LINK: 120 years ago, Harry Houdini and a pair of handcuffs created controversy in Salem

A nice article here by Oliva Deng about Houdini's 1906 visit to Salem and the handcuffs that caused a bit of controversy at the Peabody Academy of Science (today the PEM). Click the headline or the handcuffs below to read.

You can view the Houdini handcuffs at the PEM's special exhibition, Houdini on Salem, on show now. The museum will also host a special "Houdini Halloween Magic Show and Curator Talk" on Oct. 31, 2026.

Related:

• Houdini exhibit at the PEM in Salem
• Salem will rename street "Houdini Way"
• LINK: The complete account of Houdini's visit to Salem, Massachusetts

Houdini began his final tour 100 years ago today

It was 100 years ago today, on September 2, 1926, that Houdini began his 1926-27 "Coast to Coast" tour of 3 Shows in One at the Lyceum Theater in Paterson, New Jersey. The show featured some new illusions during the Magic section. In fact, advertisements emphasized the magic, stating: "As a MAGICIAN Houdini Starts where others leave off." 

Papers also noted that this was Houdini's first appearance in Paterson in 30 years. They were right. Houdini had last played Paterson with the "American Gaiety Girls" in December 1895. 

Here's a review of opening night from The Morning Call.

Houdini played the Lyceum for three days before moving on to Majestic Theater in Boston for a three-week run. The lasting legacy of this short run is the famous poster (above), which survives today in the Library of Congress.

The Lyceum was located at 123 Van Houten Street. A fire destroyed the theater on March 22, 1931. Below is the only image of the Lyceum I could find online.

Want more? I've uploaded a dozen advertisements and reviews of the Houdini Lyceum show to my Patreon.

Related:

• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In One
• Houdini's "3 Shows in One" turns 100
• American Museum of Magic shares collection online

The spirit in Room 467

In 1937, a mystery guest at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles claimed she had a coded message from Houdini, and even caught the attention of Bess Houdini. I've shared the details for this little curiosity with my Scholar patrons. If you're a member, click the image below to go. If not, feel free to join us!

Speaking of Patreon, as a perk for being a member, every month I give a special reward. I've just shared this month's reward: the Second Quarter 1994 issue of Mystifier, the newsletter from the Houdini Historical Center. Some real gems in these issues, and long-time patrons will eventually collect them all. 

In the coming months, Patrons will also be able to pre-order Handcuff King: The Conquests of Harry Houdini, 1900–1909 before anyone else. With the book now with the printer, that day isn't too far off. Just saying. 

Happy September, everyone. We're not too far away from you-know-what!

Related:

• Spooks ahead
• William Hilliar and the lost Houdini message code
• Houdini's 1923 Ambassador Hotel pool escape revealed

LINK: Harry Houdini: Keeping the Legend Alive

Here's a nice article about our friends Jeff and Debbie Blood, Houdini's grandnephew and grandniece. Jeff and Debbie are working to get a historic marker erected at the site of Houdini's 1907 leap from the Weighlock Bridge into the Erie Canal in Rochester. That sounds like a great idea to me!

Click here or on the headline above to read at 55 Plus.

Related:

• Houdini's Rochester bridge jump
• News 10 on Houdini's Rochester bridge jump
• Houdini LIVED in Appleton last week

Experience "Houdini's Library" starting this weekend

Okay, this is a big one. Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, has been working tirelessly on an exhibit and book devoted to Houdini and his collections. Tomorrow, "Houdini's Library" opens to the public. The exhibit is a major contribution to Houdini's legacy, featuring a jaw-dropping amount of previously unexplored Houdini material. Below are details.

Houdini’s Library

August 29, 2026 – January 24, 2027 

Discover the hidden treasures of Houdini’s Library, an exhibition that delves into the life and extraordinary collection of Harry Houdini, one of history’s most famous illusionists. On stage, Houdini crafted his performances with a deep sense of history and the magicians who came before him. Off stage, he spent years building a collection of books, manuscripts, and ephemera documenting the long global history of magic and theatre. From a first edition of Reginald Scot’s 1584 classic The Discoverie of Witchcraft to the handwritten travel diary of legendary actor David Garrick, delve into how Houdini’s collection reflected his quest to preserve history—a tradition continued by the Ransom Center since it acquired his collection in 1958. Commemorating the centenary of Houdini’s death in 1926, Houdini’s Library invites visitors to explore the intersections of magic, history, and collecting.

This exhibition is organized by Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts.

A large, beautifully illustrated coffee-table book, researched and written by Eric, will be released on September 15. I received an early copy, and it's a stunner! You can pre-order it on Amazon. Signed copies are also available at the exhibition. Eric will also be giving a talk at the exhibition on September 17 (click for details).

Houdini was enormously proud of his collections, and I've no doubt this exhibition would have given him more happiness and pride than anything that has appeared in the last 100 years. It is also FREE. So get on over to the Harry Ranson Center and experience Houdini's Library.

