'The Magician's Ghost' reading in Edinburgh

A rehearsal reading of a work in progress, The Magician's Ghost, will be held at The Banshee Labyrinth in Edinburgh this Monday, March 25. You can get more information and buy tickets HERE.

A hundred years ago this year, renowned magician Harry Houdini hired a struggling scribbler called HP Lovecraft to ghostwrite a tale based on a strange experience he had in Egypt.

At the time Lovecraft was himself going through a strange and terrifying event he would avoid speaking of for the rest of his life: marriage to an independent writer and business woman. 

What followed would change their lives and forever mark the world. 

The Magician's Ghost tells the story of a friendship spanning the natural, the fictional and the supernatural in a new play by the 2019 Bruntwood Award longlisted and 2021 Through The Mill Award shortlisted writer, Oliver Giggins, specially performed to mark the 150th anniversary of Houdini's birth. 

Please be aware this event is a Rehearsed Reading/ Work in Progress performance.

Related:

• New radio adaptation of 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'
• Weird Tales Presents: The Strange World of Harry Houdini
• Houdini and Lovecraft in action

Imprisoned with the Pharaohs online reading, Feb. 1

A special dramatic reading of Houdini's "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" will be presented online by Matthew Wood on Wednesday, February 1 at 19:30 GMT.

Join Edwyrdian Tales for an evening of enthralling storytelling where Harry Houdini, the great escape-artist and magician, faces his most daring and terrifying feat of escapology deep beneath the sands of the Egyptian desert… 

In 1910 Houdini and his wife travel to Egypt in search of the picturesque and the mystically impressive. But what they find leads down a dark path of adventure, incarceration and ancient mystery. Their curious guide Abdul Reis al Drogman draws Houdini to a duel for honour atop the Great Pyramid of Giza itself. The escapologist soon finds himself ensnared in a trap and cast down a near-bottomless hole under the Great Sphinx – an entity older and stranger than even the dark Gods of the Pharaohs. Houdini is trapped in a desperately real race against time to free himself from the sandy prison that might become his own tomb…

More more information and to purchase ticket head to Eventbrite.

Thanks to Chris Schantz for the tip.

Related:

• New radio adaptation of 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'
• Audible releases 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'
• Under the Pyramids mini book

LINK: Deeper Cut: Houdini & Weird Tales

The blog Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein by Bobby Derie has an extremely well-researched deep dive into Houdini's involvement with Weird Tales magazine. I learned a lot from this. It includes extensive quotes from H.P. Lovecraft's letters in which he talks about working with Houdini, like this: 

I’m hearin’ damn near every day from Henneberger–the owner of the outfit [Weird Tales]–& just had a special delivery order to collaborate on an Egyptian horror with this bimbo Houdini.

-H. P. Lovecraft to James F. Morton, 19 Feb 1924, Letters to James F. Morton 67

Click the headline to take the full journey.

Thanks to Ash Adams for the tip.

Related:

• Weird Tales: Best of the Early Years 1923-25
• New radio adaptation of 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'
• C.M. Eddy, Jr. and The Cancer of Superstition manuscript

Weird Tales: Best of the Early Years 1923-25

A collection of Weird Tales magazine stories edited by Jonathan Maberry and Justin Criado is released today. Houdini's "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" is one of the 13 stories included. Below is the description.

First hitting newsstands in 1923, Weird Tales magazine quickly became a literary monster in discovering and publishing the best horror, sci-fi and fantasy writers of its day. 

The pulp magazine was one of the earliest publications, if not the first, to feature strange tales of occultism and alien invasions that simply didn't fit into any other magazine at that time. 

The stories struck a chord with those early audiences, and as a result, Weird Tales created asubgenre as "weird" could be attached itself to various genres. Marquee names like master magician Harry Houdini and cosmic horror creator H.P. Lovecraft graced the magazine's pages during those early years with several debut stories, alongside authors who were already giants in their own right-Otis Adelbert Kline, Seabury Quinn, and Greye La Spina. Many lesser known, but no less influential, writers like Frank Belknap Long Jr., Mary S. Brown, Lyllian Huntley Harris, Hasan Vokine, Arthur J. Burks, and H. Warner Munn turned out disturbing yarns that have stood the test of time only to be resurrected nearly a century later. 

