The Voyages of Patrick Culliton

Here's something special. These three videos by Mike Clark chronicle the story of our great friend and leading Houdini expert Patrick Culliton a.k.a. "Houdini's Ghost." While Patrick's Houdini activities do get a mention, these primarily focus on his acting career and relationship with producer Irwin Allen, especially his time working on Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. These are very well done and really interesting. Enjoy.

PART I: THE HOLLYWOOD KID

PART II: INCREDIBLE VOYAGES

PART III: TO HELL AND BACK

Thank you, Patrick!

Related:

• Pat Culliton and I found Bess Houdini's house...like heroes
• A plea from Patrick Culliton: Save the Houdini films before it’s too late!
• Patrick Culliton clarifies the price and purpose of Houdini–the Key

The Last Séance of Harry Houdini in Austin

The Bottle Alley Theatre Company presents The Last Séance of Harry Houdini, October 23 through November 2, 2025, at the Flower Hill Center in Austin, Texas. Nick Gilley plays Edward Saint and Kathleen Fletcher plays Bess Houdini.

Join Edward Saint and Bess Houdini to conduct the tenth and final séance to conjure the spirit of Harry Houdini. They have gathered their peers, friends, enemies, and you at the Knickerbocker Hotel on Halloween night, 1936. An immersive piece centered around the historical event, The Last Séance of Harry Houdini explores themes of love, fame, and grief and the ways each of these can change us. The night unfolds with drinks, mingling, ghosts, and the consequences of disturbing a man’s final rest. Staged within the iconic Flower Hill Center on West 6th, The Last Séance of Harry Houdini will offer a truly immersive experience for those seeking the perfect spectral adventure for an October night. Warning: this production features strobing lights that could affect photosensitive viewers.

Visit the Bottle Alley Theatre website for more info and to buy tickets.

Related:

• Halloween 1936: The Final Houdini Seance
• Exploring Houdini's Austin
• Houdini Plays

The Amazing Race asks, "What would Houdini do?"

Tonight's episode of The Amazing Race is called “What Would Houdini Do?” and sees racers traveling to Budapest, Hungary. What I find amazing is that this show is still on!

“What Would Houdini Do?” – Racers travel to illusionist Harry Houdini’s birthplace, Budapest, Hungary, where a puzzling Fast Forward puts one team to the test, while a horse drawn carriage has teams racing against the clock, on THE AMAZING RACE, Wednesday, Oct. 15 (9:30-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs).

This actually isn't the first time The Amazing Race has contained a nod to Houdini. Back in 2012, racers had to perform a suspended straitjacket escape as part of their challenges.

Thanks to Harry Houdini (real name) for the alert.

UPDATE: The show had a nice Houdini tie-in as David Merlini's The House of Houdini museum was one of the stops. You can temporarily stream this episode for free HERE.

Related:

• Houdini rushes The Amazing Race
• The Amazing Race promises Houdini-inspired finale
• Take a River Cruise to Houdini's Birthplace in 2026

Houdini in New York 3-day Magic Conference

The events keep coming! The New York Magic Conference, in cooperation with the Houdini Museum in Scranton, will hold a three-day seminar devoted to "Houdini in New York," October 31 to November 2, 2025.

 

To register, email your contact information to Robert Dadras at NewYorkMagicConference@gmail.com. For more details, visit the New York Magic Conference on Facebook.

Related:

• Houdini's in New York
• Coney Island: Where Harry met Bessie
• The owners and occupants of Houdini's 278

Escaping Obscurity now available in the UK

Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899 is now available via a few more magic retailers besides publisher Mike Caveney's Magic Words. There's good news for those in the UK who may have avoided buying the book because of postage costs. Collecting Magic Books now has it in stock.

I'm also happy to see The Magic Apple here in Los Angeles (Studio City) has the book in stock. The Magic Apple is a fantastic old-school magic store, so it's a nice feeling to know a book I wrote is on their shelves. I went to magic shops looking for Houdini books as a kid, so I love the idea of some young Houdini nut stumbling on the book here.

At the moment, these are the only outside retailers with books, but Mike tells me more will be coming. I will share them as I get them.

Overall, the book is selling great, and reviews have been very positive. I have learned of a few errors and made a few post-publication discoveries, all of which I'm tracking on my page: ESCAPING OBSCURITY: Discoveries & Corrections.

