My Summer Lair Chapter #285: What’s Up With The True Crime Story On The King Of Hearts?
Humans are storytellers and design is not just a story we tell ourselves and others…it’s a riveting expression. Just like playing cards…there’s so much we gloss over. Parents will teach you how to walk and how to read but rarely does anybody take the time to teach you how to see…see what I mean? Sign up for his newsletter and you’ll see wonder in no time.)
After watching Lost In The Shuffle at Hot Docs, this past April I’ve become even more curious about the murky origins of the cards.
The King of Hearts is known as the Suicide King because…he appears to be sticking his sword into his head. Why?
Seriously…dig out a deck of cards right now…it don’t matter if they’ve got Transformers on em or semi-naked Vegas showgirls on em or they’re just classic Bicycle Cards. Look for the Queen of Spades and the King of Hearts.
Now…what if these designs weren’t…I dunno…freaky Freemason symbols like on an American dollar bill or maybe even an inherited mistake from a time when everything was copied by hand. (Some monk having a case of the #Mondays.)
Magician Shawn Farquhar believes a simple deck of cards holds the key to solving a centuries-old royal murder mystery: how did Charles VIII, King of France, met his unexpected end on April 7th, 1498?
If you’re a True Crime fan…you’ll enjoy this:
“Will the greatest illusion of all prove to be that an ancient cold-case murder has been hiding under our noses all this time?”
The cards are the clues.
That’s the intriguing premise of Shawn’s Lost in the Shuffle magic documentary. In April the documentary premiered at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto. And it’s directed by Jon Ornoy.
Behold, the Lost in the Shuffle trailer:
According to history…the 27-year-old King of France suddenly collapsed and became comatose. He laid down on a straw mat and he died 9 hours later.
Perhaps it was a brain hemorrhage?
Charles died after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door at the Château d’Amboise. Could that have something to do with it?
This is 1498 so medicine and science are not all the way there.
“Farquhar takes us through six countries as he both tries to prove his theory that hidden in the art of every deck of cards are the clues to the conspiracy to kill a French king in 1498,” notes a synopsis of the film, “while simultaneously creating a brand-new magic routine that tells the real story of Charles VIII’s untimely demise.”
Indeed. After watching Lost In The Shuffle…it’s not a Suicide King, rather it’s a King who is being murdered. Oh, that’s much different.
Now we’re cooking with gas! Magic alters your perspective and naturally provides an opportunity to see something special.
Shawn Farquhar makes a compelling case…has he effectively solved the mysterious death of Charles VIII of France, the King who bumped his head?
I’ll let you watch the documentary. You tell me.
For more on this intriguing premise and magic and playing cards I sat down with Shawn, the magician and Jon, the director to understand…how the ordinary can become extraordinary.
Lost in the Shuffle @ W • T • F
Host Sammy Younan
Recorded: Monday April 29, 2024 at 2:00 pm (EST)
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