Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini is arguably the most well known magician to have lived, and has significant ties to the paranormal world; both through his own acts of exposing fraudulent psychic mediums, and through the pursuit others have undergone in contacting Houdini's spirit. In life, Houdini travelled the world performing escape acts for public crowds along with for royalty. One of his most impressive acts was in making an elephant disappear. Houdini's friendship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a large factor in what brought him to moving his gaze from escape acts to exposing the spiritualism movement of the time as being led by fraud. Following Houdini's death, many people have tried searching for Houdini's ghost; and one psychic managed to successfully share a secret code Houdini had created, in order to prove life after death, to Houdni's wife. Houdini séances have occured each year, and there are a number of locations suspected to be haunted by the ghost of Harry Houdini.

History

Harry Houdini was born as Erik Weisz (alternative spellings are Erich and Ehrich) in Budapest, Hungary, on the 24th of March 1874. His mum was called Cecelia and his dad was called Mayor Samuel Weiss. I have found a source claiming his dad to be called Herman Mayer Weiss, but it seems Herman was one of Harry Houdini's many siblings. In total, Harry had six siblings; four brothers, one half-brother, and one sister. His brothers were called Nathan, Gottfried, Theodore, and Leopold. His half-brother, who was a product of his dad's previous marriage, was called Herman. His sister was called Gladys. I've found there can be conflicting information around Houdini's birth date and location, but this is because Houdini loved America so much that he claimed to have been born on the 6th of April in Appleton, Wisconsin.

As for Houdini's birth name, this changed when he moved to America. During 1876, his dad immigrated to America because he wanted to have a better life. He worked as a rabbi, and the immigration officers changed his dad's last name from 'Weisz' to 'Weiss'. The same happened to the rest of the family when they joined Houdini's dad on the 3rd of July 1878, when Houdini was four years old. This meant Houdini's birthname of 'Erik Weisz' changed to 'Ehrich Weiss'. They all lived in Wisconsin during this time, and then moved to Milwaukee when Ehrich was eight years old. Ehrich was often called by the nickname 'Ehrie', a name which would later become 'Harry'.

Ehrich's dad was educated, but not at all successful. One reason for the struggle was that he only spoke Hungarian, German, and Yiddish. This meant that the family quite often struggled for money while living in America, and so young Ehrich had to work to help support the family. His work included selling newspapers and shining shoes. Ehrich was always drawn to performing, and so on the 28th of October 1883, he made his debut in a neighborhood circus as a trapeze artist. In this act he wore red woolen stocking and was known as 'Ehrich, The Prince Of The Air'. In 1887, Mayor Weiss brought Ehrich with him to New York. This followed a series of failed rabbinic appointments in the Midwest, and so in New York they lived in a boarding-house and found what work they could. There is speculation that Ehrich worked as a locksmith apprentice from the age of eleven, and that this experience helped him learn escapism, however it seems this is only a legend.

Another legend is that at the age of twelve, Ehrich ran away from home and returned to New York a year later. As nothing is known of this year Ehrich disappeared, it seems highly likely that he never ran away at this time. He also supported his family through working as a messenger, a necktie cutter, and a photography assistant. He always excelled in sports; particularly in swimming, boxing, and running. These were all activities which helped develop the natural athletic ability he would go on to use in his future career. Ehrich was also fascinated with magic, particularly by the work of the French conjurer 'Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin'.

During 1891, Ehrich started using his knowledge of magic as an act. He teamed up with a friend for this, and they called themselves 'The Brothers Houdini'. The friend was likely called Jacob Hyman, but I've also found him to potentially be called 'Jack Hayman' or 'Jake Hyman'. I've found that Ehrich started calling himself 'Harry Houdini' in either 1894 or 1891. As 1891 is the date of 'The Brothers Houdini', I would assume this to be when the name 'Harry Houdini' first surfaced. Plus, I've found Ehrich was known as 'Harry Houdini' from the age of seventeen. As for how the name came to be, it was a combination of Ehrich's nickname 'Ehrie', which sounds like 'Harry', combined with a homage to the French magician 'Houdin' by adding an 'i' to the end.

