What do you think?
Rate this book
Collector's Library of the Unknown
A Magician Among the Spirits
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 "Up to the present time everything that I have investigated has been the result of deluded brains."
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 2011
29 people are currently reading
743 people want to read
About the author
Harry Houdini
131 books64 followersHarry Houdini, whose birth name in Hungary was Erik Weisz (which was changed to Ehrich Weiss when he immigrated to the United States), was a Jewish Hungarian American magician, escapologist (widely regarded as one of the greatest ever) and stunt performer, as well as a skeptic and investigator of spiritualists, film producer and actor. Harry Houdini forever changed the world of magic and escapes.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
June 1, 2019
I acquired this as a free, legal download from archive.org.
In this fascinating book, first published in 1924, Harry Houdini lays out the evidence that the Spiritualism fad is bunk. The 1920s saw a rise in this religion in the aftermath of the Great War; many families were left grieving and desperate for contact with the beyond, and as ever, grifters emerge to take advantage of their plights.
Harry Houdini considered these people beyond despicable and did everything in his power to prove seances, levitation, dematerialization, spirit photography, and other tricks of the trade were pure bunk--the same sorts of sleight-of-hand he practiced in his own shows, only he made no claim that what he did was 'magic.' His voice comes across as emphatic and genuine. He's a man who, in truth, wants Spiritualism to be real so that he can be in contact with his beloved mother again, or talk with the other deceased friends with whom he developed secrets codes with in case they could indeed communicate with him from Summerland or whatever one wishes to call the next world. He had yet to find such proof.
In this book, he discusses not only how seance tricks are done--sometimes with explanatory illustrations--but also the psychology behind the trickery. In particular, he explores how highly intelligent people can succumb to the delusion--most notably his (former) friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle--and how Spiritualism can drive people into poverty, insanity, and suicide.
Unlike many century-old books, Houdini's text is highly readable. This is really a fast and fascinating read, and not a short one, either. It's about 300 pages. I'm left with a profound sense of respect for Houdini. His passion and concern ring true. He did good work.
In this fascinating book, first published in 1924, Harry Houdini lays out the evidence that the Spiritualism fad is bunk. The 1920s saw a rise in this religion in the aftermath of the Great War; many families were left grieving and desperate for contact with the beyond, and as ever, grifters emerge to take advantage of their plights.
Harry Houdini considered these people beyond despicable and did everything in his power to prove seances, levitation, dematerialization, spirit photography, and other tricks of the trade were pure bunk--the same sorts of sleight-of-hand he practiced in his own shows, only he made no claim that what he did was 'magic.' His voice comes across as emphatic and genuine. He's a man who, in truth, wants Spiritualism to be real so that he can be in contact with his beloved mother again, or talk with the other deceased friends with whom he developed secrets codes with in case they could indeed communicate with him from Summerland or whatever one wishes to call the next world. He had yet to find such proof.
In this book, he discusses not only how seance tricks are done--sometimes with explanatory illustrations--but also the psychology behind the trickery. In particular, he explores how highly intelligent people can succumb to the delusion--most notably his (former) friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle--and how Spiritualism can drive people into poverty, insanity, and suicide.
Unlike many century-old books, Houdini's text is highly readable. This is really a fast and fascinating read, and not a short one, either. It's about 300 pages. I'm left with a profound sense of respect for Houdini. His passion and concern ring true. He did good work.
Want to read
March 22, 2024this is all we had before video essays
August 5, 2015
A brilliant classic. Another reviewer remarked that it was not technical but oddly emotional. I agree. I found the details about his friendship with Conan Doyle to be heartbreaking.
This is a must for any magician or critical thinker's library.
This is a must for any magician or critical thinker's library.
