Lulu Hurst

Lulu Hurst

Lulu Hurst demonstrates her technique of overpowering three men on a chair
Born 1869
Died 1950
Nationality American
Occupation Stage magician

Lulu Hurst (1869–1950) also known as the Georgia Wonder was an American stage magician remembered for her demonstrations of physical strength.[1] However, she later revealed that her feats had nothing to do with strength but force deflection.[2]

Career

It was alleged that Hurst had developed powers after an electric storm.[3][4]

Under the stage name the "Georgia Wonder" or "Laughing Lulu", the teenage Hurst specialised in demonstrations of great physical strength. Her act involved having a number of men hold an object (such as a chair or pole), and then moving the object and the men holding it with an apparently light touch.[5] Her performances were popular in the early 1880s, drawing crowds in major cities such as Atlanta, New York, Indianapolis,[6] and Chicago.[2] She performed for only two years, before cancelling a planned European tour and retiring in 1885 (aged 16).[7][8] Soon after her retirement, she married her manager.[2]

Methods

Hurst later admitted, in her autobiography, that her "supernatural" powers were in fact due to the judicious application of body mechanics and deflection of force, although she claimed that, during her teenage years, she herself had believed them to be genuine.[2][7]

The magician Harry Houdini noted that her "methods consisted in utilizing the principles of the lever and fulcrum in a manner so cleverly disguised that it appeared to the audience that some supernatural power must be at work."[9]

According to an article in Popular Mechanics her effects were "based almost exclusively on the pivot-and-fulcrum theorem of physics."[10]

Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell has written that "Hurst was not the first such performer (nor the last) to make use of force deflection, along with other physical principles and tricks."[2]

Publications

See also

References

  1. ↑ Price, David. (1985). Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater. Cornwall Books. p. 458. ISBN 978-0845347386
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Nickell, Joe. (2005). Secrets of the Sideshows. University of Kentucky Press, pp. 247-248. ISBN 978-0-8131-2358-5
  3. ↑ Proskauer, Julien J. (1946). The Dead Do Not Talk. Harper & Brothers. p. 150. "Lulu Hurst, later called the "Georgia Magnet," whose reputed powers began when strange noises and clatters of pebbles occurred in her presence. Fortunately, Miss Hurst outgrew those symptoms, and later published a complete account of how she fooled everyone."
  4. ↑ Harris, Melvin. (2003). Investigating the Unexplained. Prometheus Books. p. 165. ISBN 1-59102-108-1 "The public were told that her strange powers emerged after a severe electrical storm and a spate of poltergeist-style happenings. Her public demonstrations, however, at no time involved the activities of unseen entities."
  5. ↑ Harrington, Hugh. (2005). Remembering Milledgeville: Historic Tales From Georgia's Antebellum Capital. The History Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-59629-041-9
  6. ↑ "The Magnetic Woman who Overpowered Indy". HistoricIndianapolis.com.
  7. 1 2 Hutto, J; TcGehee, L. (2005). Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 188-189. ISBN 978-1-57233-359-8
  8. ↑ "New Georgia Encyclopedia: "Georgia Wonder" Phenomenon". Retrieved 1st March 2012.
  9. ↑ Houdini, Harry. (1920). Miracle Mongers and Their Methods. E. P. Dutton & Company. p. 228
  10. ↑ Anonymous. (1928). Two Pounds. Popular Mechanics. March, p. 402.

Further reading

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