A year later, on the 5th of October 1892, Harry's dad died while Harry was eighteen years old. Harry then left his family in New York and went on the road with Jacob. The Brothers Houdini performed various tricks, including card tricks, in dime museums and small theatres through upstate New York and the Midwest. The Brothers Houdini also performed on the midway of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, also known as The World's Fair, in Chicago. Jacob had been replaced by the time of this performance by Harry's actual brother, Theodore; who was also known as Theo, or by the nickname 'Dash'.

One trick The Brothers Houdini liked performing was called 'The Metamorphosis'. I've found slightly unsure information around when this trick was first performed with dates varying from 1993, 1994, and 1995. After the World's Fair performance, The Brothers Houdini returned to Coney Island, and it was here that Harry met the woman who would become his wife. Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, or 'Bess' for short, was part of a singing and dancing act called the 'Floral Sisters'. The Floral Sisters were performing in the same hall as The Brothers Houdini on Coney Island, and this is how Harry met Bess. As for the confusion around when 'The Metamorphosis' was performed, it depends on the year that Harry met and married Bess.

Harry and Bess were married on the 22nd of June 1894, although it's unsure how long they knew each other for before they were married. Some sources say they met three weeks before marriage, and others say it was one year before marriage. Regardless, sources seem sure that Theo performed 'The Metamorphosis' with The Brothers Houdini, so that rules out the 1895 date. As for the 1893 and 1894 dates, it's really unsure. I've found that Theo replaced Jacob before the Chicago World's Fair, which began in the May of 1893 and ended in the October of 1893. This means 'The Metamorphosis' was likely obtained and performed by 'The Brothers Houdini' either towards the end of 1893, or at the start of 1894.

As for what 'The Metamorphosis' was, it was a form of escape act. During the act, Harry was bound and tied in a sack, and locked in a trunk which Theo would then secure by wrapping a rope around it. A curtain would hide them for a brief moment, and when it opened Harry would be free and Theo would be bound in the trunk. After Harry met Bess, she replaced Theo in 'The Brothers Houdini' and the act was renamed to 'The Houdinis'. At the time, Bess was a small eighteen year old girl who could fit in spaces far easier than Theo could, which meant acts could be performed faster and more effectively.

Bess's German Catholic mum objected to her marrying Harry, but that didn't stop the couple and they continued their act together. It seems 1895 is the year 'The Houdinis' gained some attention from performing 'The Metamorphosis', but regardless of this, performing on the dime museum circuit was tough for the couple. It was also in 1895 that Harry escaped from handcuffs for the first time. In 1896, the Houdinis worked with the Welsh Brothers Travelling Circus. During this time, Bess would sing and Harry would perform magic. During the autumn of 1897, the Houdinis were offered a position with Dr Hill's California Concert Company. This was an old-time travelling medicine show which sold a tonic which 'could cure just about anything'.

The Houdinis would perform escape acts in the medicine show, but over time the audience declined. As spiritualism was on the rise, Dr. Hill asked if Houdini could be a spirit medium to bring in viewers. Houdini, being familiar with the tricks spirit mediums used, agreed; and so on the 8th of January 1898, in the Galena Kansas Opera House, Harry Houdini made his debut as a psychic medium. In these acts, Harry would lead séances while Bess performed as a clairvoyant with psychic gifts. The Houdinis were very successful at this as they not only knew the tricks, but they did their research. Before performing, they would visit the graveyards in the town they performed in, would listen to local gossip, and would read recent obituaries. This meant they could say random names they'd heard or read, and there would be a good chance of someone in the audience being able to connect to it. It convinced everyone who saw the act, but the guilt the Houdinis felt from lying in such a way about contacting dead relatives led to them quitting the show. They went back to the Welsh Brothers Travelling Circus as a result.

After a short stint of working with the Welsh Brothers Travelling Circus for a second time, The Houdinis returned to New York in 1898 where they lived with Harry's mum. Harry Houdini was barely twenty-five years old at the time, but he was extremely tired of the grind involved in trying to gain a successful career in magic and so seriously considered quitting magic. He was so sure of quitting that he sent out a catalog for 'Harry Houdini's School of Magic' where he intended on teaching magic rather than performing it. However, the Houdinis did go back on the road, and it was during the spring of 1899 that they finally became noticed by the right person.