July 16, 2012
This book took me a long time to read, but not because I didn't love it. Because I didn't want to finish it and give it back. It was so good, I wanted to stretch it out and make it last as long as possible. I learned a lot from it... but this book was oddly emotional, in a way, despite the fact that it's nonfiction. Houdini had no problem being upfront about his life as it related to his investigations and to Spiritualism in general. There is a feeling that comes with certain books that the author (if dead) has returned for 300 pages to tell you his/her tale. I felt this especially with this book, and even wished that I could meet Houdini, could have met Houdini when he was alive. He wrote with dignity, with a sort of deadpan humour, but also with earnest and vulnerability. I think that deep down, Houdini wished that Spiritualism was real- but he could not refuse the facts, and accepted them wholeheartedly. He did not delude himself or otherwise lie. If ever there was a doubt in my mind that Spiritualism might be real- this book dispersed it. And it revealed a side to spiritualism not much seen- empathy and compassion for its proponents, the tragedy behind it; from its beginnings to the many, grieving people defrauded. It really opened my eyes and greatly educated me on this subject, as well as touching my heart. A wonderful example of what a good nonfiction book should be.
I am sad to finish, and close the last page. I am even more sad to part with Houdini, who must now return to being dead (at least until I pick up the book again). A wonderful, wonderful book. I can't sing it's praises nearly enough.
Go read it, and find out for yourself.
I am sad to finish, and close the last page. I am even more sad to part with Houdini, who must now return to being dead (at least until I pick up the book again). A wonderful, wonderful book. I can't sing it's praises nearly enough.
Go read it, and find out for yourself.
October 29, 2010
Houdini opened his mind to Spiritualism in hopes of communicating with his deceased mother, but with his background in magic, knew that nothing that was being offered by the mediums was anything more than parlor tricks. In this book, you will discover not only the desperation of mankind to experience communication with the other side, but the sinister nature of those who will sink to the lowest lows to make money off these desperate souls. It is an insight to the most awful parts of human nature, and a helpful tool when looking at modern spirituality. This book belongs on the shelf of every skeptic or debunker.
January 26, 2013
This was a fascinating read. It is dated, of course, but the second half of the book did tell how Spiritualist cheated their followers. I was also quite interested in the relationship between Sir Author Conan Doyle (a believer) and Houdini (a skeptic). There were letters in the book that the two gents sent each other.The letter writing style in the twenties seems so much more personal then today's e-mails.
October 29, 2021
This was an interesting time machine ride back to the mid-19th thru the early 20th centuries to survey the spiritualist movement as Harry Houdini recounts his efforts to expose and debunk it. Fraudulent mediums were a wide-spread cottage industry in that era. They would conduct seances, using cheap tricks and sleight-of-hand to convince credulous people that they were in contact with deceased friends or loved ones.
Houdini gives an interesting survey of some of the famous mediums of the era with his very harsh assessment of the frauds they perpetrated and the means by which they perpetrated them. Houdini tars all of the psychics and mediums with the same brush though there are some possible exceptions to those he exposed. Houdini claimed he was open minded and would like to contact his deceased mother but there is one notable case that he does not mention where he was not open minded if not outright hostile. Mini Crandon had baffled him and he never caught her cheating. An upper middle class woman in Boston and battled him to a draw.
Houdini mentions Eusapia Paladino, the Fox sisters and Daniel Dunglas Home as frauds. From recent examination of the records of the British and American Psychical Research Societies this is not so clear anymore. When one reads what was experienced under strict test conditions by some of the purported psychics truly makes one wonder.
The most likely true mediums of that period were Mina Crandon, popularly known as Margery and Leonora Piper. Houdini ended up in a nasty public dispute with Crandon because she for the most part had defeated his attempts to prove she was a fraud. Houdini never sat with Leonora Piper and may have come away a changed man. I’m surprised this never happened and my thought was that Houdini really didn’t want an answer to the ultimate question.
Houdini, born Erich Weiss, was a truly remarkable man but had his failings like we all do. Still an excellent read. In addition to being one of the two greatest stage magicians of his time he also comes across as a very intelligent man.
NOTE: When reading about anything paranormal or metaphysical avoid Wikipedia. The articles have little-to-no research behind them and the authors communicate a palpable disdain. Confine one’s reading to the very intelligent like Dr. Rupert Sheldrake or Dr. Robert Shoch.
Houdini gives an interesting survey of some of the famous mediums of the era with his very harsh assessment of the frauds they perpetrated and the means by which they perpetrated them. Houdini tars all of the psychics and mediums with the same brush though there are some possible exceptions to those he exposed. Houdini claimed he was open minded and would like to contact his deceased mother but there is one notable case that he does not mention where he was not open minded if not outright hostile. Mini Crandon had baffled him and he never caught her cheating. An upper middle class woman in Boston and battled him to a draw.
