The Happenings|《魔幻大现场》

by Marcus Maurice

People can be persuaded to believe almost anything.

　　In Stamford, England, two illusionists set out to cause a bit of mischief in The Happenings, which is showing this month on National Geographic Channel. Barry and Stuart decide to test the gullibility of local people and start rumors about ghosts, aliens, vampires, and even secret psychic army takeovers. They look to create a buzz in real life and online to see how many people fall for their tricks.

　　In one of the shows, Barry and Stuart go to a park and find an unsuspecting couple having a picnic in the middle of the day. They are told the tale of the Savannah vampire that has been roaming around the town and that vampires have a long association with death and decay. They have never heard the story, but are talked into giving the host a sandwich in a Tupperware container to see if a man in black nearby is really the vampire in question. They walk up behind the man in black, hold the container from about three meters away, and when they open the sandwich container, it is filled with maggots and worms. Naturally, this freaks out the picnicking couple, and they walk away stunned and bewildered. The man in black then turns around, holds up his coat and disappears into thin air.

　　While The Happenings straddles the line of comedy and horror, it shows how easy it is to get people to believe the unbelievable by using the power of misdirection and suggestion. This month, check out The Happenings, and see if you would be as easily fooled as the people on the show.

 

《魔幻大现场》

人们可能会被他人说服去相信几乎所有的事情。

　　在英国史坦福镇，两名魔法师开始在《魔幻大现场》节目中搞一些恶作剧，这些内容将在本月的国家地理频道播出。贝瑞和史都华决定要测试一下当地民众容易受骗的程度，并开始散播有关鬼魂、外星人、吸血鬼、甚至还有神秘的超自然军队接管小镇的传闻。他们期望在现实生活中和网络上创造一个谣言，看看有多少人会被他们的把戏所愚弄。

　　在某一集节目中，贝瑞和史都华在中午时分前往某个公园，并找了一对正在野餐且毫无戒心的情侣。贝瑞和史都华告诉他们萨凡纳吸血鬼已在小镇上四处游荡的传闻，而且那些吸血鬼长久以来都与死亡和衰败有所关联。这对情侣从没听过这个故事，不过他们被说服把放在保鲜盒里的三明治交给了主持人，想看看附近的一名黑衣男子是否正是他们所讨论的吸血鬼。他们尾随在那名黑衣男子之后，拿着保鲜盒并距离他大约三公尺的距离，而当他们打开用来装三明治的保鲜盒，里面竟然是满满的蛆和蚯蚓。想当然尔，这情况吓坏了这对在野餐的情侣，他们目瞪口呆又带着疑惑离开了现场。接着那名黑衣男子一转身，披上他的外套，接着就消失得无影无踪。

　　尽管《魔幻大现场》的剧情介于喜剧和恐怖片之间，但该节目告诉我们用误导和暗示的力量来让人们相信那些难以置信的事情有多么容易。这个月，收看《魔幻大现场》来看看你是否和节目中的人一样容易上当吧。