1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is the 2 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 1: story about a ghost, a ghost story, a ghost who 3 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: was full of shit, a ghost, too many say represented 4 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: the greatest illusionist of all time, escape artist Harry Houdini. 5 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: But it's also a story about the occult, about magic, 6 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: about fame and grief, and about a mansion where great 7 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: music was made. Unlike that music I played for you 8 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: at the top of the show. That wasn't great music. 9 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: That was a preset loop for my melotron called Laurels 10 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: Blues MK. Two. I played you that loop because I 11 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: can't afford the rights to I Adore Mia Moore by 12 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: Color Me Bad? And why would I play you that 13 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: specific slice of heart shaped creola cheese? Could I afford it? 14 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America. On 15 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: September twenty fourth, nineteen ninety one, and that was the 16 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: day of the Red Hot Chili Peppers released the album Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic, 17 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: further stoking the myth of Harry Hoddin's ghost. On this episode, 18 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: the Occult, Fame, Grief, the Chili Peppers, and the Ghost 19 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: of Harry Houdini. I'm Jake Brennan. In this his disgraceland. 20 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: John Fruchante, guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, felt 21 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 22 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: He was staring at a missing panel on the ceiling, 23 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: watching the darkness inside stare back at him. He heard 24 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: the sounds again, strange noises, voices, and then a disembodied 25 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: scream somewhere between pleasure and pain. John thought about what 26 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: his friend and bandmate, Chili Peppers bass player Flee had 27 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 1: told him the other day. That he saw a lady 28 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: dressed in black walking around this place, but not just 29 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: any lady. She was there, and also she wasn't there. 30 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: She was translucent, a ghost. John Fruchante wasn't sure what 31 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: he expected from this rehab mansion in the Laurel Canyon 32 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: neighborhood of Los Angeles, but it wasn't this. For decades, 33 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: Laurel Canyon, nestled up in the hills between Hollywood and 34 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: the San Fernando Valley, have been a creative sanctuary for 35 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: artists and musicians. In the nineteen sixties, it was ground 36 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: zero for the counterculture movement. Home to Mama Cass, Frank Zappa, 37 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 1: the Birds in Buffalo, Springfield It's where Graham Nash and 38 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: Joni Mitchell fell in love and then dropped out of love. 39 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: It's where John Lennon dropped acid for the first time 40 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: while the actor Peter Fonda told him what it was 41 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: like to be dead. Okay, that last one technically happened 42 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: in Bennett at Canyon, I think, but it's like right 43 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: next door, so you know, close enough. And now, in 44 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one, roughly a quarter century after the Summer 45 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: of Love, John Fruchianta and the Red Hot Chili Peppers 46 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: found themselves carrying on that rich tradition, living in a 47 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: four bedroom house and Laurel Canyon, specifically on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, 48 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: which was referred to aptly and quite simply as the Mansion. 49 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: Along with their producer Rick Rubin an engineer Brendan O'Brien, 50 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: the band had installed a makeshift studio inside the mansion 51 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: so that they could record their fifth studio album there. 52 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: That album, Blood Sugar Sex Magic, would transform the group 53 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: from freaky stylely La Seinsters into one of the biggest 54 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: rock bands on the planet. But more on that in 55 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: a minute. The idea was that the Chili Peppers would 56 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: live and work in the same space for the duration 57 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,719 Speaker 1: of the album's recording, thus isolating themselves from the influence 58 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,039 Speaker 1: of the outside world while also tapping into their deep 59 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: musical brotherhood. Or, as the band's lead singer Anthony Keita 60 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: so poetically put it, by not recording in a traditional studio, 61 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: they avoided the quote anal retentive vibrations of the sterilicity 62 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: involved with that sort of courting environment unquote. But drummer 63 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: Chad Smith, the odd man out in the Chili Peppers 64 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: in more ways than one, didn't want to spend every 65 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,840 Speaker 1: night in the mansion with the other guys. He just 66 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: met the girl that he was pretty sure he was 67 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: