Houdini table setting at OC Fair competition

You just never know when and where Houdini will show up! Here's a video Joe Notaro alerted me to from OC Fair Tables Competition 2026. It's queued up to play at the Houdini table. Enjoy.

Thank you, Joe.

Related:

• LINK: The Great Harry Houdini Museum
• Houdini (and friend) in paper mache 
• Surprise! It's a Houdini cake

The Grimm Life Collective Houdini mystery art

Here's another video from our friends at The Grimm Life Collective. This time, Michael and Jessica visit the home of a private collector of movie memorabilia. If you have a keen eye, you can spot a Houdini image in the background of several shots.

Michael and Jessica do not discuss this Houdini piece. At first, I thought it was the painting from a pub in Avignon, but this one is a little different. So, what's the story with this Houdini mystery art?

You can watch the full video below.

Related:

• Houdini spotted in Avignon
• The Grimm Life Collective: Houdini in Pittsburgh
• Grimm Life Collective visits the Knickerbocker

Under since 1921

I know politics isn't very funny these days, but here's something from a gentler time. I've seen a lot of Houdini political cartoons, but this is the only one I've seen that ties into a specific Houdini stunt. In this case, it's his Shelton Pool Test. Just goes to show how much that feat captured the public imagination. 

Rockford Register Star, Aug 28,1926.

The artist is actually making a second Houdini reference without knowing it. Old John Barleycorn (a reference to prohibition) is reading the temperance play, Ten Nights in a Barroom. Houdini played the lead in this play during his struggling years on more than one occasion.

Related:

• The Shelton pool test at 90
• Houdini's nights in a bar room
• Political cartoonists still love Houdini

Bess appears in 'Vanished: Seven Women Magicians Who Simply Disappeared'

On this 83rd anniversary of the death of Bess Houdini, here's a unique book that brings her to life. Vanished: Seven Women Magicians Who Simply Disappeared by Anna Hays tells the story of seven female magicians, including our Bess.

Discover the amazing illustrated stories of seven women magicians who pulled off spectacular and death-defying illusions and acts, achieved global fame, and then simply...disappeared.

During the Golden Age of Magic from 1860 to 1930, seven women magicians in America defied Victorian conventions and created a unique place in history for themselves and future performers to come. There was Anna, the mindreader; Adelaide, who could float in midair; Talma, who could magically shower the stage with gold coins...and many more!

During a time when women were typically confined to the home, these trailblazers crossed oceans on steamships and traveled the globe bringing their imaginative brand of magic to audiences around the world. They followed their hearts and pursued their dreams of performing magic in the spotlight when women had neither a vote nor a voice in America.

They made history. Yet once their career ended, so did their legacy.

For decades their stories were hidden, or overshadowed by male counterparts, but now they've come to life in this vibrant and captivating book.

You can buy Vanished: Seven Women Magicians Who Simply Disappeared at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Thanks to our magical friend Janet Davis for the alert.

Want more? You can listen to Marie Hinson's wild and very personal recollection of her sister's death as a member of my Patreon by clicking below.

Related:

• Beatrice Houdini
• Happy 150th birthday Bess
• Bess makes her final journey

Alex Robinson conjures "The Mama Message"

I'm wild for the mock-up comic book cover created and posted to Bluesky by artist Alex Robinson.

#OnThisDay in 1922, #SirArthurConanDoyle hosted a #seance in an attempt to convince skeptic #HarryHoudini. It didn’t go so well. #History #comics #historyComics

[image or embed]

— Alex Robinson (@alexrobinson.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 8:57 AM

To be clear, this isn't a real comic book, just an imaginary what-if. However, there was a 1979 issue of Ripley's Believe It or Not! (#89) that is similar to this. You can see that and read the real story of "The Mama Message" via the related links below.

Related:

• Houdini & Doyle - Believe It or Not!
• The Mama message
• The Mama message has returned!

Houdini art fanzine from 1980

Here's an eBay oddity that caught my attention. This is a 1980 fanzine produced in Bristol, England, called HOUDINI. It's not a magazine about Houdini himself, but a fanzine devoted to music and theater art. However, the man himself is featured on the cover of issue #1, and there appears to be an article about "The Self-Liberator" by Jim Newman. Was there ever an issue #2, I wonder?

You can view the auction HERE.

The real Houdini was no stranger to Bristol, playing the city in 1904 (2x), 1909, 1913, 1914, and 1920.

District Free Press, March 13, 1909. 

Related:

• This post by Tom Interval is Dynamite
• Genii & Houdini: The lost decade
• Houdini Periodical Bibliography Revised 3rd Edition

Doyle & Houdini comic from Spain

Doyle & Houdini is a new comic from Spain by Lluís Recasens (L'Avi), drawings by Manel Cruz, and text by Josep Lluís Martín Berbois. It runs 68 pages and is published by Amaniaco ediciones. It's the second in a series about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

You can purchase Doyle & Houdini at the Amaniaco website, where you can also see sample artwork.