During 1899, the Houdini's performed in a beergarden in St. Paul, Minnesota. A rising tycoon in the world of Vaudeville theatre, Martin Beck, saw the performance and saw particular potential in a handcuff escape which Harry Houdini performed. The next day, Beck brought Houdini a pair of handcuffs and challenged the escape artist to break free of them. Houdini escaped from them with ease. A few days later, Beck, who was with the Orpheum Circuit that dominated Vaudeville in the west, contacted Houdini from Chicago. His message read: 'You can open Omaha March twenty sixth sixty dollars, will see act probably make you proposition for all next season'. Houdini later wrote: 'this wire changed my whole life's journey'; and it did. By the end of the year, Beck had Harry Houdini playing in leading Vaudeville houses from the Midwest to California.

By early 1900, Harry Houdini was also a hit on Keith's East Coast Circuit. He also displayed a talent for publicity, often performing jail escapes and other public stunts to lure people into the theatres. These displays led to Houdini gaining many nicknames such as 'The Celebrated Police Baffler', 'The Elusive American', and 'The King of Handcuffs'. He developed basic, but effective, routines; and the Houdinis performed less shows, but for greater audience numbers in higher quality theatres. This led to the Houdinis making more money than the frequent grind of shows they did previously. Vaudeville was at the top of the entertainment pyramid and Harry Houdini became one of it's stars.

Although Harry Houdini was successful working with Beck, he argued often with him. As a result, Houdini ended up arranged his own tour of Europe in 1900. From here, he spent the following five years in Europe where he delighted crowds. His first film appearance occured during 1901 where his escapes were documented in 'Merveilleux Exploits du Célébere Houdini Paris'. He also ran into legal battles with the police while on tour. While in Germany, a Cologne policeman accused Houdini of fraud and bribery. As a result, during 1902 Houdini charged the man with slander and didn't back down; leading Houdini to win in court. In order to win, Houdini had to reveal how a number of his tricks were done, but he gained lots of publicity and reinforced his status as Germany's 'König der Handschellen', or 'King of Handcuffs' in English.

During 1904, the London 'Mirror' newspaper brought Harry some special handcuffs they had commissioned, due to his reputation of being able to escape from any handcuffs. The 'Mirror Cuff Escape' took Harry over an hour to complete, but he did break free; an act which further boosted his public image and title. During 1903, Harry even performed a 'Siberian Transport Escape', where he escaped the equivalent of a metal safe on wheels. This was a transport used to move prisoners, and so Houdini's ability to escape from here was not looked kindly upon by local authorities.

Houdini returned to America in 1905 and bought a small farm in Connecticut along with a stately brownstone in Manhatten. I have found one source saying Harry returned to America in 1907, however the contradicting 1905 date lines up when he bought this property in America, so it makes sense for 1905 to be the accurate year. It is possible though that Houdini briefly returned to Europe, making the 1907 date a potential second return to America. The brownstone was mainly a home for Houdini's family, particularly for his mum, Cecelia. Houdini was extremely close to his mum, and he displayed a fierce devotion to his mum following his dad's death. This devotion was only matched by his love for Bess. Houdini also sent his mum part of his earnings from performances, along with sending her passionate letters.

During 1906, Houdini escaped from from a prison which once held Charles Guiteau; the assassin of President James A. Garfield. Then, during 1907, he jumped into a Rochester, New York, river with his hands manacled behind his back. He did a number of these bridge jumps, including one from the Belle Isle Bridge into the Detroit River by 1906. These manacled bridge jumps brought great publicity for Houdini. It was then in 1908 that Houdini published a book titled 'The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin'. Ironically, this book about the magician who he had taken as inspiration from was an expose which called out Houdin as being a fraud 'who waxed great on the brainwork of others'. In other words, Houdini viewed Houdin as someone who didn't create anything original, and instead stole tricks and routines from other magicians; then claiming them as his own creations. Harry Houdini did not like this type of fraud and dishonesty, and this is something which is greatly reflected in his later career.

