For Harry Houdini, Séances and Spiritualism Were Just an Illusion

Photo caption: Houdini exposed fake Spiritualist practices by having himself photographed with the “ghost” of Abraham Lincoln. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Article by Bryan Greene. Smithsonian – October 28, 2021.

Harry Houdini was just 52 when he died on Halloween in 1926, succumbing to peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix. Famous in life for his improbable escapes from physical constraints, the illusionist promised his wife, Bess, that—if at all possible—he would also slip the shackles of death to send her a coded message from the beyond. Over the next ten years, Bess hosted annual séances to see if the so-called Handcuff King would come through with an encore performance from the spirit world. But on Halloween 1936, she finally gave up […]

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