Grotesque | Chelsea Hinckley

My roommate Lynley and I were watching A&E on Wednesday night after dinner and something came on that she got ery excited and kind of scared about. I had never seen it before. It's called "Mindfreak". Criss Angel. Besides his devilishly good looks (a major proponent of watching said program), he had magical powers. Not Lance Burton style, or even the infamous David Copperfield, these were real. He went around the streets of Vegas and various other cities levitating people and himself and confronting all of their senses and sensibilities in one fell swoop.

There was one of these such 'confrontations' that I will never forget. He went up to two ladies on a beach and asked one of them if he could borrow a quarter. She said sure and he took out a permanent marker and asked her to sign it before she gave it to him. She did, then handed it over. He took the quarter and swallowed it. Then, suddenly, within a few seconds, he began pushing the quarter down his throat, down his neck, and onto his shoulder. You could see it under his skin. He pushed it all the way down to his wrist.

Then he asked for a razor blade.

He slit his wrist and amid all the blood was the quarter. He painfully pushed it out of the small slit he had made, then gave it to the girl after a quick wipe down (it being all bloody). It had her signature on it.

Absolutely disgusting.