Related:

• A Houdini Milk Can mystery in Studio City
• The Magic Apple conjures a Houdini card deck
• YOU CAN NOW OWN HOUDINI'S FIRST DIARY

Take a River Cruise to Houdini's Birthplace in 2026

It's never too early to start making plans for 2026 and the centennial of Houdini's death. Here's an event being organized by our friend Scott Wells of the Magic Word Podcast that sounds like a doozy!

The Magic Word Podcast Presents:
A River Cruise to Houdini's Birthplace in Celebration of 100 Years Since His Death

Join other listeners as the Magic Word Podcast hosts a trip to Old World Europe. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini. As many of you know, Ehrich Weiss, aka Harry Houdini, was born in Budapest in 1874 before his family migrated to Appleton, Wisconsin, in the U.S. David Merlini has a world-renowned House of Houdini museum in Harry's hometown and will be hosting a festival around the date of the great escape artist's passing. So, we thought it appropriate to arrange a trip to the Old Country, including Transylvania, during this historic time to join in the celebration, then have a leisurely river cruise on the back end.

This trip will begin with a few days in Romania and Transylvania from October 26-28. Then we join with the Houdini Festival in Budapest from October 29-31. We will spend the following days from November 1-3 exploring in and around Budapest. On November 4-11 we will join the AMA Cruise in Budapest on the romantic Danube aboard the AmaSofia and travel northwest to Vilshofen, Germany. Those longing for the romance of Old World Europe will get to travel into the very heart of the continent, where empires were built, kings and queens were crowned and some of the world’s greatest music was composed and performed by the likes of Mozart and Beethoven. Grand European cities like Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest forever remain timeless. Admire the beauty of Salzburg or the Czech Republic’s charming mountain town, Ceský Krumlov. From grand abbeys and fortresses perched high above the Danube to plentiful iconic UNESCO World Heritage Sites, be romanced by the Danube with all her regal and romantic splendor.

This will be limited to a small group, so don't delay if you are interested. The trip dates will be October 26 (arriving in Bucharest on October 25) through November 11 and departing from Munich, Germany, on November 12. Rates go up after October 31, 2025, and cabin availability will be going fast since it is a river cruise and not an ocean going vessel. 

If you are interested in joining for this once in a lifetime experience, then please drop an email to scott@themagicwordpodcast.com for more information.

Related:

• Let's all go to Appleton next year!
• Hardeen in the House!
• Hungary issues an official Houdini stamp

The search for Stella

For the past few weeks I've been down a rabbit hole searching for the death date of Bess's sister Stella Bartholmes (née Rahner). But Stella is as elusive as the Tatler cuffs! She is not listed among Bess's siblings on Ancestry.com. It's also possible "Stella" was not her birth name. But we know she existed.

Stella and Bess were very close. They shared a room growing up and shared superstitions. When Bess was estranged from her mother, it was Stella and her husband William Bartholmes who provided Bess with her only family connection. Stella is the sister that Houdini and Bess are visiting in Bridgeport in 1897, where Houdini so enjoyed outrunning "all the bike cops" on his "Wheel" (which I discuss in Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899).

According to sister Marie Hinson, Stella died at a young age. Her only child, Beatrice Bartholmes (born in 1893), was raised by the Rahners from the age of seven, which suggests Stella's death occurred in or around 1900. Curiously, I do see the death of a William Bartholmes of Bridgeport on June 30, 1900. Is this Stella's husband? Did they die together? That would explain why their child went to grandma.

Stella's death would have greatly impacted Bess, so I'd really like to know precisely when it occurred so I can see where the Houdinis were at the time. To make it more frustrating, I recall reading about the death of one of Bess's sisters somewhere, but I can't find it.

So if anyone wants to take up the challenge and find any record of Stella and her death, you'll be my hero!

Related:

• Meet the Rahners
• Remembering Harry Houdini Hinson
• Marie Hinson remembers the generosity of Houdini

New edition of The Treasure Chest: Harry Houdini: Prince of Air

A new paperback edition of Ann Hood's The Treasure Chest: Harry Houdini #4: Prince of Air is released today by Penguin Workshop. When the book was first released by Grosset and Dunlap in 2012, the cover did not feature Houdini, nor was his name in the title. But it is now!

The secrets of Elm Medona thicken . . . with Harry Houdini! 

When Great-Uncle Thorne arrives at Elm Medona, Maisie and Felix's lives get shaken up again. Uncle Thorne moves the family into the mansion proper. One night, Great-Aunt Maisie arranges for Thorne, Maisie, and Felix to rendezvous with her in The Treasure Chest. Minutes later, Maisie and Felix find themselves at a magic show on Coney Island in 1894 starring Harry Houdini. As they follow him and his brother Dash to Pennsylvania and Rhode Island and back to New York City, they wonder what has become of Great-Aunt Maisie and Great-Uncle Thorne. Then one evening at Tom Pastor's Famous 14th Street Theater, the curtain opens and all is revealed.