going to marry one day at after hours hanging with 68 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: these dudes. The last thing he wanted to do was 69 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: hang out with them some more, go put socks on 70 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: their dicks or whatever it was they were doing, and 71 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: not when he had a lady waiting for him back home. Plus, 72 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: the mansion was creepy as fuck. Weird shit happened there 73 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: all the time. But this being the Red Hot Chili Peppers, 74 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: the same band that was currently laying down new tunes 75 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,479 Speaker 1: with titles like Suck My Kiss, and Sir Psycho sexy. 76 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,720 Speaker 1: The supernatural vibe of the place quickly took a turn 77 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: from creepy to horny. John was the first one to 78 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: hear it, the sounds of a woman getting laid in 79 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: one of the other rooms. It sounded so real, but 80 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: just like the trapdoor in the ceiling, John couldn't see anything. 81 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: It didn't matter. The moaning, the panting, the shrieking climaxes, 82 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: they couldn't be ignored. Up to that point, John had 83 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: focused solely on the music he was making with the band, 84 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: and they had a tight deadline, a deadline that Warner 85 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: Brothers Records was holding firm. But he just couldn't hold 86 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: out any longer. He spent the next night in that room, 87 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: turned on by all that weird ghost sex, a room 88 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: in which, as he later told Interview Magazine, he furiously masturbated. Still, 89 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: John and the others were curious as to who or 90 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: what these spirits were, so they called in a team 91 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: of paranormal experts to investigate, or should I say so 92 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: called paranormal experts, Because after a few visits in which 93 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,359 Speaker 1: the investigators seemed to become possessed by whatever was in 94 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: the house, it became apparent that they were simply trying 95 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: to scare the band in order to make a quick buck. 96 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: Cut to a few months later, and the Red Hot 97 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: Chili Peppers were the ones making the Bucks. Big Bucks, 98 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: released in September of nineteen ninety one, and led by 99 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: the tremendous success of the ballad Under the Bridge, Blood Sugar, 100 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: Sex Magic made the band megastars. And while that album 101 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: was making its way up the charts, and John, Anthony, Flee, 102 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: and Chad all returned to their respective homes in the 103 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: Greater Los Angeles area. Back on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, ghosts 104 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: continued to haunt the living, and just because a team 105 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: paranormal investigators tried to take the Chili Peppers for a ride, 106 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: it didn't mean that the spirits inside the place weren't real. 107 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: Years later, after Rick Rubin purchased the mansion at two 108 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: four five one Laurel Cannon Boulevard and continued to use 109 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: it as an unorthodox studio, the band Slip Knot had 110 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: their own creepy encounter with an apparition while recording there, 111 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: this time the ghost of a Man in the tuxedo. 112 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,119 Speaker 1: The legend of Rick Rubin's Haunted Mansion grew partly because 113 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: it was commonly being referred to as the Houdini Mansion, 114 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: named for the iconic illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini, 115 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: who died back in nineteen twenty six. While calling Rick's 116 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: Place the Houdini Mansion is something of a misnomer because 117 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: there is no evidence that Houdini ever lived at two 118 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: four five one Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Now just down the 119 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: road Apiece, there's another mansion, this one at two four 120 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: zero zero Laurel Canyon Boulevard, as well as its smaller 121 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: guesthouse across the street, number two four three five, and 122 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: there is some evidence that Harry Houdini and his wife 123 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: Bess may in fact have resided at one or both 124 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: of these addresses when Houdini was in town to shoot 125 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: a couple of movies near the end of the silent 126 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: film era, and it was in this exact area, the 127 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: twenty four hundred block of Laurel Canyon, that a small 128 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 1: but devoted group of people gathered every year On Halloween night, 129 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: October thirty first, the anniversary of Harry Houdini's death, They 130 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: gathered to perform an annual ritual, and they performed this 131 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: ritual in nineteen thirty six and nineteen fifty six, even 132 