This past Halloween, two cities in Michigan both held séances to try to conjure the spirit of the famous magician Harry Houdini on the 90th anniversary of his death. The city of Colon’s séance was held during a comedy magic show. The one in Marshall was at the local magic museum. WMUK's Adia Robbins went there to check it out:
Houdini, born Erik Weisz, was known for his illusions and stunts. The séance at the Museum of Magic in Marshall took place at 2:26 pm.
John Sherwood, local magician and member of the Magic Museum’s board of directors, explains why it started at this exact time:
“He died at 1:26 pm eastern standard time on Halloween day, October 31st, 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. When Americans moved their clocks ahead by an hour last spring. It put our clocks an hour ahead of Houdini’s time in 1926. So, we are approaching the actual 90-year mark in just a few minutes at 2:26 eastern daylight time. I am told that the late Benjamin Franklin has apologized for the confusion.”
The founder of the magic museum, Bob Lund, conducted the original séance in 1978. Lund passed away in 1995 so magician Phil Hagerty led the séance in his place.
A shrine to Houdini sat in the middle of a circle of eight chairs. Sherwood says each item on it had been carefully thought out to try to attract Houdini:
“We’ve set out a lox and a bagel sandwich for Mr. Houdini to munch on or his spirit to partake on. We’re giving him a number of different options this time. Bob Lund did not give him many options. We are going to give Houdini more time, were going to give him a candle to perhaps sniff out, a lock to unlock, a set of handcuffs to unlock, a father to float, a slate to write up on. He can do what he likes.”
Colleen Clement, one out of the many audience members there was excited about the event. She says she saw it in the paper and immediately knew she would attend.
When asked if she thought Houdini would appear she said, “You don’t know something for sure, so I’m always willing to just put it out there. I do think there’s a lot about energy and the energy of people focused in a room.”
Clement wasn’t the only one optimistic about that day. Eric Sullivan says he was at the museums first séance in the 1970's.
“I was just a little boy then, I was like 11 or so years old. My dad pulled me and my best friend out of school and stood about where that young boy was and just enjoyed and waited for everything to happen,” he says.
Sullivan said he doesn’t remember anything-spectacular happening, just that the environment was great and that everyone had fun.
After waiting 10 minutes, Hagerty checked all of the props to see if Houdini had touched, eaten, blown out and or written on any of the props. It was discovered he did not but Kathy Miller, member of the séance circle, said she experienced something.
“My head kept going up and down and I was trying to keep it in a position,” she says.
She had also mentioned her hand was shaking. But there was no other proof of Mr. Houdini’s spirit coming out to say hello. All the same, seance master Hagerty called the seance a success:
"By paying tribute to the most famous magician that ever lived, we have brought Houdini back to life in a very meaningful way," he says.
The museum can always try again at the 100th anniversary. Three times might be the trick.
