathered documents, and custom organic props — never plastic, never sequins. Although it’s been proven that absolutely anything — prop or plastic or household item or anything: even cards — can be turned into a devastating Bizarre presentation.
Spelled with a “K.” The archaic spelling reaches back to intentional ritual traditions, setting this apart from standard conjuring. It is a deliberate blurring of the line between illusion and a genuine uncanny experience.

Origins

While Bizarre Magick has its roots in ancient shamanism and human archetypes, Grand touring magic of the early 1900s, and the Spook Shows and Seances, the modern art form rose in the late 1960s and 1970s as a counterculture rebellion against fast-paced, commercialized “Vegas-style” magic. Its pioneers — Charles Cameron, Tony “Doc” Shiels, and Tony Andruzzi (Masklyn ye Mage) — traded spectacle for story. Underground publications like The Invocation and The Cauldron bound the scattered practitioners — the Bizarrists — into a community. This community began holding organized gatherings like the Invocationals and expanded to many others over the years.

What it does to you

People leave a Bizarre Magick performance changed in a way no illusion can manage. Not fooled — moved. The story follows them home. Days later, in a dark hallway, they remember.

That is what we do here. Negromicon is your pathway into it — the books, the tools, the lore, and the craft, gathered in one place for those drawn to magic with shadows in it.

So Mote It Be
In Darkness, Your Servant,
RedGrave

Welcome. Step inside. Ignore the creaking door. Come sit with us by the fire. We have a tale to tell you…