White and his wife Annabelle performed their legendary bullet catch routine twice daily from 1953 to 1959, as part of the American touring circus, Bailey & Barnes.
Reporters at the time called it “The Act of the Century”.
Picture the scene: 500 people on tiered benches held their breath in unison, as Annabelle – head wrapped tight in blindfold scarves – pulled the trigger. A pane of glass halfway across the stage shattered, falling in shards like confetti daggers. Almost immediately, Mr Mesmo’s head jerked back – the metal container gripped between his teeth ringing out as the bullet rattled inside, caught.
People assume you must be daring to perform the bullet catch night after night – reckless perhaps – but the truth is you really only need to be meticulous, precise. You must have an eye for detail. Foster White’s eye for detail began to wander – lingering long on the glittering curves of The Flying Felice – a trapeze artiste half his age, willing to share stolen kisses and whispered promises in the warm dark of her caravan.
Annabelle may have spent half a life blindfolded, but she wasn’t oblivious to the loveless marriage that caught her, the roving eye that ignored her. The tiniest adjustment was all it took for the bullet to miss the container that night, hitting Mr Mesmo square in the forehead.
500 people gasped as one. Annabelle breathed a sigh of relief.
Mathew Gostelow (he/him) is the author of two collections of speculative stories; See My Breath Dance Ghostly (Alien Buddha Press) and Dantalion is a Quiet Place (DarkWinter Lit, forthcoming, 2025). He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Microfiction. @MatGost. Website.