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: as late as nineteen ninety one, at the moment that blood, sugar, 133 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: sex magic was being blasted from car windows cruising down 134 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 1: nearby Hollywood Boulevard. This ritual was conducted under the belief 135 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: that Harry Houdini, the greatest escape artist of all time, 136 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: had saved his best trick for last, that he was 137 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: going to find a way to escape from the great beyond, 138 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: to tear the fabric between this world and the next, 139 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: and furthermore, that this group of true believers would be 140 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,319 Speaker 1: his guide as he made his unprecedented exit from the 141 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: suite hereafter carrying out the ritual, did so hidden amongst 142 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:07,559 Speaker 1: laurel canyons, flora and fauna, lit only by candlelight, emboldened 143 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: not by blood or sugar or sex, but by magic, 144 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: black magic, reaching into the dust of the past, peering 145 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: through the veils of time, reality, and reason to do 146 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: the impossible, to wake up a dead man and bring. 147 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 2: Him back to life. 148 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,480 Speaker 1: What is magic? The Mirriam Webster Dictionary describes it as 149 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: quote the use of means such as charms or spells 150 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: believed to have supernatural power over natural forces. That's the quote. 151 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: Jimmy Page and David Bowie's favorite occultist, Alistair Crowley, define 152 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: magic as the science and art of causing change to 153 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: occur in conformity with will. While the yacht rock band 154 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: America once insisted in the top ten single that you 155 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: can do magic, many of you out there probably think 156 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: that in reality, magic is a bunch of bullshit, And 157 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: you know what, you're not wrong. Stage magic, magic for entertainment, 158 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: all that pick a card, any card, rabit out of 159 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: a hat. Stuff. Yeah, that's total bullshit, bullshit by design. 160 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: It's not magic. I'm putting air quotes around that word, 161 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: by the way, so much as it is sleight of hand, 162 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: smoke and mirrors, misdirection. You know this though, but seeing 163 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: as you also know, is believing and getting you to 164 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: believe in something um believable is the whole game when 165 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 1: it comes to being a magician. Harry Houdini, for one, 166 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: understood this better than most. This is why he took 167 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: the breaking out of handcuffs. Not only was his mouth 168 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: tape shut, but completely naked, so that he theoretically had 169 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 1: nowhere to hide a key, and if you were alive 170 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: way back at the turn of the twentieth century and 171 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: saw Houdini do the impossible and only his birthday suit. 172 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: He did so knowing the old story about how when 173 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,080 Speaker 1: he was barely old enough to walk, he was already 174 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: picking the locks of his mother's treat box where she 175 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: kept her homemade apple cake. My point, you went into 176 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: the experience already believing that there was something special about 177 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: the guy, the Harry Houdini we all think of now 178 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty four, the illusionists who slipped out of 179 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,319 Speaker 1: straight jackets, who cheated death while submerged upside down in 180 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: what he called the water torture chamber. That was a 181 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: persona created in a large part by Houdini's very real limitations. 182 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: Ask any magician then and now, and they'll tell you 183 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,680 Speaker 1: Harry Houdini was a shitty magic man. What he was 184 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: good at was escaping from situations that John Q. Public 185 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: could never manage to escape from. That's how Houdini's legend 186 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 1: was made. He was the world's first escape artist. And 187 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 1: not only was he the first, more importantly, he was 188 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 1: the best. At least that's how he promoted himself Houdini 189 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: was aggressive when it came to self promotion, and he 190 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: took no prisoners. You get in his way, you steal 191 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: his thunder, you attempt to rewrite his story, you should 192 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: prepare to be destroyed. Even the great magician from whom 193 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: Houdini took a stage name, Jean Eugene Robert Houdin, eventually 194 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 1: found himself and his disciples crosshairs at five five and 195 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 1: all muscle. The man formerly known as Eric Weiss, a 196 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,679 Speaker 1: native of Budapest, even though he'd have you believe he 197 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,439 Speaker 1: was born in Appleton, Wisconsin. Harry Houdini like the greatest 198 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: of showmen and the toughest of bullies. Anyone who listened 199 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: to prove him wrong. Bring him us at a cuffs 200 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: and he'd break free. Lock him in a prison cell 201 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 1: and he'd bust out. But Houdini was no superman. He 202 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: wasn't an alien from another planet. He was only human. 