Want more? Eric, a fellow patron, has shared a dozen behind-the-scenes images of the exhibit installation. Click below to get an early look at the treasures inside.

Related:

• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Cover art for 'Houdini's Library' by Eric Colleary
• Treasures of the Harry Ransom Center

Houdini spotted on campus

Houdini banners are going up at the University of Texas at Austin. What's this all about? If you know, you know. If you don't, check out my blog tomorrow for details.

"The public knows me as a magician. It does not realize that I am a student." –Harry Houdini

Houdini exhibit at the PEM in Salem

A new exhibit, "Harry Houdini in Salem," will be on view at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) from September 3 through November 2. Located in the Main Atrium, the installation tells the story of Houdini's 1906 appearance in Salem and his visit to PEM, including a poster advertising his performance and a pair of handcuffs that caught his attention in the museum. Below are details.

In April 1906, Houdini visited the Peabody Academy of Science, now PEM, before performing that evening at the Salem Theatre. Onstage, the master showman claimed museum curators had misdated a set of handcuffs and offered $1,000 to charity if anyone could prove otherwise.

Decades later, those same handcuffs resurfaced in another Houdini story. When the annual Official Houdini Séance was held in Salem in 1990, a PEM curator brought them along in hopes they might help summon Houdini’s spirit. No luck.

Now, "Harry Houdini in Salem," on view September 3–November 2, brings the handcuffs and other objects connected to Houdini into the spotlight for the centennial of his death on October 31, 1926.

PEM will mark the anniversary on Halloween with Houdini Halloween Magic Show and Curator Talk, featuring magician Anton Andresen recreating some of Houdini’s magic for a limited audience.

Visit the PEM website for more details.

Related:

• Salem will rename street "Houdini Way"
• Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums
• LINK: The complete account of Houdini's visit to Salem, Massachusetts

The Magic Detective discovers Escaping Obscurity

I'm very pleased to see a review of Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897–1899 by our friend Dean Carnegie on his excellent blog, The Magic Detective. Sounds like he liked it!

Dean points out something I never thought about. Some schools no longer require students to learn to read cursive, which means some younger people could not read this diary. All the more reason I'm glad we did this book now and translated the entire diary into script! As Dean says, it's "full of history and adds to many stories you might have read in other biographies on Houdini."

You can buy Escaping Obscurity from Mike Caveney's Magic Words, or you can get a signed copy from my own store, Wild About Harry Press. It's currently on sale, and I will also throw in a couple of signed promo cards for the next installment of the story, Handcuff King: The Conquests of Harry Houdini, 1900–1909.

Thank you, Dean!

Related:

• Signed copies of Escaping Obscurity back in stock
• ESCAPING OBSCURITY: Reviews & Reactions
• YOU CAN NOW OWN HOUDINI'S FIRST DIARY

Next stop: Kansas City

The Houdini Centennial celebrations continue next month with a major event in Kansas City, Missouri, that I'm excited to be part of.

On September 11 at 2:00 PM, the local chapters of the Society of American Magicians (SAM) and the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) will unveil a historic marker in the courtyard at 10th and Main Streets in Kansas City commemorating the site of Houdini’s first suspended straitjacket escape on September 8, 1915. I've seen photos of the marker, and it's a stunner!

The public ceremony will feature remarks from the local SAM and IBM presidents and a reading of the Kansas City Proclamation signed by Mayor Quinton Lucas, officially recognizing September 2026 as Harry Houdini Month. I will also be on hand to say a few words. The unveiling ceremony will conclude with a live straitjacket escape performed by magician Lance Rich.

But wait, there's more!

Two days before the unveiling, on September 9 at 6:00 PM, I will be giving a one-hour lecture on "Houdini's Kansas City Connections" at the Kansas City Central Library, located just up the street from the site of Houdini’s 1915 escape. Kansas City has a lot of terrific Houdini history, and I'm looking forward to sharing the full story. You can find more details at kclibrary.org. 

This project represents a longterm effort by the local SAM Bob Klamm Assembly 38 and IBM Heart of America Ring 129 to ensure Houdini’s Kansas City legacy is preserved. Funding for the historic marker has been provided through grants from the SAM Magic Endowment Fund and the IBM Endowment and Development Fund.

Hope to see you in Kansas City!

Top image generated with ChatGPT using artwork available at Bozz Prints.

Related:

• Kansas City's last Houdini theater
• Jessica Jane finds Houdini in Kansas City
• Evidence of Houdini's first suspended straitjacket escape 

Get the written works of Houdini at The Magician's Bookstore

To mark Houdini's centenary, Todd Karr at The Magician's Bookstore is offering a remarkable collection of Houdini's books, pamphlets, and (just in!) the full run of Houdini's Conjurers' Monthly Magazine in two volumes. A printed volume of Conjurers' was last released in a limited edition in 1991, and those are now rare and collectible. So this is great! Details below:

Just in time for Houdini's centennial on Halloween, you can now enjoy some of those scarce Houdini books you've always wanted to read, or acquire a snazzy matched complete set of hardbound editions of Houdini's works. Check out our new Houdini Department at The Magician's Bookstore.

