Every year Halloween seems to come earlier than the year before. Miniature candy bars line the shelves of CVS as soon as Labor Day is over, and fake cob webs are hung on front porches even before it gets cold. But Supernatural Chicago doesn’t make any preparations because for them, it’s Halloween all year long.
Supernatural Chicago is a one-man show in which necromancer Neil Tobin shares famous Chicago ghost stories and performs magic in the allegedly haunted nightclub Excalibur, 632 N. Dearborn St. The hour-long interactive performance is part comedy, magic and storytelling – all designed to leave the audience in wonder.
The performance is held in a small room with seating for about 30 people in the basement of Excalibur, highlighted by both A&E and the Travel Channel as one of Chicago’s most haunted buildings.
Tobin is a self-proclaimed necromancer, meaning he can contact spirits to predict the future. In addition to giving his weekly performance at Excalibur, he also conducts seances, tarot readings and other inexplicable phenomena.
The show begins with a short history of Chicago, a city devastated by fire and “built upon its own cremation.” Tobin’s performance goes through famous stories such as Resurrection Mary, the Cubs curse and the ghost of Al Capone. Each story is accompanied by an interactive illusion. Tobin engages the audience, using them as participants by finding which one is holding cursed coins or having them draw cards. Though each act leaves the audience wondering how he does it, the finale is by far the most impressive, leaving the audience trying to figure out what just happened.
“I love watching their eyes light up when they hear about real Chicago heritage,” Tobin says. “It’s an interesting history lesson – more the way I wish it would’ve been taught to me.”
Tobin grew up in the Chicago area, working in his father’s drug store located just off Northwestern’s campus at Sherman Avenue and Church Street. Like many young boys he was interested in the inexplicable – ghosts, vampires, mummies and magic – and started performing at an early age. He attended Northern Illinois University, where he studied literature, writing and theater. It was studying at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, however, that brought him back to magic.
“I was living in L.A. a few years ago and I got introduced to a place called the Magic Castle, an old Victorian private club for magicians,” he says. “The top people in the field are there, and they were a big inspiration.”
Tobin decided to buy more books on magic and join the Chicago Assembly of the Society of American Magicians, one of the oldest magic fraternal organizations. Tobin is now president of the organization and credits it for much of what he knows about magic.
“The beauty of SAM is the sharing of tips and materials and helping others in the club,” Tobin says.
Tobin started performing at Excalibur on Friday the 13th of February 2004 and would like to keep the show running.
“I want to stay and have a show like this going in Chicago,” he says. “I think it has value here, and there is a need for it.”
Supernatural Chicago is playing at Excalibur Fridays at 8 p.m. for an open run. Admission is $25 and includes two drinks. Tickets are available online at www.supernaturalchicago.com or by calling (312) 266-1944. 4
Medill junior Carrie MacQuaid is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
