Vanishing Act

Cambodia’s mystic class of healers, counselors, and fortunetellers channel spirits, read fortunes in numbers and cards, and inscribe enchantments in flesh. But technology and modernity are changing these roles and rituals. 


Vanishing Act tracks down these singular people to document their lives. It paints vivid portraits of people who live with one foot in the mundane and another in the magical.


With 100 pages of interviews, dozens of photos, interactive maps and photo galleries, and nearly an hour of video, this enhanced edition of Vanishing Act takes you inside our quest for magic, so you can experience it firsthand. From Song Sokheng, who channels two child spirits, to a sorcerer who relies on numerology (and a healthy respect for authority) to care for nine wives and dozens of children, the mystics, monks, and mediums in Vanishing Act tell amazing stories that you won’t find anywhere else.