Houdini died in Detroit 100 years ago; ghost hunts continue

Harry Houdini died in Detroit on October 31, 1926, and the city marks the 100th anniversary of that death this week. The famous escape artist performed in Detroit 19 times between 1894 and 1926. He rose from a minor act to a global celebrity by escaping handcuffs and jail cells. He once jumped from Belle Isle Bridge into the river bound in handcuffs. Local legend claims he landed in a hole in the ice. Reports from 1906 state the river was not frozen. He later introduced the Water Torture Cell, a coffin-sized box filled with water. Dorothy Young, who toured with him as a teenager, recalled the excitement of the act. She said Houdini’s wife always stood in the wings with a secret code in case he could not escape. Young died in 2011, making her the last surviving person to work with the magician.

Houdini’s death likely resulted from a stomach injury sustained in Montreal. A college wrestler punched him in the dressing room before he could brace his muscles. Jeremy Dimick, a curator at the Detroit Historical Museum, said Houdini felt financial pressure to keep his Detroit contract. He performed one final show at the Garrick Theater. Dimick noted that Houdini lacked the strength to apply his makeup. He collapsed during intermissions and had to be carried back to his hotel. Doctors at Grace Hospital found a ruptured appendix. He underwent two surgeries and died a few days later on Halloween.

The physical sites of Houdini’s final days have largely disappeared. The theater, hotel, and hospital are gone. The funeral home that embalmed him became a girls’ art school. That school has also closed. In 2004, Juanita Hammond, the head of the school, showed visitors a locked storage room with an indented floor. She said some students believed Houdini’s presence remained in the building. One student told Hammond she avoided the kitchen for fear of seeing the magician.

Houdini’s wife, Bess, held many séances to contact her husband. She said goodbye to him at a session on Halloween ten years after his death. Bess Houdini later appeared in a movie cameo reenacting the event. She noted that Houdini believed the dead could not return. She concluded that the lack of contact over a decade proved him right. Today, John Sherwood at the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan, continues the search. He uses an aged metal milk can from Houdini’s workshop. Houdini would lock himself inside with six locks while submerged in warm water. Sherwood said some séances place a lox and bagel sandwich in the can to appeal to Houdini’s Jewish heritage. He is planning another séance for this Halloween. Sherwood believes the centennial may be the right time for the magician to appear. He said dying on Halloween was Houdini’s greatest publicity stunt.

Conspiracy theories surround the circumstances of his death. Some suggest the death certificate was altered to show he died on Halloween. Others claim the wrestler was a hitman sent by psychics. The details of his death remain shrouded in mystery, much like his stage escapes.