Why magic should frighten you | David Alnwick | TEDxNewcastle

In this talk, David uses his 12 years of experience writing & performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to explore the surprising relationship between magic and horror. David Alnwick is a writer, magician & actor with a passion for using magic to tell scary stories. After graduating from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in 2010, he travelled to the Edinburgh Fringe festival and performed his first show.
Over a decade later, David has performed 16 one-man shows, 3 national tours, and a TV Special. In 2019, David’s one-man show ‘Actual Magic’ explored the effect Alzheimer’s disease had on his relationship with his grandfather. The show became a word-of-mouth sell-out hit receiving multiple 4-star rave reviews.
During the pandemic, David performed an online show via the Nottingham Theatre Royal. ‘Ethereal Magic’ sold out its opening weekend and streamed live to audiences around the world.
In August 2021, David performed an extended preview run of his new show ‘Nightmare Magic’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and again as part of the London Horror Festival. ‘Nightmare Magic’ will be back at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Пікірлер: 142

  • @john.s3090
    @john.s3090 Жыл бұрын

    We stopped fearing magic ,once we realized it’s in us too.

  • @HobbesNJoe
    @HobbesNJoe Жыл бұрын

    The assumed first statement of a magician's act is, "I'm going to lie to you." If you're willing to play along, it can even be amusing. Not unlike any other storyteller.

  • @king1louis
    @king1louis Жыл бұрын

    Fantastic talk Dave. You're quite the orator!

  • @3solo877
    @3solo877 Жыл бұрын

    It's all the word magic i constantly see and hear in all forums media and legal ease, that i find most frightening..

  • @AMcGrath82
    @AMcGrath82 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for this. I need to look up more of your work, David. It could move the entire genre forward.

  • @happydays2183
    @happydays2183 Жыл бұрын

    I had the pleasure of seeing Dave's earlier material during his university days. Great magician& performer 🙌

  • @thelemite935
    @thelemite9353 ай бұрын

    Fear is failure and the forerunner of failure.

  • @AwayFromTheWorld
    @AwayFromTheWorld Жыл бұрын

    One of my favorites now. Magical.

  • @sherececocco
    @sherececocco Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for your energy!

  • @jadedmonk7001
    @jadedmonk7001 Жыл бұрын

    Excellent insights and riveting speaker. Engaging and eloquent in equal measure. Great TedX

  • @curtisshores2587
    @curtisshores2587 Жыл бұрын

    Who is this guy? Wow.

  • @karinemarchitto6368
    @karinemarchitto6368 Жыл бұрын

    Bravo

  • @Shagula420
    @Shagula420 Жыл бұрын

    Fantastic Talk dude!

  • @jenniferdonovan727
    @jenniferdonovan727 Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating

  • @tama3331
    @tama3331 Жыл бұрын

    If Ron and Harry made a baby

  • @dawnhollified2482

    @dawnhollified2482

    Жыл бұрын

    😂🤣🤣😂 priceless

  • @michaelelliott1212

    @michaelelliott1212

    Жыл бұрын

    I'd say Ron and Hermione.

  • @a91170

    @a91170

    Жыл бұрын

    😆

  • @sojournerkarunatruth4406
    @sojournerkarunatruth4406 Жыл бұрын

    Ugh 😑 this comment section became flooded with christ recruiters and promotional spam within 4 minutes.

  • @camerontyler8414

    @camerontyler8414

    Жыл бұрын

    Gotta flood it with other stuff 😂

  • @kitcrft421

    @kitcrft421

    Жыл бұрын

    Right?! I knew that was going to happen. Bible thumpers manage to ruin just about everything

  • @joewallace9030

    @joewallace9030

    Жыл бұрын

    There's an ISIS recruiter at the bottom posing as a starving Yemeni girl, too

  • @maciejatkowski5524

    @maciejatkowski5524

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, I don't get it. Like, what's the point of talking about religion here, completely unrelated.

