Houdini the Action Figure!

A Houdini Action Figure has been released by Accoutrements -- "Outfitters in Popular Culture" -- who specialize in off-beat action figures of historical figures like Jesus, Einstein, etc.

The figure comes with hand and leg shakles, a chair with rope, and even a straight-jacket in which you can thrust old Harry up. The package notes our hero's "weapon of choice" -- MAGIC!

The Houdini Action Figure can be found in novelty stores and on Amazon.

Where was this when I was ten?

Houdini & Doyle Redux

A new book, The Man From Beyond by Gabriel Brownstein, is based on the real-life friendship between Houdini and the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the consequences of a séance, held in 1922, in which Lady Doyle claimed to communicate with Houdini's dead mother.

Woven into this historical frame story is the fictional saga of Molly Goodman, a young New York reporter who sets out to interview both men.