Who Killed Harry Houdini?

The Hungarian-born illusionist and escapologist became world-renowned for his death-defying stunts and nail-biting escapes. Nearly a century after his death, his most recent stint as the title of Dua Lipa’s hit song shows that Houdini's cultural relevance isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

But as with his lauded career, his death is also shrouded in mystery. This tale involves prophecies, enraged psychic mediums, the author of Sherlock Holmes, and rowdy university students. So grab your straight jacket and strap yourself in for this thrilling whodunit… or shall we say… Houdinit…

Born Erik Weisz, Houdini died in October 1926 at the age of 52. The story goes that, on October 22nd, moments before heading on stage to perform in Montreal, Houdini invited some university students to his dressing room.

One particular student questioned Houdini to see if the illusionist could truly withstand a punch to the stomach. Houdini claimed that he could, but the student repeatedly hit the magician before he was ready, rupturing his appendix.

Later on, through intense pain, Houdini performed the scheduled shows in Montreal before heading to Detroit for the rest of the tour. But consequentially, after the blow to the stomach, Houdini experienced insomnia, a severely high temperature, and acute appendicitis.

Although doctors tried to save him, Houdini passed away days after the punch.

Although the incident with the student in the dressing room likely led to Houdini’s death, the student in question was not charged, and the official cause of death was listed as appendicitis and peritonitis.

Houdini could have been in not the best of health regardless and possibly had appendicitis prior to their meeting anyway (it is very rare to get appendicitis from a traumatic punch). Furthermore, if Houdini had sought medical attention sooner rather than continuing with his tour, then he may have survived.

Yet, the incident was undeniably a catalyst and therefore, the student has always been associated with Houdini’s death. That student is our first suspect: Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead.

There isn’t much known about Whitehead.

In general, he seems to have been a somewhat odd character. He was 31 when he met Houdini, which at the time was a slightly unusual age for a university student.

After Houdini’s death, Whitehead faced a lot of negativity in the press and lived as a recluse and a hoarder; he was charged with shoplifting books twice, and he was involved in an accident that resulted in a metal plate being inserted into his skull.

Why did Whitehead want to hit Houdini? Did he have any malicious intentions? Was he perhaps working for… the spirit world?

I know that sounds like quite the leap, but stick with me here; this is where things start to get a little more interesting.

You see, Houdini was not only revered as an escapologist and illusionist; in the last few years of his life, he became fixated on debunking psychics, mediums and spiritualists. Houdini himself had previously performed a seance act with his wife, Bess, which he grew to regret.

The death of his father and, years later, his mother forced Houdini to question his beliefs in the spirit world and, subsequently, the ethics of using fraudulent magic techniques to appear to communicate with the dead. This, and the general lack of evidence of an afterlife, meant Houdini considered these acts as, in the words of author Adam Begley, a ‘crime of trifling with hopes of the bereaved.’

So, Houdini set about to debunk the occult. He collaborated with Scientific American, which was interested in the growing phenomenon of the afterlife, as many people were turning to speak to departed loved ones following the aftermath of the First World War and the influenza pandemic. A prize of $5,000 was offered to anybody who could prove they indeed possessed supernatural powers.

One particularly controversial character that Houdini faced was a woman considered the most credible psychic medium in America. Her stage name was Margery, though some considered her the Blonde Witch of Lime Street, but her real name was Mina Crandon.

Crandon, who herself had a gentle demeanour, proclaimed she could channel the spirit of her much more sinister deceased brother, Walter, who rang bells, lifted tables, and whispered in people’s ears. When Crandon demonstrated her supposed abilities to the panel, Houdini wasn’t buying it. He published his theories on how she was able to perform these stunts (including ringing the bells secretly with her feet and using fake ectoplasm) in a damning exposé.

Ultimately, Crandon did not win the cash prize, but this didn’t seem to impact her career. If anything, Houdini’s account riled up her supporters—so much so that in a seance in 1926, Walter (through Crandon) prophesied that “Houdini will be gone by Halloween.”

Halloween? That’s in October, right? Hang on… when did Houdini die again? That’s right; he only went and died on October 31st, didn’t he?!

Was there a link between Houdini’s death and the spirit world? 

One argument suggests that Whitehead was led to the dressing room on that day by an angry spirit, who guided his fist towards Houdini. Others believe that Whitehead was sent by spiritualists with Houdini as their target. So, did otherworldly forces ultimately kill Houdini, or did his relentless exposés against the spiritualist community lead to his assassination?

Another significant piece of this puzzle is that Crandon was not the only person who predicted Houdini’s impending mortality. Robert Gysel was Houdini’s trusted accomplice, who worked with him secretly during his live shows and was also a fellow sceptic. But a week before Houdini died, a framed picture of the world’s most famous escapologist fell from Gysel’s wall, shattering on the floor. In a letter to fellow magician Fulton Oursler, Gysel stated that he knew from that moment Houdini was going to die.

In William Kalush and Larry Sloman’s biography, The Secret Life of Houdini, the pair write about how spiritualists at the time did not shy away from poisoning their rivals. They discuss how it is possible that ‘if someone were hell-bent on poisoning Houdini, it wouldn’t have been very difficult’.

But surely they would have ascertained if Houdini was poisoned in his autopsy, right? Maybe… but no autopsy was ever performed on his body. So Kalush and Sloman’s assassination theory is plausible.

But how does Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes, come into all of this? I hear you ask.

Well, Doyle was not only a prolific writer but also a publicly staunch believer in spiritualism. Yet, bizarrely, and despite having the complete opposite opinions on this topic, Doyle and Houdini were good friends. Doyle believed Houdini genuinely possessed psychic abilities, and Houdini would invite Doyle to events hosted by magicians.

However, when Houdini’s anti-spiritualist fight grew stronger, their friendship became fractured, especially when Houdini and Scientific American joined forces. Doyle couldn’t understand how, in his view, Houdini could denounce the supernatural when, as a magician, he himself possessed supernatural abilities. And when it came to Houdini's death, Doyle had his own theory.

In a letter written to Harold Kellock, a biographer of Houdini, Doyle wrote:

This final line, about the prophecies being fulfilled, suggests that Doyle truly believed that there was a link between Houdini's untimely death and the spirit world.

Kalush and Sloman also highlight yet another letter written by Doyle in 1924, in which he states Houdini would "get his just desserts very exactly meted out." So, did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle know about a supposed plan to assassinate Houdini?

With all of this in mind, how will we know the true story of who killed Houdini? So many people have been searching for the answer, but I doubt it will ever be revealed. That hasn't stopped people trying to find it in many weird and wonderful ways. 

Apparently, Houdini made a promise to his wife, Bess, that he would (somewhat ironically) communicate with her from the dead. She went on to host seances every year for 10 years after his death to try and speak with him but to no avail. Since then, 'Houdini Seances' has become a Halloween tradition that continues to this day, but the famous illusionist remains silent.

Even Houdini's grandnephew, George Hardeen, tried to ‘set the record straight'' by seeking permission to reexamine Houdini's remains in an attempt to see if he was, in fact, poisoned. Still, the project was shunned by the family of Bess Houdini and ultimately never came to pass.

All things considered, the idea that Houdini's demise was a covered-up assassination performed by the spiritualist movement isn't too far-fetched that it's impossible, but it will forever remain a mystery.

Unfortunately, unless modern-day forensics are granted access to Houdini's remains, or instead, we can hear whispers from Whitehead, Crandon, Walter, Doyle, or even the great man himself, I highly doubt we will ever get to the bottom of who killed Houdini.

In a way, if the truth of what happened remains a secret taken to the grave, then that's all the more fitting for history's greatest magician.