203 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: The means and methods of his particular brand of illusion 204 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: were real, and thus the one thing that really got 205 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: Houdini's goat was when someone tried to undermine all his 206 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: hard work, his real work, by giving credit to magic. 207 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: Spiritualists were having their moment at this time in history, 208 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 1: the early nineteen hundreds. Now, I'll think of a spiritualist 209 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: like a medium, someone who claims they can communicate with 210 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: the dead. In Houdini's eyes, spiritualists were like those guys 211 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 1: hired to investigate the ghosts who convinced John Fruchiante to 212 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: rub one out in a haunted mansion, and they were 213 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: a cheap parlor trick, a hoax. Houdini had more respect 214 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: for the common criminal, the person who was openly cheating you. 215 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: We know because he wrote and published a book called 216 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: The Right Way to Do Wrong, which, besides being a 217 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: great title, was all about how to commit crimes and 218 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: actually get away with them. But again, Harry Houdini was 219 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: only human, and even he could be convinced to give 220 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: the whole spiritualism thing a try, especially when his beloved mother, 221 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: Cecilia died of a stroke in nineteen thirteen at the 222 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: age of seventy two. Cecilia was Houdini's rock. Some even 223 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: said she was the motivation behind his career, that the 224 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: reason he worked as hard as he did was because 225 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: he once promised his father that he Houdini would take 226 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: care of his mother till her dying day, and now 227 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: that day had arrived, and Houdini, pained and grieving, would 228 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: do anything to speak with her again. So years later, 229 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 1: when his good friend, the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 230 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: creator of Sherlock Holmes, along with Doyle's wife Lady, invited 231 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: Houdini and his wife Bess to a seance. Houdini took 232 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: the bait the Doyles, like many at the time bodily 233 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: stock and spiritualism. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hoped that by 234 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: performing the seance, by contacting Houdini's dead mother, he could 235 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: bring some solace to his friend in the time of 236 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 1: great need. Let's set the scene. The room is dark, 237 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: the blinds are drawn. The faint sound of ocean waves 238 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: gently lapping a nearby beach here carried on the wind 239 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: through an open window. Candle flames flicker on a table 240 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 1: in the center of the room, and they toss shadows 241 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 1: on the wall at one end of the table, the 242 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: Houdinis at the other end, The Doyles. Sir Arthur Conan 243 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: Doyle hung his head and Harry Houdini followed his friend's 244 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:48,479 Speaker 1: lead and did the same. The Lady Doyle began to speak, Cecilia, 245 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: Cecilia Weiss, are you here? This was the same question 246 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 1: Houdini himself had been asking for years now, Mama, Mama, 247 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 1: are you here? He sought out his dead mother in dreams. 248 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: He often startled awake in a cold sweat, reaching out 249 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 1: for her, but she was never there when he called. 250 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:14,919 Speaker 1: She was always just out of reach. Tonight, however, when 251 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: Lady Doyle asked that question, Cecilia, are you here tonight? 252 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: The question was answered by three loud knocks on the table. 253 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: Every muscle in Houdini's body tensed up, his throat clenched, 254 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: The flames of the candles on the table flapped wildly, 255 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: as if something had just passed through them. Was his 256 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 1: mother really here in this room with him? Right now? 257 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 1: Harry Houdini, the world's greatest skeptic, could feel the impossible happening. 