Houdini's Legacy: A Century After His Halloween Death

Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, and the centennial of that date arrived this week in Detroit. The magician had performed in the city 19 times between 1894 and 1926, building a reputation that turned him into one of the world's most famous entertainers.

His early career involved daring escapes from handcuffs and jail cells. In 1906, he jumped from Detroit's Belle Isle Bridge into the river while bound. Reports from that time indicate the water was not frozen, contrary to later movie portrayals that depicted him breathing air pockets under the ice.

By 1914, Houdini introduced the Water Torture Cell, a stunt where he was lowered head first into a locked, water-filled box. Dorothy Young, who toured with him as a stage assistant at age 17, recalled the tension of the act. "Mrs. [Houdini] always stood in the wings because they had a secret code in case he couldn't get out," Young said in a 2004 NPR interview.

Houdini's final days were marked by physical strain. Before arriving in Detroit, he was punched in the stomach by a college wrestler in Montreal after accepting a challenge. Although doctors advised rest, Houdini pressed on with his scheduled shows due to financial pressure, according to Jeremy Dimick, a curator at the Detroit Historical Museum.

Dimick noted that Houdini struggled during his last performance at the Garrick Theater. "He doesn't have the strength to put his makeup on before the show, and he's kind of collapsing during the intermissions of the show," Dimick said. Houdini was carried back to his hotel and later taken to Grace Hospital, where doctors found a ruptured appendix.

He underwent two surgeries and died on October 31, 1926. The theater, hotel, and hospital where he died are now gone. The funeral home that embalmed him became a girls' art school, which also closed. In 2004, the school head Juanita Hammond showed visitors a storage room where Houdini was laid out, noting that some students feared seeing his ghost.

Houdini's wife, Bess, held séances for a decade, finally saying goodbye to his spirit on a Halloween in 1936. Today, the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan, preserves his artifacts. John Sherwood, who organizes a séance this Halloween, said participants have tried to contact Houdini using his old milk can. "That is the Houdini milk can," Sherwood said, describing how the magician would escape while locked inside.

Sherwood said the centennial might be a fitting time for the magician to appear, citing Houdini's love of showmanship. "I've always said that the greatest publicity stunt that Harry Houdini ever pulled off was dying on Halloween because after that the mythology about him grew by leaps and bounds," he said.