SCAMS & PRANKS

Bilked bankers, grifted gamblers, and swindled spinsters. Welcome to the world of confidence men. Learn More

It began quietly enough one morning in February 1880, with a mutton-chopped Acme Safe Company salesman knocking on the door of Reverend Morgan Dix, the starchiest clergyman in Manhattan's most respectable church. Learn More

In a biography woven from equal parts enchantment and mystery, Jim Steinmeyer unveils the secrets behind the most enigmatic performer in the history of stage magic, Chung Ling Soo, the 'Marvelous Chinese Conjurer' - a magician whose daring made his contemporary Houdini seem like the boy next door. Learn More

At the beginning of the twentieth century, 40 percent of American men belonged to a lodge, and they were hazing their newbies with cigar- smoking camels, spankers, and even fake guillotines. Nearly all their prank devices came from the same place: catalogs published by the DeMoulin Brothers Company from 1896 to 1930. Learn More

CON MEN DON'T STEAL—they literally have wads of cash thrust into their hands by trusting victims. Learn More

The gyp, hoodwink, shuck, sandbag: An artform that has been passed down through generations of hustlers, con men, and freaks. Learn More

The shady details of our darkest schadenfreude pleasures, including "turparphilia"—to delight in the less than aesthetically beautiful nature of a friend's offspring. Learn More

Scam was equal parts an introductory guide on how to get things for free and punk memoir. Learn More

Throughout his life, the world’s most famous escapologist strove to expose the methods and tricks of illusionists and sham spiritualists. Learn More