Neil Tobin, noted necromancer (do you know any others?), has performed the one-man show, titled, “Supernatural Chicago” at the Excalibur nightclub every Friday night for four years running. Tobin, 41, a resident of Oak Park (where else would a necromancer reside?) is fascinated by all the stories and tales told of supernatural events in Chicago and surrounding areas. He’s also one of Chicago’s biggest fans.
“I grew up here-I love this city. The time I wasn’t here, I missed it like crazy. I love the architecture, the culture, the arts, dance; there’s an insane amount of theater here.”
But one segment, he says, gets overlooked.
“A portion of the culture that people don’t realize we have is the oral history. I want people to be aware of it. My show is a mixture of storytelling with traditional psychic demonstrations and magic in a unique historic space.”
Supernatural Chicago showcases Tobin’s intimate familiarity with the legends, folktales, rumors and stories swirling around Chicago’s supernatural dimension. It turns out Chicago is awash in the otherworldly (is that a surprise?). All it takes is a gifted storyteller/magician to bring it alive for interested audiences. After a recent performance at the Excalibur, people were obviously moved. Stanley (from Washington, D.C.) said, “That was really freaky!” Jaime of Green Bay added, “I was definitely impressed. I thought it was excellent. I also liked the audience participation. I’m going to recommend it to a lot of people.”
People hear about the show, as often as not, via word of mouth or from the Internet. Several in attendance recently said they Googled “Excalibur haunting” or other related searches, and learned about the show that way. It also appears in local ads and events listings, especially around Halloween time.
Here’s how Tobin explains the allure: “I try to offer as many ways into the show as possible. I have stories, I have magical illusions, I have psychic demonstrations-every individual responds to different things. At the end of the night some people are talking about a story, another about a magical trick, and another about when they felt something they couldn’t explain. My favorite part of the show is after it’s over and I’m talking to people, and they’re sharing their own experiences and stories and talking about what the show meant to them.”
Tobin’s been dabbling in magic since he was a kid. He has a warning, though, about young magicians: “Kids can start with magic as an ego trip, like they’re saying to their audience ‘I’m smarter than you.’ It’s all about power-about showing you’re not powerless. But after 13, it’s not cute anymore. Lots of times when I’m performing, I’m doing damage control, because people carry around bad feelings about magic, based on their prior unpleasant experiences with it. To be a good and entertaining magician as an adult, you have to let go of that childish mentality. It isn’t about me, it’s about you and your experience, and giving you an emotional gift that you can carry around for the rest of your life.”
Tobin is a Chicago area native. “I went to High School in Skokie and college in De Kalb at Northern Illinois University. I’ve done magic since I was a kid, but in college I got into music and theater. I went to San Francisco to study law; one day I went to The Magic Castle (a virtual headquarters for magic performers and sophisticated magic fans). It was magical; it rekindled everything, and I had to get involved with magic again. Needless to say, I didn’t finish law school. I moved back to Chicago and have been here ever since doing magic. I moved to Oak Park when I wanted to settle down and raise a family.
“I wrote and then first performed Supernatural Chicago for Halloween at the Excalibur four or five years ago. They liked the show so much they asked if I could do it the rest of the year. I’ve been there ever since. I’m honored to be Chicago’s supernatural ambassador. The show is basically Chicago history; it’s been a big hit, particularly with people from out-of-town. While this is theater, I’m performing it in a non-traditional space, a nightclub. For people to accept the show as a viable theatrical experience is a victory for the art.”
Tobin says there’s a not-so-secret formula behind the show’s success: “First, I start with the gold mine that is the Chicago oral history of the paranormal. It’s inherently interesting and fascinating.
Second, I make it into an interactive experience. I apply demonstrations of the psychic and the magical so my audience members aren’t just listening to stories; they’re becoming active participants. We talk about Resurrection Mary and someone feels like they’ve met her, or Lurency Venom, and someone has a related experience. By the end, the show isn’t about the stories, but about people’s experiences with the stories. Every show’s different; there’s a strong improvisational element. My presentation varies, based on the reactions of each audience. The improvisation keeps it fresh for me: it’s different every night. It’s why I’m still doing it four years later.”
