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| Ken Trombly Collection |
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| The Herald Statesman, Nov 16, 1926. |
The Official Houdini Séance was held this year at the new House of Magic in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The medium was Scott Wells, and the seance was open to the public this year. Did Houdini return? Apparently not, but a good time was had by all. Below is a collection of photos courtesy of John Costello.
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| Waiting for Harry. |
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| The Inner Circle gathers. |
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| Tom Boldt, Bill Radner, and the Séance Cuffs. |
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| Medium Scott Wells getting into the spirit. |
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| Barry Spector's creations. |
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| "We are a very determined group." - Bill Radner |
Here's looking forward to 2026 and the 100th anniversary of Houdini's death. Maybe Harry is too!
Past Official Houdini Séances:
"You're really a wonderful audience, and I do want to thank you for this heartwarming welcome you've given me on my return to the stage. I do hope I pleased you, and that you'll be coming back to see me again and again. And each time you do come back, I promise you bigger and better thrills. Good night, and thank you very much."
Sorry for the super late notice, but if you don't have any Halloween plans tonight, here's a Houdini Seance for you! This is where I'll be. Hope to see you there.
Related:
The incredible untold story of how the world's greatest magician, Harry Houdini, waged war upon Spiritualism, uncovering unknown magic, political conspiracies, and surprising secrets along the way.You won’t live forever, Houdini. You’ve got to DIE. I put a curse on you . . .
During a séance in 1924, Houdini―the greatest entertainer in the world―was cursed by a vengeful spirit, who said his days were numbered. Houdini laughed. He believed talking to the dead was impossible. By 1926, Houdini was dead.
This is the untold story of the last performance of Harry Houdini, who―inspired by his hero Abraham Lincoln―devotes himself full-time to a personal crusade against Spiritualism, the practice of speaking to the dead. In a spellbinding journey across Jazz Age America, haunted by the aftermath of the Great War and a deadly pandemic, Houdini encounters modern-day haunted houses, warlocks, and monsters, and uncovers a shocking conspiracy that stretches all the way to the American presidency―and to the House of Houdini itself.
In a compelling dual-timeline narrative alternating between Houdini’s 1926 dramatic courtroom testimony before Congress and the last otherworldly cases he takes on that lead him there, Lincoln's Ghost is a powerful examination of deception, love, politics, the afterlife, and the very nature of magic itself.
Purchase Lincoln's Ghost: Houdini's War on Spiritualism and the Dark Conspiracy Against the American Presidency at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (UK release date Nov 17).
Related:
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JOHN COX / WILD ABOUT HARRY NAMED NEMCA’S 2025 FOUNDERS AWARD RECIPIENT!
The New England Magic Collectors Association (NEMCA) is an organization of over 150 magicians, magic historians and magic collectors from around the world. It started in Boston, Massachusetts in 1980 with the purpose of preserving and promoting the history, artifacts and publications of the performers of magic and its allied arts.
In 2017 NEMCA created its Founders Award in honor of two of its founders, Ray Goulet and Ed Hill. The Award is used to acknowledge the contributions of people and organizations that exemplify NEMCA’s prime objectives of preserving and promoting the history and artifacts associated with magic and the allied arts. Previous recipients have included the American Museum of Magic, the Conjuring Arts Research Center (CARC), MAGICANA, and The Magic Circle.
It is our privilege to announce that the Board of Directors for NEMCA has unanimously voted to honor Wild About Harry and its founder, John Cox, as the recipient of the 2025 Founders Award.
This celebrates Cox’s many years of effort collecting and sharing information regarding Harry Houdini. Cox’s Facebook page, website (wildabouthoudini.com) in conjunction with the Patreon site, offers pictures and information available nowhere else. The publication of his book, Escaping Obscurity - The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899, is a significant accomplishment and contribution to the community. It is these, and many other considerations, that supported the presentation of this honor.
