A Magician Among the Spirits

Harry Houdini

• Publisher: Rare Treasure Editions
• eBook ISBN:
  9781774641200
• Year: 2023

Harry Houdini (1874–1926), whose real name was Erik Weisz, was one of the most famous magicians and escapologists of all time. He was highly sceptical of the many claims made concerning psychic and paranormal phenomena, which were very popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He attended hundreds of séances for the purposes of his study, and never experienced one he believed genuine. In this book, published in 1924, he described the mediums and psychics whom he revealed as fraudulent, exposing the tricks which had convinced many notable scientists and academics. These included spirit writing, table rapping, spirit manifestations, and levitation. Among those he revealed as frauds was the famous medium Mina Crandon, and his exposures led to a public split with his former friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a firm believer. The book is a fascinating account of superstition and gullibility.

Table of contents

• A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS
• CONTENTS
• ILLUSTRATIONS
• INTRODUCTION
• PREFACE
• A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS
• CHAPTER I THE FOUNDERS OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM
• CHAPTER II THE DAVENPORT BROTHERS
• CHAPTER III DANIEL DUNGLAS HOME
• CHAPTER IV PALLADINO
• CHAPTER V ANN O’DELIA DISS DEBAR
• CHAPTER VI DR. SLADE AND HIS SPIRIT SLATES
• CHAPTER VII SLATE WRITING AND OTHER METHODS
• CHAPTER VIII SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY
• CHAPTER IX SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
• CHAPTER X WHY ECTOPLASM?
• CHAPTER XI BY-PRODUCTS OF SPIRITUALISM
• CHAPTER XII INVESTIGATIONS—WISE AND OTHERWISE
• CHAPTER XIII HOW MEDIUMS OBTAIN INFORMATION
• CHAPTER XIV WHAT YOU MUST BELIEVE TO BE A SPIRITUALIST
• CHAPTER XV MAGICIANS AS DETECTORS OF FRAUD
• CHAPTER XVI CONCLUSION
• APPENDIX
• FOOTNOTES
• INDEX