Also in 1908, Harry Houdini first performed his famous milk can escape. For this escape, Houdini would lock himself within a milk can which was filled with water, although sometimes this was filled with beer or milk instead. If this escape was being performed, Houdini was often remind audiences beforehand that 'failure means a drowning death'. The desire to succeed in a way his dad never did, along with his devotion to his mum, are both what drove Houdini and so he was relentless with his work ethic. He made sure to keep reinventing himself, and to keep introducing new tricks with higher stakes, to maintain public appeal.

Harry Houdini was also an aviation pioneer. While in Europe during 1909, he developed a passion for it, and so bought a French made Voisin biplane; making Harry Houdini one of the world's first private pilots. He did crash his plane during his first flight in Germany, but that didn't put him off. During the March of 1910, Houdini made three successful flights near Melbourne, Australia, which each lasted a few minutes long. As a result, the Aerial League of Australia certified the flights made by Houdini as the first powered and controlled flight over Australian soil. Historians do dispute this though as they claim the record belongs to the Englishman Colin Defries due to him having made a brief flight a few months earlier during the December of 1909. During 2010, both Houdini and Defries were honoured with a series of stamps which celebrated the centennial of powered flight in Australia.

Going back to escapes, Houdini faced quite an unusual challenge, during the September of 1911, when he was requested by a group of Boston businessmen to escape from a 'sea monster'. A large creature weighing 1,500 pounds had washed up in Boston's Harbour, and for some bizarre reason people wanted to see Houdini escape from within it. Although the challenge was absurd, Houdini still accepted. Historians don't know for sure what the creature was, although it has been speculated to have been a number of things such as a whale or a leatherback turtle. Houdini was handcuffed, shackled in leg irons, and wedged into the carcass of the massive creature. The creature was even covered in chains and placed behind a curtain. It took fifteen minutes for Houdini to escape, and he later admitted that he nearly suffocated within the creature due to the fumes from the embalming chemicals.

In the September of 1912, although I have read it could be at some point within 1913, Houdini added the 'Chinese Water Torture Cell' escape to his act while performing at the Circus Busch in Berlin. Usually, this was referred to as 'The Upside-Down' and it involved Houdini being suspended by his feet and lowered upside-down into a locked cabinet which was filled with water. It was an act which required Houdini to hold his breath for more than three minutes in order to escape and some people considered it to be his greatest trick; one that featured technical conception, physical strength, and dramatic presentation. It remained in his act until his death. It was also in 1912 that Houdini performed an underwater box escape in New York's East River.

Ehrich Weiss officially changed his name to legally be 'Harry Houdini' in 1913. In the same year; his mum, Cecelia, died on the 17th of July. Houdini was performing in Sweden for the Swedish Royal Family at the time, and upon finding out it's said that he fainted and wept uncontrollably once awake. He has reportedly said 'I am what would be called a mothers-boy', and this is evident not only through his devotion to his mum, but also through his grief for her which he displayed for the rest of his life. Houdini nearly suffocated again in 1915 when shackled and buried underneath 6ft of dirt, and it was also in 1915 that Houdini was placed in a straightjacket and hung upside-down above the streets of Kansas City, Minneapilis, from a scaffold.

It was in 1914 that World War One broke out, and Houdini wanted to assist however he could. He put his tour on hold and tried to enlist for the army, but as he was forty-three years old at the time, his enlistment wasn't approved. He instead devoted himself to entertaining the soldiers and to raising money for the war effort. He even persuaded the Society of American Magicians to sign loyalty oaths to President Woodrow Wilson. Another thing Houdini did during this time included holding a series of classes at New York's Hippodrome. During these classes, he taught doughboys how to escape from sinking ships and how to escape from ropes, handcuffs, and other restraints in the event of German capture. During 1917, he lured the retired magician Harry Keller into performing for a benefit for families of the men who were killed when a German U-boat sunk the transport 'Antilles'. This event was called 'Cheer Up', and it may have been the same Hippodrome event where Houdini made Jennie the elephant disappear on the 7th of January 1917. Houdini was so involved in the war effort that there has been speculation about him potentially working as a spy for the British Secret Service, Scotland Yard, or the US Secret Service, while performing for world leaders; such as Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany, and Tzar Nicholas II in Russia.

