Posted on 10/31/2026 4:54:43 AM PDT by DFG
Harry Houdini died 100 years ago on Halloween, and depending on who you ask he either died whilst performing a stunt inside a water torture cell, as the result of being punched in the abdomen, at the hands of spiritualists he had annoyed, or, according to one book, "by a crew of malevolent circus midgets who surreptitiously entered his hotel room to add arsenic to his morning tea".
Not to complicate things further, but a recent book has suggested that none of these are correct, and that he didn't even die on Halloween.
Harry Houdini used his time here on Earth in a pretty cool manner, starring in movies, performing illusions, debunking spiritualists, getting into long arguments with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, becoming the first person to make a controlled, powered flight over Australia, and indeed escaping from the occasional water torture cell, sometimes whilst in a straightjacket.
With him being such a legendary figure amongst magicians, it's no wonder more legends have surrounded his death.
Water torture chamber? It is no longer a common myth, but older readers might remember that it was rumored he died whilst performing a stunt inside a water torture cell.
This is likely the result of the 1953 film Houdini, in which the performer nearly drowns on stage. But magicians can't fire off a smoke grenade and run away from this one, as they too have their part in perpetuating this myth, as several performers claim that they can perform the trick which "killed Houdini" (hey, it's showbusiness bebby).
Houdini, for certain, did not die when a stunt went wrong.
A psychic assisted by circus performers? Another rumor that sprang up after Houdini's death was that he was killed by spiritualists who were tired of being debunked by him. The main suspect, according to this almost-certainly false idea, was a woman called Mina Crandon.
Known as "Margery" to her supporters, Crandon had a particularly public run-in with Houdini, after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle prompted the editor of Scientific American and an investigation committee to look into her supposed powers.
As these scientists gathered to watch Crandon perform, Houdini also sat in the crowd, before getting up on stage and performing all of Crandon's feats for the crowd without any of the claims of psychic powers.
Some speculated, without any real cause, that Houdini may have been killed by spiritualists attempting to warn off any other debunkers.
"Some of the specific theories of what happened include the psychic underworld having taken out 'a hit' on Houdini, administered either by a sinister medical orderly at Grace Hospital in the pay of Dr. Crandon," explains Christopher Sandford in the book Masters of Mystery: The Strange Friendship of Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.
"Or by a crew of malevolent circus midgets who surreptitiously entered his hotel room in order to add arsenic to his morning tea, among a host of other colorful scenarios worthy of the most flamboyant Sherlock Holmes story."
The stomach punch
These days, however, most people are usually aware that Harry Houdini died following a blow to his stomach.
As well as the various other tricks in his arsenal, Houdini would regularly demonstrate just how good he was at taking a punch, allowing strangers to punch him as hard as they could in his tummy.
But while Houdini was touring the USA in 1926, he met a student after a talk on spiritualism at McGill University, and invited him backstage after one of his shows. A friend of the student named Joselyn Gordon Whitehead joined them backstage, and after getting permission from Houdini, took Houdini's tummy for a spin.
"He gave Houdini some very hammer-like blows below the belt," a witness wrote of the incident, adding that the pummeling continued despite his own efforts to intervene.
"Houdini stopped him suddenly in the midst of a punch, with a gesture that he had had enough. At the time Whitehead was striking Houdini, the latter looked as though he was in extreme pain and winced as each blow was struck."
After that, the witness wrote, Houdini explained that he had not had time to prepare himself for the blows, which had been landed on him before he had even had the chance to stand up.
Houdini was in severe abdominal pain but continued with his scheduled performances, even after being told by a doctor that he had appendicitis.
Following a particularly bad performance (you try doing your job when you have acute appendicitis), Houdini did seek medical treatment, where he was informed that his appendix had burst and that he had peritonitis.
Despite surgery, he died four days later on Halloween, 1926.
Or did he?
According to a recent book by retired urological surgeon Larrian Gillespie, that may not be the case.
Gillespie told the New York Times that she had no interest in Houdini or magicians, but had become intrigued after helping out a friend build a website for a class on the magician.
While building the website, she saw one of Houdini's death certificates and noticed a few oddities, including that information had been scratched out, and that it'd been signed off by a doctor who wasn't present at the time of Houdini's death.
The death certificate, she says, was eventually deemed to be invalid by the head of fraud at the Michigan State Vital Statistics Department.