  • @thaboegon2817
    @thaboegon2817 Жыл бұрын

    Gemstones, hand mantras gestures, Spells, Meditation chants and other stuff are known as devilish things on my neighborhood. Can't go forth about the criticism I get for a simplest exercises of Quantum physics, Occult studies and other things that helps me in my transmutation... I don't know if I'll practice magic in public at ease. I don't know what will happen after I get my tarot cards... The outside world isn't ready for magic. Shadow or light working. Most people don't even get the powers of salt. But I believe in a strong belief; I'm a hermit, a born again Christian and a born sinner and as frightening as it may be/ sound to the world... I love my crafts.

  • @flamevix

    @flamevix

    Жыл бұрын

    Being a Christian witch is a thing!

  • @famulu3794

    @famulu3794

    Жыл бұрын

    @@flamevix Solomon, Abramelin, Agrippa, John Dee, Paracelsus, Nostradamus, The Knights Templar, Eliphas Levi, Benjamin Franklin, to name a few.

  • @mtnbknmichigan
    @mtnbknmichigan Жыл бұрын

    Ahhh, a nugget to search for, but please be careful what you find. Trinc! 🍷

  • @camerontyler8414
    @camerontyler8414 Жыл бұрын

    Once I brought magic into my life, it awoke more for me than the 20 years as a Christian. My life has color! My life has purpose! Nothing was as beautiful as when I began to make my own choices on this beautiful Earth

  • @TheSoughtAfter1

    @TheSoughtAfter1

    Жыл бұрын

    Interesting perspective. We're you a born again Christian? And what was your relationship like with the Holy Spirit?

  • @PastellAntiiTheistt

    @PastellAntiiTheistt

    Жыл бұрын

    @@TheSoughtAfter1 oh god here we go.. "Were you a REAL Christian?!?!?" 🙄

  • @TheSoughtAfter1

    @TheSoughtAfter1

    Жыл бұрын

    @@PastellAntiiTheistt 😄😄 why do you seem mad? Am I not allowed to ask? I've found that many Christians even those still practicing the faith currently think they're Christians when they aren't. I have only met a handful who were saved and yet decided to willingly walk away from Christ. If you understand what salvation means you'll know why that typically doesn't make supernatural sense to begin with.

  • @PastellAntiiTheistt

    @PastellAntiiTheistt

    Жыл бұрын

    @@TheSoughtAfter1 oh really? So you are the judge and jury on who is a Christian or not? Get off your high horse. It is agitating. I'm an atheist and still find it extremely annoying.

  • @philippebrehier7386

    @philippebrehier7386

    Жыл бұрын

    @@TheSoughtAfter1 Here is a smarter way to pray... just kidding, to think🧠: Don't ask yourself if you have good reasons to think what you think (confirmation bias) but rather ask yourself if you have bad reasons to believe what you are so confortable to think. In a nutshell, the way of the lawyers versus the way of the good scientists. ;-)

  • @solidstehl9546
    @solidstehl9546 Жыл бұрын

    THAT was brilliant! Well done. OMG claimed... sychronicity 102386

  • @km1dash6
    @km1dash6 Жыл бұрын

    I actually remember the game of peekaboo, and it wasn't magic. It was me wondering "what will happen next." I never thought that a person disappeared behind their hands. And that actually leads into my love of magic tricks and optical illusions. They invoke curiosity in me because I know there is a physical solution I just can't see. Real magic (often spelled magick) is something different all together. It's mystery. There are no answers to how magic works, and to certain extent that's okay. There is something magical in the way a parent loves their child that can't be chemically analyzed.

  • @VukLazarMusic

    @VukLazarMusic

    Жыл бұрын

    you really believe you have memories from before you developed object permanence?

  • @sandra.helianthus

    @sandra.helianthus

    Жыл бұрын

    @@VukLazarMusic some ppl do, though it is not the big chunk. I do, too. Looks like we still have to solve a couple more scientific "mysteries".