It was in 1918 that Harry Houdini made his first film, which he called 'The Master of Mystery'. This film was the first to ever feature a robot. He did this just as the film business was about to take off, although critics complained that his acting was wooden and that screen magic was not as good as live magic. Regardless, Harry Houdini still became one of Hollywood's first action heroes and his films were shown to audiences worldwide. He was particularly grateful that he could perform an escape once and it would be forever preserved; a feeling which came from recognition that he wa in his mid-forties and was physically worn out. Houdini also started his own production company and a number of other film-related ventures. All of these projects lost money. His own studio was called the 'Houdini Picture Corporation', and it made two films: 'The Man From Beyond', and 'Haldane of the Secret Service'. Neither film did well, and the film lab Houdini created was called 'The Film Development Corporation'. Due to the lack of success in Houdini's film venture, he quit the film business in 1923.

It was in 1920 that Harry Houdini became friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes. It's with this friendship that Houdini became far more involved with the spiritualist movement which picked up speed following World War One and the influenza epidemic of 1918. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was convinced that he had talked to his son, who had been wounded in the war and died of influenza, through the aid of psychic mediums in séances. Doyle even believed that Houdini had supernatural powers, which Houdini denied.

Harry Houdini's friendship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to an end after an incident which offered during the June of 1922. Lady Doyle was a practicing medium, and so Arthur and his wife invited Harry to stay at the Ambassador Hotel in Atlantic City. During Harry's stay, he took part in a séance with the Doyle, during which Lady Doyle claimed to begin communicate with Harry's mum through automatic writing; a process where the spirit will write on a piece of paper, through use of the medium's body, to deliver a message. Fifteen pages were written out by 'Houdini's mum', but Houdini didn't believe any of it. The writing was done in English, a language his mum never spoke, and the writing featured religious symbology which did not belong to the Jewish faith his mum practiced. Harry said nothing about the event, thanked the Doyle's, and then left.

Due to Harry and Bess having dabbled in spiritualism themselves while pretending to be mediums in the 1890s, Harry strongly suspected Lady Doyle of faking the contact with his mum. Having been on the recieving end of the charade, Harry decided to expose the spiritualism movement for what it was and so did lectures on 'fraudulent spiritualistic phenomena'. He would also attend séances in disguise, and upon knowing the medium was fraudulent, he would flip over the table and shout something along the lines of 'I am Houdini, and you are a fraud'. Regarding mediums charging for their services, and people saying that Houdini didn't take their Christian faith into account, he responded by saying; 'Jesus was a Jew, and he did not charge $2 a visit'.

Houdini felt compelled to reveal mediums as being frauds who were actually highly skilled performers, and so during 1924 he exposed one of the most well known and respected mediums of the time. This medium was called Mina Crandon, but went by the name of 'Margery'. Margery was the wife of a prominent Boston surgeon, and Houdini's first sitting with her occured in the July of 1924. Being part of a committee organised by the 'Scientific America' magazine, Harry helped to expose Margery following a series of séances. He even published a forty page illustrated pamphlet titled 'Houdini Exposes The Tricks Used By The Boston Medium 'Margery' ' at his own expense. Houdini's crusade against the mediums is a big reason why he fell out with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as Arthur was a leading advocate of spiritualism. Houdini did want to remain friends with the author, but their differing views on this topic led to them falling out.

Houdini's battles against the mediums, although leading to falling out with people, did not hinder his career in magic. During 1923, Houdini became the president of 'Martina & Co', America's oldest magic company. He also reached the height of success with his own one-man show on Broadway during the end of 1925. His show, called 'HOUDINI', was two and a half hours long and featured small-scale illusions, escapes, and a spiritualism expose; all things Houdini had become known for over the course of his career. The show was so successful that it went on the road. Houdini also published two more books; one in 1920, and another in 1924. The first was 'Miracle Mongers And Their Methods', and the second was 'A Magician Among The Spirits'. The second of these books documented Houdini's investigations into the occult.

