The strange request Houdini made to his wife before he died

His mother’s death sparked Houdini’s great interest in exposing the tricks of fraudulent mediums and even led him to make a pact with his wife that she would try to speak to his spirit.

On October 31, 1936, Beatrice “Bess” Houdini, widow of legendary illusionist Harry Houdini, gathered on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Los Angeles for an important and moving event.

Surrounded by around 300 guests, including journalists, magicians, spiritualists and a judge, Bess tried to contact the spirit of Houdini one last time. The event marked the tenth anniversary of Houdini’s death and fulfilled a sacred pact between the couple: if Houdini managed to contact her from beyond the grave, he would deliver a secret coded message.

The session, moderated by Edward Saint, featured a series of symbolic objects – a pistol loaded with empty cartridges, handcuffs and a tambourine – intended to be manipulated by Houdini. Similar sessions were held simultaneously in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Despite the global effort, the Houdini’s spirit did not appear. After the session, Bess declared her efforts complete. “It is now my personal and positive conviction that spiritual communication, in any form, is impossible,” she said. “It’s finished. Good night, Harry.”

Houdini, born Erich Weisz in Budapest in 1874, gained fame as an illusionist and escape artist. Although he initially held séances to earn money, his perspective changed after his death. death of your mother em 1913.

Devastated, Houdini began a crusade to expose fraudulent psychicsusing your knowledge of magic to discover his tricks. Despite his skepticism, he maintained a glimmer of hope that genuine spiritual communication might be possible and entered each session with an open mind, but he always found nothing but deception.

Houdini and Bess created their secret code – “Rosabelle, answer, say, pray, answer, look, say, answer, answer, say” – a mixture of personal meaning and their act of reading minds on stage. This code, unknown to everyone, was Houdini’s final test to prove life after death. However, none of the countless mediums who claimed to have contacted him managed to convey the correct message.

Although Bess has abandoned her search, the annual Halloween tradition of trying to contact Houdini endures. His story remains a compelling mix of magic, mystery and a sincere belief in discovering the truth, even from beyond the grave. For believers and skeptics alike, Houdini’s spirit continues to captivate.