  • @VukLazarMusic

    @VukLazarMusic

    Жыл бұрын

    @@sandra.helianthus how do you know it's a real memory and not a recall of a reimagined scenario? it's possible you were told by your parent how they played with you and your brain came up with it. certainly the lessons we learn during our entire life are with us in some manner, but an actual visual record seems unlikely. You'd have to run some very controlled experiments to prove it's possible.

  • @MickeyMousOfficial

    @MickeyMousOfficial

    Жыл бұрын

    Actually

  • @sandra.helianthus

    @sandra.helianthus

    Жыл бұрын

    @@VukLazarMusic I agree, how do you know it is not "told" memory - and in some cases it might be. There is no prove to it. Three things: 1) How do you know it is NOT true memory ?- there is no prove to it either. 2) ALL memory is influenced by retelling the events. The memory you have today of an old event might not be anymore what really happens, bc each time it is retold you add new emotions (etc.) to it. 3) People with such early memory often remember these memories differently: much more sensual - smells, sounds, haptic and most important: emotions. Often it is not a "story" you can tell but rather a "flash of memory". Moreover, very often these are memories which others (like parents) have no idea about, hence they were never told. Example: the touch of my teddybear's ears. Or the light that shone through the fabric of my crib's courtain. Etc.

  • @laviniasnow4494
    @laviniasnow4494 Жыл бұрын

    Every time an act of magic starts one should put logic away and fun will be guaranteed. At least for me this works. 🤷🏻‍♀️😁

  • @MarshalltheWarlock
    @MarshalltheWarlock Жыл бұрын

    There are certain taboo's that, if violated, will prevent a magician from accessing the highest tiers of magic circles. Mixing illusions with things like 'talking to the dead' or using sleight of hand while reading tarot cards are examples of violating some of those taboo's. Essentially, the magician is an entertainer. At the end of the day, the audience is supposed to know it's a trick.

  • @MarshalltheWarlock

    @MarshalltheWarlock

    Жыл бұрын

    This talk kind of walks a fine line of violating the idea that your audience shouldn't be led to believe that you have real divine power. It's probably why there wasn't a magic trick (I was a bit distracted so I may have missed it if there was). Some magicians do violate these unwritten rules. I've heard that once a magician has broken them, they can never be allowed in top level magic circles where the best secrets are kept.

  • @MoiraWillenov

    @MoiraWillenov

    Жыл бұрын

    Who cares if I was allowed in the so called TOP TIERS of magicians. If I am good enough that others actually believe I have magical powers ( Which is just as good as ACTUAL powers... ) then that is much more valuable to me than the crusty opinions of a bunch of old has been conjurers. Those who care what others think of them are weak. I HATE weakness.

  • @MarshalltheWarlock

    @MarshalltheWarlock

    Жыл бұрын

    @@MoiraWillenov It"s a network thing. It's a part of the job. It's access to the being on the lists that pay the best for gig work. Its support to getting the best promotions and sponsors for shows. It's access to the best tricks. Its a lot of things. I agree, a person can get pretty powerful without getting to the top, and unless you want to be a potential world's greatest magician specifically... then there isn't much use to go so far as to join a secret group of elites. But it is an advantage one can get just by keeping their tricks tasteful enough for all occasions and all audiences.

  • @charohazard

    @charohazard

    9 ай бұрын

    i mean he said that its immoral for the act to reply on a permanant lie so i dont think it does walk along that line

  • @almondswt
    @almondswt Жыл бұрын

    This doesn’t really mesh well with the title in my opinion. Does the emotional effect work more when the practitioner believes it as well? Why do these stories have such an effect on the potential to frighten rather than it being as valuable with just entertainment and Awe as an art form.

  • @The_Kiosk
    @The_Kiosk Жыл бұрын

    I was into prestidigitation growing up. Lots of visits to magic shops on vacation since there were none around where I live. I have blank decks, tapered decks, foam balls, scarves. I also juggle and can read tarot.

  • @Numltv
    @Numltv Жыл бұрын

    Magic should frighten

  • @The_Kiosk
    @The_Kiosk Жыл бұрын

    Kudos on getting the Vader quote correct.