Houdini mentions Eusapia Paladino, the Fox sisters and Daniel Dunglas Home as frauds. From recent examination of the records of the British and American Psychical Research Societies this is not so clear anymore. When one reads what was experienced under strict test conditions by some of the purported psychics truly makes one wonder.
The most likely true mediums of that period were Mina Crandon, popularly known as Margery and Leonora Piper. Houdini ended up in a nasty public dispute with Crandon because she for the most part had defeated his attempts to prove she was a fraud. Houdini never sat with Leonora Piper and may have come away a changed man. I’m surprised this never happened and my thought was that Houdini really didn’t want an answer to the ultimate question.
Houdini, born Erich Weiss, was a truly remarkable man but had his failings like we all do. Still an excellent read. In addition to being one of the two greatest stage magicians of his time he also comes across as a very intelligent man.
NOTE: When reading about anything paranormal or metaphysical avoid Wikipedia. The articles have little-to-no research behind them and the authors communicate a palpable disdain. Confine one’s reading to the very intelligent like Dr. Rupert Sheldrake or Dr. Robert Shoch.
March 23, 2017
Coincidentally, the great magician, Harry Houdini, wrote a book that was published in 1924, the year that the mystery I am currently writing takes place. And it pertains directly to my topic: Spiritualism.
Harry Houdini spent most of his adult like debunking Spiritualism, a quasi-religious movement that is based on communication with the dead through mediums. It is, of course, shot through with fakes, then and now. Houdini’s thirty-five-year mission was to “out” the fakes whenever he could. One of the ways he did this was by writing a book, A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS. Whether you believe in communication with the dead or not, you'll enjoy reading of the many ways fake mediums created the impression that they add direct access to the spirits. To my delight, Houdini describes many of the tricks that he discovered mediums using. I’ve incorporated some of those in my novel, which concerns a young woman who works as a shill for a Spiritualist medium.
Again, coincidentally, there is a series on Fox about Houdini and his friend, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; the title is “Houdini & Doyle.” They solve mysteries together in England–Houdini being the pragmatist and Doyle being the ardent believer in Spiritualism, which he was. (Poor man, he was totally duped; he also believed faked photographs of fairies were real.) The premise is accurate–they really were friends but were in complete disagreement about the authenticity of mediums. If you see it, you'll enjoy comparing the actors' appearances to what the REAL Houdini and Doyle looked like . . .
Harry Houdini spent most of his adult like debunking Spiritualism, a quasi-religious movement that is based on communication with the dead through mediums. It is, of course, shot through with fakes, then and now. Houdini’s thirty-five-year mission was to “out” the fakes whenever he could. One of the ways he did this was by writing a book, A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS. Whether you believe in communication with the dead or not, you'll enjoy reading of the many ways fake mediums created the impression that they add direct access to the spirits. To my delight, Houdini describes many of the tricks that he discovered mediums using. I’ve incorporated some of those in my novel, which concerns a young woman who works as a shill for a Spiritualist medium.
Again, coincidentally, there is a series on Fox about Houdini and his friend, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; the title is “Houdini & Doyle.” They solve mysteries together in England–Houdini being the pragmatist and Doyle being the ardent believer in Spiritualism, which he was. (Poor man, he was totally duped; he also believed faked photographs of fairies were real.) The premise is accurate–they really were friends but were in complete disagreement about the authenticity of mediums. If you see it, you'll enjoy comparing the actors' appearances to what the REAL Houdini and Doyle looked like . . .
March 15, 2021
Incredibly interesting book. I've talked to people about it several times before I finished.
I've known next to nothing about Houdini before reading this. He was a smart guy, and I appreciate his honesty and thorough research into whether or not spirit mediums are legit. He's also very sassy and funny at points.
The older english was a bit tiring for me at times, but also interesting to see how often Houdini writes run-on sentences. I feel less bad about myself.
I've known next to nothing about Houdini before reading this. He was a smart guy, and I appreciate his honesty and thorough research into whether or not spirit mediums are legit. He's also very sassy and funny at points.