258 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: He was starting to believe. Suddenly, Lady Doyle picked up 259 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: a pen from the table in front of her and 260 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: began writing on sheets of paper. She wrote fast, and 261 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 1: seeing that she wasn't even looking at what she was writing, 262 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 1: auto writing they called it psychography, allowing a spirit to 263 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 1: miss manipulate your hand and write for you. Houdini knew 264 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:05,640 Speaker 1: this to be one of the buzzwords around spiritualism, and 265 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: now he was watching it happen in the flesh. And 266 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 1: by the time Lady Doyle had finished, she had written 267 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 1: on fifteen pieces of paper, all of it a long, 268 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 1: loving message to Houdini from his deceased mother, or so 269 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 1: the Doyle said. The papers were handed over to Houdini 270 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: and he began to read, but not before he noticed 271 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 1: what Lady Doyle had drawn at the top of the 272 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:34,040 Speaker 1: first page across odd, he thought, seeing as his family 273 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: was not Christian but Jewish. And then as he began 274 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: to read in earnest he was struck by how the 275 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,199 Speaker 1: words were written in English, not in German, which was 276 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 1: the only language his mother spoke. That was all the 277 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,159 Speaker 1: proof he needed. He didn't even need to know that 278 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: the three knocks on the table at the start of 279 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: the seance had actually been made by Lady Doyle herself, 280 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 1: not by a spirit. Harry Houdini had been hoodwinked by 281 00:18:57,359 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: a friend. No less, he'd been made to look like 282 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: a do and Houdini would not be made to look 283 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,200 Speaker 1: like a doe. The seance ruined Houdini and Doyle's friendship forever. 284 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:11,679 Speaker 1: It also sent Houdini on a crusade against spiritualism. He 285 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: publicly took on bogus mediums who were conning people out 286 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 1: of their money. He testified before Congress and hopes that 287 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: he could single handedly outlaw seances altogether. They were bad 288 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: for Houdini's image. They were bad for business, and around 289 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:30,199 Speaker 1: this time, the nineteen tents the nineteen twenties, business was 290 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:35,399 Speaker 1: very good for the world's pre eminent escape artist. Harry 291 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 1: Houdini was one of the most famous people on the planet, 292 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,639 Speaker 1: as big as Babe Ruth or Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was 293 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: a master of the moving picture. Movies dazzled American audiences, 294 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,160 Speaker 1: and they were their own kind of magic. For Harry Houdini. 295 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: Cinema was another illusion, another conduit from which to saturate 296 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 1: the market with his brand, which is why in nineteen nineteen, 297 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: Harry Houdini and his wife Bess pulled up stakes from 298 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,359 Speaker 1: their home in New York City and went out west 299 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: to Los Angeles, so that the world's greatest escape artists 300 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: could become a big movie star. Instead, he became something else, immortal. 301 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this We're, We're, We're. Contrary 302 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: to popular belief, Harry and Bess Houdini never owned the 303 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: mansion at twenty four hundred Laurel Canyon Boulevard, the one 304 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,120 Speaker 1: just down the road from Rick Rubin's mansion, nor did 305 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,200 Speaker 1: they own the guest house across the street. Those were 306 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: the property of Ralph M. Walker, a department store executive 307 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: who happened to be friends with the couple. Hard evidence 308 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: is scarce, but let's just say it is very likely 309 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: that Ralph Walker let the Houdinis crash in his guesthouse 310 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: while they were in town for Harry to shoot two movies, 311 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: The Grim Game and Terror Island. Rumor had it that 312 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 1: the guesthouse had an elevator that dropped you underground, where 313 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: you could make your way through a dark tunnel passing 314 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: beneath Laurel Canyon Boulevard and find yourself surfacing over at 315 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:12,120 Speaker 1: the Big House, a three story, eleven bedroom, nine bathroom 316 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: Mediterranean style villa with a ballet room and a big 317 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 1: stage for musicians. The whole underground tunnel business fits perfectly 318 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 1: with Houdini's image a master escape artist who could secretly 319 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: escape from his own home and you never saw exactly 320 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: how he did it, how he got out of a 321 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: coffin six feet underground, or how he pulled off the 322 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 1: metamorphosis act, the one where he was bound with rope 323 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,040 Speaker 1: and locked inside a trunk, only for the trunk to 324 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: be opened and revealed that he was no longer there 325 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 1: and instead his wife Bess was in his place, bound 326 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 1: in the very same way. Maybe fake rivets, fake screws, 327 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: or fake welds, and the construction of the apparatusus. Maybe 328 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: real handcuffs were swapped of for trick handcuffs. He kept 329 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: audiences guessing, is the point, and he also made sure 330 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,119 Speaker 1: they had some skin in the game by welling their challenges. 