In the fall of 1925, Houdini opened a new full-evening show that included his debunking of psychics and mediums. The second séance, this time using the cabinet, was not successful and Crandon did not receive the cash prize. He immediately set out to debunk Crandon by attending one of her séances, at the end of which he is said to have remarked, "I've got her all fraud." To prove it, Houdini created a special "fraud preventer" cabinet, a crate with a slanted top with openings for the medium's head and arms. Months after joining the committee, Houdini heard the committee had deadlocked over a medium named Mina Crandon. Later in 1923, Houdini joined a panel that was put together by Scientific American Magazine, which offered a reward for any medium that could prove their psychic gifts were genuine. His book, A Magician Among the Spirits, would be published the following year. In 1923, he took time off from his magic act to travel across the country giving lectures against mediums. Like so many of his illusions, these activities received extensive coverage from the press. Though he continued to perform, Houdini spent most of his time focused on exposing what he called "vultures who prey on the bereaved." In fact, Harry would often attend séances in disguise in order to gather evidence, then leap up, tear off his disguise and reveal how the fraud was committed. He would also answer questions about false mediums in various newspapers throughout the country. He devised a secret code with his wife Bess so that only she could divine the legitimacy of the message.ĭuring personal appearances to promote his moves, Houdini would project slides of various mediums and denounce their supposed supernatural abilities.
However, to prove that he did have an open mind, the magician made a pact with his friends that when he died, he would make contact, if at all possible, from the other side. Ashamed of having masqueraded as a medium during his medicine show days, Houdini began making notes for a book. He knew he could duplicate their methods on stage and it was not long before his efforts to reach his mother became secondary to his need to expose the frauds. He began investigating their methods and claims and later became a self-appointed crusader against them. However, he found that the mediums he met were often frauds. Although he eventually focused on proving these people to be fakes, his initial entry into the world of the supernatural began when he attempted to contact his dead mother. In the 1920s, after the death of his mother, Houdini began focusing his energy on debunking psychics and mediums. Making reproducations of the floating hands felt during a séance
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