  • @lrb3989
    @lrb3989 Жыл бұрын

    So why didn’t you tell us how the fork moved along the floor

  • @AMcGrath82

    @AMcGrath82

    Жыл бұрын

    He did. He said any trick you can learn how to do just by scrolling through the KZread comments. And in this case, it's using something you can buy at any magic shop called "invisible thread" or you can make it yourself using a single strand from a pair of nylons. The thread is too thin to be seen if the audience is sitting down more than a foot away from the performer. Now you know.

  • @wndr.c.1153
    @wndr.c.1153 Жыл бұрын

    He (David) is fun. Creative artistry. I hope he has a good magic career. Nonetheless, he can certainly get money as a voice-over artist for telling stories. Kudos!!! (Who, what, when. where, why, and how: the journalist backbone when tired). But I hope he gets into screenwriting if he hadn't already. It's nice to have splendid minds on this earth.

  • @nidialosada9178
    @nidialosada9178 Жыл бұрын

    Tendrian que traducir al español gracias

  • @mason60638
    @mason60638 Жыл бұрын

    John Wick …the ultimate magician of death.

  • @mistermindahenziandalasnus3754
    @mistermindahenziandalasnus3754 Жыл бұрын

    1:30

  • @rickwilliams967
    @rickwilliams967 Жыл бұрын

    How hilarious is it that he looks like a Weasley?

  • @neffetSnnamremmiZ
    @neffetSnnamremmiZ Жыл бұрын

    In its highest degree science is not different to real magic 🧙‍♂️

  • @jackojb1
    @jackojb1 Жыл бұрын

    As a muggle I approve.

  • @EricCampbellUAV
    @EricCampbellUAV Жыл бұрын

    magic tricks are next to the whoppie cushions

  • @shayna4444
    @shayna4444 Жыл бұрын

    Magick is real, dragons used to fly free in this realm, merfolk was above surface, the Earth was more in harmony until terror struck the world and all Magick folk went hiding. Humans.

  • @thatomofolo452
    @thatomofolo452 Жыл бұрын

    😲😟

  • @Jim-ic2of
    @Jim-ic2of Жыл бұрын

    Still don't know why. Why David, why ?

  • @KingKhiVlogs
    @KingKhiVlogs Жыл бұрын

    Hearing this about King James will tell you a lot about Religion. 🚮

  • @BradTech.

    @BradTech.

    Жыл бұрын

    Effective religion should never instill fear 😏

  • @GanjaClaus

    @GanjaClaus

    Жыл бұрын

    You probably learned to cook by watching Ramsay episodes?

  • @Justin_Bic

    @Justin_Bic

    Жыл бұрын

    @@GanjaClaus great guy Gordon ramsay

  • @Ninja9JKD

    @Ninja9JKD

    Жыл бұрын

    It will tell you about a specific religion at a specific time. Anything further is drawing conclusions.

  • @SlifeTime

    @SlifeTime

    Жыл бұрын

    Isn't it amazing that the ripple effect of God using a donkey, could bless billions of people.

  • @loreanrivera9895
    @loreanrivera9895 Жыл бұрын

    If magic is the same thing thing as withcraft, sorcery and the occult, then yes, that stigma and taboo over magicians should remain 😒

  • @robbiemckenzie7822

    @robbiemckenzie7822

    Жыл бұрын

    If you are saying that from a Christian standpoint then you should know that God is sovereign and that Satan can give no magical powers

  • @flamevix

    @flamevix

    Жыл бұрын

    Ouch. As someone who is involved in "withcraft", at least I don't belittle your beliefs the way you are to mine. And no, the magic discussed here in this video is not quite the same.

  • @maciejatkowski5524

    @maciejatkowski5524

    Жыл бұрын

    Are you, like, serious, or everybody here is just trolling? I can't believe that I have to say this, but, you know... magic isn't real. You'll thank me later for enlightening you.

