INSIDE EDITION speaks exclusively to the magician and his wife, who was set on fire by a TV show host on a live broadcast, as he describes the horror of that day.
Illusionist Wayne Houchin's head was set on fire, but it was no trick.
For the first time since the attack that left him with second degree burns, Houchin spoke only to INSIDE EDITION about the terror of being set on fire.
"It was just excruciating pain all over my head, my face, my hand," Houchin said.
"I felt like it was consuming me. I could feel it burning and I could feel the fire spreading down my head, my face, on my shoulders, and it was spreading at a rate faster than I could do anything about it," he said.
Wayne was with his wife, Fran, in the Dominican Republic. They were invited to appear on a local TV show to perform magic tricks. For some unknown reason, the host poured something on Wayne called "Agua de Florida" which translates to "Florida water. But it was not water. "Agua de Florida" is actually a flammable liquid used in voodoo rituals.
"He said that he was hoping to cleanse me of evil spirits," Houchin said.
In the video, you can see a terrified Wayne run away, struggling to put out the flames.
His horrified wife watched nearby, nearly frozen by fear.
"I could have lost him. He could have died, we were in a third world country, it was just horrible," Fran said.
He was rushed to the hospital with burns to his forehead, cheeks, and wrist. His injuries were so severe, he had to take a couple months off from touring while he recovered.
The host of the TV show is facing criminal charges for the attack, and Houchin will soon come face-to-face with the man who set him on fire.