331 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: There was no problem he couldn't solve, and no outside 332 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,240 Speaker 1: force he couldn't beat. You could even punch him in 333 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,199 Speaker 1: the stomach if you wanted. He would easily absorb the 334 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: blow with what appeared to be prodigious strengths. Houdini couldn't 335 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: remember if he had actually issued that last challenge publicly 336 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: to be punched in the stomach, but in nineteen twenty six, 337 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,400 Speaker 1: a student at McGill University in Montreal was telling him that, yes, 338 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: indeed he had and Furthermore, the student wanted HOODII to 339 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: prove it now. Hoodini was tired. His career as a 340 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,680 Speaker 1: movie star never took off like he expected it would, 341 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: and one of the two movies he made, The Grim Game, 342 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,720 Speaker 1: didn't even get released. He was fifty two years old 343 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,119 Speaker 1: and these days increasingly worn out by the physical demands 344 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: that his job as an illusionist required. His fight against 345 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: the spiritualist movement was a losing battle, not as great 346 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: of a loss as that of his mother, whose death 347 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 1: thirteen years earlier still weighed heavily on his mind. This 348 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: is all to say he wasn't operating at one hundred percent. 349 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,359 Speaker 1: And I haven't even mentioned the incredible pain happening in 350 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: his stomach, pain that he'd been experiencing for weeks but 351 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: had not told anyone about, not even best. But here 352 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: in Montreal at McGill, he was still a god, still 353 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,119 Speaker 1: revered by an adoring public that was humbled to have 354 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,639 Speaker 1: the world's greatest escape artist in their presence, or so 355 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,919 Speaker 1: thought the two students currently interviewing Houdini for the school paper. 356 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: That interview was on hold for a moment, however, as 357 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: a third student entered the room and brazenly asked if 358 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,879 Speaker 1: he could test one of Houdini's standing challenges. He wanted 359 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 1: to punch Houdini as hard as he could. Pudini paused 360 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 1: for a moment. Again, he couldn't remember actually making that 361 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,359 Speaker 1: challenge to the public, but it didn't matter. He was 362 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,159 Speaker 1: motivated not only by a promise he once made to 363 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,439 Speaker 1: his father, but by his own iconic status, by his 364 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: dominance as the most incredible entertainer of the day. He 365 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: would defend that status and that dominance by any means necessary, 366 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: even if the crowd was small, like it was today. 367 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:13,479 Speaker 1: So Houdini accepted the student's challenge. He began to stand 368 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 1: from where he was seated, but before he could straighten 369 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,439 Speaker 1: his back, tense up the right muscles, and get his 370 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 1: athletic body in the proper stance for such an attack, 371 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: the kid came in hot with a clenched fist. Three 372 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: punches in quick succession to Houdini's ribs and stomach. Houdini 373 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 1: doubled over Jesus Christ. That hurt, and he could hardly 374 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: get his bearings before the kid swung again. He landed 375 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 1: another punch as Houdini was going down, and another, and 376 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: another about seven in total. Houdini's insides were in turmoil. 377 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: He thought his stomach hurt before, but now it was 378 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: on fire. Still, he couldn't actually show that he was 379 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,399 Speaker 1: in pain, so he simply offered a tense smile to 380 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:56,920 Speaker 1: the three kids in the room and politely said that'll do. 381 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: He wanted to put the whole ord ill behind him, 382 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: the pain, the humiliation. But later that night, while performing 383 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,720 Speaker 1: on stage in Montreal, Houdini began to sweat. His heart 384 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 1: was pounding in his ears, and the pain in his 385 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,959 Speaker 1: stomach was getting unbearable. After the show, he collapsed. He 386 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 1: was hot and then cold. His temperature spiked to one 387 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: hundred and two. He took a train to Detroit for 388 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: his next show, and there a doctor made the diagnosis 389 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,439 Speaker 1: the Houdini was suffering from appendicitis. He was instructed to 390 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: go to a hospital for immediate surgery. Houdini declined treatment. 