The Houdini Spirit Summoning

Harry Houdini died on Halloween, October 31, 1926. Before he went, he and his wife Bess agreed on a secret coded message, and if there was any way back, he would send it. Bess listened for it every Halloween for ten years. Magicians have kept the appointment ever since. This Saturday is exactly one hundred years.

We have been sitting on this one for a while and were not allowed to say a word until now, so here it is, a little late and entirely on purpose. Halloween night, 11 pm, in a hotel with ghosts of its own.

Your host is Vince Wilson, author of The Houdini Séance and an authority on the Houdini spirit sessions (and on spirit sessions in general). He has been working in magic and the paranormal since 1998, and he takes Houdini's promise seriously, even though Houdini spent his last years exposing fake mediums. That irony is not lost on anyone at the table.

Eight guests sit at the table itself, in the circle, as close to the spirit session as anyone gets. Everyone else watches from the theatre seats. This is a celebration of Houdini more than a wake, so come in costume if you like, raise a glass to the man, and see whether he finally keeps his word.