Magicians around the world will celebrate Harry Houdini in 2026 recognizing one hundred years since the death of Houdini. NEMCA’s next Yankee Gathering will take place in early November and a portion of the conference will be dedicated to scholarship and celebration of Houdini’s memory.
John Cox, through his work on Wild About Harry, has done much to preserve the very rich history of magic and its practitioners, as well as to promote magic to newer generations. The Board of the New England Magic Collectors Association can think of no more deserving organization than Wild About Harry and its founder, John Cox, to receive its 2025 Founders Award. NEMCA congratulates him for all he has done, and continues to do, on behalf of magic history.
Offered is a legendary piece of illusionist history, a deck of playing cards personally owned by the great Harry Houdini, famed escapist and stunt performer. This relic has a long history in the magic community after originally leaving the possession of Houdini in 1926. Houdini passed away in 1926, leaving this deck of playing cards to his wife, Bess Houdini. Bess gifted the deck to a fellow magician Audley S. Dunham, who after Bess' death gifted the deck to legendary "Society Magician," J. Elder Blackledge. Blackledge was well regarded amongst magicians of the time, and worked from the 1920s through the 1950s as a "society magician," performing in the White House for Franklin D. Roosevelt on several occasions. Blackledge popularized in America the famous magic act, "The Chinese Linking Rings," and performed them on occasion in Leland, Michigan. After Blackledge's passing in 1961, the deck was gifted by his widow to fellow magician and Leland resident William B.F. Hall. Hall passed in 1968, and his widow Sally Hall would pass the deck to their final owner Lawrence L. Michaels.The deck of cards consists of 46 individual pieces. There are 45 playing cards in the offered deck, including a single Joker card. The deck appears to be missing a single Ace, Queen, 10, 9, 6, 5, 4, and 3. The reverse of the cards features a detailed blue/white back design, and traditional Jugendstil design on the obverse. The deck is also accompanied by a blank card, with "THIS DECK was one of the first used by Houdini (about 1890). Mrs. Houdini gave it to Audley S. Dunham who gave it to me December 14, 1943," along with a blue ink signature seemingly of J. Elder Blackledge. The playing cards exhibit heavy general wear, small tears, and associated creases, with soiling throughout the obverse and reverse of each card. Some cards display some minor peeling from the corners, separating the front and back of the card. Some of the cards detailing on the obverse have faded, partially removing the corner symbols on some cards. Several cards display corners that have been clipped or torn.
Join us for a mesmerizing one-man show that brings the legendary escape artist to life! The Great Houdini takes center stage to recount his rise to fame, his lifelong fascination with magic and the death-defying feats that made him a legend. Don't miss out on an unforgettable evening of magic and mystery!
October 29: Houdini’s Appleton. Explore the myths and reality of Houdini’s brief life in Appleton. Visit the location where his childhood home once stood, sites of fictional magical feats, and his father’s synagogue. Explore the city that Houdini called home.
Join Edward Saint and Bess Houdini to conduct the tenth and final séance to conjure the spirit of Harry Houdini. They have gathered their peers, friends, enemies, and you at the Knickerbocker Hotel on Halloween night, 1936. An immersive piece centered around the historical event, The Last Séance of Harry Houdini explores themes of love, fame, and grief and the ways each of these can change us. The night unfolds with drinks, mingling, ghosts, and the consequences of disturbing a man’s final rest. Staged within the iconic Flower Hill Center on West 6th, The Last Séance of Harry Houdini will offer a truly immersive experience for those seeking the perfect spectral adventure for an October night. Warning: this production features strobing lights that could affect photosensitive viewers.
“What Would Houdini Do?” – Racers travel to illusionist Harry Houdini’s birthplace, Budapest, Hungary, where a puzzling Fast Forward puts one team to the test, while a horse drawn carriage has teams racing against the clock, on THE AMAZING RACE, Wednesday, Oct. 15 (9:30-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs).