Related:

• The true story of Houdini & Doyle
• Houdini & Doyle - Episode Guide
• Houdini & Doyle S.A.M. banquet footage appears like magic

Houdini and the windmill

Ever hear the one about Houdini and the Dutch windmill? The story first appeared (as far as I can find) in an article by Walter B. Gibson called "Houdini's Last Interview Revealed His Narrow Escapes." This ran in several newspapers in December 1926. Below is an excerpt from the Wichita Falls Times.

Wichita Falls Times, Dec. 5, 1926

This windmill story appears in Harold Kellock's Houdini: His Life Story and Milbourne Christopher's Houdini: The Untold Story. I suspect Christopher got it from Kellock, and Kellock got it from Gibson. Try as I might, I've never been able to find any evidence or independent source for this story, and most current biographies omit it.

So is the windmill story fiction, or just another example of the Germany problem (which encompasses the Netherlands)? If any of you research bloodhounds want something to track down, this would be a good one! It would have happened in May or June 1902 when Houdini was with the Circus Corty-Althoff in Holland.

It's worth noting that this Gibson article also contains what appear to be the first appearances of the stories about Houdini being tied to railroad tracks in Dresden, and being tied to the back of a horse in Nova Scotia in 1896. Those are also tales of outdoor stunts gone wrong that I've never been able to confirm.

Want more? You can read the full "Houdini's Last Interview" by Walter B. Gibson as a Scholar member of my Patreon. Fact or fiction, it's good stuff!

Top image A.I. generated.

UPDATE: For those who don't like my A.I. image, here's an illustration from the March 1928 Tales of Magic and Mystery. Thanks to Joe Notaro for this one.

Related:

• The Germany problem
• Houdini in a tight(s) spot
• Walter Gibson interviewed in 1973

Spectral Motion Houdini mini bust

Here's one that's worth jumping on. Our friend Mike Elizalde at Spectral Motion has produced a 3D printed version of his famous bronze Houdini bust in a smaller size at a smaller price. It may not be bronze, but it sure looks good to me!

Own a piece of magic history with this Harry Houdini mini bust, expertly 3D printed in tough resin and hand-painted in a stunning bronze finish. This highly detailed collectible is crafted from a precise 3D scan of the Houdini bust on display at the world-famous Hollywood Magic Castle, making it a truly authentic tribute to the legendary escape artist.

You can purchase Spectral Motion's Houdini mini bust at their Etsy store.

Thanks to Dan Bowen for the heads-up.

Related:

• Houdini bronze by Spectral Motion
• The Magic Castle makes some Houdini additions
• REPORT: Inside the L.A. Conference on Magic History

Now you can read "The Amazing Exploits of Houdini"

This is exciting. Joe Notaro and Arthur Moses have teamed up to bring the elusive Kinema Comic series The Amazing Exploits of Houdini to print in a collected edition for the very first time. This first book contains the stories from 1920 with the original illustrations. Details below.

The British Boys weekly The Kinema Comic ran a serial “The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI” (“Written by Houdini Himself” – or so it says) from April 24, 1920 to November 27,1926. In these yarns, which no one should miss, the Master of Mystery chronicles his most amazing exploits. Surviving copies are almost impossible to come by these days.

Joe M. Notaro and Arthur Moses have been tracking down these rare issues and are making them available to you in a book series by year. In this offering, they have compiled the 1920 (Apr – Dec) weekly serials (36 issues) of “The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI” into a single book with original illustrations.

You can purchase Kinema Comic 1920 (Apr-Dec) The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in hardcover or paperback.

Related:

• "The Amazing Exploits of Houdini"
• Joe Notaro publishes 'Houdini's Schooldays'
• Houdini Periodical Bibliography Revised 3rd Edition

The Man From Beyond down under

Houdini's The Man From Beyond was released in Australia in January 1923. To exhibit the film, Houdini struck a deal with Australasian Films. Below is a selection of newspaper ads from that release that feature some original artwork. 

Newcastle Herald and Miners Advocate, Feb. 24, 1923

The Sun News Pictorial, Mar. 9, 1923.

The Mail, Jan. 27, 1923

Amusingly, at least one theater got the name wrong, as you can see below.

The Propeller, March 2, 1923.

When the film played in New South Wales later in the year, it appeared under the banner of Master Pictures. I'm unsure if Master Pictures was the same as Australasian Films or a new distributor altogether. This ad uses the Master Pictures logo as its key art.

Maryborough Chronicle, July 25, 1923.