Another interesting change. The date of this adventure has apparently been changed from 1893 to 1894.

You can purchase The Treasure Chest: Harry Houdini #4: Prince of Air by Ann Hood at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Related:

• Houdini scores a double today
• New cover for The Treasure Chest #4
• Coney Island: Where Harry met Bessie

Spellbound Houdini Séance at The House of MAGIC in Santa Paula

The House of MAGIC Foundation for the Arts and Mentalist Anthony Blake will present an immersive Houdini Séance experience called "Spellbound at the Table" this Friday, October 10, at The House of MAGIC in Santa Paula near Los Angeles. Below are the terrifying details.

Dare to Attend?

This Friday, October 10 at 7PM, step into the shadows for a Special Spellbound: At the Table presentation — The Houdini Séance.

Join us inside The House of MAGIC Foundation for the Arts as we recreate the mystery and wonder of Houdini’s world.

🕰️ Flickering candles. Whispered voices. A spirit cabinet waiting to be unlocked.

This is a theatrical séance — a scripted, immersive experience that blends illusion, history, and suspense. We’ll explore Houdini’s battle with spiritualism and the question that haunted him to his final day...

Can anyone truly speak from beyond the grave?

🎩 One night only — limited seating!

📅 Friday, October 10 • 7PM

📍 The House of MAGIC Foundation for the Arts, Santa Paula

🎟️ Get tickets now before they vanish: www.thomagic.org

(For entertainment purposes only. Ages 12+ recommended.)

I've just booked my ticket and, at the moment, I'm all by myself in the front row. So come join me...if you dare! 

The House of MAGIC Foundation for the Arts is located at 15500 W. Telegraph Road STE B15, Santa Paula, CA. 

Related:

• The Official Houdini Séance 2025 in Pennsylvania

Ed Cotham, Jr. talks Houdini in Galveston, Oct 28

Historian Ed Cotham, Jr. will give a talk about Houdini's connections to Galveston, Texas, on October 28 at 11:30am. This is part of The Galveston Historical Foundation's "Foundation Conversations" series. Details below.

October 31, 2025, marks the 99th anniversary of famous escape artist Harry Houdini's death. On November 6, 1923, less than three years before he died, Houdini made his one and only appearance at Galveston’s Grand Opera House. But Houdini had been dreaming of coming to Galveston for years. His papers in the Library of Congress include an unmailed postcard telling his mother that he was running away from home to go to Galveston for a year. At the time, Ehrich Weisz (his birth name) was only twelve years old. When Houdini finally got to Galveston 37 years later, he was in the midst of a crusade against the evil side of Spiritualism. As part of his later tours, Houdini delivered lectures with projected slides explaining how some unscrupulous mediums defrauded people. In this unique program, Ed Cotham will explore Houdini’s life and his Texas connections. As part of the program, he will read from the script of one of Houdini’s Spiritualism lectures while showing pictures of Houdini’s original slides. 

Virtual tickets are also available for guests who would like to view the livestream. A link will be sent prior to the event with instructions on viewing. You are welcome to bring your own lunch to enjoy. Lunch will not be provided. Current GHF member tickets are free for in-person or livestream attendance as part of their #GalvestonHistory+ account. Access will start at 11:15 a.m. on the day of the presentation. 

Edward T. Cotham, Jr. is a historian specializing in Galveston and Texas military history. The author of seven scholarly history books, Ed is also a performing magician. He is a member of many prominent magic organizations, including the Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California.

For additional details and to purchase tickets visit the Eventbrite page HERE.

Related:

• Houdini arrives in Galveston (at last)
• Houdini tours Texas
• Penn & Teller show us the Library of Congress Houdini Collection

The Official Houdini Séance 2025 in Pennsylvania

The Official Houdini Séance will be held this year at House of Magic in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The seance is open to the public, but seating is limited. An old-fashioned spook show will precede the seance. Below is this year's press release.

Nearly a century after Harry Houdini’s death, a group of magicians, historians, and spiritualists with gather in Pennsylvania to attempt what the famed escape artist once promised: Can the dead return?

The Official Houdini Séance will be held at 10 pm on October 31, 2025, at The House of Magic in Glenside, PA.

