1926: The End of Houdini's Detroit Streak

Harry Houdini performed 19 times in Detroit between 1894 and 1926. That final run ended on October 31, 1926, when the escape artist died in the city he had helped make famous. This Halloween marks the 100th anniversary of that death.

Houdini built his reputation by escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets, and locked boxes. In 1906, he jumped from Belle Isle Bridge into the Detroit River while bound. Reports at the time noted the water was not frozen, contradicting later movie versions that showed him breathing in ice holes. He emerged unscathed, and his fame grew.

By 1914, he introduced the Water Torture Cell. He was lowered head first into a coffin-sized box filled with water. His ankles and the top of the box were locked. A curtain hid his method. Dorothy Young, who was 17 when she joined his troupe, said she always watched because it was very exciting. She noted that Houdini’s wife stood in the wings with a secret code in case he could not get out.

Houdini’s death did not result from a stage accident. In Montreal, a college wrestler punched him in the stomach several times. Houdini had boasted he could withstand blows, but he did not have time to tighten his muscles. Young said the boys did not give him a chance to protect himself.

Doctors told Houdini to rest. He refused to cancel his Detroit shows. Jeremy Dimick, a curator at the Detroit Historical Museum, said Houdini was under financial pressure to fulfill his contract. Dimick said Houdini only made it through one performance. He lacked the strength to put on makeup and collapsed during intermissions at the Garrick Theater. He had to be carried back to his hotel.

Houdini was taken to Grace Hospital. Doctors found he had ruptured his appendix. He underwent two surgeries. On Halloween, he died. The theater, hotel, and hospital no longer exist. The funeral home that embalmed him became a girls' art school. In 2004, school head Juanita Hammond showed visitors a storage room with an indented floor used to drain bodily fluids. She said some students worried the magician's presence never left the school.

Houdini’s wife, Bess, held séances for a decade. She finally said good night to him on a Halloween séance ten years after his death. She appeared in a movie reenacting the scene. She said Houdini had always said it was impossible for the dead to return. She noted that if it had been possible, she would have had a sign in the past ten years.

John Sherwood at the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan, holds séances using Houdini’s milk can. Houdini would jump into the can, which was filled with warm water and locked with six Mastodon locks. Sherwood said some séances have placed a lox and bagel sandwich in the can to appeal to Houdini’s Jewish heritage. Sherwood is hosting another séance this Halloween. He said the centennial might be the time for the magician to appear for the sake of showmanship.