  • @robbiemckenzie7822

    @robbiemckenzie7822

    Жыл бұрын

    @@flamevix I am sorry my comment offended or hurt your feelings. Just because I do not agree with your beliefs and believe God is Soveriegn does not mean I hold myself higher than you, better than you, or view you as a lesser person than myself. I am aware that not all witchcraft practices worship or even believe in Satan but in scope of my beliefs any practice that isnt focused on Christ is of Satan whether Satan is believed in or not within ones said religion. Again, this does not make me better than you. I just disagree with witchcraft but do not hate its practioners. Again, I do apologise. Hurting you was not my intention.

  • @robbiemckenzie7822

    @robbiemckenzie7822

    Жыл бұрын

    @@maciejatkowski5524 I believe that some sincerely believe it is real. And they get carried away with that. But I dont believe for one second that we can cast curses or love spells or rule the world with a few words, some candles or some ritual.

  • @willnash7907
    @willnash7907 Жыл бұрын

    I clicked on this half-expecting it to be a christian panic psa.

  • @BradTech.
    @BradTech. Жыл бұрын

    Art benefits from emotion, but why negative? 😒

  • @SAIKPET
    @SAIKPET Жыл бұрын

    Snail IS coming to Ted

  • @billperron2
    @billperron2 Жыл бұрын

    Frighten you?? I personally disagree, I believe as many other magicians do, first and foremost, magic should entertain you.

  • @Brandon-fr9nl
    @Brandon-fr9nl Жыл бұрын

    Witchcraft is the forbidden fruit the Bible talks about.

  • @AMcGrath82

    @AMcGrath82

    Жыл бұрын

    And hear I thought it was knowledge lol.

  • @Brandon-fr9nl

    @Brandon-fr9nl

    10 ай бұрын

    @@AMcGrath82 witchcraft is knowledge… you can learn to stop time. Read people’s mind, take their souls, and let others in your body…

  • @Brandon-fr9nl

    @Brandon-fr9nl

    10 ай бұрын

    @@AMcGrath82 FORBIDDEN FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE

  • @philippebrehier7386
    @philippebrehier7386 Жыл бұрын

    Here is a smarter way to pray... just kidding, to think🧠: Don't ask yourself if you have good reasons to think what you think (confirmation bias) but rather ask yourself if you have bad reasons to believe what you are so confortable to think. In a nutshell, the way of the lawyers versus the way of the good scientists. ;-)

  • @philippebrehier7386

    @philippebrehier7386

    Жыл бұрын

    Gods are magic, miracles are magic, Harry potter and unicorns are magic, etc.⚡ BUT magic isn't real. Grow up, no books are holy AND you should read more than one. Try to take care of the planet, of the present and don't fall for a fake heaven.

  • @PastellAntiiTheistt
    @PastellAntiiTheistt Жыл бұрын

    Never been happier after becoming an atheist. 👍

  • @-ChrisD

    @-ChrisD

    Жыл бұрын

    Atheism is a vincible ignorance, conquerable with knowledge.

  • @JosephineMarch7

    @JosephineMarch7

    Жыл бұрын

    Interesting. I grew up in an atheistic family and I have never been happier and really free before accepting Jesus Christ as my saviour.

  • @philippebrehier7386

    @philippebrehier7386

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JosephineMarch7 That's because you weren't a true atheist. You should read the bible, thoroughly , that's the best method to understand it's an immoral fairy tale.

  • @michaelelliott1212
    @michaelelliott1212 Жыл бұрын

    Not amazement, amusement perhaps.

  • @m.allard2202
    @m.allard2202 Жыл бұрын

    Magic can manipulate the physical but only God is capable of Miracles which are limitless!