391 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,360 Speaker 1: The show must go on and all that. So he 392 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 1: took the stage in Detroit without one hundred and four 393 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: degree fever. He collapsed twice. His eyes burned, his lips quivered. 394 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: He slipped in and out of consciousness. His dreams began 395 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,720 Speaker 1: to mix with reality. He saw faces, not only the 396 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:57,439 Speaker 1: faces of those standing by his bed like best, but 397 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:03,280 Speaker 1: faces from his past traveling medicine shows. Sideshow freaks, a 398 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: Japanese acrobat who once taught him how to swallow a 399 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 1: ball and cough it back up, the barker who gave 400 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: him a crash course and how to slip free from ropes. 401 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,200 Speaker 1: The ghosts of his own mind haunting him or welcoming him. 402 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,719 Speaker 1: He wasn't quite sure. He just wanted it all to stop, 403 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,680 Speaker 1: so he finally relented and agreed to allow the doctors 404 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:27,199 Speaker 1: in Detroit to remove his appendix. In the end, it 405 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 1: didn't matter, the damage was already done, whether the punch 406 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: from that McGill student caused the appendicitis, had just made 407 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: it worse, or whether it even had nothing to do 408 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: with the appendicitis at all. Six days after that punch 409 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 1: and five days after surgery, Harry Houdini died on Halloween, 410 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: October thirty first, nineteen twenty six, but not before he'd 411 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 1: spoken to the attending surgeon from his hospital bed. The surgeon, 412 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 1: doctor Charles Kennedy, was glad that Houdini was recovering. Hodini's 413 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,719 Speaker 1: fever had gone down, and he was once again thinking clearly, 414 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,679 Speaker 1: and that clarity led to some reflection. He told the 415 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,479 Speaker 1: surgeon that he'd always wanted to be a doctor and 416 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,679 Speaker 1: that he regretted not doing so, and the surgeon couldn't 417 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 1: believe what he was hearing. Houdini was the greatest illusionist 418 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 1: on the planet. He was rich, he was famous, and 419 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:23,159 Speaker 1: he brought people great joy. Wudini responded, not like he 420 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 1: was speaking to a surgeon, but like he was speaking 421 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: to a priest. The difference between you and me, Hudini said, 422 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:35,199 Speaker 1: is that you actually do things for people. I, in 423 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 1: almost every respect, am a fake. 424 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:10,439 Speaker 3: Oh thou disembodied spirits. Those of you that have grown 425 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 3: old in the mysterious laws of spirit Land, we greek dee. 426 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,399 Speaker 3: We have gathered here at the appointed time. We have 427 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,280 Speaker 3: complied with all the requirements to enable all of you 428 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 3: to make your presence known. All is in readiness. It 429 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:32,919 Speaker 3: is the spirit of Houdini. We wish to contact Houdini. 430 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 3: Are you here? Are you here, Houdini, Harry, We are 431 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 3: all seekers after truth. Please manifest yourself in any way 432 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 3: possible to LEVI. Take the table, move it, lift the table, 433 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:51,479 Speaker 3: move it, wrap on it. 434 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: Spell out a. 435 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 3: Cold Henry please please, Bugini, we are awaiting speak Heady. 436 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,240 Speaker 1: What you've just heard is recording of a seance that 437 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: was conducted on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel in 438 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: Hollywood almost ninety years ago on Halloween night, October thirty first, 439 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:12,520 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six. The goal of the seance was to 440 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 1: make contact with Harry Houdini on the tenth anniversary of 441 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: his death. It was the brainchild of Houdini's widow, Bess, 442 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: and a man named Edward Saint, the guy you just 443 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: heard in that recording. Edward Saint was a former Carnival 444 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 1: barker who became professionally and romantically involved with Bess a 445 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:33,160 Speaker 1: few years after Houdini died, when she was depressed, drinking 446 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: and smoking way too much and throwing parties in seances 447 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: back at what came to be known as the Houdini Mansion. 448 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: Not Rick Rubin's mansion on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, but Ralph 449 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 1: Walker's three story Mediterranean style villa just down the road, 450 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 1: the one with the guest house connected by an underground tunnel. 