Tobin is also president of the Chicago Assembly, a chapter of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the nation’s oldest fraternal organization for magicians. When Harry Houdini was elected president of SAM in 1917, his first act was to start the Chicago Assembly in order to support and encourage magicians in the Midwest. Previously there were chapters in New York City and in San Francisco.
Tobin was elected four years ago and takes his job seriously. “I’m part cheerleader-some people need to have their love of magic enlivened and invigorated. A large number of our membership are retirees; I’m a catalyst for them, encouraging them to perform or to attend magical events.
“Also, we work to reach out to the greater Chicago community and give them a greater appreciation of magic. For instance, we organize a magical competition at Navy Pier every year; this year it was in July. The public gets to watch some of the best magicians in the area performing and competing for free.
Tobin’s goal is not just to perform magic. “I want to be able to give people a taste of the extraordinary, to transcend the everyday; ideally it will make them look at the world in a different way. Like with Monet’s haystacks; after seeing them, you’ll never see haystacks in the same way ever again. I hope people will relate to Chicago with an enriched appreciation.
“Like any other form of theatre or art, magic is self-expressive. It gives me a chance to touch people emotionally. Overall, I think it’s something that people need in their lives in this scientific and over-explained world in which we live. It’s something of a gift to remind people of the beauty of the unexplainable.”
Supernatural Chicago
Every day is Halloween for Oak Park’s ‘supernatural ambassador’Neil Tobin’s long-running necromancy demonstration, called “Supernatural Chicago,” is an intimate one-man show held in the Excalibur nightclub, itself housed in a fascinating building with beautiful stonework on the outside. Inside, it’s a confusing maze of elevators, stairways, corridors and rooms. There’s even talk that the building itself is haunted-this is just one of Chicago’s supernatural tales included in the show.
Neil Tobin, professional necromancer, serves as the audience’s guide to Chicago’s supernatural side. Only candles and a few dim bulbs light the room in which he performs. Tobin’s act is riveting as he segues from legend to legend, illuminating the stories with magic. There’s a lot to pay attention to, and Tobin makes it all look effortless.
Tobin is a fine storyteller, and time speeds by: This is not a show where you’ll be checking your watch. He involves everyone watching the show. Audience members at the performance I attended loved that element; they held the cards, or touched a cursed coin, and so on.
While telling one story about a notorious gangland massacre, Tobin casually handed out cards with names on them (letting audience members pick each one). At the end of the story, everyone turned over their cards, and found that, somehow, each set of cards corresponded to people who were connected to each other in the killings. It’s spooky to experience; how could those cards have wound up paired like that? Tobin’s not telling; all he’ll say is that he engages in psychic as well as magical demonstrations during the show.
Necromancing in the dark
Supernatural Chicago
October: 7:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night
Year round: 7:30 p.m. every Friday
Excalibur nightclub 632 N. Dearborn at Ontario
80 minutes, $25
www.supernaturalchicago.com/order.html to order tickets.
A Necromantic Evening
The Mars Gallery, Oct. 20 at 10 p.m.
www.halloweenartexhibit.com/schedule.html
Houdini Séance (annually)
7:30 p.m., Oct. 27 performance of Supernatural Chicago
Excalibur nightclub, 632 N. Dearborn at Ontario.
Magic Chicago
Monthly, the Oct. 31 show features Neil Tobin
7:30 p.m., City Lit Theater
1020 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago (located in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church)
Tickets and more information:
The Magician
Oct. 18 to Dec. 15
Adapted from a script by Ingmar; magical advisor, Neil Tobin
The National Pastime Theatre
www.npt2.com
Other Chicago Magic: www.magicalchicago.com
More on Neil Tobin, including private performances: www.necromancerevents.com