During 1926, Houdini took his battle against the mediums up a gear when he testified before Congress in support of a bill to outlaw the practise of 'pretending to tell fortunes for reward or compensation.' Sums of money were also said to have been offered to any medium who could provide evidence of 'physical phenomena' that couldn't be rationally explained. Through my research it seems like two seperate sums were offered. One of these sums is $2,500 which was likely offered by 'Scientific American'. The other sum was $10,000 which may have been offered by Houdini while he was alive, and was offered by Bess Houdini after her husband died. No one ever collected the money, but one medium which will be discussed later did get close. It's also possible that both numbers are the same, but that the $10,000 could be the equivalent to what $2,500 was back then due to inflation.

On the 11th of October 1926, Houdini was stuck on the leg by a faulty piece of equipment while her performed the Water Torture Cell escape. He hobbled for the rest of the show, and it was later found that he had fractured his left ankle. He then travelled, against his doctors advice, to Montreal, Canada, to give a lecture at the McGill University. Following the lecture, he invited the students to visit him in his dressing room at the Princess Theatre. During this visit, Houdini was said to be sitting in a chair when one of the students, J. Gordon Whitehead, asked if it was true that Houdini could withstand punches to the abdominal muscles. Houdini said he could, and gave permission for the student to try it as proof. It's said the student then punched Houdini a number of times in the stomach before Houdini could properly rise from the chair and prepare himself. These punches are said to have occured on the 22nd of October, and there are two named wotnesses: Sam Smilovitz, and Jacques Price.

Sam Smilovitz has said that when Houdini said yes to the punches, Whitehead abruptly delivered 'four or five terribly forcible, deliberate, well-directed blows' to the stomach. Houdini was left in pain, but tried his best to brush off the incident. Houdini, despite complaining of stomach pains for the rest of the day, performed the following day. He then travelled to Detroit and made his final appearance there on the 24th of October 1926. This final show was at the Garrick Theatre, and he struggled through the routine; collapsing immediately after the final curtain. By this time, Houdini had developed severe abdominal pain, cold sweats, fatigue, and his temperature rose to be 104 degrees.

Houdini was taken to the hospital, and it was found that he had an aggravated case of appendicitis. Houdini's appendix was removed on the 25th of October 1926, but the delay in medical attention had allowed for an infection to set in. Harry very much so knew his time was up, and so swore to his wife that he would try to contact her after his death. He and Bess created a secret code which only they knew so that Bess would know if a medium was faking contact with her husband, or if it was really him. This code is said to have translated to spell out 'Rosabelle, believe'. When it reached the 31st of October 1926, Harry Houdini said his final words 'I'm tired of fighting'; and then died at 1:26pm, at the age of fifty-two, within a hospital in Detroit. A public funeral was held in New York on the 4th of November, and Houdini was buried in Machpelah Cemetery.

Houdini's official cause of death was peritonitis which had been caused by a ruptured appendix. There has been speculation as to foul play being involved with Houdini's death. No autopsy was ever done on Houdini's body, and it's been thought that he may have been poisoned by spiritualists who he had angered by Houdini's actions. He died less than six months after giving testimony against spiritualists in Congress, and apparently Bess was in hospital at the same time with stomach issues. It's also unknown if the unexpected punches caused Houdini to become ill, and it's speculated that he could have been ill prior to the punches, but unaware of it.

Following Houdini's death, his equipment was given to his brother Theo. While travelling Europe, Houdini had brought Theo with him and helped to establish a career in magic for his brother, who went by the stage name 'Hardeen'. Hardeen would use Houdini's tricks, and even though they were both known to be brothers, they kept their friendship a secret; displaying a public rivalry in order to boost their publicity. Hardeen was credited for pioneering the straightjacket escape which became a staple of Houdini's routine. This history is why Hardeen inherited the equipment, and he continued to use it in performances into the 1940s.

Lots of Houdini's belongings were eventually sold by Hardeen to the magician and collector Sidney H. Radner, and lots of the collection could be seen at the Houdini museum in Appleton, Wisconsin. Radner auctioned off the belongings in 2004 and so most of Houdini's items, including the Water Torture Cell, became owned by the magician David Copperfield.