The older english was a bit tiring for me at times, but also interesting to see how often Houdini writes run-on sentences. I feel less bad about myself.
February 24, 2025
A fascinating read. Houdini is scathing as he works his way through the murky world of spiritualism and those who claim to talk to the other side. And quite rightly, when he lists out the number of ways mediums seek to separate the recently bereaved from any inheritance they might have come into.
Even when it is apparently meant in "good faith" - there is a particularly uncomfortable episode where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's wife did a "reading" for Houdini and claimed to have contacted his late mother - it still leaves a sour taste. Houdini pointed out that his mother could neither speak, write, nor understand English, so how she was corresponding with Mrs Conan Doyle, only the spirits know.
What is interesting about Houdini's investigations is how he is more than open-minded to being proved wrong, he is just continually disappointed by the knocks and table tipping and ectoplasm having perfectly mundane explanations rooted in the living.
It can be a little wordy - Houdini gets a little too lost in citing his sources, reproducing letters in full which make the eyes glaze over.
But in between that, his commentary is sassy and sarcastic and not at all impartial which makes for a lively read.
Even when it is apparently meant in "good faith" - there is a particularly uncomfortable episode where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's wife did a "reading" for Houdini and claimed to have contacted his late mother - it still leaves a sour taste. Houdini pointed out that his mother could neither speak, write, nor understand English, so how she was corresponding with Mrs Conan Doyle, only the spirits know.
What is interesting about Houdini's investigations is how he is more than open-minded to being proved wrong, he is just continually disappointed by the knocks and table tipping and ectoplasm having perfectly mundane explanations rooted in the living.
It can be a little wordy - Houdini gets a little too lost in citing his sources, reproducing letters in full which make the eyes glaze over.
But in between that, his commentary is sassy and sarcastic and not at all impartial which makes for a lively read.
March 14, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed the reading of this book and I’m saddened that I have finished it so quickly. Houdini’s voice comes through strongly and he makes his case convincingly and emphatically against Spiritualism and the mediums who, to enrich themselves, prey on those who wish to reach departed loved ones by means of trickery and illusion. His friendship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was of particular interest and permeated the whole of the book, in spite of their strong advocacy on opposing sides when it came to Spiritualism.
Houdini devoted decades to the exposure of those he refers to as “human vultures”, though he thought it “an insult to that scavenger of scavengers to compare such human beings to him”. This work is the result of much research, expertise, and observation and is well worth a read to those interested in Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and/or the methods employed by mediums to produce their illusions.
I enjoyed this book so much that I purchased the book Houdini had written prior to this one, “The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin”. I will likely reread “A Magician Among the Spirits” and hope to find Houdini’s first work just as engaging.
Houdini devoted decades to the exposure of those he refers to as “human vultures”, though he thought it “an insult to that scavenger of scavengers to compare such human beings to him”. This work is the result of much research, expertise, and observation and is well worth a read to those interested in Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and/or the methods employed by mediums to produce their illusions.
I enjoyed this book so much that I purchased the book Houdini had written prior to this one, “The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin”. I will likely reread “A Magician Among the Spirits” and hope to find Houdini’s first work just as engaging.
January 1, 2025
I found the reading material very interesting. However, Houdini has a tendency to repeat information often, which can bore the reader. Additionally, the formatting and grammer of the text were very unintuitive and incorrect throughout the entire book. I am unsure whether this is just the writing style of Houdini, as he is from a time period where grammer and spelling were suggestions more than rules, or if some of the errors were the result of a poor editorial staff. Either way, the mistakes made the book slightly difficult to read at times. That being said, it was fascinating to read the direct words of a historical figure as impressive and interesting as Harry Houdini.
September 18, 2016
After reading the nonfiction work The Witch of Lime Street by David Jafer, I was curious to know more about that story, particularly the details behind the strain in the friendship between magician Harry Houdini and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I was surprised to discover that they were even friends, let alone had a bit of a falling out over the topic of Spiritualism! Recently I came across a copy of A Magician Among The Spirits, written by Houdini himself in which he not only gives his own version of what went down between him and Doyle but also how Houdini came to be such a force in bringing down the Spiritualism movement as a whole.
