And Then Someone Was Gone (French) (Video+JPGs)

🎭 And Then There Were None

✨ Effect

The magician takes out a sheet of paper illustrated with characters and begins the following story:

“An incident that took place in England in 1939. Thirteen people, each invited to a party, arrived at a mansion on a small isolated island offshore. They were men and women of different professions and ages, and none of them knew each other.”

“Drinks and food are served, and the party begins. However, the host never appears, and time quietly passes...”

The magician takes the top two sections of the divided sheet and slowly rearranges them. Strangely, right before the audience’s eyes, one person disappears—leaving only twelve.

Who vanished? Where did they go? The truth is…

This is a classic illusion where the number of people changes when pieces of paper are rearranged. It is known as the “Missing Person Puzzle” or “Disappearing Man Puzzle,” and in Japanese as the “Vanishing Person Trick.” Through clever design, it creates a powerful visual illusion.

I researched the origin of this concept but could not determine its exact creator. However, the famous American puzzle designer Sam Loyd patented a rotating puzzle known as the “Vanishing Puzzle” in 1896. I have always enjoyed optical illusions and trick art, and I remember seeing similar ideas in books.

Using this principle, I wanted to create a mystery story in the style of Agatha Christie. I designed the artwork accordingly and built a narrative around it. Since I developed it through trial and error without fully understanding the principle at first, adapting it to this theme proved quite challenging.

I came up with several possible endings for this story. Here is one of them:

As everyone searches for the missing person, he is eventually discovered on the reverse side of the paper—holding a wine bottle.

In truth, the one who disappeared was not some mysterious figure, but simply a drunk guest who slipped away from the party. 🍷