From the macabre and morbid to unexplainable stories of the occult, this collection features those early authors across thirteen tales of terror from the impactful years of 1923 to 1925 that are best enjoyed at the witching hour. 

Unfortunately, Houdini's two other weird tales, "The Spirit Fakers of Hermannstadt" and "The Hoax of the Spirit Lover", didn't make the cut. Maybe they weren't weird enough?

You can purchase Weird Tales: Best of the Early Years 1923-25 in hardcover or paperback from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Related:

• Weird Tales Presents: The Strange World of Harry Houdini
• "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" by HorrorBabble
• Houdini the writer

Weird Tales Presents: The Strange World of Harry Houdini

LibriVox is offering audio recordings of all the Houdini Weird Tales stories as well as his "Ask Houdini" columns. Read by Ben Tucker, the recordings can be played or downloaded for free. There's even downloadable CD cover art.

In 1924, the odd and wonderful Weird Tales Magazine published a series of stories written (or ghost-written in at least one instance) by noted illusionist and skeptic Harry Houdini. In addition to these supposed exploits by the famous escape artist, the magazine hosted a series of "Ask Houdini" sections soliciting readers to ask questions of the great Houdini which he would respond to in turn in a future issue. These Ask Houdini segments are included here in addition to the Houdini stories to create a comprehensive collection of writings by and about Harry Houdini in Weird Tales! - Summary by Ben Tucker.

LibriVox recordings are Public Domain in the USA.

Related:

• LINK: Houdini Q&A in Weird Tales
• Weird Tales scares up $2,500 on ebay
• Listen to The Master Mystery

Harry Houdini VS Dracula (Spooky History)

Spooky History is back with another well-researched Houdini-themed episode. This time Ash Pryce takes a look at Houdini's fiction, namely his three short stories: Imprisoned With The Pharaohs, The Spirit Fakers of Hermannstadt, and The Hoax of the Spirit Lover. Weird tales indeed! Enjoy.

Related:

• Spooky History uncovers Houdini's Top Spy
• Harry Houdini Vampire Hunter
• Houdini the writer

"Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" by HorrorBabble

Here's Houdini's short story "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" read by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble Productions. The story, which first appeared in the May-June-July issue of Weird Tales magazine in 1924, was ghost written for Houdini by H.P. Lovecraft.

 

 

For a taste of some more Houdini short stories, visit the links below.

Related:

• Bahl Yahn the Strong Man. A Good Night Story by Harry Houdini
• Dan Cupid–Magician. A story by Harry Houdini
• New radio adaptation of 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'

Different Worlds #40

Here's an obscure one. The July/August 1985 issue of Different Worlds -- a magazine devoted to role playing games -- featured a nice Houdini cover by David Dixon evoking the H.P. Lovecraft story Imprisoned With The Pharaohs. However, the magazine itself features no Houdini content -- just an article about Lovecraft called, "Adventuring in the Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft - Part I: The Cthulhu Mythos."

And if you think this one is obscure enough to slip past the mighty magazine collector Arthur Moses...you'd be wrong. Different Words #40 appears on page 36 of his definitive Houdini Periodical Bibliography.

You can buy this and other issues of Different Worlds via diffworlds.com. There's also a copy currently on eBay (which is how I discovered this).