Houdini's extensive library was offered to the American Society For Psychical Research on the condition that the research officer and editor of ASPR Journal, J. Malcolm Bird, resigned. He didn't resign, and so the books all went to the Library of Congress. Bess did try to find Houdini's spirit, but the search seemed mostly unsuccessful. During 1928, a medium called Arthur Ford seemed to break the code and accurately pass on the secret message from Houdini to Bess. He did this across two meetings. During the first meeting wit Bess, Arthur claimed to contact Houdini's mum and gave the word 'forgive'. Bess responded by saying it was the only message any medium had given her which 'had any appearance of truth' in it. Ford later visited Bess and gave a whole message from Houdini which read as 'Rosabelle, answer, tell, pray, answer, look, tell, answer, answer, tell'.

This code spelt out 'Rosabelle, believe'. Each word represents a different letter, for example 'tell' represents the letter 'E', 'answer, answer' represents 'V', and 'pray, answer' represents 'L'. The ten words are said to have bee chosen at random from a letter which had been written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. After recieving the secret message, Bess was sure of Arthur Ford's validity, but she was warned by friends and family that he may have somehow been a fraud too. The speculation of this was because the code was within a book about Houdini which had been published within 1927. As a result, Bess retracted the offer of giving money for proof of valid mediumship being proven.

Bess continued the search for Houdini's spirit, and so did many others following the 1930s. The final attempt by Bess to contact Houdini occured in 1936 on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel. Nothing happened to show contact with Houdini; but when the séance ended, it is said that a storm occured directly over the hotel and nowhere else. It's said that when Bess was questioned in 1943 about giving up the search, her response was that 'ten years is long enough to wait for any man'. Others have continued the search though, and an 'Official Houdini Séance' is held in a different city each year. Fans of Houdnini's try to conduct these séances on Halloween, the night of Houdini's death.

Houdini Hauntings

It's speculated that there are a number of locations which Harry Houdini's spirit may haunt. One thought is that he may haunt an old stone staircase at a ruined estate on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Hollywood. The 'Houdini Estate' was once a mansion before it burned down in 1959. The exact address was either 2350 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, or 2400 Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Visitors here have been said to see Houdini's ghost after the mansion burned down, and they've been said to see orbs moving through the trees on the hill behind the mansions foundations. Houdini lived in this location during 1919 while making two films for 'Lasky-Famous Players'. He was known to swim in he pool here and apparently he said that Hollywood was his favourite place, and that the nine months he stayed there were the happiest time in his life.

The next place it's thought Houdini may haunt is Niagra Falls, Canada. In 1968, 'The Houdini Magical Hall of Fame' opened here. Houdini had instructed Hardeen to burn his belongings instead of passing them on again because he didn't want others to discover his secrets. Hardeen instead kept Houdini's belongings in storage for a while before selling them to the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame. During the first year of the museum, there there six fires, a robbery, and a freak accident where a museum director walked through a plate glass window. Séances were held here, but on each occasion they grew less effective than the previous year. During 1974, a medium called Ann Fisher said that it would be the final séance unless Harry made himself known, and a pot of flowers immediately fell. During 1995, a huge fire occured at the building; and this fire has been blamed on Houdini's ghost. Many of Houdini's artifacts were destroyed in this fire, leaving Houdini's final wishes mostly fulfilled. The building became a 3D Moving Theatre, and the staff of the theatre have said it's haunted due to hearing disembodied voices at night.

The third potential location for Houdini's ghost is the David Scott Building in Detroit. It stands on either the same site as the Garrick Theatre, which was destroyed in 1928. Other potential Detroit locations include the Wm. R. Hamilton's Funeral Home where Houdini was embalmed, and the Old Grace Central Hospital which is now the Harper Professional Building. People suspect he could haunt the old location of the hospital as it's the only place Houdini couldn't escape from in life.

The fourth theory suspects that Houdini could haunt McSorely's Old Ale House, which is in Greenwich Village, New York. Apparently Houdini liked to visit this location between tours and a pair of manacles rumoured to have belonged to Houdini are shackled to a bar rail here. It's also thought that Houdini possibly visits the location in the form of a ghostly black cat which sits by a window and then disappears. Houdini may also haunt his New York House at 278 w. 113th Street.

