Bibliograph

The magician and the spirits, Harry Houdini and the curious pastime of communicating with the dead, Deborah Noyes

Type

Label

The magician and the spirits, Harry Houdini and the curious pastime of communicating with the dead, Deborah Noyes

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 132-146) and index

resource.biographical

individual biography

Illustrations

portraitsillustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The magician and the spirits

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

976423774

Responsibility statement

Deborah Noyes

Sub title

Harry Houdini and the curious pastime of communicating with the dead

Summary

"Noyes makes history accessible and irresistible . . . Excellent."* A century ago, the curious idea that spirits not only survive death but can be contacted on the "other side" was widespread. Psychic mediums led countless seances, claiming to connect the grieving with their lost relations through everything from frenzied trance writing to sticky expulsions of ectoplasm. The craze caught Harry Houdini's attention. Well-known by then as most renowned magician and escape artist, he began to investigate these spiritual phenomena. Are ghosts real? Can we communicate with them? Catch them in photographs? Or are all mediums "flim-flammers," employing tricks and illusions like Houdini himself? Peopled with odd and fascinating characters, Houdini's gripping quest will excite readers' universal wonderment with life, death, and the possibility of the Beyond.

Target audience

adolescent

Classification