Product Description

Harry Houdini and his exposure of the fraud spiritualist, spirit photography, spirit slate writing, ectoplasm, clairvoyance, and other quakery and cons perpetrated on the gullible, by the likes of the Boston Medium Margery, the Davenport Brothers, Annie Eva Fay, the Fox Sisters, Daniel Dunglas Home, Eusapia Pallandino, and other con artists of their ilk.

The whole country got excited by Houdini's campaign against faking spiritualists. He careened through the country, offering money for spirit contacts he couldn't duplicate by admitted magical chicanery. It was a heyday not only for Houdini but for the spirit-callers and there was an equally famous protagonist who thought the spirits could indeed be contacted, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A photo at the front records a meeting between Houdini and Doyle and Houdini gives Doyle his own chapter. There's an earlier chapter on Daniel Dunglas Home, the English engineer of spectacular paranormal effects. Houdini raises hell with spiritualists who were giving their (usually paying) clients a vision of heavens to come, and shares the methods used to practice "fake" and sensational spiritualism.

Houdini was nothing if not unrelenting. As a taste of things to come, he ends his introduction with the words: "Up to the present time everything that I have investigated has been the result of deluded brains."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #813771 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Houdini exposes mediums' and spiritualists' methods
Houdini spent a long time and much anguish trying to contact the spirit of a dead family member. Mediums were very popular in his time. This book is his exposure of them as frauds. Great anecdotes, interesting methods described, amusing and fascinating. Highlights include his role in the Scientific American investigative committee, and the many interactions with Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. Easy reading.

Something to ponder before heading down an endless road
Even though Houdini's book refers to spiritualism tricks,the book could be a must read for the many gulliable people out there more than ready and willing to part with their money for a chance to talk to their deceased loved ones.In today's "psychic" world we are bombarded with cold readers without any aids other than there rapid talk and generalistic "messages from the other side" yet Houndini's book is a warning of sorts and we could use his help in today's world with these so called "psychics". Houndini's work is not complete since we need other talented and honest individuals such as he to face off with the charletans we have now a days.I'll say that Houndini's work is extremely valuable and I highly respect him for giving of his time to investigate fraud.

From a charlatan hunter to you.
If you want to know the truth about charlatan mediums and card readers and there methods this and the other houdini books on the subject are for you,the colection on the subject is:

1.- THE RIGHT WAY TO DO WRONG (1906)

2.-MIRACLE WORKERS AND THERE METHODS (1920)

3.- A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS (1924)

PLEASE BUY THEM AND SHARE THEM AND LETS PUT THIS THIEVES OUT OF BUSINESS.