The White Lodge

Paul Prater

Printed and distributed in the USA by PaulPrater.com in 2016.

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In 1925, Lt. Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett took a final voyage into the jungle to discover a lost city known only as “Z.” Along with his son and his son’s friend, the expedition disappeared, never to be heard from again.

Some say that Fawcett was looking for El Dorado, but others say he wandered into his jungles looking for a lost city with occult connections, where he could meet with divine beings. His writings support both claims and his true purpose is just as mysterious as his disappearance.

Who exactly was Perry Fawcett? The man had quite the interesting life and a very active and interesting family. His father was born in India and was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, which instilled a love in Fawcett for exploration. This was an interest which he shared with his brother. His brother, Edward Douglas Fawcett, was a mountain climber, an Eastern Occultist and a novelist.

Perry Fawcett’s first taste of adventure was in 1886 when he received a commission from the Royal Artillery and was stationed in Ceylon, where he met his future wife. After he returned home, the desire to explore captured is imagination. In 1901, he joined the Royal Geographical Society, where he started learning surveying and mapmaking.

In 1906, the RGS was commissioned by the Brazilian government to conduct surveys of the land. Fawcett volunteered for the job. This began his love affair with the jungle and with Brazil. Between 1906 and 1924, he made seven more expeditions into the jungles where he claimed to have killed a sixty-two foot long python and reported to have seen many previously unseen animals, including

History or His Story

a two nosed dog. Fawcett was widely ridiculed in the scientific community for these claims.

While in Brazil, at the National Library, Fawcett happened to staple across an old book that mentioned an ancient, large hidden city. Fawcett believed that he had found evidence of that city in his previous voyages in the jungles. He even believed that he knew the location of the city. In typical Fawcett fashion, he gave the city the secretive and mysterious name of “Z.”

About the time Fawcett was ready for his exploration, World War I was raging and Fawcett was summoned to do his part. He led an artillery brigade at the front in Flanders. It seems that what he saw during his service changed his beliefs and impetus for finding “Z.”

Fawcett had come from a family that long studied the Occult, so this was noting new for him. As a young man, he and his brother were introduced to Buddhism by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, a controversial figure and one of the co-founders of theosophy.

Additionally, Fawcett had become close friends with Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer of the Sherlock Holmes books. In fact, Doyle’s novel The Lost World was based on the field notes from one of

Fawcett’s Amazonian expeditions.

Fawcett delved back into the world of Occultism and in it, found the true nature of “Z,” so he believed. “Z” was a place

which would be inhabited by spiritual beings, by which he could attain enlightenment. Fawcett’s views started to shift from science and logic into believing the most fringe beliefs of Blavatsky. He believed that “Z” was a so called White Lodge, where the actions and fate of the Earth was determined and directed.

For this voyage to find “Z” Fawcett wanted to travel light. He chose only his eldest son Jack Fawcett and Jack's long-time friend Raleigh Rimell to accompany him on the expedition. Fawcett had traveled into these jungles many times and he had survived, largely due to his politeness, bringing of gifts, and maintaining a respect for the natives. By the time of this expedition, rubber farming had become huge business and many of the rubber plantations had sought to enslave the natives, which had led to uprisings and revolts. Fawcett feared that taking a large group into the jungle could be viewed as a threat.

While that reasoning was sound, it like also had to do with the fact that Jack and Raleigh also shared in much of Fawcett’s interest in the occult. They were likely as excited by the prospect of finding a White Lodge as much as they were by finding undiscovered cities filled with gold and riches. Rarely are men motivated by only one goal.

On April 20, 1925, the trio set off on their expedition from Cuiaba, with two Brazilian laborers, two horses, eight mules, and a pair of dogs. They were with them until the men reached the edge of the jungle at which point Fawcett sent the two men back to town with a letter to his wife. That letter, of

May 29, 1925 was the last anyone would hear from the expedition.

Fawcett was explicit that he did not want anyone coming to search for him in the event of his disappearance. He knew how dangerous the jungle could be and didn’t want other to perish.

The mystery of what happened to Fawcett continued to captivate throughout time. Despite his wishes to the contrary, many have sought out the answer to the riddle of his death. An estimate 100

adventurers have died trying to discover what happened to Fawcett and his party.

There are generally three theories as to what happened to him. The first is that he became ill and died in the jungle due to disease or injury. The second theory is that he was killed by hostile natives. The final theory is that he became insane and finished his life as the chief of a local tribe. Some even say that perhaps, this was the White Lodge that he was searching for.

