Shut eye

In the lingo of stage magicians, illusionists, and mentalists, a shut eye is a performer who becomes so adept at the illusion of mind reading that the performer comes to believe that he or she actually possesses psychic powers.

The term was used by film director Orson Welles, a gifted magician, who feared that he would fall victim to the delusion.^[1]

References

1. Orson Welles on Cold Reading (from an interview with David Frost recorded on 5 December 1970)