Houdini is quick to affirm that he most definitely believed in a higher power and an afterlife. His issue was with the lengths supposed mediums went to dupe grieving people into believing that their loved ones were trying to reach them. Houdini admits that if he could have found anything, anything at all, that would've struck him as irrefutably paranormal then he would've enthusiastically become the movement's greatest supporter / advocate. In this book, originally published in 1924, Houdini discusses the project he carried out, spending the year of 1919 sitting in on over 100 seances, hoping for anything definitely otherworldly. Instead, he says, he realized he was able to explain virtually everything he saw in terms of distraction and slight of hand tricks magicians employ all the time. It infuriated him that these so-called spiritual mediums were making quite comfortable livings off the grief of people desperate for any connection with their lost loved ones.
Houdini points out that the popularity of Spiritualism cannot be dismissed as just something uneducated suckers fell into. In fact, quite a few of the era's great scientific and literary minds fell prey to the hope that these mediums could put them in contact with friends and family who had passed over. Houidini says he himself had arrangements with 14 different people, including his wife and his personal secretary, to give the agreed upon sign (handshake or code word) if any of them should pass. Fourteen people and not one of them (of the ones that had passed away by then, that is,) came through any of the 100+ seances Houdini attended. Houdini also points to his friend, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, clearly a man of great intellect but swayed by the deaths of a son, brother and brother-in-law during WW1, making him desperate for contact. There's also the story of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning -- Elizabeth initially became quite taken with the movement, but after one particularly off reading came away feeling very much duped and dismayed.
Houdini also notes that it was also highly suspect how these mediums often lived the lives of celebrities, winning themselves the patronage of members of society's elite. They would be draped in the finest clothes and jewels, put up in lavish residences, enjoying the benefits of a nicely padded bank account. If the day came that their popularity was showing signs of waning, these mediums would often quietly announce their retirement before the truth behind their act was sniffed out. In the instances where mediums were taken to court on charges of fraud, oftentimes there would be only light penalties put upon them even when it was PROVEN they had duped clients out of money.
In the end, Houdini chalks the whole thing up to largely being a case of what he calls mal-observation. In essence, it's not that people are kidding themselves necessarily, or willfully in denial. Houdini is saying "I believe you believe what you saw, but what you saw is not what you think." Clients of these mediums were just not versed enough in carnival-like showmanship to recognize telltale signs of trickery. They can't explain it, so they see no other explanation other than paranormal. One pretty funny example he gives is a reprint of an article someone wrote about one of his performances, claiming that Houdini couldn't possibly be human to pull off the feats he did. After the article, Houdini responds with a verbal "this is what was really going on" peek behind the curtain of his shows.
While I didn't always fully agree with Houdini's personal thoughts on the topic, this was one highly fascinating read. I think it is important to keep in mind the time in which he was writing this, take into account that he's saying that in HIS time he had yet to see anything he could not explain. These are the days before EVP, spirit voice box technology, all that stuff that we commonly see paranormal investigators use now. I honestly do believe there are things we (or at least I, I guess I should say lol) have experienced that don't easily have scientific explanation. Then again, I (like Houdini) remain skeptical of 99% of the professed psychic mediums out there today.
One thing I did particularly like about this book were all the photographs of Houdini with the mediums and other Spiritualists he got to know during this project. He also includes interesting diagrams where he lays out the "okay, this is how the medium did that" behind such things as spirit knockings, rappings, slate writings, etc that were commonplace in seances of the time. Some sections, such as some of the stuff on slate writing, rappings, and spiritual photography, did run a bit long for me but there are so many other worthwhile historical tidbits Houdini offers up that I would definitely recommend this to any fans of paranormal or even sideshow history.
Houdini is quick to affirm that he most definitely believed in a higher power and an afterlife. His issue was with the lengths supposed mediums went to dupe grieving people into believing that their loved ones were trying to reach them. Houdini admits that if he could have found anything, anything at all, that would've struck him as irrefutably paranormal then he would've enthusiastically become the movement's greatest supporter / advocate. In this book, originally published in 1924, Houdini discusses the project he carried out, spending the year of 1919 sitting in on over 100 seances, hoping for anything definitely otherworldly. Instead, he says, he realized he was able to explain virtually everything he saw in terms of distraction and slight of hand tricks magicians employ all the time. It infuriated him that these so-called spiritual mediums were making quite comfortable livings off the grief of people desperate for any connection with their lost loved ones.
