Hindu Basket
by Paul Osborne

You'll probably perform this illusion more than any prop you own. It can be done close up and surrounded.

Your assistant stands in a small basket and is covered with a decorative cloth. Slowly, her form seems to melt into the basket as the cloth is removed and a lid put on. Four swords are inserted through the basket and a bamboo pole is thrust through the top. To further prove that she has vanished, the swords are removed and the magician actually steps in and sits in the basket. The cloth is reintroduced and, once again, your assistant makes her reappearance from the tiny basket!