The final location Houdini may haunt is the Old Princess Theatre in Montreal, Canada. This is where he recieved the punches that may have led to his death, and it's located at 476 St. Catherine Street West. It's currently an abandoned building. The theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1915 and rebuilt two years later with a terracotta facade. It was within the second incarnation of the theatre that Houdini was punched. During 1963, the Princess Theatre was renamed to 'La Parisien' and given major renovations. During 1974, it closed again for more renovations and re-opened as a five-screen cinema. While it was a cinema, there were rumours that Houdini haunted the building. Staff alledgedly saw Houdini's ghost at least three times wearing a top hat and cape. In 2002 a fire destroyed one of the auditoriums and damaged six others, leading to the cinema closing on the 12th of April 2007. The current building is for rent, and there are still rumours that it is haunted by Houdini's ghost.

My Thoughts

Wow, this was so much more information than I thought it would be. I am publishing this article roughly four days late due to how much unexpected information there was to write about Harry Houdini. Regardless, I think it's an incredibly article to have written as it further goes to show how long a skeptical view in the paranormal has existed, and how it's been approached. What I find particularly interesting about Harry Houdini is that he didn't debunk from the perspective of not believing in the paranormal. Yes, he knew the trickery that could be done, but his act of exposing mediums began with him wanting to experience genuine spirit communication with his mum. It was being on the recieving end of what he viewed as blatant fraud which caused him to feel the need to expose the mediums for what they were doing.

I feel the story of Harry Houdini should not only provide as good documentation of debunkers through history, but also as a good message to both those who believe in the paranormal and those who fraudulently claim to be psychic. Not only does false spirit communication often lead to emotional manipulation for monetary gain, but it also creates the potential for people to wrongly stop believing in the paranormal because they may see someone who they once believed fake something. This does far more harm than good to the paranormal space, and I feel more people need to realise this. People will always have their beliefs, and some people will always believe the fakery; as was the case with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but that doesn't mean believers and skeptics can't work together to reveal the truth behind the paranormal.

Sadly Houdini and Doyle fell out over their differing beliefs, but this doesn't have to be the case. People should be willing to look through the dark to see what is there, regardless of if there is something or if there is nothing. The outcome is the same regardless as everyone will one day enter that dark space, regardless of the beliefs they hold upon entry. Personally, I believe there is something there, but that it won't be discovered unless everyone in the paranormal space works together to light up that dark space. The three pillars of the paranormal are research, investigation, and debunking/analysis. All these pillars lean on one another, and until they realise they're all standing in this way, nothing can be achieved.

I feel Harry Houdini is a fantastic inspiration for how to go about the paranormal. He attended many séances, and gladly took part. It was only when he saw the fakery that he revealed himself and outed the medium as fake. People need to stop with the fakery, and they need to start with the cooperation. Researchers, investigators, and skeptics all need to work together otherwise nothing will ever be proven.

Things I found particularly interesting about Houdini was that his ghost is said to haunt many places, and that there may have been proof of a legitimate psychic. I feel that the many places Houdini is said to haunt feeds in quite well with my 'Energy Well Theory'. I'll have to look more into the psychic, but up to now any psychics I've discussed in an article have seemed to be fake in some way. The timing of the book being published in relation to this psychic breaking the code is odd, and it's been suspected that Bess may have been part of a hoax with the psychic, but it's still interesting.

Thank you!

Thank you for reading to the end of this very long article! This will be it for paranormal figures for a little bit as I would like to research creatures and experiences for a few weeks. It was quite exhausting to create this article, and I found it oddly emotional; even tearing up when reading or writing about Houdini's death. I have no idea why it effected me so much as I've written about a few figures now and none of them have effected me like Harry Houdini has. It's very strange. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the article and found it interesting. If you know about any paranormal figures, please let me know. I will then likely write an article about them within the next couple of months.

A special thank you goes to Damain, Nicolette, Kerry, GD, The Cornish Ghost Whisperers, Beardo Gets Scared, Starlight Phoenix Paranormal, Paranormal Penny Pinchers, the Australian Paranormal Society, and Codegas Codex of Curiousity for your continued support of The True Paranormal. If you want to follow The True Paranormal you can do so on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tumblr. You can also subscribe to The True Paranormal on YouTube, or directly to this website through the bar on the left which will give you email notifications. That bar also lists all of the links which will take you to The True Paranormal's various social media platforms. If you want to contact me about your own experiences, or about anything at all paranormal, you can email thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com

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