HOUDINI SOUGHT

Hokitika Guardian, 11 May 1936, Page 7

HOUDINI SOUGHT

IN RADIO SEANCE

HOLLYAVOOD, Ayril 29

In an effort to effect contact with iier husband’ spirit, Mrs Houunn will conduct a seance by wireless, in which the whole nation will be asked to participate.

Houdini the famous magician and escaper, died 10 years ago, and since then his widow has attended scores of spiritualist meetings without success. Sne has invited everyone interested to participate in this final radio seance.

Mr Houdini hopes to hear from her husband’s spirit the secret message which they arranged before his death.

“This,” she says, “will be the ser ance to end all seances. “I shall hold it on a mountaintop as close as possible to heaven in the presence of as many as ■ possible of those interested.

“This is positively my last attempt to communicate with my husbanu, who promised to try to come back to me if there were such a thing as spiritualism. I shall abide by the result.”

The late Harry Houdini famous illusionist, left a code message in a sealed envelope in a safes deposit vault just before he died. Only Mrs Houdini can obtain .it; but she already knows .the contents.

Many mediums have since claimed that they have received Hoiylini’s message.

One well-known American medium the Rev. Arthur Ford, read what purported to be the" code message at a seance in 1929, but Mrs Houdini claimed she had tricked him by supplying him with a false version in advance.

The affair left a doubt of Mrs Houdini’s sincerity, so much so that on March 18, 1930, she felt impelled to make a public declaration at Miami that no medium had so far presented the clue by which she was to recognise a “legitimate message from Houdini.”

Mrs Houdini, .who after her husband’s death was attracted towards spiritualsm, seems to have changed her views later.

Recently she has been associated with the celebrated magician and illusionist, Joseph Dunninger, who has “exposed” many false mediums in America.

Several other noted psychic researchers have left messages in sealed envelopes. F. AY. Myer’s message was “read” by several mediums, but when the envelope was opened, all were wrong, including that of He famous English trance-medium Mrs Verrall.

Mr Gilbert, who died in • 1917 irt America promised to communicate through a medium with her husband, giving a secret code-word. Gilbertoffered a reward of £125, but after eight years ef false messages from 139 mediums, he gave up the quest.