This Halloween marks the 83rd anniversary of the death of master illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini. On Sunday October 31st, 1926, Houdini died of peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix, in room 401, Corridor D, in the old John R. Wing of Grace Hospital in Detroit. He was just 52 years old.

Born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary, on March 24, 1874, Harry’s family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin when he was 4 years old. Throughout his life, Houdini would claim Appleton as his birthplace so that he would be more readily accepted as an American. He ran away from home at the age of twelve, performing magic as “Eric the Great” with circuses and side shows.He then rejoined his family in New York at age 13. Later, after reading a biography of French illusionist, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, Harry changed his last name, adding an “i” to the name of his idol and became one of the most famous performers in American history.

In addition to his well publicized career as a magician and escape artist, Houdini was also a well known crusader against fake mediums. He had developed an intense interest in the spirit world following the death of his beloved mother and tried several times to contact her in the great beyond. Having been bilked, himself, Houdini would frequently attend seances in disguise just to expose the charlatans and prevent them from taking the money of grieving survivors.

Several days before his death, in Montreal, Houdini had been struck repeatedly in the abdomen by a student, challenging Harry’s claims that he could withstand any blow to the abdomen. The punches were unexpected and caught Harry off guard. In pain, Harry gamely made the long train ride to Detroit, calling for a doctor, upon his arrival. He was taken to Grace Hospital where he was found to have a ruptured appendix. There is much speculation about whether the blows to the abdomen may have caused Houdini’s appendix to rupture, thereby, causing his death, but medical wisdom belies this claim. In any event, the student was never investigated and, reportedly, disappeared into obscurity shortly after the incident.

Seances are held each year on Halloween and have been held each year, since his death in 1926, in an attempt to contact Houdini. He had always vowed that, if there were any way possible, he would return to his wife Bess and had set up a code with her so that she would recognize his spirit when it materialized. Bess attended these seances faithfully for 10 years following the magician’s death, then she gave up.  To this day, though, the faithful still gather in a location which had a significant connection to Houdini’s life, in an attempt to raise his spirit. The seance was once held at the site of the magician’s death: room 401, Corridor D, Grace Hospital, Detroit.