Houdini points out that the popularity of Spiritualism cannot be dismissed as just something uneducated suckers fell into. In fact, quite a few of the era's great scientific and literary minds fell prey to the hope that these mediums could put them in contact with friends and family who had passed over. Houidini says he himself had arrangements with 14 different people, including his wife and his personal secretary, to give the agreed upon sign (handshake or code word) if any of them should pass. Fourteen people and not one of them (of the ones that had passed away by then, that is,) came through any of the 100+ seances Houdini attended. Houdini also points to his friend, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, clearly a man of great intellect but swayed by the deaths of a son, brother and brother-in-law during WW1, making him desperate for contact. There's also the story of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning -- Elizabeth initially became quite taken with the movement, but after one particularly off reading came away feeling very much duped and dismayed.
Houdini also notes that it was also highly suspect how these mediums often lived the lives of celebrities, winning themselves the patronage of members of society's elite. They would be draped in the finest clothes and jewels, put up in lavish residences, enjoying the benefits of a nicely padded bank account. If the day came that their popularity was showing signs of waning, these mediums would often quietly announce their retirement before the truth behind their act was sniffed out. In the instances where mediums were taken to court on charges of fraud, oftentimes there would be only light penalties put upon them even when it was PROVEN they had duped clients out of money.
In the end, Houdini chalks the whole thing up to largely being a case of what he calls mal-observation. In essence, it's not that people are kidding themselves necessarily, or willfully in denial. Houdini is saying "I believe you believe what you saw, but what you saw is not what you think." Clients of these mediums were just not versed enough in carnival-like showmanship to recognize telltale signs of trickery. They can't explain it, so they see no other explanation other than paranormal. One pretty funny example he gives is a reprint of an article someone wrote about one of his performances, claiming that Houdini couldn't possibly be human to pull off the feats he did. After the article, Houdini responds with a verbal "this is what was really going on" peek behind the curtain of his shows.
While I didn't always fully agree with Houdini's personal thoughts on the topic, this was one highly fascinating read. I think it is important to keep in mind the time in which he was writing this, take into account that he's saying that in HIS time he had yet to see anything he could not explain. These are the days before EVP, spirit voice box technology, all that stuff that we commonly see paranormal investigators use now. I honestly do believe there are things we (or at least I, I guess I should say lol) have experienced that don't easily have scientific explanation. Then again, I (like Houdini) remain skeptical of 99% of the professed psychic mediums out there today.
One thing I did particularly like about this book were all the photographs of Houdini with the mediums and other Spiritualists he got to know during this project. He also includes interesting diagrams where he lays out the "okay, this is how the medium did that" behind such things as spirit knockings, rappings, slate writings, etc that were commonplace in seances of the time. Some sections, such as some of the stuff on slate writing, rappings, and spiritual photography, did run a bit long for me but there are so many other worthwhile historical tidbits Houdini offers up that I would definitely recommend this to any fans of paranormal or even sideshow history.
May 17, 2024
Expertly done at its best, tearing about phonies and explaining ways of trucking them. Houdini is great and I’d love to read more of his stuff. The only issues can be explained away by the time difference: there are long sections destroying presumably important figures from back then I’ve never heard of, and some descriptions that probably made sense back then but I wished I had more context for now.
July 1, 2024
This book by Houdini, an acknowledged master of illusion and escape artistry is a fascinating read. Houdini certainly, by his own admission, wanted to believe in spiritualism, he never found any evidence of it as he so clearly states in his summary at the end of the book. Although the book is 100 years old, it serves to demonstrate how somethings never change. People were willing to be "scammed" back then and they are still willing to be scammed today.
September 21, 2025
An excellent historical document giving an incite into the thoughts of the great illusionist, his contempt for spiritualism and fraudulent mediums, and his animosity towards Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who had previously been a friend. I give a five-star rating for the original text, although the only version I was able to buy new is a poor quality 2025 edition by Zinc Read which appears to have been scanned and reprinted with no effort made to edit to a satisfactory standard.
