Tykes were a tough crowd

SHARON — Perhaps young Hotchkiss Library of Sharon patrons, reared on Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and homes for Peculiar Children, have grown to demand more from their magic. 

Early Friday evening, Oct.21, patently well-loved librarian Robin Yuran gathered together parents and their children (most of them dressed in pajamas), reading from the pages of a seasonal story depicting the days leading up to All Hallows’ Eve — ghosts and goblins galore. 

She then introduced the special guest for the night, sleight-of-hand performer Peter James staging his Magic Halloween Spooktacular. This is when things took a turn.

James valiantly attempted to entertain, and while parents and the library staff in attendance seemed to find light-hearted fun in the novelty of an old-fashioned children’s magic show, the young audience was vehement and vocal about their demands. “I know how you did that!” they were quick to call out. “Do real magic!” 

James momentarily wowed them with a zombie doll that moved up and down, side to side, hidden partially behind a velvet scarf, but soon children were shouting for him to make the zombie “fly into the air! Make him go to the ceiling!” 

It was far beyond the realm of James’ “dark arts,” crafted through pure dexterity. 

“It’s not real! It’s not real magic!” 

Well of course it wasn’t. But the audience was not to be satisfied. It was only by creating brief moments of fear that James could mollify his young skeptics. He tempted them with expectation as he presented a woven basket he claimed contained a real snake. The children leaned forward, clearly hoping not for a trick, but the treat of something authentic and tangible, as if a living serpent would emerge. What popped out, springing forward and startling everyone for a second, was a plush toy snake — but the surprise was enough to earn their applause, if slight disappointment. 

The true moment of awe came with James presenting his copy of “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. None of the children knew the novel, but when James flipped open its pages a real fire burst forth, flashing orange and astonishing the crowd. But all too soon — within a heartbeat — the book was closed, and the magic was gone.