Houdini Dies: The Master of Escape Leaves His Mark
Harry Houdini died of peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix on October 31, 1926, at Grace Hospital in Detroit. He was 52. The rupture is popularly attributed to punches delivered by a college student nine days earlier, though physicians debate whether blunt trauma can actually cause appendicitis. Houdini had ignored symptoms for days and continued performing with a 104-degree fever. The timing of his death on Halloween was coincidental but fitting: Houdini had spent his final years debunking fraudulent spirit mediums and exposing their tricks. Before his death, he told his wife Bess a secret code they would use if he could contact her from beyond the grave. She held seances on Halloween for ten years. The code was never received. 'I do not think that Houdini will come back,' she finally said.
October 31, 1926
100 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 31
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