Past expeditions have found evidence of Fawcett’s presence in the jungle, though that was never in doubt. In the years after his death, a brass plaque with his name was found. Also a compass with his name was likewise found. However, both of these items were thought to have been gifts he gave the natives.

Another adventurer claimed to have found his bones, working off of local native stories about Fawcett being killed by hostile tribes. However, it was determined that the bones were not those of Fawcett.

WorkingLike most of the pieces I perform, the real focus here is on

the presentation, not the working. Therefore, we will get this out of the way, though it is probably pretty self apparent. It is a three way out. No matter which option they choose, death by natives, lost in the jungle, or becoming a god king, you can show that was the manner of his death.

What I particularly like about this is that it appears much cleaner than other three way outs. There is nothing but a photo. The backing board looks very natural as that is how old photos were mounted. In reality, it provides two additional surfaces for writing, thereby allowing the routine to work.

While the proper is included in an envelope, this is for protection only. I would encourage you to not use this is in performance. The innocence of one single picture is what sells how clean the routine is.

You may wonder why the writing on the back is to one side. It is there so that if the spectator picks the lost in the jungle or the became a god king option, you can easily cover the writing with your hand. While I don’t make a big point of this, I do make sure I hold the back to everyone so that they can see it is devoid of writing. It is a little psychological proof that everything is on the up and up.

Additionally, if they chose the god king route, I also turn the picture over after removing it and hold it against the black card, while displaying the writing.

In the past, I would drop the backing card to my side or otherwise, eliminate it from play so that no one would see the

writing.

However, I soon learned that it looked suspicious, and for good reason. It was suspicious! By keeping the backing card in play and in front of the spectator’s eyes, it avoids the potential thought that you are doing something sneaky,

The simplicity of the working allows you to focus on your story. I got to use that trite and cliche, but completely true line. The working itself is simple and to the point, but you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to your story and your presentational angles. We will cover that in a later section.

I don’t want to provide a specific script for the routine. The reason why is simple. I want you to create something specific for you. The history section is there for a reason. It is to give you the backstory for Percy Fawcett so that you can create something that fits you. With that said, there is a performance video to refer to so you can see how I play it.

The first thing to consider is why do you have this picture? It is an old one? Is it a reproduction? You need to be able to justify the existence of this photo. Percy Fawcett was a relatively famous man so photos of him did exist, so it wouldn’t have to be a unique original. My story is that it was provided to my great aunt by his family. This isn’t something that I necessarily need to say, but it gives a background for the photo.

The next question is why is there writing? Take a look at the photo. Why is something written on it? You need to be able to justify that.

Once these two questions are answered, you can craft your story, simply filling in the facts as necessary.

I want you to think about all of the great angles here. Fawcett was a friend of Arthur Conan Doyle. He was into the occult, the very dawning of New Age beliefs and an acolyte of Blavatsky. He was a soldier, who it was said, used a ouija board, to determine battle strategy.

This is a super interesting guy, with tons of angles for story telling!

What’s Your Story?

Use this incredible story to its fullest potential.

I will provide my basic backstory here, so you can get an idea of my approach. Again, not all of this would be said. It is my explanation and my motivation.

I use the story of my great aunt. I use it enough that she has become almost real to me. I frequently tell the story of how she was a fortune teller in Boston until the time of her retirement when she moved back to Arkansas. I spent my summers with her and that is how I got into this stuff.

My great aunt was well known enough that she captured the attention of many. Many years after the disappearance of Fawcett, his other son called on my great aunt to see if she could contact his spirit to determine what had happened to him. She asked him to provide a photo, something that she could focus on to contact him. This is that photo. The writing on the back is what she scrawled as she in contact with this spirit.

That is the approach that I use though it may not suit you. Here is another possible presentation.

A young man hoped to make his mark on the world by finding the missing body of the

famous Percy Fawcett. He had a photo, translators, local guides and metal detectors. He was sure of success.

He took this photo with him from village to village, tribe to tribe, showing it and asking if anyone had any knowledge about where this man might be.

After long searching, he found his answer, though never any concrete proof. He recorded the final fate of Fawcett on the back

of the photograph. If using this line, you might want to beat up the photo a little more, if it was in a knapsack. Then again, if that was the important piece for identification, it may have been kept flat in a book or something of the sort.

Those are just two suggestions for a backstory. You can use either to explain what the photo is, where it came from and why there is writing on it. Once you have your justification you are ready to consider how you will present the piece.