According to Gillespie, who investigated medical records, death certificates, media at the time, and various statements made by people close to Houdini, the cause of death was not appendicitis, nor was it brought on by the punches he received.
Instead, she believes that the magician was brought down by bowel obstruction after he ate chop suey on October 28.
Surgeons attempted to evacuate Houdini's bowels, but soon he developed sepsis. According to Gillespie, the escape artist likely died on October 30 following a second surgery, but everyone had an interest in pretending that wasn't the case.
His wife, for example, was paid double indemnity by the insurance company as his death was ruled an accident, whilst the medical team were likely worried about medical malpractice.
As for the Halloween date? Well, why not claim that he died on Halloween, if he was near enough, and add to the legend. Several Houdini experts, as well as a great-nephew of the magician, appear to be intrigued by the idea, but in all honesty the mystery will likely remain at this point.
So it wasn't Joselyn Gordon Whitehead's fault? Whitehead became a recluse following the incident, with many believing it was his blows that killed the legendary performer. But Gillespie now believes that Whitehead has been exonerated.
However, even before this new claim, there were already those who say that his blows didn't cause Houdini's death. Appendicitis following trauma is pretty rare, and there is still debate going on "as to whether acute appendicitis following trauma is coincidental or causal", according to one review.
That same review, which looked at 381 papers on appendicitis, found 28 cases of acute appendicitis they believe were secondary to trauma ranging from traffic accidents to falls.
"Although rare," they conclude in the paper, "the diagnosis of acute appendicitis must be considered following direct abdominal trauma especially if the patient complains of abdominal right lower quadrant pain, nausea and anorexia."
Though it is plausible that Houdini was one of those rare cases where appendicitis was secondary to abdominal trauma, it is also possible that the blows were just coincidental timing.
Houdini got punched in his tum tum more than most people, so had he contracted appendicitis on another day, maybe it would have been attributed to a different punch. It is also possible, Snopes notes, that he may have attributed the appendicitis pain to the stomach punch, delaying when he sought treatment.
All in all, Houdini likely did die of appendicitis followed by peritonitis.
But there is the intriguing possibility that he did not, and that his death wasn't even on Halloween. We'll likely never know for certain, even if we're happy to take a punt and suggest he wasn't killed by circus performers sent on a hit by psychics.
Anything is possible.
So those folks trying to contact him in a seance every Oct 31 because he died on Halloween have got the wrong day. Maybe they should try a day earlier.
“Anything is possible.”
Kiss your elbow (without removing it).
Anything is possible, but not all things are probable.
However, it wouldnt have been hard for somebody as wealthy as Houdini to disappear. They were still in a time where a man could disappear.
I seem to recall a wild confrontation Houdini had with William Hope Hodgson in which Houdini tried to escape from some handcuffs of Hodgson’s own design. Lots of anger in the story.
Hodgson had quite a few jobs before settling on writing horrors stories. He had been a police detective and had it in for Houdini. Quite the battle!
Also, H.P. Lovecraft ghost wrote a story for Houdini.
https://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2012/06/30/hodgson-versus-houdini/
The association of Houdini with Halloween is silly. If he died on Oct. 31, 1926 then that’s all it was, and if he died some other day then that’s all it was. Where would we be if he’d died on a Christmas Day or Good Friday?
Exactly.
Great article, thank you for posting it
This was a great read.
It sounds like he was done in by a sucker punch, as he was unprepared for it.
Well it wouldn’t be nearly as fun to hold the seance on Christmas now would it.
Most traditions are more about fun than fact.
And THAT is exactly why it’s important for the legend (if not the truth) to say Houdini died on Halloween.
Interesting article. So the cause of his death still escapes these researchers?
I’m like the Scrooge of Halloween and I say, Bah humbug! If my porch light is on tonight it’s not because I’m at home waiting for calls to “Trick or Treat” outside my door.
While I’m out, my porch light is on for me so I can see the keyhole in the doorknob better after dark.
If some kids end up having to walk away disappointed then I’ll chalk it up to being just another “trick” in Trick or Treat, however unintended!
Sounds like a sad sad life. Being the Scrooge of anything is, quite frankly, pathetic. Spread joy. Don’t diminish it.
Yeah, I’m like that all the time! /s
I think the man would have been amused that it's been a mystery all these years.
To be that way EVER is sad. To proudly boast of being that way is pathetic. Those are the facts. Sorry you can’t see it. Sorrier for the people stuck with you in their lives.
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