  • @MoveOnWithMyra

    @MoveOnWithMyra

    Жыл бұрын

    Well said 👍

  • @kitcrft421

    @kitcrft421

    Жыл бұрын

    🤣

  • @reyesmalexander

    @reyesmalexander

    Жыл бұрын

    💯

  • @TreyIM22

    @TreyIM22

    Жыл бұрын

    Haaa, stop it. Religion is just a grift to control and make money off of ppl as there is no such thing as a god of any sort. Any intelligent, logical person of reason person knows that if a so called God existed, only revealing" himself to a very scant few WAAAAY back yonder, is all knowing and created us in HIS image, why would he not stick around and make himself known to EVERYONE so there would be no question or doubt about him knowing very well that many would not believe in and/or question some invisible god as many of us are just too intelligent, logical with a strong sense of reason? None of these fables of God make any sense, and because you've been brainwashed like tens, if not hundreds of millions of ppl, doesn't make any of these gods anymore real that a child having an invisible friend growing up. 😉

  • @michaelelliott1212

    @michaelelliott1212

    Жыл бұрын

    I AM

  • @zeroone7830
    @zeroone7830 Жыл бұрын

    waffle house has its new host

  • @user-qc4rq1iy4n
    @user-qc4rq1iy4n Жыл бұрын

    السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله أسأل الله أن يتوب علينا وعليكم إنه الغفور الرحيم تعرفوا إلى الإسلام من خلال النبي محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم كي تدركوا نعم الله علينا بهذا الدين القويم

  • @joewallace9030

    @joewallace9030

    Жыл бұрын

    You grovel as though Allah isn't also a magician

  • @ayanrasheed4794

    @ayanrasheed4794

    Жыл бұрын

    Allahu Akbar

  • @WilfreCoach
    @WilfreCoach Жыл бұрын

    Dude! such a good vindication to magic, but he still don't believe in it... Still confuses magic with trickery...

  • @iridescent9667
    @iridescent9667 Жыл бұрын

    Imagine the Magic...GOD possess...? He is Magic...he created everything...Amen!

  • @michaelelliott1212

    @michaelelliott1212

    Жыл бұрын

    Yup, and I AM tired.

  • @maciejatkowski5524

    @maciejatkowski5524

    Жыл бұрын

    What?

  • @tangela0725

    @tangela0725

    Жыл бұрын

    Yes, he did!!!

  • @ShEDDiNgmYSkiN

    @ShEDDiNgmYSkiN

    Жыл бұрын

    Just chaos of the universe/universes. Completely random with no deities.

  • @filsan1017
    @filsan1017 Жыл бұрын

    I'm first person

  • @jrambo7495

    @jrambo7495

    Жыл бұрын

    You were the first person to have a chance to say something worth saying and you totally blew it, child! Yes, you are the first amongst millions, that are completely useless. CONGRATULATIONS, you absolutely unimportant first commenter on this video!

  • @morpheusaps

    @morpheusaps

    Ай бұрын

    ​@@jrambo7495😂

  • @curtisshores2587
    @curtisshores2587 Жыл бұрын

    Yeah absolutely do I understand..... Excited but spooky.... There is a unseen spiritual warfare that does exist God is real.

  • @AMcGrath82

    @AMcGrath82

    Жыл бұрын

    That kind of thinking is what caused King James to torture hundreds of people to death.

  • @rv7131
    @rv7131 Жыл бұрын

    Laaaame.

  • @ashleighpiccinino1849
    @ashleighpiccinino1849 Жыл бұрын

    And yet, the narrator probably did not DisApparate from the stage, or even know what that word means. It is a transportation method from the Harry Potter universe. That is magic. Those other things, or Muggle tricks only. did not

  • @abbaknow6869

    @abbaknow6869

    3 ай бұрын

    Everyone knows Harry Potter. Like everyone

  • @kitcrft421
    @kitcrft421 Жыл бұрын

    Well this comment section is gonna get overran with Bible thumpers awfully quick 🙄 Surprise surprise

  • @sbonelomphumeleli2634

    @sbonelomphumeleli2634

    Жыл бұрын

    Vele king James manipulated the bible 😑

  • @SuperPcjunkie

    @SuperPcjunkie

    Жыл бұрын

    I pray for you! Really hope you have a great day.

  • @philippebrehier7386

    @philippebrehier7386

    Жыл бұрын

    @@SuperPcjunkie There is no hate like christians "love".

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