October 10, 2021
This book is important and Houdini was a dedicated investigator and debunker, and an inspiration to skeptics to come later.
This edition of the book is weird, though [no page numbers, no publisher information, no footnotes (they are subsumed in the text itself)] so it’s a bit difficult to read comprehensively, but it was the only edition I could find.
This edition of the book is weird, though [no page numbers, no publisher information, no footnotes (they are subsumed in the text itself)] so it’s a bit difficult to read comprehensively, but it was the only edition I could find.
December 20, 2019
Fantastic book with an intriguing insight into Houdini's relationship with the spiritual community. With real accounts and correspondence, it is a great and very detailed look behind the scenes at how many spiritualists deceived the world.
September 14, 2017
A great magician and a man in search of a life hereafter, takes on the phonies as his search continues to see if their really is something on the other side.
October 23, 2021
Insightful and repetitive, a few lol's.
December 19, 2024
Amazing read and incredibly interesting. Absolutely recommend.
October 29, 2025
This is great, wanted more like it - books on "spiritualistic trickery" explaining methods in detail and such (apart from Randy´s books of course).
November 18, 2025
Spiritualism debunked by the great one.
Very good puts to bed any doubt that houdini could dematerialize.
He wanted to believe, but alas, truth compelled him otherwise.
Very good puts to bed any doubt that houdini could dematerialize.
He wanted to believe, but alas, truth compelled him otherwise.
May 4, 2025
Work on that grammar a bit my boy.
April 23, 2021
kind of sus how hes a christian tho huh
May 14, 2024
Harry Houdini doesn't get enough credit. In addition to being a talented illusionist, he also used his expertise to help keep people from getting ripped off, paving the way for folks like the Amazing Randi. This book is interesting partly because it gives an insight into Houdini and his motives (he goes out of his way to be kind to the victims) and partly because it shows how con artists were able to pull off these schemes back before technology was a factor. That being said, it can be a bit of a dry read at times, but overall it was an interesting look at a fascinating man.
Read
January 5, 2012This is not the edition I saw, which was a pamphlet in 'library binding' (which covers a multitude of sins).
It was largely this book that led to a fatal quarrel between Houdini and his longtime friend Arthur Conan Doyle which ended up ending their friendship. Houdini turned to the spiritualists in an attempt to establish contact with his deceased mother, whom he felt he had neglected. As a form of therapy, in other words. If he'd had a less religious bent, he might have turned to psychotherapists.
Unfortunately, he also had a tendency toward bullying, which is a too-common trait of activist skeptics. He tended to be intolerant of 'fakery'--somewhat odd, since he was a professional faker himself. He never seems to have considered that because something COULD be faked, it might not therefore be ALWAYS fake. In reality, anything that can be done can be faked. And many things that can't be done. But the fact that something can be faked is not an indication that it always is--even among people who do sometimes use forms of stage magics to impress and attract clients.
One group of people Houdini alienated by these attacks on the spiritualists was other professional magicians, who had always felt that Houdini was something of an arrogant braggart--and who resented professional secrets being aired so publicly. Another group were people like Doyle, who desperately wanted to believe that the dead were not lost forever.
As the son of a rabbi, Houdini would probably have been uncomfortable about some of the allies he attracted, including people who argued that it was blasphemous to even try to contact the dead (cf the discussion of spiritualism in Sayers' Strong Poison).
It's sometimes fairly hard to feel compassion for bullies and braggarts. I always did feel sorry for Houdini, at least partly because of his genuine love for and guilt toward his mother. And I note that he never did quite lose hope that it was possible to communicate with the dead. He made arrangements (in the form of codes and suchlike) with his wife and brother to try to test the possibility of such communications.
It might be an interesting companion volume to this book to add Houdini's wife's and brother's accounts of attempts to communicate with him posthumously. These attempts have been dismissed as a failure: but precious little detail has been released.
It was largely this book that led to a fatal quarrel between Houdini and his longtime friend Arthur Conan Doyle which ended up ending their friendship. Houdini turned to the spiritualists in an attempt to establish contact with his deceased mother, whom he felt he had neglected. As a form of therapy, in other words. If he'd had a less religious bent, he might have turned to psychotherapists.
