Yeats Wong is a magician who knows there’s more than one way to saw a lady in half. “That trick is a cliché of magic,” Wong says. “It can be done in a creepier fashion.”

“A creepier fashion” nicely sums up A Brush with Death, a macabre magic show that hits the stage at the Burnswest Theatre at Fort Calgary on Friday, June 14.

Wong promises that A Brush with Death will leave that stage blood-spattered and leave the audience chuckling. “We get more laughs than gasps,” he says. “People laugh as they wonder, ‘How the heck is he doing that?’”

In Wong’s case, the source of wonder might be a certain grisly trick he is fond of. “I take a long hatpin and I push it into my arm,” he says. “Then I pause before pulling it out the other side and wiping off the blood.”

Wong, 37, is a traffic engineer with the City of Calgary. He also runs Yeats Magic Co., which books magicians for birthday parties and corporate events.

For A Brush with Death, Wong has enlisted the help of his faithful sidekick, Gwyn Auger. “I’ve never had a more enthusiastic assistant,” he says. “We saw her in half, tie her up, put her through incredible ordeals, and she loves it.” Also on the bill are Jimbo Jordan, who will “explore his tolerance for pain,” and Ryan Pilling, a comic magician who is keen to find “the funny side of contacting the dead.”

A Brush with Death is close to Wong’s heart, but comes a little further down his list of priorities. “It’s my hobby and I love it,” Wong says, “but no corporate clients will be calling asking for this.”

Make A Night of It

Walk It’s a happy coincidence, but A Brush with Death is scheduled on the same evening as the Inglewood Night Market. The market goes Friday, June 14 from 6 p.m. to midnight. It’s just off Ninth Avenue S.E. at 10th Street, and includes street food, an art market and live music.

Eat The market sits right outside the doors of Bite Groceteria and Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar. Bite’s cafe is open until 7 p.m. Gravity is open late, and, in another happy coincidence, Friday is curry-and-beer night. For $17 you get a chicken-and-mushroom balti and your choice of a Dos Equis or Steam Whistle.

Drink The Hose and Hound is your average haunted pub, so it’s a good place to get in the mood for A Brush with Death. Order a burger and see if you can eat it without sawing it in half.

A Brush with Death: Friday, June 14 at Burnswest Theatre, Fort Calgary. 8 p.m. $20. brushwithdeath.ca.