Halloween’s the time of scary magic —when, according to legend, spirits of the dead walk the earth. And no one conjures that magic better than illusionist Mike Baron, assisted by his wife, Annie.

They’re two of the stars today at the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence. And their Lockport home, at 6655 Royal Parkway North, is legend as the place to visit on Halloween night.

Baron, a former president of the local branch of the Society of American Magicians, recently talked about his spooky art.

We hear your Lockport home goes through quite a transformation on Oct. 31. Give us a preview.

Our house at Halloween?

Welcome to the ghostly grove cemetery. Oh yes, if you want your candy, you must make it though the cemetery. Lights, fog, coffins, live characters and ghosts greet you as you wind through the lighted pathway ’til you get to the well.

The monster in the well has been here long and still scares everyone who enters, but this year, something new. It’s a surprise. Onward to the headless bride, down the walk to the garage. Through the curtain, you’ve arrived at the electric chair. Open the jail cell door and have a seat, if you dare. Lights, vibrations, a blast of air, any electricity? Spend some time talking with Alistar-the-Talking Skeleton. He’ll carry on a conversation with you.

Bats and bugs are in the lab, everything glowing with black lights. An operation seems to be under way, bodies and blood-ies. Before you leave, the mummies want to say goodbye. Down the driveway to the witches’ hollow, get your candy from one of four live witches, along with half a dozen more “animitronic” witches in the hollow. Green fog oozes from their cauldron. Eyeballs to eat, spell books to read. Enter the

witches’ cottage, if you dare.

All this and eight fog machines, 12 animi-tronic monsters, $5,000 worth of lighting, five sound systems, 10 live characters. We put it all together for four hours on Halloween. Trick or treat.

How did you meet your supportive wife, Annie?

We met our freshman year at Erie Community College. We married three years later. I was a chemist; Annie, stay-at-home mom, taking care of the kids.

We’ve been married 39 years, with four children and six grandchildren.

When did you start doing magic?

I became interested in magic at age 11 and did my first show at 12. I worked at Fantasy Island in the House of Hocus Pocus at 14.My interest in magic, in the mid-1970s, rose to new heights, and the shows started coming. My mentor, Karl Norman, who now is 90, was guiding me along the path to success.

When did Annie join the show?

Annie was pregnant or taking care of kids, so I had several different assistants. As the kids grew, shows needed to be done, and assistants were harder to find.

I asked Annie to help. She was never on stage—even as a child, she didn’t like to be close to the center of attention. Her first show was a little birthday party in a house for our goddaughter. She was so nervous she could hardly bring the props from the kitchen to the dining room. And that was just for family. She steadily grew confident to the point where we even performed at magic conventions for other magicians and did major illusions.

We expanded over the years to include birds, rabbits and Cookie the Magic Dog.

Magic with the birds is “all- Annie.” I get the applause, she does all the magic.

After the kids were all married and gone, we realized we could still do something together, entertain children and adults.

From not wanting to step out onto the stage, to setting shows four times a day, rehearsing acts, hitting light cues, nailing music cues, ad-libbing live when something goes wrong— the progress of the magician’s assistant is exemplified by Annie’s commitment to the art. Someone asks her, ‘How did he do that?’ She answers, ‘I think he did it well.’

Annie does all stage shows and birthday parties with me. Some people say the chemistry onstage between us is part of what makes our act unique, as well as entertaining. A lot of magic is in our show, but more laughs then magic. We gear the magic to the kids, and a lot of lines to the adults, so everyone has a good time.

What’s your secret to marital success, now that you’re looking toward your magical 40th anniversary?

Why are we married 39 years? Commitment, and family first—that’s the way it always will be.

Now that’s true magic. Tell us about your acts?

We now have four different stage shows, two bird acts and one special Christmas show. We perform at dinners, picnics, family reunions, adult banquets, senior citizen centers, assisted- living, and, of course, inhouse birthday parties along with Presto-the-bunny. I also do close-up magic, as seen at the Forks Hotel in the 1970s and 1980s. Many weddings I DJ, and do close-up magic for guests during cocktail hour. I’ve even done a stage show for some weddings. Presently, we’re in our ninth season at the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence during the fall festival. There, we have our own theater, so I have complete control of lighting, staging. This allows us to put on quite a show, including some original illusions.

We change our show each year, keeping us fresh, as well as giving the audience something new. We’ll perform [today] four times, at 11 a. m., 1 p. m., 2:30 p. m. and 4 p. m.

Why do you love magic?

Magic is much more than a show. It’s what we put into it. So many can get enjoyment out of it—that makes it all worthwhile. Nothing makes my day more than watching kids’ faces during our show.

Annie and I both say, life is tough in many ways, so if we can make you smile, forget about your troubles and enjoy 30 minutes of magic and mystery, then we won.

Have an idea about a Niagara County-resident who’d make an interesting question-and-answer column, or an issue worth exploring? Write to: Louise Continelli, Q&A, The Buffalo News, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240, or e-mail her at

lcontinelli@buffnews.com