Related:

• Arthur Moses updates his Houdini Periodical Bibliography
• New radio adaptation of 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'
• Skeptical Inquirer looks at Houdini and Lovecraft

Piper Houdini is back

Glenn Herdling's second Piper Houdini adventure, Piper Houdini: Nightmare on Esopus Island, is out now as an eBook. A print edition will be available later this year. Here's the cover and plot summery:

After running away from Houdini and Bess, saving wild animals from a raging inferno, and a breathtaking showdown with a vampire named Flapper, Piper settles in with the performers of the Coney Island freak show only to discover that she may be the greatest freak of all. As the summer of 1926 heats up, Piper continues the quest for her dark legacy. Along the way, she will encounter a variety of real-life luminaries from the 1920s, including the erudite author H.P. Lovecraft and a Rudolph Valentino zombie! Piper will need to use all the valuable skills she learns from her new friends to confront the malicious individual who has been murdering sideshow performers.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to the tale begun in Piper Houdini: Apprentice of Coney Island, author Glenn Herdling takes readers from the rousing backdrop of the legendary Brooklyn amusement pier to a mysterious island up the Hudson River where a sinister rite takes place that could enslave the human race—unless Piper and her unusual friends can stop it.

PLUS: Piper Houdini: Nightmare on Esopus Island includes an adaptation of "Under the Pyramids," a short story by Houdini and Lovecraft that contains valuable clues to Piper's origin!

You can purchase Piper Houdini: Nightmare on Esopus Island for Kindle on Amazon.

Related:

• 'Piper Houdini' now available in print editions
• Meet Piper Houdini: Apprentice of Coney Island
• LINK: Glenn Herdling on William Weiss

New radio adaptation of 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'

Dark Adventure Radio Theatre is offering an all-new radio adaptation of Houdini's Imprisoned with the Pharaohs. The "true" story was ghostwritten for Houdini by H.P. Lovecraft and features the Escape King trapped in the heart of an Egyptian pyramid.

As war brews in Europe, world-famous magician Harry Houdini and his wife Bess stop in Cairo on a world tour in the summer of 1914. There they meet with Miskatonic professor of archaeology Nate Ward, who tells them the story of Nitocris, the dreaded ghoul queen of the 4th Dynasty. After a visit to the Sphinx and a dig site led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt, the Houdinis follow their mysterious Arab tour guide, Abdul Reis al Drogman, to the top of the Great Pyramid. Secret identities are revealed and after a desperate struggle Houdini must attempt the escape of a lifetime from under the pyramids!

In this production, Houdini is voiced by Sean Branney and Bess is voiced by Leslie Baldwin. The adaptation is by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman. Original music is by Troy Sterling Nies with "Bub-L-Pep Jingle" written by Andrew Leman and arranged and performed by Harald Lindell and Kathleen Demarest. Audio engineering is by Chris Horvath.

The CD comes in a jewel case and is packed with nice extras, including a letter on authentic Cairo Museum letterhead in which Nate Ward describes the sarcophagus and mummy of Nitocris; a Cairo postcard from Houdini to tycoon Charlie Tower; the playbill from Houdini's show at the American Cosmograph Theater in English, French, Greek and Arabic, and more.

You can buy Imprisoned with the Pharaohs on CD or as an MP3 via the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre website.

Related:

• Under the Pyramids - the book
• Houdini's tomb tale digs up $680
• Houdini, Lovecraft, and The Cancer of Superstition

Audible releases 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'

Audible.com has released a new recording of the classic Houdini short story, Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (aka Under the Pyramids), read by Cathy Dobson.

First published in the May-June-July 1924 issue of Weird Tales magazine, the story tells of Houdini's adventures trapped in a Egyptian tomb. While the story appeared under Houdini's byline and is told in the first person, it was actually ghost written for the magician by the great H.P. Lovecraft.

This new reading of Imprisoned with the Pharaohs is available on Amazon.com for $7.91, or Free with an Audible.com 30-day free trial membership.

Amazon notes this recording is: "Unsuitable for claustrophobics, people of a nervous disposition, or people with a vivid visual imagination." Nice.

Under the Pyramids mini book

Houdini's 1924 short story, Imprisoned with the Pharaohs, has been published as a 44-page hardcover mini book by Creepycult under Lovecraft's original title, Under the Pyramids. This unique book is currently for sale only on eBay (as far as I can find). I'll let the seller's description speak for itself.

