Houdini's Centennial Returns to Detroit

Harry Houdini died 100 years ago today in Detroit. The magician passed away on Oct. 31, 1926, at Grace Hospital after suffering from a ruptured appendix. His death occurred during a series of performances he had scheduled in the city, marking the end of a career defined by dramatic escapes and public spectacle.

Houdini performed in Detroit 19 times between 1894 and 1926. His early appearances in the city were minor acts, but his reputation grew through stunts that drew large crowds. In 1906, he jumped from the Belle Isle Bridge into the river while wearing handcuffs. Local reports from that year stated the water was not frozen, contradicting later film depictions of him breathing air pockets under ice. The event helped establish his legend in the region.

By 1914, Houdini had introduced the Water Torture Cell. He was lowered head first into a locked, water-filled box while an audience watched. Dorothy Young, who served as his stage assistant starting at age 17, recalled the tension of the act. She noted that Houdini's wife, Bess, stood in the wings with a secret code to signal if he could not escape. Young described the experience as exciting despite the danger involved.

Houdini's final days were marked by physical pain. Before arriving in Detroit, a college wrestler punched him in the stomach during a dressing room challenge in Montreal. Houdini had asked the man to hit him to test his ability to withstand blows. Young said the wrestlers did not give Houdini time to tighten his muscles for protection. Doctors advised Houdini to rest, but he refused to cancel his Detroit shows due to financial pressure and contractual obligations.

Jeremy Dimick, a curator at the Detroit Historical Museum, stated that Houdini completed only one performance in the city. Dimick described the magician collapsing during intermissions and being carried from the Garrick Theater to his hotel. Houdini was subsequently taken to Grace Hospital, where doctors diagnosed the ruptured appendix. He underwent two surgeries and died several days later on Halloween.

The physical locations associated with Houdini's death in Detroit have since disappeared. The Garrick Theater, the hotel where he stayed, and Grace Hospital no longer exist. The funeral home that embalmed his body became a girls' art school. Juanita Hammond, who led the school in the 2000s, showed visitors a locked storage room with an indented floor used for draining fluids from corpses. She told visitors that Houdini was laid out in that specific room. Some students reported believing his spirit remained in the building.

Bess Houdini spent the decade following her husband's death holding séances to contact him. On Halloween, 10 years after his death, she reported saying goodnight to him. She later appeared in a movie cameo reenacting the scene. She remarked that the event proved her husband was right about the impossibility of the dead returning, as she had received no prior signs from him.

John Sherwood, of the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Mich., is holding a séance on the anniversary. He uses an aged metal milk can from Houdini's workshop. Houdini performed a trick involving this can, jumping inside while it was filled with warm water and locked with six Mastodon locks. He would remain hidden behind a screen, escaping early to read a newspaper while the audience waited. He emerged at the peak of their anxiety, theatrically panting. Sherwood believes the centennial may prompt an appearance due to the magician's love of showmanship.

Sherwood has noted that some séances have included a lox and bagel sandwich in the can, appealing to Houdini's Jewish heritage. Despite these efforts, no definitive contact has been established. The persistence of these rituals keeps the story of Houdini's death alive in Detroit a century after it occurred.