Fifteen days after performing at the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, Houdini died on Halloween in 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit at 1:26 pm, the result of peritonitis. Before his passing, he promised that if communication from the beyond were possible, he would find a way to prove it.

After his death, Houdini’s widow Bess held annual séances for ten years, culminating in a nationally broadcast attempt from the rooftop of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood in 1936. Declaring, “Ten years is enough to wait for any man,” she ended her public efforts, but others have continued the tradition.

“Houdini told his brother that if he were able to return in a material way, he would open a unique set of handcuffs,” said séance director Bill Radner of West Springfield, MA. “Those handcuffs, along with other Houdini memorabilia, will be placed on the séance table this year.”

The séance will be led by trance medium Scott Wells of Ft. Worth, TX, with participants hoping for a breakthrough unlike any before.

“We are a very determined group,” Radner added. “We look forward to making contact this year.”

For more Official Houdini Séance information, please contact Bill Radner, 413-531-3333 or email rendar1@aol.com.

While Houdini never performed in Glenside, he did appear with the Welsh Bros Circus for three memorable days in nearby Norristown (covered in Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899). And, of course, Philadelphia was a major Houdini city where he appeared many times. So I'd say his spirit is in the air!

You can purchase tickets for The Official Houdini Séance 2025 at the House of Magic website.

Thanks to Ken Hallgring and Tom Boldt for the alert.

Related:

• Inside The Official Houdini Séance 2024
• The secret origins of the annual Houdini Seance
• When the Welsh Bros. came to town

Houdini BBC radio collection released

BBC audiobooks have released a collection of three BBC-produced Houdini radio programs called Houdini & The Witch of Beacon Hill. Details below.

What drove Harry Houdini - magician, escapologist, and one of the most famous men in the world? Whether it was escaping from handcuffs, a straitjacket or from a box filled with water, Houdini wowed audiences with his seemingly death-defying performance... This BBC Radio collection shares the story behind the trickery: in two fascinating full-cast dramas about the life of Harry Houdini, and in particular his public campaign to expose fraudulent spiritual mediums.

In the stunning full-cast dramatisation Houdini, a man is naked against the world, bound in chains, deprived of all help. Performing a death defying escape from a galvanised iron can, filled with water and secured with massive locks. Failure means a drowning death! This is the gripping story of the master magician, escapologist, and at the time of his death in 1926, one of the most famous men in the world. Michael Maloney stars as Houdini, with Graham Crowden as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lorelei King as Bess.

Houdini, the showman, longed to believe that he might be able to communicate beyond the grave with his beloved mother, but knew far too much about the trickery and faking of the stage to be easily convinced. The Witch of Beacon Hill is the true story of how Harry Houdini tried to debunk psychics and mediums. Attending séances in disguise, accompanied by a reporter and a police officer he debunked the most famous and celebrated Boston medium Mina Crandon, also known as ‘Margery’. This radio drama tells Margery’s story, and the story of how Houdini set out to disprove her claims. Starring Shelly Thompson as Margery and Nigel Anthony as Houdini.

This double edition collection comes with a bonus episode of Harry Houdini: Escape artist and showman with Rajan Datar. Through interviews, Datar charts the life and career of the legendary Houdini, with writer and biographer Adam Begley, Dr Matthew Solomon, and Dr Katharina Rein.

For the record, Houdini was first broadcast on BBC Radio 2, Oct 1996; The Witch of Beacon Hill on BBC Radio 4, 30 Sep 1989; and Harry Houdini: Escape artist and showman on BBC World Service, 30 Dec 2021

Purchase Houdini & The Witch of Beacon Hill: Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Historical Dramas at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a physical release.

Related:

• Ghosts of Beacon Hill
• BBC Radio: The Witch of Beacon Hill
• Peepolykus blend Houdini and Dracula on the BBC

50% off new Patreon memberships in October

I thought I'd kick off seance season and the countdown to the 99th anniversary of Houdini's death by offering 50% off new Patreon memberships in October. This applies to the first month and is open to new members only. Just use promo code: SPOOKS.

On my Patreon, you'll find a wealth of exclusive Houdini content, receive special monthly rewards, get the scoop on my current projects, and get an early heads up on new book releases and events. And if we reach 100 members (only 9 members away), you'll hear something truly wild.

You'll also be supporting all the work I do here on WILD ABOUT HARRY and my upcoming projects. So come join us (at 50% off) for what may be a wild month!

Related:

• Announcing WILD ABOUT HARRY on Patreon
• Want to hear unreleased Houdini voice?