Welcome! This is a brand new "little" treat for you, hand made by me! I have a week break in the finishing of another project while I waiting for a machine part, so I have decided to finish this piece. I have been slowly working on for quite a while. This was intended to be a holiday present to all the folks who helped me get the Fantasy Fan book off the ground, well it turned out so cool I decided to do an edition of 200 for anyone who might want to have something a little fun 

First off, the book is a 60 page hardcover book, containing the story "Under the Pyramids" also titled "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" originally published in the world famous WEIRD TALES magazine circa 1924. Ghost written by the legendary HP Lovecraft for the equally legendary Houdini! 

What makes this book so special is that it comes in a custom miniature US Postal mail bag, and PADLOCKED CLOSED. (The key is on the INSIDE). So, you have to mimic Houdini, and pick the lock to get to the book. Once inside you will find a beautiful little book, sizing up at 4" x 5", containing 4 original illustrations by the weird and wonderful Nick Gucker. Each book is hand numbered and there is a RANDOM signed letterpress print in only 50 copies.

My copy has just landed at my door, and I can confirm that it is very nicely done (and the lock wasn't too hard to pick). Also happy to report that my copy (#2) contained the Nick Gucker print, which I'm sharing below.

Houdini's tomb tale digs up $680

A 1924 issue of Weird Tales magazine that contains Houdini's short story, Imprisoned With The Pharaohs, has sold on eBay for an impressive $680. The auction received 16 bids.

While Imprisoned With The Pharaohs appeared under Houdini’s byline, the story was actually ghost written by H.P. Lovecraft. The auction offered up this excellent description of the story and its history:

"Under the Pyramids", also published as "Entombed with the Pharaohs" and "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in February 1924. Commissioned by Weird Tales founder and owner J. C. Henneberger, the narrative tells a fictionalized account in the first-person perspective of an allegedly true experience of escape artist Harry Houdini. Set in 1910, in Egypt, Houdini finds himself kidnapped by a tour guide, who resembles an ancient Pharaoh, and thrown down a deep hole near the Great Sphinx of Giza. While attempting to find his way out, he stumbles upon a gigantic ceremonial cavern and encounters the real-life deity that inspired the building of the Sphinx. Although he did not believe Houdini's story, Lovecraft nevertheless accepted the job because of the money he was offered in advance by Henneberg. The result was published in the May-June-July 1924 edition of Weird Tales, although it was credited solely to Houdini until the 1939 reprint. Despite Lovecraft's use of artistic license, Houdini enjoyed the tale and collaborated with the author on several smaller projects prior to the latter's death in 1926. "Under the Pyramids" has been suggested as an early influence on author Robert Bloch and as anticipating the cosmic themes in Lovecraft's later work, including The Shunned House.

Happily, you don't have to pay this kind of cash if you just want to the read the story. Imprisoned with the Pharaohs is included in several Lovecraft collections and in a stand alone booklet.

Listen to Houdini's ‘Imprisoned with the Pharaohs’

UPDATE: Unfortunately, it appears this is no longer available.

The Classic Tales Podcast has posted an audio reading of the classic Houdini short story, Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (aka Under the Pyramids). The story is read by character actor B.J. Harrison.

First published in the May-June-July 1924 issue of Weird Tales, the story tells of Houdini’s adventures trapped in a Egyptian tomb. While it appeared under Houdini’s byline, the story was actually ghost written by the great H.P. Lovecraft.

According to Wikipedia "J.C. Henneberger, owner of Weird Tales, wished Lovecraft to write up an account Houdini had told him: on a trip to Egypt, he had been bound by Arabs and left in some deep chamber of Campbell's Tomb in the valley of the pyramids. Houdini was attempting to pass off this adventure as a true occurrence, but Lovecraft's subsequent research established that the story was largely fictitious. As such, Lovecraft allowed his imagination free rein, transferring to the temple of the Sphinx but otherwise retaining many of the details of the narrative as related by Houdini."

Imprisoned with the Pharaohs - Part 1
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs - Part 2