The Bullet Catch

The bullet catch is a stage illusion in which a gun loaded with a marked bullet is fired at a magician, who appears to catch the bullet, often between the teeth or on a plate. It has the darkest reputation in magic: several performers are reported to have died doing it, most famously Chung Ling Soo in London in 1918.

Origins

Stories of the bullet catch go back centuries, and early accounts are hard to separate from legend. Magic historians have collected reports of a dozen or more performers said to have been killed or injured doing it, but many of those stories cannot be confirmed and some were probably publicity.

By the nineteenth century it was a recognised feature of conjuring shows. Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin wrote that he presented a version during his 1856 visit to Algeria, where the French government had sent him to perform.

What the audience sees

The presentation has stayed broadly the same. Members of the audience inspect a gun and mark a bullet so they will recognise it. The gun is loaded, sometimes by a volunteer, and aimed at the magician across the stage. A shot rings out, and the magician shows the marked bullet caught in the mouth, on a plate or in the hand.

How it is done is the magician's secret, and this page will not describe it. Part of its fame is that the danger is not purely theatrical; firearms on stage are risky whatever the method.

Chung Ling Soo

The best-documented death is that of William Robinson, who performed as Chung Ling Soo. On 23 March 1918, at the Wood Green Empire in north London, he was shot in the chest during his bullet-catch feature, Condemned to Death by the Boxers, and died the next day. The inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.

Other famous performances

Harry Houdini is said to have considered adding the bullet catch to his act and to have been warned off by Harry Kellar; the story is often repeated but rests on limited evidence.

In more recent decades Penn & Teller have presented a version in which each of them appears to catch a bullet fired by the other, and other modern performers have presented it on television as a one-off event, usually with heavy safety measures and publicity about the risk.

Why it endures

Few tricks carry real menace the way this one does. The audience knows a gun is a gun, and the history of accidents means the tension is not entirely acted. That is why the bullet catch is so often described as the most dangerous trick in magic, and why most magicians never perform it. For more stories from the period, see the history of magic.

Frequently asked questions

Who died doing the bullet catch?

The best-known case is Chung Ling Soo (William Robinson), shot at the Wood Green Empire in London on 23 March 1918. Other deaths are reported in older sources but are harder to confirm.

Is the bullet catch real?

It is a stage illusion, presented as a feat. Whatever the method, working with firearms on stage carries genuine danger.

How does the bullet catch trick work?

That is the magician's secret. This encyclopedia records what audiences saw and the history, never how illusions are done.

Did Houdini ever do the bullet catch?

There is no reliable record that he performed it. A popular story says Harry Kellar advised him against it.