To many people, Harry Houdini was a legendary escape artist. In photos, Houdini is often depicted in chains, padlocks, and straitjackets, submerged in water tanks or hanging upside down as he fights to escape the bindings on his feet. But there was more to Houdini than just these fantastic feats of escape.
Houdini himself was actually quite skeptical on the subject of magic, and worked to debunk many psychics, mediums, and other frauds. In fact, Houdini was known to attend seances in disguise, accompanied by a policeman and a reporter, in order to expose the medium as a fraud. Houdini’s findings were compiled into a book entitled A Magician Among the Spirits.
Before he died, Houdini and his wife Bess decided to put even death to the test. They agreed that if it was possible for Houdini’s spirit to return to earth after his death, he would contact her with a secret word to prove that the connection was real. Bess held yearly seances on the anniversary of his death, October 31, for ten years before giving up. It is not known if Houdini was ever able to reach out and make that connection with his wife.
To this day, magicians, mediums, psychics, and entertainers across the globe still hold seances on Halloween night in an attempt to reach out and connect with the spirit of Harry Houdini. One such seance will be held tonight at SoDo Theatre, 114 S. Neil Street in Champaign, IL. The assembled audience will connect with our host and attempt to make a connection to something greater than themselves.
And who knows? Perhaps Houdini himself may grace the assembly with his presence.
Learn more, or purchase your ticket:
http://houdiniseance.eventbrite.com
