Newspaper Magic Roundup: Water! Restoration! Appearance!?
Newspapers are a classic item used in magic!
Magic tricks using newspapers are popular and often seen on TV and in shows.
Many of these tricks involve big actions—pouring water, tearing the paper, or producing something from inside—so performing them is sure to get the crowd excited.
In this article, we’ve gathered a selection of magic tricks that use newspapers!
We’ll explain the secrets behind them as much as possible, so give them a try—whether for a party performance or to entertain your kids!
Compilation of Newspaper Magic Tricks [Water! Revival! Appearance!?] (1–10)
Magic where water poured onto newspaper disappears and reappears — paper cup version
A mysterious magic trick where you pour water onto a newspaper but the newspaper stays clean, and then the water is returned from the newspaper to a paper cup.
It looks very difficult, but in fact it uses a very simple secret and setup.
The most important gimmick is a double-layered paper cup.
Prepare two identical paper cups; cut about 1 cm off the top of one so that, when stacked, it fits snugly inside the other.
Hold the folded newspaper (folded into quarters) in one hand, and secretly hold the shorter cup behind it.
Pour the drink into the other cup, then pretend to pour it onto the newspaper, while actually pouring it into the hidden cup behind the paper.
While everyone is surprised to see that the newspaper—supposedly wet—opens up dry, stack the cups together behind the newspaper.
The cup that appears empty is actually the nested cup containing the liquid.
Set it aside, fold the newspaper again, say a magic word, and make a gesture as if returning the water to the cup…
and the water is back in the cup! That’s the method.
Erase things with a magic newspaper??
It’s a trick that makes you think you’re going to make an object disappear using a paper cup and a newspaper, but before you know it, the paper cup itself vanishes—leaving you thinking, “I’ve been had!” You can use anything, but prepare something like a coin and say, “I’m going to make this disappear,” choosing an object small enough to fit inside the cup.
Place the coin on the table, then place the paper cup upside down over it.
Drape the newspaper over the cup and press it so that it clearly shows the shape of the cup.
When you lift the cup together with the newspaper, the coin is still there.
Repeat this a few times, and then, when you finally crush the shape from above… the coin is still there, but the paper cup has disappeared! The secret is that, at some point when lifting the cup, you simply drop it under the table.
It’s a trick that requires a bit of showmanship.
A stock-picking magic trick using a newspaper
I’ll introduce a prediction magic trick using the stock listings in a newspaper.
First, cut out the page that lists stock tickers in rows.
Next, secretly write one ticker on a note and set it face down.
Finally, have a spectator cut the strip of tickers at any spot they like; the ticker at the cut point will perfectly match the one you wrote on the note.
It looks like you predicted the ticker, but in fact, you simply held the strip upside down so that the ticker you planned to write ended up at the very bottom edge.
That way, no matter where they cut near the top, the very edge will always be the ticker you wrote, guaranteeing a match.
It’s a very simple gimmick, so give it a try!
Magic newspaper! A magic trick where the handkerchief placed inside a newspaper disappears.
It’s a magic trick where you push a handkerchief into a rolled-up newspaper using a magic tube, blow on it, and when you open the newspaper, the handkerchief you put in has vanished.
The key is the magic tube used to push it in: it actually retrieves the handkerchief that’s draped over the newspaper.
Beforehand, place a thin stick like a chopstick inside the magic tube.
After rolling the newspaper, secretly transfer this stick from the tube into the newspaper.
Then place the handkerchief so it covers the stick, and use the tube to take both the handkerchief and the stick back into the tube.
To avoid suspicion about the tube, it’s recommended to show the inside a few times at moments when neither the handkerchief nor the stick is inside.
Magic where water poured onto newspaper disappears and reappears — plastic bag version
A mysterious magic trick: you pour water onto a sheet of paper, then even if you turn it upside down the water doesn’t spill—as if the water vanished somewhere—only to reappear when you pour it back into the glass.
It takes a little effort, but with a simple gimmick you can perform this trick easily! Just prepare it by sticking a plastic bag onto something you can fold and display, like a newspaper or brochure, using double-sided tape.
However, make the plastic bag split vertically into two compartments; seal the opening of one side with tape so that water doesn’t spill even when it’s upside down.
Leave about a 1-centimeter gap only at the bottom so the water can move within the bag.
Flying and restoration of a shredded newspaper
This is a magic trick where a newspaper that was supposedly torn into 16 pieces disappears and is restored back into a single sheet! You place a board with rubber bands on it, positioned so the audience can see it, and cover it with a handkerchief.
Then you take a newspaper and tear it into 16 pieces right in front of the audience.
Be sure to show that it’s really torn, and have a spectator hold on to one of the 16 pieces.
Put the remaining pieces into a paper bag and show that they’re inside.
After a magic gesture, something mysterious happens: the newspaper vanishes from the bag and has moved to the board, which you supposedly never touched.
The newspaper is now neatly restored to its original state!
A tree emerges from the torn newspaper
A magic trick where you shred a newspaper into pieces, stack them up, and then a column of newspaper keeps extending from inside—a newspaper tree appears.
The newspaper tree is very easy to make.
You simply take a newspaper cut in half vertically, roll it tightly from the edge into a tube, and then make slits in the upper half.
That’s it—just pull the top to make it extend and retract.
It’s simple but very eye-catching.
The secret is that this tube is hidden behind the newspaper you pretend to tear.
It folds up very compactly, so it’s easy to conceal and won’t be noticed.