Hope you enjoyed this taste of The Man From Beyond down under.

Related:

• A Grim Game super rarity drops from the clouds
• The Man From Beyond arrived 100 years ago today
• The Man From Beyond haunts Hollywood in 1971

The Art of Escape by Trier Ward

The Art of Escape by Trier Ward is a book of poetry exploring themes of escape. It includes illustrations by Taryann Di'Nnovati of various escape artists in action, including Houdini. Below is a description.

The art of escape is all about survival...with a flourish of style.

Trier Ward is an artist working in both style and substance. She is a survivor and a first hand witness. She's always had a key or two purloined and hidden away, and she reveals them in this collection. Join the poet as she opens her heart and speaks through the wind, down dead-end roads and through bedroom windows.

This collection from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Indie press Hercules Publishing isn't only a testament of one woman's perennial state of escape and renewal, it also shares the songs of the sirens out there, calling to each of us, through the canyons and coastlines of life, even when the calls are coming from inside our own hearts. Maybe then, especially.

Ohio artist Taryann Di'Nnovati's illustrations pay homage to the world and wonder of actual, literal, escape artists through the years and provide a powerful compliment and connection to Ward's masterful confessional poetics.

Trier Ward's experiences will resonate with any reader, with any survivor, with any escape artist.

You can purchase The Art of Escape by Trier Ward at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Thanks to our friend Dayle Krall, "The Houdini Girl," who also appears in the book.

Related:

• Houdini book of poetry from 1933
• Houdini as poetry in Anatomy of Keys
• Sleeping With Houdini

A.I. finally gets Houdini right and... Wow!

A.I. images of Houdini have been generally awful. However, an article today on the website 450.fm has A.I. images that finally get Houdini right. VERY right. I mean, wow! I also like that the website credits these as "AI images," which I think is the correct and ethical thing to do.

The top image shows Houdini in Masonic robes. However, this is Houdini circa 1917, and Houdini didn't become a Mason until 1923 when he looked somewhat different. But that's nitpicking. I'm pretty impressed with this, and I see now how A.I. opens the door to seeing images of Houdini that would otherwise not be possible. Houdini in the Hodgson restraints. Houdini tied to a canon. Houdini in the Sangow. Houdini smashing up the Houdina Co. Of course, a talented artist could do the same thing.

As far as A.I. generated Houdini facts go... Yeah, still terrible.

Related:

• Houdini A.I. is inaccurate, artless, and everywhere
• When AI generates your Houdini facts
• Guest Blog: Author-Lecturer-Mystifier-Mason

Who needs a drink?

Our friend Richard Hatch sent over this photo of a bottle of "Freakshow" Cabernet Sauvignon from the Michael David Winery in Lodi, California. Can you spot the Houdini reference?

Click here if you need a clue.

Thank you, Richard.

Related:

• Escape your troubles with a cold Houdini
• The Houdini-blue-tini
• The Handcuff King's blog: Freaks of Octoberfest

Gary Larson on his Houdini Far Side

Here's a classic from The Far Side with a Houdini twist. Pretty funny. Last week, Screen Rant published an interview with artist Gary Larson, who talked about this specific comic. Says Larson, "I remember all too well my long day in hell with this cartoon."

From Screen Rant:

Despite the comic successfully conveying its joke, Larson spent hours trying to get Houdini's 'corpse' right. Larson had to walk a fine line for what was acceptable to publish in newspapers all over the country, but also thought that a corny Halloween skeleton wouldn't achieve the darkness needed to make the joke genuinely funny. 

The Far Side creator recalls: Now, if you will, please pretend that you are the Cartoon Coroner and take a closer look at the "deceased." What we have here is a decomposed body, with the main focus on the head. If it's too gruesome, it doesn't work. If it's too corny, it doesn't work. The expression on that face has to simultaneously capture silliness and scariness, horror and hilarity, sadness and stupidity. For me, this meant draw, erase, draw, erase, draw, erase ... for hours. I couldn't get it, although I think in the end I got sort of close. ... If it hadn't been for my deadline, I might be sitting there to this very day, doomed to draw Houdini's skull for the rest of my life until I, too, am discovered one day looking much like this very drawing, only perhaps funnier.

You can read the full interview at Screen Rant. Below are some (less funny) Houdini corpse-related posts.

Related:

• What remains of Harry Houdini?
• Houdini death photo keeps us guessing
• "Death expert" Bill Bass to examine Houdini's corpse

Holmes & Houdini: The Curse of Moriarty

The dynamic duo of Holmes & Houdini are back in Holmes & Houdini: The Curse of Moriarty by David Wohl. This is the complete story in a single 48-page graphic novel.