We've reprinted just about everything Houdini wrote: over 20 vintage books, booklets, pitch books, and other rarities. We even reproduced his Congressional testimony and his brother Hardeen's souvenir book. The prices are as affordable as we could manage. We've also discounted some in bundles so you can save. Most of the books were newly scanned from my original first editions, and all the pages have been meticulously cleaned of dust specks and printed on high-quality satin-finish paper for the best reading experience.

We've done our best to make them look good, and we hope you enjoy them. They're pretty fascinating and are some of the core research materials of our art.

Thank you, Todd.

Related:

• Houdini the writer
• Revisit Houdini's Conjurers Monthly Magazine No. 1
• The Houdini Centennial Collection at The Miracle Factory

Zabrecky and Hume on Houdini and the Spirits

On Saturday, Joe Notaro and I had the pleasure of attending a sold-out illustrated lecture by Rob Zabrecky and Marcie Hume on "Houdini and the Spirits" at The Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles. The talk was preceded by a courtyard performance of Hasco Enjoyments, the "quietly surreal" project of John-Peter Hasson. 

Rob, who has lectured and performed at the PRS several times, kicked off the evening with an overview of Houdini's life and his involvement with spirit debunking. He then invited two members of the audience onstage and gave them a mock séance, with the audience able to observe all of Rob's trickery. It's exactly what Houdini did during his own spirit lectures, and the audience enjoyed it immensely.

Producer Marcie Hume, who made the documentary Magicians: Life in the Impossible (2016), then took the stage and talked about several notable female mediums, including Ana Eva Fay. She then went into detail on the mediumship of Mina Crandon (Margery) and her encounter with Houdini in 1924. It was a very interesting and well-researched talk.

Then followed a Q&A, in which Rob and Marcie generously introduced me and let me help answer a question about Rose Mackenburg. Joe and I then ended our night as we always do, standing on a busy LA street yapping about Houdini!

Thank you to Rob, Marcie, and the PRS for a memorable evening. Rob and Marice will be repeating their talk at the Magic Castle on October 5.

Related:

• Zabrecky on Houdini and the Spirits, August 15
• Guest blog: Houdini in Pittsburgh by Zabrecky
• Zabrecky conjures OUR MAGIC

The three unknowns

After two and a half years of hard work, Handcuff King: The Conquests of Harry Houdini, 1900–1909 will soon go to press. The book contains more information and photos from these 10 years of Houdini's life than has ever appeared in print. But I still have three pesky unanswered questions:

When did Houdini and his mother go to Budapest?

When did Bess's sister Stella die?

When did Hardeen marry?

I've dealt with each of these in the book as best I can, but I would sure love to put these moments in their proper places and in context. But the window for doing that is closing fast.

Thanks to everyone who has given these their best shots. If I ever do a paperback edition, maybe I'll have an exciting update!

Related:

• The search for Stella
• When did Hardeen marry Elsie Fozzard?
• When did Houdini and his mother go to Budapest?

Reading the wild first draft of Houdini (1953)

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting the Motion Picture Academy Library with Diego Domingo and reading several drafts of the Houdini (1953) screenplay, including Philip Yordan's first draft.

I feel like first drafts are when a screenwriter puts his heart into his work, and this first draft of Houdini, while still recognizable as the movie we have today, has some notable differences. Overall, is a very different and much more intense Houdini movie experience. It really got under my skin and is still haunting me today. 

This is the kind of thing I share on my Patreon these days, so if you're wild about Houdini (1953), you might enjoy the below.

Thank you, Diego.

Related:

• Deconstructing Houdini '53
• Philip Yordan, the man who wrote Houdini (1953)
• I've seen The Grim Game

The Late Séance at 278 is now open to everyone

Great news! The 9:30 pm séance at 278, which had been reserved for professional magicians only, is now open to everyone. Think of this as the LAST Houdini séance before the strike of midnight and the 100 years are over. But there are only nine seats available, so act fast!

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

How would you like to spend the 100th Anniversary of Houdini's death at a séance inside his actual house? For the first time in over 50 years, a series of séances will be held inside Houdini's private New York home (278) on Halloween. This is a legitimate attempt to contact Houdini using psychic medium Jodi-Lynn. It is a black-tie affair in the epicenter of Houdini's world. If Houdini was ever going to come back, this will be the time and place!

Visit houdini.nyc for more information and to purchase a ticket. Participation is very limited.

This once-in-a-century event is being organized by magician Reynold Alexander and the homeowners. All proceeds benefit cancer research at the Anandasabapathy Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine and the restoration and preservation of Houdini's House. 

I am honored to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. I hope to see you there!

Related:

• Join the 100th Anniversary Séance at Houdini's home
• New 278 owners committed to preserving Houdini history
• The haunting of Houdini's 278