One other little note, instead of using a full name, all of the divinations are initialed. L. P. stands for Lucretia Parker in my story, but I wanted to allow enough latitude for you to be able to suggest your own name.

PresentationThe next step is figuring out how you want to present this.

When I say “figure out how you are going to present this,” I mean think about how your spectator is getting this information. How are they figuring out how Fawcett died? In thinking about it there are three easy options for presentation. Each being better suited for different situations.

The first approach is best for informal or quick situations, ones in which you really don’t have time to build atmosphere. The routine still hits as hard, it is just quick. For this you can discuss intuition and how we all have intuition but we have been taught to distract it. Throw that out the window. We are going to trust it.

Now you can tell the story of Fawcett and have them use their intuition to determine his fate. You can then show that they were correct, proving that they have good intuition indeed.

The next presentational approach is the one that I most frequently use. It is the one you see in the video. It is a bit more than intuition. There is the implication that as you look at Fawcett’s face, in his eyes, he will speak to you. That perhaps he will whisper the manner of his death. This is a little more on the creepy side, but it is also more powerful, I believe.

In some situations, particularly if you have a spectator who really seems into it,

you can add those little psychological convincers. You can tell them “as you look into his eyes, you will feel something. You may get warmer or cooler, you may feel a light touch, like a breath going through your hair, you may even hear him whisper. When this happens, just nod your head.”

If you have ever played this routine before, they will eventually nod their head. As you, and everyone else looks at them, they will eventually respond. They are on the spot. However, that is really the cynics view of what is happening.

I have found that often people really do claim to have felt something. Often they don’t know what is but will say they felt something weird. I have learned to let people describe what it is they felt. I ask them specifically, “what did you feel?” This is fascinating for everyone, especially the audience.

You can now proceed to ask them what they think the manner of death is and you can show that they are correct.

The final approach is really best suited for stage or parlor. It is for somewhere where you have full control. It is a pseudo hypnotic induction. I love the idea of taking people back to some other environment or time. I have been doing this for several years in shows and I have to tip my hat to Paul Voodini for his work in this area in past life regressions.

For this performance, we aren’t going to do a past life regression, but rather an astral projection. We are going to take our spectator on a trip back in time an into a jungle. I will perform a basic working script for this approach as it is very different and I think the script can be helpful. I will put the lines in italics for clarity.

I want you to sit back and relax. Place both feet flat on the floor please. Now place your hands on your knees. Very good. Now close your eyes and just relax.

I want you to take a deep breath in and then exhale slowly. I want you to slow down your breathing as you just relax and listen to my voice. We are not doing hypnosis here, rather just relaxation exercises to help open your mind.

Continue breathing in and out slowly.

I want you to picture yourself in bed. It is the most comfortable bed you have ever been in. You are covered in warm blankets. They aren’t hot or stifling.

In fact, everything is just perfect. You are perfectly comfortable.

Now, I want you to image that the bed is so soft that you are sinking into it, sinking deeper and deeper, deeper and deeper. As you listen to the sound of my voice, you are going deeper and deeper.

Now, I want you to imagine that you are completely covered and you continue to sink deeper and deeper. You are at the point that you feel that you are gently floating ever downward. As you continue to float downward, you are moving back in time, further and further back in time.

As your eyes adjust, you realize that you are on the path looking for the lost Fawcett. Please describe what you see around you.

At this point, let’s keep in mind that the spectator has already been told the story of Fawcett so the visualization will be very easy. Your job will be to guide them towards one of the deaths. Since the spectator already knows the Fawcett story you need to develop small things and details about what they are seeing.

Regardless, you will eventually guide them towards one of the deaths and the final reveal. Obviously, this will not work as well in a crowded bar or situation where you can’t build your atmosphere.

I would also recommend having the picture on a simple wooden stand so the audience can see it. However, just make sure it is behind the line of sight of your spectator so they won’t see the back when they sit.

Wrap Up Wrap Up Hopefully I have given you a few things to think about when presenting this routine. You have a lot of story and a lot of potential angles and approaches by which to make this your own routine. I encourage you to do so.

I would LOVE to continue to add to this manuscript with additional thinking and suggestions from you. If you come up with additional workings, story angles or routines, I would be happy to add them to this manuscript. I hope to hear from you.

Also, I didn’t mention it, but the story of Percy Fawcett is true. You can dig in and do a bit of your own research if you would like. It is a compelling story.