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Tuesday, 07 November 2006 17:14 |
| John North
Editor & Publisher |
For many people, Halloween involves trick-or-treating, attending costume parties or watching scary movies, but for 80 years, a group of Harry Houdini enthusiasts have gotten together annually for something much more bizarre.
Specifically, a select group, comprised of 13 magicians and experts on Houdini, have convened for a s?©ance in Manhattan every Oct. 31 ÇƒÓ on the day that Houdini died in 1926. They seek the reappearance of the man billed as the worldës all-time greatest escape artist. One of this yearës participants was Dorothy Young, 99, who was a radio girl in the cast of Houdiniës touring show in 1925.
While still among the living, Houdini reportedly said that "itës humanly impossible" to return from the dead, "but Iëll be there in spirit."
As
a result, each Halloween an empty wooden chair is placed on a stage ǃÓ
for Houdini if he reappears, the lights are dimmed and the s?©ance
participants place their palms flat on a roundtable, touching the hands
of those flanking them.
This year,
s?©ance director Sidney H. Radner began by asking everyone to turn off
their cellphones, noting that "I donët think Houdini is going to come
back by cellphone," according to a story in The New York Times last
Wednesday.
He then turned
over the s?©ance to Jon Stetson, billed as a "renowned New England
psychic medium," who told the audience, "Success rests on your
willingness to push aside logic." At first, he implored Houdini to make
an appearance. Next, trying flattery, he called Houdini "a crusader, a
genius."
At that point, Stetson reportedly intoned, "Weëre waiting for a sign, Harry. Itës been 80 years, Harry."
After 20
minutes, with no sign of Houdini, the s?©ance was ended and the
disappointed participants exited ÇƒÓ until next year. The activity is
held in the auditorium at the Center for Jewish History on West 16th
Street.
While Stetson
said he felt there was energy in the room, "I do not feel that contact
was made" with Houdini, the Times quoted him as saying.
Were the groupës efforts pointless?
"Personally, I
donët think the day is right," Stetson said, blaming Houdiniës no-show
on too much skepticism and too many people doing s?©ances using
fraudulent methods that Houdini would have exposed.
Interestingly,
Stetson also said that he was not expecting a "bolt of lightning"
because "the true manifestations are in us ... It all happens in our
head."
Disagreeing, one
participant, Larry Sloman, co-author of the book, "The Secret Life of
Houdini," said, "This was the closest yet. I felt something in the
room. Maybe it was Harry sleeping here..."
Also, there was
a flickering of the lights at the end of the s?©ance, but some
participants said it might have been the work of a technician operating
the lights.
I can only
imagine the disappointment among his loyalists, inasmuch as Houdini, in
life, could slip out of handcuffs and emerge from tomblike burials.
I suppose it is difficult for them to believe that there are limits, even on someone like Houdini.
I also wonder
how many years this cult-like gathering will continue. Surely, at some
point ÇƒÓ maybe 200 years from now ÇƒÓ the "Houdinites" will give up.
Ironically,
Houdini seems to have achieved some level of immortality because his
return still is anxiously anticipated by some believers 80 years after
his passing.
ï
John North, publisher and editor of the Daily Planet, may be reached at publisher-at-ashevilledailyplanet.com.
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