Spencer Holmes and Erica Houdini return for another supernatural case of mayhem. But this time their investigation leads them to Victorian England, where the world’s most famous detective (and Spencer’s ancestor), Sherlock Holmes, was ensnared in a deadly game of his own, against his most malevolent nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. What secrets lie in this dark tale, and what could Moriarty be dabbling in that brings in the famed vampire hunter—Liesel Van Helsing??

Don't miss this centuries-spanning mystery that will change everything we thought we knew about the great detective!

You can purchase Holmes & Houdini: The Curse of Moriarty for the Kindle on Amazon.com. Printed copies can be purchased directly from Zenescope.

Related:

• Meet Holmes & Houdini
• Holmes & Houdini issue 3
• Arthur Moses reprints the first Houdini & Holmes adventure

Houdini hangs at Armoury D.E. in Dallas

This Houdini artwork by Clay Stinnett hangs in the Armoury D.E. in Dallas, Texas. Located in Dallas' historic Deep Ellum District, Armoury D.E. specializes in "eclectic Hungarian comfort foods," including Houdini's favorite Chicken Paprikás, and house cocktails with names like "Satan, Sex & No Regrets" and "Bela Lugosi's Dead." Sounds like my kind of place!

Houdini visited Dallas three times. He played the Majestic Theater(s) in 1916 and 1923. On both occasions, he did a suspended straitjacket escape in the city. In 1924, he returned with his spiritualism lecture, which he gave at the Dallas State Fair.

Dallas Morning News, Jan. 18, 1916.

By the way, I have yet to discover an account of Houdini's second suspended straitjacket escape in Dallas. It's said to have occurred during the week of Oct. 29, 1923, from the 4th floor of the Dallas City Hall on Commerce Street. If someone wants to be a Dallas hero and discover this for me, I'll buy you a cocktail at Armoury D.E.!

Thanks to Ash Adams for the tip and photo.

Related:

• Houdini tours Texas
• Houdini spotted in Avignon
• Merlin McFly's stained glass Houdini window

The Margery Box in New York

Below is an illustration that appeared in Reginald Marsh's "The Spotlight" column in the New York Daily News on February 8, 1925. Marsh's column consisted of various vaudevillians sketched from the stage and reviewed with a percentage. His sketch of Houdini shows him inside the famed Margery Box.

Houdini was midway through a six-week run at the New York Hippodrome where he offered a different act each week. For this third week, he exposed the tricks of fraudulent mediums, specifically Margery. Marsh's illustration confirms Houdini used the Margery Box this week. It's also the first confirmed appearance of the box outside of Boston.

New York Evening Journal, Jan. 23, 1925

One wonders how effective this would have been on the gigantic Hippodrome stage. What more could Houdini do than demonstrate how Margery could potentially slip a ruler through the neck hole to ring the bell box? Not quite as dramatic as a vanishing elephant! Maybe that's why Marsh only gave him an 85%.

While this is the first appearance of the Margery Box in New York, it's also the last confirmed appearance of the box anywhere. Where did the Margery Box go after this? That's the question.

Below is a look at the complete Hippodrome bill for this week.

New York American, Jan. 25, 1925.

Want more? You can view Reginald Marsh's full "Spotlight" column as a member of my Patreon below and see which Hippodrome performer received the coveted 100%. Thanks to my patrons for supporting content like this.

Related:

• Is the Margery Box still out there?
• 100 years ago on Lime Street
• Revenge of the beach boy

The Water Torture Cell captured in 1913

Here's an interesting illustration from the Sporting Life, February 28, 1913, when Houdini was performing the Water Torture Cell at the Finsbury Park Empire in London.

 The artist is very likely drawing from what he saw firsthand. Check out the unusual configuration of the "band of steel" (as Houdini called them) on the cell. It appears that care is being taken to allow the audience to see Houdini's head when inside the cell; hence, the lower section is left open. First time I've seen this.

I also can't help but see a mustache on Houdini in this illustration, but I'm sure that's just a shadow. I've always thought it surprising that Houdini never even experimented with a mustache and remained clean-shaven his entire life. Mustaches were very fashionable at this time, as the historical footage below can attest.

Want more? You can see Houdini's original illustration and notes for the Water Torture cell from the collection of David Haversat as a member of my Patreon below.

Related:

• Was Houdini's caged Water Torture Cell a reality?
• Revenge of the beach boy
• Whoa! Was there a Water Torture Cell movie?

Houdini miniature figure by Marco Navas

Spanish artist Marco Navas, The Miniaturist, has created this handmade figure of Houdini in high-quality resin. It measures 7.5 centimeters (1/24 scale) and is a limited edition. It can be purchased at Marco Navas Studio.

Thanks to Doug King for the alert.

Related:

• Houdini the action figure!
• A Houdini doll for your nightmares
• Houdini (and friend) in paper mache