Houdini’s Fight Against Fraudsters Ended With A Tragic Twist in Michigan

Houdini was famous for defying death on stage, but his real battle was against those who preyed on the grieving. What drove him to expose these so-called mediums?

The greatest illusionist and escape artist of all time suddenly died on Halloween in Michigan while on a strange mission.

Houdini's Mission to Expose Scammers

Harry Houdini has been a household name for the last 100 years.  His most well-known, death-defying trick was escaping a large steel drum full of water that was chained and padlocked shut. One thing about Mr. Houdini that most people don't know is that he was on a mission to catch scammers in his industry, according to bbvaopenmind.com,

His knowledge of magic allowed him to find out the tricks used by spiritualists, whose sessions he attended disguised and accompanied by incognito policemen, to finally light a flashlight that left the deception in the open and stand up to the cry of “I am Houdini! And you are a fraud!

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The Beginning of the End

An escape artist needs to maintain 100% focus and concentration for their own safety.  His mission to expose psychic scammers was likely taking his much-needed focus away from his dangerous performances.  Houdini fractured his left ankle during a show while he was shackled in his water torture cell in Albany, New York, on October 11th, 1926.  The illusionist continued his tour against his doctor's orders.

Harry Houdini was hanging out with a small group of students in his dressing room after a lecture at McGill University in Montreal on October 22nd.  That's when one of the students, J. Gordon Whitehead, asked Harry if it was true that he could take hard punches to his stomach.  Houdini said yes, and what happened next set Harry Houdini on a path to death that he was unable to escape, according to History.com,

Whitehead abruptly delivered “four or five terribly forcible, deliberate, well-directed blows” to his stomach. Houdini was still reclined on the couch and had no time to prepare for the punches, which appeared to leave him in considerable pain.

The Show Must Go On

Houdini hopped on a train to Detroit the next day and insisted on taking the stage even though he was in terrible pain.  That Detroit show would be his last show.  Houdini passed away on Halloween with a ruptured appendix.

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