Houdini’s Spirit Hands

Harry Houdini, the legendary magician and skeptic of supernatural claims, made significant efforts to expose fraudulent spiritualist practices. Among his investigations, Houdini demonstrated how so-called “spirit hands” were fabricated during séances to trick participants.

In his work “A Magician Among the Spirits,” Houdini described a particular form of deceit known as “finger-printing a spirit.” This scam involved creating a mold of a deceased person’s hand, which was then used during séances to falsely mimic the presence of the departed.

Such tactics exemplified the elaborate methods fake mediums employed and underscored Houdini’s relentless campaign to unmask their fraudulence.

But was Houdini a charlatan himself?

According to a letter between Bess Houdini and Herr Gref Karl von Klinckowstroem, dated January 7, 1927, Bess writes that she made the wax hands “for Houdini myself”, going into great detail about how to duplicate her process. She even goes on to say “Houdini used my hands because they are small and the many coatings of wax make the hand large.”

Magic, as an art form, centers on the skillful manipulation of perception and reality to create captivating illusions, effectively relying on deception as its cornerstone.

Professional magicians use sleight of hand, misdirection, and ingenious props to produce feats that defy logical understanding.

For Harry Houdini, magic was not only a medium of entertainment but also a means to expose deceit in the sphere of spiritualism. While spiritualists claimed supernatural abilities, Houdini viewed their acts as a betrayal of the craft of magic, denouncing their techniques as crude imitations of genuine illusions.

As we peel back the many layers of Houdini’s life…and ethics…one can’t help but feel uneasy about his methods to reveal what magicians are sworn to uphold….the secrets of the spiritualist trade.

While his intent was noble—protecting the grieving and vulnerable from exploitation—his techniques often blurred ethical lines, as he engaged in trickery similar to what he criticized. 

In fact, upcoming articles will focus on proving Houdini rarely told the truth about most anything. Like the carnival hawkers, he learned early on to take “creative license” with reality.

His commitment to maintaining an air of mystery often left others unsure of what was real or contrived. In both his performances and his public persona, Houdini rarely revealed the whole truth, making him as enigmatic as he was talented.