451 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 1: Like those parties, best, Houdini's rooftop seance was strictly invitation only. 452 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 1: Three hundred people total, the CNB scene of Hollywood, captains 453 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: of industry, the true heads of spiritualism, all of them 454 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: craning their necks to get a glimpse of the dimly 455 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: lit table where Bess and Edward Saint went through the motions. 456 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: Bess claimed that she and her late husband had made 457 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: a pact that the first one to die would attempt 458 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: to contact the other from the afterlife. She further claimed 459 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:21,959 Speaker 1: that they had developed an intricate code, a string of 460 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,239 Speaker 1: words that her dead husband would communicate to her in 461 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 1: order to prove that it was really him. And in 462 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 1: addition to the code, Harry Houdini's ghosts would then unlocked 463 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: the pair of handcuffs resting on a table. In so 464 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 1: many words, Bess Houdini claimed that she was attempting the 465 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: greatest magic trick ever, bringing back the dead. Of course, 466 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: it was total bullshit, as much bullshit as a card trick. 467 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: Her dead husband could have told you that it was 468 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: nothing more than spiritualist hoke entertainment. You could even call 469 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 1: it insurance to make sure that Harry Houdini's name and 470 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,400 Speaker 1: legend stayed relevant in the annals of time, even as 471 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: time marched on. It was also the last time Best 472 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 1: led a public seance, but it wasn't the last time 473 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: the living tried to make contact with the ghost of 474 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: Harry Houdini. A few miles northwest of the Knickerbocker on 475 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: Laurel Canyon Boulevard, among the willow trees, sycamore, and cottonwood. 476 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 1: Year after year, on Halloween night, they gathered those who 477 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: believed in those who wanted to believe. They gathered when 478 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,160 Speaker 1: Ralph Walker's mansion and guesthouse were still standing, and they 479 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: gathered when both properties burned to the ground in the 480 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 1: Great Fire of nineteen fifty nine. They gathered as ivy 481 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,920 Speaker 1: began to consume the ruins, and they drew pentagrams on 482 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 1: crumbling pillars and burned candles on the remains of staircases. 483 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,880 Speaker 1: They planted a wooden cross in the yard and draped 484 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: it with ceremonial beads. They sang out archaic incantations, hymns 485 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: to the underworld, designed to summon forth the greatest escape 486 00:31:55,640 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: artists who ever lived. And then there in the moonlight, 487 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: someone saw it. A figure, a man. He was walking 488 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: the grounds, dressed in a suit and a bow tie. 489 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,080 Speaker 1: He was there and he wasn't as translucent as a 490 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,959 Speaker 1: sliver of thinly sliced garlic. They followed closely behind, and 491 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: the man made no sound. It was like he was 492 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 1: walking on air. Seconds later, he disappeared into the mist. 493 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: He reappeared months later in Chicago, walking right into someone's bedroom. 494 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: Then in Long Beach, took possession of a medium and 495 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 1: spoke through her mouth. Soon after that, he was seen 496 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,920 Speaker 1: in Kansas City, in Detroit, in Montreal, and the people 497 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,880 Speaker 1: who saw Houdini's ghost all over the country swore that 498 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:53,160 Speaker 1: what they saw was real, that he really had come 499 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: back from the dead. But how was his sleight of 500 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:03,680 Speaker 1: hand misdirection? Old fashioned bullshit? As they say, a magician 501 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:08,720 Speaker 1: never reveals his tricks. To do that will be a disgrace. 502 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:27,719 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created 503 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: by Yours Truly. It is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. 504 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 1: Credits for this episode can be found on the show 505 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 1: notes page at disgracelandpod dot com. Subscribe, follow, like, rate, 506 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,960 Speaker 1: and review the Disgracelam podcast wherever you get your podcast. 507 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:45,400 Speaker 1: Because the Disgracelam podcast is now available everywhere. If you 508 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: love Disgraceland, tell someone, tell everyone, Shout us out on 509 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,880 Speaker 1: social spread the word and follow us to find out 510 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: how you can cop some free merch for spreading that word. 511 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:58,560 Speaker 1: Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at disgraceland Pod, 512 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 1: and on YouTube at YouTube dot com, slash at Disgraceland 513 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: pop Rockabroll. He's a bad, bad man.