The Quad

Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: Features

The Emilie K Asplundh Concert Hall was quiet and nearly empty an hour before the doors opened to the waiting students on Friday night as Jim Karol, "The Psychic Madman," meticulously arranged his props and illusions in preparation for the night's performance of dramatic mind-bending mixed with a healthy dosage of comic relief.

Wearing his trademark bright red sneakers and black sport coat, Karol took the stage in an unassuming manner and had the audience in a state of near frenzy and disbelief after just several minutes of his show. Volunteers for each part of his act certainly did not require Karol to ask twice, as some students were at the point of running to the front of the concert hall in hopes of being chosen to be a part of whatever Karol's next stunning illusion or mental leap would consist of.

"I have no freaking idea how I do this," Karol said to the audience after he completed several feats.

Whether he knows exactly how his mental powers work or not, the least that can be said is that his performance is, for the majority, very real. Karol does not attempt to fool the audience with an excess of visual illusions, and if he uses a prop of dubious nature, he makes sure to explain it to the audience. This is what sets him in a different league from other notable "psychics" or "magicians" of our day, such as Kriss Angel and his questionable television series.

Originally a Pennsylvania man, Karol claims to have predicted a state lottery in 1990, and therefore, learned of what mental abilities he might possess.

"Risen from the steel mills of PA," according to his website, Karol has an extraordinary memory of a photographic nature.

"I'm banned from every casino in Atlantic City," Karol told the audience as he proved his ability to know what card a paticular volunteer was holding or even thinking about.

He also explained that he is not allowed to play poker at all except for charity and recalled a recent charity tournament he participated in with actors Matt Damon and Ben Afleck.

"Jim has memorized over 80,000 zip codes, the Scrabble dictionary, the sports almanac, thousands of digits of Pi, every country and capital on the planet, and thousands and thousands of other facts," according to his online biography. He reportedly told WCU co-curricular director Steve McKiernan prior to the show that he had memorized an entire non-fiction book on his drive to West Chester on Friday evening.

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