Unfortunately, he also had a tendency toward bullying, which is a too-common trait of activist skeptics. He tended to be intolerant of 'fakery'--somewhat odd, since he was a professional faker himself. He never seems to have considered that because something COULD be faked, it might not therefore be ALWAYS fake. In reality, anything that can be done can be faked. And many things that can't be done. But the fact that something can be faked is not an indication that it always is--even among people who do sometimes use forms of stage magics to impress and attract clients.
One group of people Houdini alienated by these attacks on the spiritualists was other professional magicians, who had always felt that Houdini was something of an arrogant braggart--and who resented professional secrets being aired so publicly. Another group were people like Doyle, who desperately wanted to believe that the dead were not lost forever.
As the son of a rabbi, Houdini would probably have been uncomfortable about some of the allies he attracted, including people who argued that it was blasphemous to even try to contact the dead (cf the discussion of spiritualism in Sayers' Strong Poison).
It's sometimes fairly hard to feel compassion for bullies and braggarts. I always did feel sorry for Houdini, at least partly because of his genuine love for and guilt toward his mother. And I note that he never did quite lose hope that it was possible to communicate with the dead. He made arrangements (in the form of codes and suchlike) with his wife and brother to try to test the possibility of such communications.
It might be an interesting companion volume to this book to add Houdini's wife's and brother's accounts of attempts to communicate with him posthumously. These attempts have been dismissed as a failure: but precious little detail has been released.
September 13, 2011
While I was expecting more technical explication, Houdini presents his extensive research on the (then) epidemic wave of Spiritualism in a logical, forthright, and pleasant manner. The first chapters are largely biographical, outlining the (typically criminal) careers of a number of so-called spirit conjurer while the second half is largely made up of Houdini's own research and experiences therein.
Though the book was written largely as a manual to disarm and dissemble the con artists that were preying on people in his day, the two things that showed through his writing (which was at times humorously sarcastic and at other times deliberate) was his immense breadth of knowledge of magic tricks and his pure and genuine love of people. Even though this wasn't an autobiographical work, Houdini's personality and his humanitarian interest show through and prove Houdini as the perfect narrator for a non-fiction study that might otherwise have been dry and dead on the page.
Though the book was written largely as a manual to disarm and dissemble the con artists that were preying on people in his day, the two things that showed through his writing (which was at times humorously sarcastic and at other times deliberate) was his immense breadth of knowledge of magic tricks and his pure and genuine love of people. Even though this wasn't an autobiographical work, Houdini's personality and his humanitarian interest show through and prove Houdini as the perfect narrator for a non-fiction study that might otherwise have been dry and dead on the page.
September 28, 2014
An excellent review of the trick and deceptions attendant on Spiritualism.
This book, first published in 1924, is a review of the investigations of escape artist Harry Houdini into the different strands of spiritualism current in the late 19th and early 20th century. A accomplished stage magician, Houdini is aware of the many dodges possible to a skilled performer, and debunks the alleged supernatural explanation of those whom he investigates.
The only real flaw I could find with the book is that the author does not always give a full explanation of those he is investigating, but assumes some degree of contemporary knowledge which a present day reader does not automatically have. An annotated edition which filled some of these blanks would fill this gap nicely.
This book, first published in 1924, is a review of the investigations of escape artist Harry Houdini into the different strands of spiritualism current in the late 19th and early 20th century. A accomplished stage magician, Houdini is aware of the many dodges possible to a skilled performer, and debunks the alleged supernatural explanation of those whom he investigates.
The only real flaw I could find with the book is that the author does not always give a full explanation of those he is investigating, but assumes some degree of contemporary knowledge which a present day reader does not automatically have. An annotated edition which filled some of these blanks would fill this gap nicely.
July 14, 2007
Learn how to impress your friends with the tricks of the pseudo-psychic! This is fun stuff. I read it for research. It’s not literature, but it has that earnestness of turn-of-the-century manifesto writing that makes you wonder why we don’t care quite SO much about what we believe in as they used to. There’s no irony in this text. It’s as full of self-convinced bamblusterating as Breton. I’d like to see less hand-wringing and bemused detachment in our own manifestoes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews